The Anti-Racist Action Network (ARA) is a decentralized network of anti-fascist and anti-racists in North America. ARA activists organize actions to disrupt neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, and help organize activities against fascist and racist ideologies. ARA groups also oppose sexism, homophobia, heterosexism, anti-Semitism, and the pro-life movement. ARA originated from the skinhead and punk subcultures.
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Anti-Racist Action was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the late 1980s by members of the anti-fascist skinhead group Minneapolis Baldies and other activists.[1] ARA then expanded to several communities in the United States and Canada. Members of Love and Rage, a revolutionary anarchist organization, played a major role in building ARA groups and the ARA Network in the 1990s,[2] and the group's structure was formalized in 1994 at the first Midwest Anti-Fascist Network conference, in Columbus, Ohio.[3]
On July 4, 1998, Daniel Shersty and Lin Newborn, members of Las Vegas ARA, were murdered execution-style by neo-Nazis in the desert outside the city.[4] Shot at close range with a shotgun, their bodies were found in an area known to be used by white supremacists for target practice.[5]
On August 24, 2002, a large neo-Nazi demonstration was planned in Washington, D.C., and some neo-Nazis were planning to take a bus from the Baltimore Travel Plaza to Washington. Several ARA affiliates demonstrated against the neo-Nazis, and in the melee that resulted, 28 of the ARA activists were arrested. Within about 36 hours, most had been released from jail. Many claimed that they were not properly informed about any crime they had allegedly committed until their release, if informed at all. The group became known as the Baltimore 28, Parking Lot 28, Baltimore Anti-Racist 28 or the Anti Racist 28. Charges against 26 of the 28 activists included: inciting a riot, malicious destruction of property, aggravated assault, and disorderly conduct. The charges were eventually dropped. One of the 28 was not charged with any crimes due to her status as a minor.
On October 15, 2005, ARA members participated in a protest in Toledo, Ohio against the National Socialist Movement, in an incident that became known as the 2005 Toledo Riot.[6]
On March 21, 2010, ARA members scouted downtown Chicago waiting for the "White Pride World Wide" march that was advertised months prior by the Illinois National Socialist Front [7]. Apparently, the INSF had backed out of the march several weeks prior. Four Neo-Nazis were spotted on Michigan avenue and were confronted by local plain clothed antifascists. Two members of two different racialist groups were then arrested and a nearby pro-diversity rally made it on site to chant and deliver the final voice of opposition. No Anti-fascists were arrested.[8]
On April 15, 2011, ARA members confronted the National Socialist Movement's annual conference in Pemberton, NJ.[9] A melee ensued with reports indicating 4 members of the NSM being hospitalized and the conference being shut down. The following day in Trenton, NJ the NSM Held a 90 minute rally at the Statehouse which was outnumbered fourfold by anti-racist counter-protesters.[10]
Anti-Racist Action has four points of unity to which all chapters must agree.
1.We go where they go. Whenever fascists are organizing or active in public, we're there. We don't believe in ignoring them or staying away from them. Never let the Nazis have the street!
2.We don't rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us. This doesn't mean we never go to court, but the cops uphold white supremacy and the status quo. They attack us and everyone who resists oppression. We must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists.
3.Non-sectarian defense of other anti-fascists. In ARA, we have a lot of different groups and individuals. We don't agree about everything and we have a right to differ openly. But in this movement an attack on one is an attack on us all. We stand behind each other.
4.We support abortion rights and reproductive freedom. ARA intends to do the hard work necessary to build a broad, strong movement against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most oppressed people. We want a classless, free society. We intend to win![11]