by Moe Bowstern, Mic Crenshaw, Alec Dunn, Celina Flores, Julie Perini, and Erin Yanke
PM Press
5/2/2023, paperback
SKU: 9781629633510
Portland, Oregon, 1988: the brutal murder of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw by racist skinheads shocked the city.
In response disparate groups quickly came together to organize against white nationalist violence and right-wing organizing throughout the Rose City and the Pacific Northwest.
It Did Happen Here compiles interviews with dozens of people who worked together during the waning decades of the twentieth century to reveal an inspiring collaboration between groups of immigrants, civil rights activists, militant youth, and queer organizers. This oral history focuses on participants in three core groups: the Portland chapters of Anti-Racist Action and Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice, and the Coalition for Human Dignity.
Using a diversity of tactics--from out-and-out brawls on the streets and at punk shows, to behind-the-scenes intelligence gathering--brave antiracists unified on their home ground over and over, directly attacking right-wing fascists and exposing white nationalist organizations and neo-Nazi skinheads. Embattled by police and unsupported by the city, these citizen activists eventually drove the boneheads out of the music scene and off the streets of Portland. This book shares their stories about what worked, what didn't, and ideas on how to continue the fight.
Reviews:
"I literally couldn't stop myself from raving about the It Did Happen Here podcast to anyone who would listen, so they in turn would listen to it. Now, with unabashed enthusiasm, I recommend the book too! It's not merely that an inspirational moment in antiracist/antifascist history comes alive through the brave, self-reflective voices of the people who made it. Or that the lessons gleaned--such as the imperative to concurrently battle anti-Blackness, antisemitism, xenophobia, and homophobia--can aid in us not letting history repeat itself today, including us not making the same mistakes. Crucially, It Did Happen Here offers a detailed playbook of success premised on inventive strategies and tactics, and most compellingly, social relations of solidarity that cut beautifully across identities, making accomplices of punks, community organizers, queers, people of color, Jews, immigrants, working-class folks, and indeed anyone down for community self-defense." -- Cindy Milstein, author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations
"It Did Happen Here is a masterpiece. This is one of the most vibrant and essential histories of antifascism ever put together and draws together a range of voices speaking to what it takes to keep us safe and transform our communities. This is essential reading." -- Shane Burley, author of Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse
"Decades before Donald Trump and the 'alt-right' brought antifascism into the popular lexicon, everyday people fought back against the rampant violence of white-power skinheads in their communities. It Did Happen Here brings to life these largely unknown struggles by giving voice to the brave organizers who waged them. By understanding the detailed context and the successes and failures of past anti-fascist struggles, readers will find themselves far better equipped to resist a new generation of fascists fighting to 'make America great again.'" -- Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook
About the Authors:
Moe Bowstern is an @-zone alum, writer, laborer, Fisher Poet, and DIY social practice artist. Moe is the longtime editor of many publications, including the commercial fishing zine Xtra Tuf. She was a writer on the podcast version of It Did Happen Here and lives in Portland, OR.
Mic Crenshaw was born and raised in Chicago and Minneapolis and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Crenshaw is an independent hip hop artist, respected emcee, poet, educator, and activist. Crenshaw is the lead US organizer for the Afrikan Hiphop Caravan and uses cultural activism as a means to develop international solidarity related to human rights and justice through hip hop and popular education. Crenshaw was a founding member of the Minneapolis Baldies and Anti Racist Action. He was a coproducer and narrator of the podcast version of It Did Happen Here.
Alec Dunn is a printmaker and illustrator. He is a nurse who works in critical care, street medicine, and harm reduction. He is a member of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative and coedits Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics & Culture. He was a writer and an audio editor on the podcast version of It Did Happen Here.
Celina Flores is an independent and multidisciplinary photographer and audio producer. She has volunteered as a sound engineer and producer at KBOO Community Radio in Portland, Oregon. She was a coproducer and narrator of the podcast version of It Did Happen Here.
Julie Perini makes experimental and documentary films and teaches at Portland State University. Julie was a researcher and archivist on the podcast version of It Did Happen Here.
Erin Yanke is a self-taught multimedia artist, podcast producer, radical documentarian, and a lifer. She is Operations Manager at Outside the Frame, an adjunct instructor of podcasting at Portland State University, and was the executive producer of It Did Happen Here.