Given some of the recent coverage treating anarchist, antifa, & black bloc as interchangeable terms, we would like to offer up a quick glossary explaining the distinctions between these things. (Hint: none of these are a cabal running BLM. That is a Trump/Far Right lie.)

Antifa: It has been widely circulated that antifa is simply an ideology. However there are 2 primary strains of antifa in the US rn: organized groups who do ongoing antifascist work, and individuals who identify loosely with the term & help out in an ad hoc manner.

In v short summary- the idea of a mass movement, large protest form of antifa in the US is rather recent and relates specifically the ascendency of Trump & the Alt Right that propelled him. This is when most Americans learned the term.

Prior to Trump antifa was mainly small groups who organized against local racist and fascist groups. This model descended from the ARA Network (est. in 1988). ARA was formed to deal with the surge of white supremacist organizing in the late 80s & early 90s.

ARA started mainly in punk & skinhead subculture, changed over the years, broadened its analysis to explicitly include feminism & other issues. In 2007 RCA was the 1st ARA chapter to use “antifa” in our name to signify a wider scope & international outlook. Others followed suit.

Chapters looked very different depending on their specific context. Some were open groups like college clubs, while others had stricter security. Some did security for Planned Parenthood while others opposed the Hammerskins.

So it is fair to say it was a loose coalition. ARA had points of unity but no hierarchal command or specific rules on how to self-organize. It was a network of support/solidarity of autonomous chapters who shared the common purpose of fighting fascism.

The overall history is too long to get into, but suffices to say with Trump there was a massive spike in antifascism because many ppl recognized him and the movement he emboldened as a fascist threat. This rapid growth was important to meet the moment.

The mass movement form of antifa is vital to dealing with state sponsored fascism and a Far Right at this level of power. But it is important to note the other type. And to realize that we are kinda talking about two different, yet complementary things when we say “antifa”.

A lot of what antifa does-- some of our most important work-- is not at demos wearing black bloc. Thinking of antifa merely as that erases a ton of our less sensational but most crucial labor such as research, writing, education, and outreach.

While we do community defense, a lot of antifascist labor is not action hero material. And while it is great for individuals to pitch in as able, there is also a lot of value to doing ongoing collective work. This grows capacity, skill, knowledge, and relationships.

Anarchism: This is a politic that rejects all forms of coercive power. We are only discussing this as it relates to antifascism here. Please consult this piece by Crimethinc to understand more re: anarchism & current protests. https://crimethinc.com/2020/10/01/the-truth-about-the-truth-about-todays-anarchists-the-ex-worker-responds-to-the-new-york-times

Antifa groups are not exclusively anarchist. We adhere to a convention that started in ARA of non-sectarianism, meaning any type of leftist can join. Antifa groups also support any other antifa regardless of their specific left politic. Individual antifa can be any politic.

There was a revival of anarchism in the US with the anti-globalization movement in the late 90s and early aughts. This obviously impacted ARA & anarchists have been a large demographic within antifa groups over time

However it invisibilizes a lot of antifascists and mischaracterizes the dynamics & nature of antifascism to act as if these are synonymous. Antifa is a very pragmatic type of organizing focused on stopping fascism. Ppl can work well together as antifa w/o identical politics.

Black Bloc: This is a specific protest tactic of wearing all black clothing so that no single individual can easily be singled out by the state or right-wing. It also includes protective gear at times. We do not typically wear this while traveling by plane.

This originally was developed in the 80s in Germany by the autonomous movement. It then was imported to the US during the anti-globalization period. Anarchists have been the primary group to use this tactic in the US. Antifa often use this tactic at public protests.

The purpose is mainly to obscure identity, but it also is a way of showing solidarity and appearing as a unified group. The very scariness of it that is helpful against Nazis also makes for tricky PR. But overall the benefits outweigh the costs in many scenarios in our field.

While we use black bloc at times, not all black bloc is us. It is simply a tactic. RCA publicly organizes counter-demos to oppose fascist organizing. Our mission is to oppose fascism so we do stuff related to that. We are not freelance protest coaches.

We hope that this helps clarify & this can be a tool for convos with folk not as looped in. Many progressives & moderates are replicating Trump’s racist & divisive idea that anarchists/antifa/bloc run BLM. Anything that can be done to counter that and build solidarity is vital.