Reportback on An Ⓐnarchist General Assembly

Anarchists and friends in Atlanta convened for the city’s first anarchist assembly tonight. Over 60 people attended, with some coming from as far as Douglasville. Food, a bonfire, and good conversation made for a great night.

The following call for the event went out on Indymedia and Facebook a week ago:

The purpose of this assembly is to strengthen ties within the Atlanta anarchist, anti-authoritarian, and autonomist community by providing a regularly occurring event to share projects we’re working on, discuss the topics we are organizing around, promote collaboration and solidarity between different groups, spark new initiatives and build our collective capacity as a social antagonist force.

The assembly will not be a decision-making body; it will not create platforms or manifestos.
Stack will be taken but there will be no formal moderation or facilitation.
Please come prepared to contribute to the discussion, ready to talk about your on going projects, the organizations you're working with, and with proposals for future projects, events, and collaborations.

We're asking anyone who is in agreement with the following basic anarchist principles to attend:
- A rejection of all forms of hierarchy, including capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy, heterosexism, and party based politics.
- Support for organizing on a non-hierarchical basis that promotes autonomy, solidarity, and the agency of those most affected by each decision.
- Working actively to build relationships and institutions that are based on equality, self determination, and sustainability.

Along those lines, the assembly did not attempt to make decisions or follow a set process. Instead, attendees sat in a big circle for about 45 minutes and got on stack to announce and discuss projects they are currently working on as well as ideas for the future.

Upcoming Events:

• Bike ride tomorrow (Sunday, January 8), 2pm from 477 Peachtree
• Know Your Rights training tomorrow (Sunday, January 8), 5pm at the Teardown
• Substance Abuse workshop on January 13, 2pm at the AFSC
• Email Encryption workshop on Sunday, January 15, 5pm at the Teardown
• Radical Feminist support group

Upcoming Actions (many of which require further planning!):

• Solidarity action with the indefinite Nigerian general strike to begin Monday, January 9
• Anti-foreclosure/eviction rally and cookout on January 14, 4pm at 404 Glen Iris
• Occupy the Dream rally and communal meal at the Federal Reserve building on January 16, 10am-1230pm
• National Student Day of Action on March 1
• Mayday General Strike
• May NATO/G8 in Chicago
• RNC/DNC

Ongoing projects:

• Calendar for February workshops and skillshares (to be posted soon online at Atlanta Indymedia)
• Prisoner support actions including letter-writing parties and monthly noise demonstrations, specifically to Black Panther Veronza Bowers who is imprisoned in Atlanta
• Anti-police brutality and anti-eviction organizing, including anti-police marches
• Funny Farm in Stone Mountain, plus more permaculture workshops and activities
• Copwatch
• Wednesday Food Not Bombs
• “No” vote against the Beltline in July
• Bike shop in the basement of Peachtree & Pine homeless shelter, open from 1 or 3pm to around 5 or 6 or 7pm

Afterward, the larger meeting broke out into a big social. Everyone met new people, talked about all of the exciting developments in Atlanta, and discussed the events and projects brought up during meeting time.

Throughout the night, Indymedia was emphasized repeatedly as a good place to share and keep one another updated on what we're currently involved in. If you’re interested in any of these events and projects, it might be a good idea to comment on this page, ask your friends, and come to the next meetup for more information. Keep an eye out here for the details of next month's anarchist assembly!