Join Four Star Anarchist Organization and friends for a lively discussion event marking the 5th anniversary of our founding. A variety of local organizers will reflect on their areas of struggle, including labor, housing, immigration, education, and environmental justice, through the lens of a larger anarchist perspective.

More information to come, including an after-party!

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This event is one of many being planned in celebration of May Day.
For more information, please follow: may1chicago.org

July 31st Day of Action Against Racism & Fascism

July 31st is the international day of action against racism and fascism. To add to the festivities, Four Star Anarchist Organization put on a film screening of the movie Antifa: Chasseurs de Skins. Short for “anti-fascism,” Antifa is an international movement of radicals organizing direct action against fascism of all forms. The film is about early Antifa groups in Paris and what they did to fight a re-surging fascism in their hometown.

The party started around 7:15pm with the excellent film. We packed quite a few people into the Mess Hall, including people from the Chicago Commune and South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action. The popcorn and goodies went quickly during our discussion on historic and modern Antifa work. It was really great to be able to talk with others pretty intimately about a form of work so many Chicago anarchists and radicals can get behind. This kind of coming together of tendencies doesn’t happen often in Chicago; we hope this event inspires more of its kind.

For every attendee, Four Star Anarchist Organization donated $5 to the Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement, the group the Tinely Park 5 allegedly are from.

For a fascism free future!

Caught in the Crosshairs of Capitalism: A Film & Event Series

Join the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival and Four Star Anarchist Organization as we take on the G8 and NATO. Although the G8 will no longer be taking place in Chicago, the free market agenda that generated our most recent economic collapse remains the same. We will screen films, discuss capitalism in crisis, and explore global resistance to the agendas of G8 and NATO.

Debtocracy (2011, Aris Hatzisteganou & Katerina Kitidi)
Thursday, March 29th @ University of Chicago, Stuart Hall, Room 102

(75 minutes in Greek with English subtitles)

Debtocracy is a feature length documentary that explores the historical and political causes of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis. Hailed by The Guardian as “the best film of Marxian economic analysis yet produced,” Debtocracy critically investigates the policy interventions of the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.

Special guest speaker Dimitris Soukouris. Dr. Dimitris Kousouris is a historian of Modern Greece and has been involved in radical social movements in Greece since the early nineties. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Franke Institute at the University of Chicago. Co-sponsor or “The Anthropology of Europe Workshop.”

Life and Debt (2001, Stephanie Black)
Friday, April 27th @ Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood)

Life and Debt is a feature length documentary that chronicles the deleterious impact of foreign intervention in Jamaica’s economy. From the destruction of local markets and the demise of working conditions to the rise of crime and a security apparatus, Black’s film gives its viewers an in-depth, everyday look at how the organized policies of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Inter-American Bank have accelerated the indebtedness of a small nation to the benefit of U.S. business interests. Shown at the 2005 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival.  Narrated by Jamaica Kincaid.

FRONTLINE: Obama’s War (2009)
Friday, May 4th @ Grace Place (637 S. Dearborn)

Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan. FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria, through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, embeds with U.S. forces, and fresh reporting from Washington, they examine U.S. counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan – a fight that promises to be longer and more costly than most Americans understand.
Shock Doctrine (2007, Naomi Klein) — Doors at 7:00pm
Friday, May 11th @ Calles y Suenos (1901 S. Carpenter)

How a short, balding University of Chicago Professor reeked havoc on the economies and socialist tendencies of Latin American countries; with his theory of market knows best.

All doors at 6:30pm, movies start at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted. Programming concludes at 10:00pm. Donations appreciated, no one turned away!

For more information:
caff@riseup.net | fourstaranarchists@gmail.com
http://www.chicagoarnarchistfilmfest.com | fourstaranarchist.org

Action protesting Mortgage Bankers Association Meeting

Four Star participated in an Oct. 11 action protesting the the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting. It was organized by Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation. Footage of the event, inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel, is below.

Event Reportback: July 31 Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism

On Sunday, July 31, members of Four Star joined South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action and local antifascists to expose Lyons, Ill. Neo-nazi Art Jones to his suburban neighbors as part of the July 31
Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism.

Jones, a long-time white supremacist whose past activities include membership in the National Socialist White People’s Party and the American National Socialist Worker’s Party as well as an appearance on the Jerry Springer Show,
pretends to be a respectable member of the community while he organizes Hitler birthday celebrations at local restaurant P.J. Klem’s and attends speeches by world-renowned Holocaust denier and fascist sympathizer David Irving.

The roving protest started at Jones’s residence, where antifascists
waved banners and yelled anti-nazi slogans to alert his neighbors just
what Art does with his free time.  The parade moved down the street a
few blocks to P.J. Klem’s, where patrons were informed of the dining
establishment’s history of booking Hitler birthday celebrations
in 2009 and 2011 (the most recent one was cut short by a smoke
bomb).  Although Jones never came out to confront the 25+ protesters
standing in his driveway, we can be sure that he had a lot of explaining to do to his neighbors.

Last year, Four Star Anarchist Organization hosted a protest for the
July 31 Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism targeting a CVS
Pharmacy location in Little Village where Anthony Kyser, an unemployed
African-American barber and father, was strangled to death by a store
manager for stealing toothpaste and crayons.  Members of Iowa
City-based anarchist group Wild Rose Collective came all the way to
Chicago to participate in the protest, which was followed by a
barbecue and discussion with members of South Side Chicago Anti-Racist
Action, members of Bring the Ruckus, and local antifascists.

Anarchism and the Environment: A Northeastern Anarchist Release Party

Join Four Star, Rising Tide – Chicago and the Industrial Workers of the World for discussion, refreshments and the Chicago release of NEFAC’s Northeastern Anarchist magazine Issue #15 on “The Environment, Industry, Crisis & Alternatives.”

Donations welcome to benefit the Chicago contingent to the  Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011. Or swing by this cool benefit party the next day.

Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011

Four Star endorses the Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011. The purpose of this event closely matches the spirit of our Principles and Activities.

Chicago Anarchist Film Festival seeks submissions

Four Star members are helping organize the 2011 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival. Submissions are due April 1.

CAFF entry form

From CAFF:

For the 11th year the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival will present a sample of films culled from mainstream sources, rediscovered classics and the works of filmmakers engaged in providing entertainment, documenting social change, and projecting a world that could be.

Chicago Anarchist Film Festival organizers seek un- and under-distributed films and videos to include in the May 2011 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival. We also welcome suggestions for titles that may inadvertently allow anarchy to seep through the cracks of the status quo. Movie collage, music videos and trailers for works-in-progress will also be considered. This is a film festival with an anarchist vision. We invite you to share your images and stories that reveal and invigorate a rich anarchist presence in society.

Anarchists Against the Wall Speaking Tour

View this document on Scribd

Posted by FSAO

Four Star Anarchist Organization is co-sponsoring the Anarchists Against the Wall speaking tour.  Come learn more about anarchist resistance to Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people.

Date: Thursday, Oct. 28

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave., Room 326

Speaker:  Sahar Vardi is a 20 year old peace activist from Jerusalem. She has been active with different groups working against the occupation of
Palestine such as Anarchists Against the Wall, Taayush, New Profile
and many more for over 7 years. In August 2008 she refused her
mandatory military service, in a letter to the ministery of defense
declaring her refusal she wrote: “I realize that the soldier at the
checkpoint is not responsible for the wretched policy of oppression of
Palestinian civilians, and yet I am unable to relieve that soldier of
the responsibility for his own actions … I mean the human
responsibility of not causing suffer to another human being.”
Sahar Vardi was released from military prison in January 2009 and has
been working since with the Israeli Committee Against House
Demolitions and the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity movement.

View this document on Scribd

July 31st, “Action Against Fascism and Racism” report

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Posted by Daniel C.

In response to the July 31 Call to Action Against Fascism and Racism, members of Four Star Anarchist Organization brought attention to the murder of Anthony Kyser, an unemployed African-American barber, outside of a CVS Pharmacy in the Little Village Neighborhood of Chicago in May. Kyser was choked to death by the manager of the CVS in an alley for stealing toothpaste and crayons.  Four Star Anarchist Organization was appalled not only by this senseless act of violence against a working-class person of color, but also by the fact that the manager that murdered Kyser was not held accountable for his actions.

Four Star Anarchist Organization chose to respond by hanging a banner with a painted picture of Anthony Kyser at the CVS location and talking to people on the street outside of the store. We arrived at the location at noon, and were joined by members of the Iowa City-based anarchist group Wild Rose Collective that came to Chicago to participate in our efforts. When we asked people walking by the CVS about their thoughts on the murder, reactions ranged from shock at just having heard about it for the first time to people who remembered when Kyser was murdered and knew him personally. We also listened to people talk about racism, capitalism, unemployment, imperialism, and other issues that affect working-class people today. After spending a little over an hour at this location, we moved to the nearby North Lawndale neighborhood (where Kyser lived) and continued to talk to people about his murder. By the end of our action, we made contact with a number of people who wished to be informed about any further organizing efforts.

Afterwards, some members of Four Star moved on to a barbecue hosted by South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action in the Lakeview neighborhood, where we mingled with members of Wild Rose Collective, North Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action, and Bring The Ruckus. While eating lunch, we talked about upcoming anti-racist and anti-fascist events and received recently published literature on local anti-fascist work from ARA and anti-fascist music compilations from Bring The Ruckus.

Overall, our participation in the July 31 Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism saw members of Four Star out in the streets talking (and listening) to people about how racism and capitalism affect our lives and making contact with other local groups working towards radical change.