Reflection & Reorganization

Reflection & Reorganization

From Black Rose Anarchist Federation

Black Rose/Rosa Negra Resumes Public Activity

In 2020 Black Rose / Rosa Negra (BRRN) began experiencing serious internal political conflict over the direction of our organization, its strategy, and its structures. The organizational turmoil produced by this conflict was greatly exacerbated by the psychological, social, and political strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd Uprising.

Eventually, this conflict led a number of members to resign from the organization, with some penning a feminist critique of BRRN after leaving. While we maintain disagreements with many of the specifics of this critique, we share its stated commitment to a revolutionary anarchist feminism.

The main authors of the statement you are now reading are feminists who chose to remain in BRRN. We are disproportionately working class mothers, BIPOC, LGBTQ, non-cis, and belong to other groups that are deeply affected by capitalism and the ongoing health crisis. We believe that the reproduction of oppressive systems cannot be solved through departure: they’d be waiting for us in whatever group we formed or joined next. Because we cannot resign our way out of patriarchy, we resolved to debate and struggle alongside our comrades in BRRN to address internal issues and to create a stronger organization.

Over the last 2 years, members of BRRN have spent our time closely examining the internal practices, structures, and culture of our organization. Until now, we have deliberately remained silent on all public platforms in order to focus on this crucial task. Mainly we engaged in this self examination work through a 1+ year long series of organization wide open discussion sessions. These discussions consolidated lessons learned through our conflict, generated numerous proposals for internal changes, and started to plot a path forward for BRRN.

Many of these proposals for structural change were put on the table and passed before or during our 2021 national convention. Some of these changes included: overhauling our officer structure, revamping our member integration and education procedures, altering member expectation standards, completing work on our internal accountability and conflict resolution protocol, funding childcare services for members with kids, formalizing internal outreach efforts to broaden membership participation in our democratic decision making mechanisms, and beginning the process of creating our first comprehensive political program.

Moving out of our long reflection and reorganization period, we remain committed to continuously developing a working class feminist practice both inside and outside of our organization. With renewed energy, we look forward to returning to public facing activity and to carry on building the power and revolutionary potential of social movements in the U.S.

In Solidarity,

Black Rose / Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation


Declaración Pública de la Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra

Durante el año 2020 la Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra experimentó varios problemas internos serios sobre la dirección que tomaba  la organización, así como su estrategia y su estructura. El trastorno organizacional por el cual pasó la organizacion sucedió en un momento en el que la sociedad se encontraba atravesando un complejo momento, tanto económica como psicológicamente, debido a la pandemia del COVID 19 y el levantamiento por el asesinato de George Floyd.

Durante estos sucesos hubo una renuncia masiva en la organización, y parte de estas renuncias se basaron sobre críticas de carácter feministas. Si bien tenemos algunos desacuerdos con algunos detalles de esa crítica, compartimos el compromiso de crear y tener una organización anarco feminista revolucionaria.

Les autores principales de esta declaración somos feministas no alieneades con la identidad hombre cisgénero y que hemos decidido permanecer en la Federación. Somos un grupo de personas de la clase trabajadora, madres, BIPOC, LGBTQ, no cisgénero y pertenecemos a estos grupos que son directamente afectados por el capitalismo y la crisis del sistema de salud.  Creemos que la reproducción de los sistemas de opresión no se resuelven huyendo de ellos, estos siempre nos van a seguir estemos en donde estemos. No creemos que la salida sea renunciar a luchar contra el patriarcado, así que decidimos quedarnos, crear un debate, y luchar junto a nuestres compañeres dentro de la organización para resolver estos problemas internos. 

En estos casi cerca de 2 años hemos estado examinando nuestras prácticas internas, nuestras estructuras, el cómo nos organizamos, y nuestro comportamiento interno de unes hacia otres. Hasta este momento hemos permanecido en silencio en nuestras plataformas de comunicación por estar enfocades en el trabajo interno que era y es necesario realizar. Hemos estado trabajando en esto por más de un año, llevando a cabo reuniones, debates, pláticas. Estos debates fueron lecciones aprendidas desde y por el conflicto que sucedió, y del cual surgieron muchas nuevas propuestas para así seguir adelante con nuestra organización. 

Muchas de esas propuestas se crearon para lograr un cambio estructural y fueron expuestas durante o antes de la convención nacional del 2021. Algunos de eso cambios son: reformar nuestra estructura de secretarios, cambiar nuestro sistema de integración de nuevos miembros así como la educación interna, cambiar la expectativa de la membresía, completar el trabajo del proceso de resolución de conflicto, apoyar con fondos a les miembros para el cuidado de niñes, formalizar el proceso de contactar a todes les mimbres de la Federación para las decisiones democráticas dentro de la federación, para la toma de decisiones y  para la creación de nuestro primer programa político.

Saliendo de nuestro período de reflexión y reorganización, seguimos comprometides con el continuo desarrollo de la práctica de la clase trabajadora feminista tanto dentro como fuera de la Federacion. Con energía renovada, regresamos a la función pública y a continuar construyendo el poder y el potencial revolucionario de los movimientos sociales en este lado del Abyala. 

Sinceramente:

Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra

There are 11 Comments

What kind of "anarchist" project has officers requiring an overhaul of an "officer structure"? Why is this group so dedicated to recreating the world of meetings, rules, procedures, chapters, and official statements instead of opposing or subverting them? What good is wasting people's time with meetings and stifling creativity and individual initiative so that some nebulous idea of power can be "built" by doing nothing, in the hopes that one day the divine grace of "revolution" might come?

No thank you

typical organizationalists, never questioning the form of their formal cadre membership gang even after loads of attrition and even a public critique by ex-members. instead of examining why it is that *every single* formal cadre membership organization in North America has undergone excruciatingly similar -- if not identical -- "turmoil" based on the inherently conformist nature of their sub-leninist form (if not necessarily the content, although it often looks the same, especially to outside anarchist observers), they double down on the stultifying and rigid parameters and boundaries that created all the conditions for the attrition and critiques. even the women who left and wrote their critique remain committed to the organizationalist form, so it's more of the same, but faster and harder.

Glad to know those who remain in the organization are "disproportionately working-class mothers, BIPOC, LGBTQ, non-cis, and belong to other groups that are deeply affected by capitalism and the ongoing health crisis." Just found the critique from those who left and it turns out they are "disproportionally women, queer, trans, non-binary, and/or POC." Where is an ally to turn?

Like a turd that just won't flush, the BRRN are BACK.

They've started as they mean to go on by deleting all critical replies to their relaunch tweet.

An apt analogy, but these self-important geeks never went away; they just reorganized with a streamlined cadre. Leaner and meaner, even less tolerant of dissent and critique. We should start a pool to see how long it'll be before the next defection/purge.

Sounds like the people left did so because they realized BRRN is just another shitty bureaucratic organization nightmare similar to every other political organization in the US. Why did these anarchists model and structure their shitty club on something like the democratic/republican party? Officer structure? Wat?!?!

Nope. The people who left remain committed to the same organizational form. Totally disheartening.

recognizing that the post was posted prior to this day, and knowing who and what BRRN have been and continue to be, sadly the conclusion is that no, it's not parody. it's hilarious anyway, as much self-parody is, but it's purely unintentional. which of course makes it that much funnier.

"sure the 10,000 year campaign to end slavery has so far been unsuccessful, but if we just organize the tenants a little harder this time we can end slavery within the next 80 to 100 years! just keep going to work and paying rent because if not how would you organize your workplace and apartment complex? cheer up comrade, this time will be different, this time won't be like the prior failed attempts"

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