Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers
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Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers (often referred to as simply "the Motherfuckers") was an anarchist affinity group based in New York City. This "street gang with analysis" was famous for its Lower East Side direct action and is said to have inspired members of the Weather Underground and Yippies.
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[edit] History
The Motherfuckers started out as a Dada-influenced art group called Black Mask. Formed in 1966 by painter Ben Morea and the poet Dan Georgiakis, Black Mask produced a broadside of the same name and declared that revolutionary art should be "an integral part of life, as in primitive society, and not an appendage to wealth" [1]. In May 1968, Black Mask changed its name and went underground. Their new name, Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers, came from a poem by Amiri Baraka. Abbie Hoffman characterized them as "the middle-class nightmare... an anti-media media phenomenon simply because their name could not be printed."
Among other things, the Motherfuckers instigated riots, "assassinated" poet Kenneth Koch (using blanks), forced their way into The Pentagon during a protest in 1968, and seized control of the Fillmore East (forcing owner Bill Graham to have weekly free concerts). The Motherfuckers also contributed to New York City's counterculture by setting up crash pads, serving free food, starting a free store, and helping radicals connect with doctors and lawyers. They were opposed to and resisted on principle any attempt to impose order on the political demonstrations they participated in.
Valerie Solanas, a feminist and would be assassin of Andy Warhol, was one well known associate of the Motherfuckers. In the film I Shot Andy Warhol, the gun used in her attack is alleged to have been taken from Ben Morea.
The Motherfuckers were never part of the Situationist International. Situationist Raoul Vaneigem did not want to have anything to do with them during his visit to New York City and the British section of the Situationist International was expelled in 1967 for its ties to the Motherfuckers. They went on to form the King Mob group.
[edit] Influence as a slogan
One of the first appearances of the phrase "Up against the wall Motherfuckers!" as a revolutionary slogan was in April, 1968, on a famous piece of graffiti found scrawled in the mathematics department following the Columbia University protests of 1968. The catchphrase even spawned a fairly sophisticated 1969 boardgame of the same name based on the protests, which is today a rare collectors' item.
This association may also have been the inspiration for the San Francisco acid rock band Jefferson Airplane in the lyrics of their 1969 song "We can be together", where they sang "Up against the wall, motherfuckers!" as part of a refrain. The song marked the first use of the F word on television, when the group played it uncensored on The Dick Cavett Show on August 19, 1969. This song also helped popularize the phrase as a counterculture rallying cry, over and beyond the immediate impact of the anarchist group.
At various times, the line became popular among several groups that came out of the sixties, from Black Panthers to feminists and even "rednecks": in the 1970s, Texas country singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard adapted the famous phrase for a song he wrote entitled "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother". It has similarly been incorporated in a number of other musical compositions.
[edit] References
- Black Mask & Up Against The Wall Motherfucker, ISBN 1-873176-70-8, Unpopular Books, 1996
