Coffee with Comrades

Aug 14, 2018

On Episode 8 of Coffee with Comrades, Bree and Pearson sit down for a conversation with Mark Bray and Rob Haworth to discuss their upcoming book, Anarchist Education and the Modern School: A Francisco Ferrer Reader.

But first, Pearson digs into some of his experiences at the Shut it Down DC demonstrations. While a broad coalition of anti-fascists successfully managed to deplatform the white supremacists who’d invaded the city for Unite the Right 2 and that victory ought to be widely celebrated, Pearson draws three major conclusions about the event:

1. Liberalism is failing us and making space for white supremacists, online and in the streets.
2. Militant anti-fascists must continue training to develop a more strategic approach to the black bloc. Militant anti-fascism works. We just need to be more organized.
3. If it wasn’t for the police, the fascists would’ve never been safe to march in the streets. The state is complicit in white supremacy.

For a solid report that accurately captures what it felt like on the ground August 12, check out Brendan O’Connor’s piece in The Nation.

Then, Mark Bray and Rob Haworth join our hosts for an engrossing discussion on Francisco Ferrer, the history and legacy of the Modern School, anarchist pedagogy and education, atheism, and so much more.

Follow Mark Bray on Twitter.

Check out Rob Haworth’s PM Press page and his band, Second Letter.

Buy the Book: “Anarchist Education and the Modern School: A Francisco Ferrer Reader”

Music:

• Intro: “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” by Woody Guthrie
• Transition: “Nobody” by Stick to Your Guns
• Outro: “Painted Pictures” by Second Letter