Offshoot Journal presents Anarchism or Socialism (A Nonsensical Question). Though plenty of educational materials address the history recounted in this short zine, it felt necessary to create. Many self-described socialists, communists, and anarchists don’t know enough about the historical movements that brought these politics to life. This much is made clear by continuing the false […]| offshootjournal.org
Eusi Kwayana is one of those people we should seek out. You may not hear his name as often as those of other African and Caribbean revolutionaries, but his story is just as important. After learning about Kwayana, I read his 1972 book The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics, in which he rigorously details […]| offshootjournal.org
From well-studied psychologists to fitness influencers we hear repeated iterations of: language is power, so be careful how you speak. Thus, relationship coaches advise creating google docs full of goals and reading it to yourself every morning while your unconscious is most impressionable. This way you can train your unconscious to believe that you can […]| offshootjournal.org
“The anarchists were reflex to an evil history which penetrated their own remarkable and macabre achievements.”– Cedric Robinson The history of classical anarchism is filled with radical foresight, mistakes, and persecution. Its past helps explain how the word “socialism” became conflated with state-building. Important awareness of anti-state or stateless socialism(s) and the broader historical socialist […]| offshootjournal.org
This month marks 10 years since Mariame Kaba shared two posts on her well-known prison culture blog about Martin Sostre. The fact that Mariame had one of the few visible online posts about Martin Sostre before his death makes them very special. On June 11th, 2012 she shared a quote of the day by Martin […]| offshootjournal.org
On the second anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, political prisoner Martin Sostre wrote a tribute emphasizing his radical disobedience. It was among the last articles ever published in Black News, a short-lived revolutionary newspaper edited and published by Sostre from prison with help from the Worker’s World Party. We have republished Sostre’s article […]| offshootjournal.org
Some histories reside in people, in bodies and landscapes. When Natalie Diaz speaks of water, I often feel like she is speaking of time. She writes, I carry a river. It is who I am: ‘Aha Makav. This is not a metaphor. A few stanzas later, she translates: … ’Aha Makav means the river […]| offshootjournal.org
To be free, to walk in dignity—for these precious privileges some men will go anywhere, sacrifice anything. — Homer Smith Black America is not guaranteed much, if anything, under the category of citizenship. It has never prevented us descendants of enslaved Africans from falling victim to repression, exclusion and constant infractions. Our supposed rights are […]| offshootjournal.org
Martin Sostre was supported by a variety of different organizations, defense committees, and individuals during his nearly nine years in prison from 1967-1976. Few were as important and consistent as journalist William Worthy. Over the course of three years, Worthy wrote almost a dozen articles about Sostre, two of which—“Sostre in Solitary” (Boston Sunday Globe, […]| offshootjournal.org
In January 1976, Martin Sostre was released from prison after serving nearly eight of a 31-41-year sentence. In response to a growing international defense movement, a documentary film, and a book detailing his frame-up by Buffalo police and his ongoing struggles against state violence, Governor of New York Hugh Carey finally granted his clemency on […]| offshootjournal.org