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Author Explains the History and Tactics of Anti-Fascist Movement

AP Photo / Steve Helber

 

Virginia’s Confederate past has drawn the attention of both white supremacists and the groups that oppose them. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding those groups, sometimes known as “antifa." Now one author is trying to shed some light on the movement.

Mark Bray, a lecturer at Dartmouth, attended a demonstration against the Trump presidency in January. It got him thinking about modes of resistance and he wrote an online article. A publisher reached out to him and asked if he would write an entire book on the subject.

“And so I really worked on it from late February through May, really at a very breakneck speed, in order to cobble together the history, theory and politics of this movement to make it available to people when I thought it would be useful," Bray said. "And then the tragic events of the last month in Charlottesville and elsewhere have really unfortunately made that true.”

Bray said the right way to think about anti-fascists isn’t as one organized entity, but rather a philosophy of resistance that has century-old roots, when people fought against Mussolini and Hitler.

But in today’s politics that tradition has turned its attention to standing against white supremacists, and not just at physical rallies.

“The misnomer in the media is that anti-fascists only engage in conflict, but really if you look at what they do on a week to week basis most of it has to do with monitoring the far-right, often across various social media platforms, figuring out who their leaders are," Bray explained. "Doxing them, which is finding out their personal information in order pressure their employers to fire them, pressure their neighbors to disown them.”

The philosophy is also characterized by a mistrust of the police and media. For instance, in recent rallies in Richmond, anti-racist protesters have blocked their faces and shouted at television crews not to film them.

Bray said there have cases where images from the press have been used by the police to prosecute protestors, or by white supremacists to track people down and threaten them.

Far left groups have also been criticized as violent. In a rally in Richmond the day after August 12, a local journalist was hit over the head by a protester and had to get staples. Police say others in the crowd were carrying AK-47’s.

“As much as possible anti fascists try to fight back against the far right using the easiest means possible, so if that means making a phone call or writing a letter to stop an event they’ll do that," Bray said. "But sometimes, for the perspectives of some anti-fascists, that includes if they’re confronting an armed white supremacist opposition, to carry arms.”

“Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.” He hopes it can serve as part history textbook, and part how-to guide for those who want to join the struggle against white supremacy.

Mark Bray will be reading excerpts from his book - “Antifa: The Anti Fascist Handbook” - September 25th at Babes of Richmond.

 

 

Mallory Noe-Payne is a Radio IQ reporter based in Richmond.