Author: Waina Ali

Grunwick Strike (1976-1978)

1946-1989, Date, Defining the Enemy, Privatization, Strike, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The Bourgeoisie, Women, Workers

The Grunwick strike in London involved predominantly Asian women workers at Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories, led by Jayaben Desai. They went on strike demanding better working conditions, fair pay, and union recognition. The strike garnered widespread support from trade unions and labor activists but faced significant opposition, including police violence. Despite the strong solidarity, the strike ended without achieving its goals. However, it is remembered as a key moment in British labor history, highlighting issues of race, gender, and workers’ rights. Below, there are newspaper articles and original photos from their strike efforts.

Grunwick4-copyDownload
Grunwick-cartoon-1Download
Grunwick-WADownload

Sarayaku Court Case(2012)

2011-Present, Authority, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Indigenous, Privatization, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The 'Natural World', The Home

The indigenous people of Sarayaku were faced with a devastating loss in 1996. The Ecuadorean state gave away a large part of their land to an oil company without consulting the people that were living there. In 2002, this company came into the land and set up massive amounts of explosives, which deeply endangered the community. The Sarayaku people took their case to the International Humans Rights System and substantially won their case. The explosives were removed and the company was censured. This is the link to the official website and below is the proceedings from the case.

resumen_245_ingDownload

Battle of Blair Mountain (1921)

1840-1945, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Evasion, Occupation, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The 'Natural World', The Bourgeoisie, The Workplace, Workers

The Battle of Blair Mountain is considered to be one of the largest civil uprisings in American history. Thousands of coal miners in Mingo County, West Virginia received terrible wages and horrendous treatment within the mines themselves. About 10,000 miners congregate at the edge of the country and refuse to budge. After threats of federal troops being sent in, four deputies of the local offices are taken prisoner and presumed to be killed. There’s five days of battling between troops and miners and eventually federal troops did come to intervene. This is considered to be a pivotal moment in the labor organizing history of America.

blair-mountain-pt-1Download
service-ndnp-dlc-batch_dlc_yorkie_ver01-data-sn84026749-00280764784-1921082601-0811Download

Homestead Strike (1892)

1840-1945, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Occupation, Privatization, Sabotage/Ecotage, Strike, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The Bourgeoisie, The Workplace, Uncategorized, Workers

The Homestead Strike of 1892, centered at Carnegie’s steel plant in Pennsylvania, marked a pivotal moment in American labor history. It erupted over wage cuts and benefit reductions, leading to a violent clash between striking workers and Pinkerton detectives hired by the company. After Carnegie and his staff pushed workers out of the plant to replace them with non – union workers, they pushed back and barricaded within it. There was violent conflict between them and the Pinkerton detectives. Despite the workers’ efforts, the strike was ultimately suppressed. Nonetheless, the strike remains a significant event in the struggle for workers’ rights and fair labor practices. It became a rallying point for other labor activists.

service-ndnp-nn-batch_nn_goethe_ver01-data-sn83030193-00206535386-1892070603-0384Download

Luddites Protest (1812)

1700-1830s, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Privatization, Sabotage/Ecotage, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The Workplace, Urban Spaces, Workers

During the Industrial Revolution in England, textile workers protested against the rise of machinery that took their jobs and reduced their wages. The factory heads and upper class started to push workers out and as a result, they pushed back. This was done through the sabotage of machinery and violently resisting against the people they felt were oppressing them. The PDF below includes pamphlets from this protest that detail the specific actions.

why-did-the-luddites-protestDownload

CAM Mapuche Statement (2023)

2011-Present, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Indigenous, Occupation, Privatization, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, The 'Natural World'

In a direct statement from CAM, they held a general meeting to discuss their organization’s updated goals and even there, they faced resistance from the Chilean government. They resisted against them successfully enough to finish their meeting in totality. In this statement, they address the allegations that they are terrorists without a motivation and other propaganda that the Chilean government has raised against them.

CAM-Mapuche-Download

Lafchenke Machupe Resistance Sabotage

2011-Present, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Indigenous, Privatization, Sabotage/Ecotage, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption

In Chile, the Machupe people are an indigenous group that have been fighting off outsider invaders to their land and livelihood for years. The Lafchenke Machupe groups are a resistance group that use tactics like sabotage, arson, and violent resistance to push out the Chilean government, who they now see as invaders to their ancestral land, and protect their forests/land from destructive practices. Below, there is a statement the group released in which they take responsibility for sabotage and arson against corporations and government efforts.

Lafkenche-Machupe-Resistance-SabotageDownload

Dalit Panthers Manifesto (1973)

1946-1989, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, History/Theory, Indigenous, Subjectives of Refusal, The Bourgeoisie, The Workplace, Theory, Urban Spaces

As the quote below indicates, the Dalit Panthers were a group shaped after some of the ideologies of the Black Panthers. Dalits are know as untouchables and they are at the very bottom of the caste system. They were resisting the oppressive nature of the caste system and the marginalization that it caused these people, especially by the caste members at the top. The government at this point was run by the upper members of the caste system so Dalits felt as if their needs were being ignored by those in power. In their manifesto linked below, there’s a clear explanation of all the tiers of their organization and ideological aspects.

“Due to the hideous plot of American imperialism, the Third Dalit World, that is, oppressed nations and Dalit people are suffering. Even in America, a handful of reactionary whites are exploiting blacks. To meet the force of reaction and remove this exploitation, the Black Panther movement grew. From the Black Panthers, Black Power emerged . . . We claim a close relationship with this struggle.“
DPManifestoDownload

Dump Veolia Campaign

1990-2010, 2011-Present, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Strike, Tactics of Disruption, The Bourgeoisie, Urban Spaces, We're Not Paying That

The BDS, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions organization, is an organization that uses tactics such as boycotting certain companies/brands to curb further investment into Israel. One of their most successful campaigns was Dump Veolia, which was focused on getting the company to stop its contracts that would take place in the occupied settlements of Palestine. One source said that this campaign of disruption against a powerful company cost them over 20 billion dollars. After this campaign, local government and countries started to avoid engaging with this company again. This campaign emphasizes the way that collective action can work, even in the face of opposition from a powerful company. The attached document describes the issues of the contracts in depth and how they approached each action.

Veolia-bigcampaign-website-revised-draft-update-16-5-13-3Download

Lysistrata Project (2003)

1990-2010, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Self Institution, Tactics of Disruption, Urban Spaces

In 2003, there were many protests around the war in Iraq. In a widely popular move of disruption and protest against this war, two actors in New York created a way for people across the world to show their opposition in a theatrical and dramatic fashion. Lysistrata is a famous Greek comedy with a theme of anti – war. In this play, women stopped giving sex to men in order to stop the Polyponnessian War. Part of what made the play comedic and memorable was the nudity and the theatrical phallic displays. The PDF below is a full description of the Lysistrata Project, what it’s goals were, and why it was successful as a form of disruption and protest. Here is the link to the original website, where there are still some resources on how the founders of the project created their interpretation of the play so that it was accessible all over the world: https://web.archive.org/web/20171130011752/http://lysistrataprojectarchive.com/lys/about.html

lysistrata-projectDownload

May First Movement Technology

1990-2010, 2011-Present, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Infrastructure/Data, Privatization, Sabotage/Ecotage, Self Institution, Tactics of Disruption

May First Movement Technology is an organization that supports a variety of movements whose overarching goal is to “engage in building movements by advancing the strategic use and collective control of technology for local struggles, global transformation, and emancipation without borders.” Technological disruption is a way for people across different societies, classes, races, gender, religion, and so on to work towards a common goal. One of their most notable members include the Yes Men. While providing an open space for its members to create disruptive technological content, this movement also plays an important role in protecting its members from prosecution and other attempts to derail their work. There are a few different links attached to this post, such as the the movement’s main website, their mission statement, and a list of the ways they’ve resisted against the influence of corporations.

https://techandrev.org/#readings

https://mayfirst.coop/en

https://support.mayfirst.org/wiki/legal#LegalthreatstoMayFirstMovementTechnology

https://techandrev.org/index.html#context

We want to be a platform for that kind of collaboration: the democratic control and expansion of technology as a tool for human survival and the struggle to make that happen. We want to build that and we want to model it.

Yomango

1990-2010, 2011-Present, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Institutions, Sabotage/Ecotage, Tactics of Disruption, We're Not Paying That

Yomango literally means to steal, or to shoplift. This cultural jamming movement emerged from the Mango brand, a popular clothing company. They were vehemently anti – consumerism, utilizing a tactic of shoplifting and distributing those goods. In a sense, it worked to normalized shoplifting as a form of disobedience and disruption against the normalized consumer behavior of society. One notable example of their work was a Yomango fashion show, where people would shoplift and then wear those clothing items in populated areas like shopping centers. Their comical movements and large gathering size drew attention to their cause. Eventually, their movement took off into different directions and chapters, such as Yomango – Tango. A group of Argentinian dancers took hundreds and hundreds of bottles of champagne from a grocery store and drank them in a branch of Santander Bank. This was an action of direct protest again the bank and the grocery store, who both greatly benefited from the Argentinian economic disaster. Below is an image of a “fashion show” in Barcelona.

Birthright Unplugged

2011-Present, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Indigenous, Self Institution, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Urban Spaces

Birthright Unplugged is an organization that aimed to give people a perspective on what the Palestinian people endured throughout their occupation. During this program, participants meet with Palestinian activists and other members of the community while visiting different sites. This organization is partially a response to Birthright Israel, that offers young Jewish people a free trip to Israel. Birthright Unplugged’s symbol is a form of cultural jamming by using the same symbol as Israel’s program with the colors of the Palestinian flag. Travel has become a way to disrupt a powerful institution’s injustices by creating awareness and inviting people to learn the full story. Oftentimes, these sponsored trips only offer specific narratives from a Zionist, occupier perspective. Below are just a few pictures from the very first trip. To explore more, this is the link to their website!

“When oppressed, silenced, and marginalized communities tell us their story, they are asking for something in return, asking us to take a stand as they have. To speak out as they have. To take risks, as they have. To truly listen is to know that we must truly act.”
— June Jordan

The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism (Audre Lorde, 1981)

1946-1989, Black, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Women

In this piece from Audre Lorde, a renowned intersectional feminist/activist, she offers the use of anger as a unifying force for women across the lines of race. White women struggled to understand the consequences of racism, even in their own activism. Lorde suggests that this divide can be lessened when women empathize with each other and use their divergent experiences to come together against the patriarchy. Anger can be a powerful tool instead of a divisive force.

AudreLordeSisterOutsiderExcerptsDownload
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own. And I am not free as long as one person of Color remains chained. Nor is any one of you.”

Bicycling Program (1972)

1946-1989, Black, Date, Defining the Enemy, Self Institution, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy

Two community members in Oakland, California recognized the need for reliable modes of transportation in their community. In the newspaper article, they are introducing a program that would fix bicycles so that the community can receive them for free. This is also partially in response to institutions, such as the police, taking advantage of this inaccessibility and trying to entrap community members. The overarching program of this goal is to disrupt the system of reliance on the government and other state actors in order to foster self – sustainability.

bicycling-programDownload

Panther Sisters (Black Panther Party, 1969)

1946-1989, Black, Date, Defining the Enemy, History/Theory, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Theory, White Supremacy, Women

This is part of an interview where a group of women in the Black Panther Party discuss how the struggle for women’s rights intersected with their experiences in the Party. Many of them recall how they were expected to fill “women’s roles,” such as secretary positions. This pattern of misogyny and lack of awareness about women’s liberation was disrupted through efforts from women in the party. They assert that freedom can’t be achieved without the full and active participation of women.

513.BPP_.women_.panther.sisters.womens.liberation.1969Download

“A revolution cannot be successful simply with the efforts of the men, because a woman plays such an integral role in society even though she is relegated to smaller, seemingly insignificant positions.”

Women’s Liberation Aims to Free Men Too (Gloria Steinem, 1970)

1946-1989, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Women

There is a common misconception that the struggle for women’s rights is solely beneficial for women. This narrative is oftentimes pushed by institutions and key actors that know if the everyday man is vehemently opposed to women’s struggle for rights, they will never succeed. Steinem attempts to disrupt that thinking by pointing out that if the institutions of patriarchy are collectively dismantled, then everyone benefits. Men will also be free from certain boundaries that restrict them, but it must be a collective disruptive effort.

wlmms01014Download

Barbarous Rituals: 84 Ways To Feminize Humans (1972)

1990-2010, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Women

This anonymous collection of statements cuts straight to the core of gender as a social construct and the ways in which women are brought up to act/think in a specific manner. Through these descriptions, perhaps women can bring themselves out of their confines and utilize consciousness raising to realize the extent to which they have been controlled by society.

barbarous-ways-1-1Download

There Was A Young Woman Who Swallowed a Lie (Meredith Tax, 1972)

1946-1989, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy, Women

This series of cartoons produced by the Women’s Liberation Movement holds a deeper meaning and purpose of consciousness raising. It illustrates the standards that women were forced to adhere to and how natural those standards can become in everyday life. As it nears the end, the protagonist’s solution to escape these stifling restrictions is to join liberation movements and push for women’s rights to choose in all aspects of life. Let go of all of the expectations and just exist freely!

there-was-a-young-woman-Download

Abortion Protest (Redstockings, 1969)

1990-2010, Blockade/Barricade, Date, Defining the Enemy, Occupation, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy, Women

This collection of documents illustrates an abortion protest held by the Redstockings group, a feminist organization. Their two main goals were to first, disrupt the mainstream legislative principles of male “experts” convening to determine laws that primarily affect women and their autonomy. They also physically disrupted the meeting of experts by verbally interrupting and trying to infiltrate the meeting space.

AbortionSpeakoutArchivesforAction19691989RedstockingsDownload

Protest the Infirmary! (Gainesville Women’s Liberation, 1997)

1990-2010, Date, Defining the Enemy, Occupation, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Women

This protest leaflet is from the Gainesville Women’s Liberation movement and is part of a wider effort at the University of Florida to increase women’s sexual autonomy through disrupting the mainstream tactics of the healthcare system to dissuade women from receiving the morning after pill. Female students were asked invasive questions, forced to admit to some fault of their own, or even flat out denied the medication. The students came together at the infirmary and disrupted the movements of those who work at the university infirmary, bringing attention to their goals.

ConsciousnessRaisingOrganizersGainesvilleWomensLiberationRedstockingsDownload

The Sixties Speak to the Eighties (Redstockings, 1983)

1946-1989, Black, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy, Women

The Redstockings are a radical feminist group that emerged partly out of the Women’s Liberation Movement. In this speech, Kathie Sarachild, a prominent activist and leader within the Redstockings, reflects on her time spent with the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, she focuses on how white feminists need to reflect on who their cause benefits the most and how people in power have intentionally created splits in ideologies so in – fighting remains a constant issue for groups trying to work together. She aims to disrupt the established patterns of thinking and create more opportunities for a collective group working together to disrupt the patriarchy and white supremacy.

Redstockings-SixtiesSpeakToEighties-013107-1Download

The Construction of Lay Expertise (1995)

1946-1989, 1990-2010, Consciousness Raising, Date, Disruptive Spaces, History, History/Theory, Institutions, Occupation, Tactics of Disruption, The Workplace, Theory, Uncategorized

In the 1980s, the AIDs epidemic began to wreak havoc across the country, specifically amongst gay men. These affected communities felt that the government and other facets of society were not addressing the epidemic properly and so, they were dying in massive proportions. A group of committed activists formed an organization called ACTUP and used disruptive tactics to create more awareness about their issue. One of the most provocative techniques they used was to gather in large amounts and play dead with signs that suggested who was responsible for their death, like the CDC. This paper by Steven Epstein details other such tactics that disrupted people’s every-day movements and oftentimes, forced them to reckon with the AIDs epidemic and its victims. 

epstein-1995-the-construction-of-lay-expertise-aids-activism-and-the-forging-of-credibility-in-the-reform-of-clinicalDownload