Home

Here are a few basics to get you started.

Before starting an ABC group, ask yourself three questions:

1. Do I have the self-discipline/commitment to do this? Be totally honest here. There's nothing wrong with not being the type who writes letters, organizes stuff, visits prisoners, etc. But it'll be a headache for you and people you come in contact with if you start out with a lot of good intentions and don't follow through or drop out of it in six months. It doesn't take a special person to start an ABC group, but it does take some self-discipline occasionally to get things done.
   
2. Do I have the time? Lots of folks interested in activism tend to be involved in lots of things. If you want to start an ABC group, do you have the time to follow through on it? How many hours a week can you realistically spend on ABC work? It doesn't have to be lots of time, but if the answer is "none," there might be a small problem! Particularly as letters from prisoners in your region seeking help pour in, it's easy to get overwhelmed. However, remember that if you ever feel like you need help keeping up with letters, you can always ask others in the ABC Network to help you write prisoners or for a hand in anything.
   
3. Do I understand the issues? The "tough questions" regarding criminalization are never easy. And there are so many issues that are interrelated. Of course, you can learn as you go along, but make sure you have time to do so.
   

Pace yourself. You do not want to overextend yourself in a blaze of glory, only to burn out in six months. Think carefully about how you’re going to schedule activism into your daily routine so that it will become a part of your life and not an intrusion. Think realistically about how you’re going to fit activism into your life. You may have a full-time job and may have to juggle time with family and friends

Choose issues? Some activists find it easier to choose one to four issues to focus their efforts around, while doing occasional work on others. Of course, ABC work is anti-prison and aimed at challenging the state, but maybe that's broad to you, or an issue like refugee/immigrant rights, police brutality, poverty, private prisons or women prisoners is more your passion or is relevant to your community. Think about choosing the issues that mean the most to you. Your energy and enthusiasm around topics you have the most interest in will show.

Educate yourself. Writers like Christian Parenti, Ward Churchill, Angela Davis, Marilyn Buck and many others have written extensively on relevant topics. Learn about the issues and stay informed on current news via the web or papers.

Learn about your area. Become familiar with the people and facilities in your area. As you compile facts, resources, and other materials, set up a filing system to keep your information organized. Get a list of local media from an area Society for Professional Journalists; you can usually put your name on file there if you're prepared to speak to the media about issues. File important or useful newspaper clippings according to the issues they concern. Keep the names and addresses of good resources for easy reference.

Get a way to contact you. Get a post office box and a voicemail. These are helpful from a security as well as communications standpoint -- you want people to be able to contact you, of course. Post office boxes run from $30/year on up, so shop around and be mindful of hours, box accessibility and cost. Can you check mail 24 hours a day or can you only come at certain times and similar questions should be asked. Make sure to put your ABC group on the contact card of the box. Voicemail runs at various rates. If you're okay with having a local number that allows you an extension, www.onebox.com offers free voicemail and covers many cities. An email address is also good, but make sure you can check it weekly!

Get a computer as soon as you can afford it, or ask groups or supporters to donate one. This should be one of your earliest priorities, because using a computer makes it so easy to get — and stay — organized.

Public or closed? Some ABC groups prefer to be closed membership groups of one to four members, while others prefer to do public outreach, meetings, etc. Choose the one that works for you. If you do public meetings, try not to be too discouraged if the gatherings are small; this happens! If you are closed, consider making sure others learn how the group runs so, if you move, someone is there to continue on.

Connect! If you find basic agreement with ideas put forward in the New Draft Proposal, and you would like to affiliate yourself as an individual, an existing or new Anarchist Black Cross collective or existing formation/organization, please drop an email to abcn with a little about yourself/group, current activities (and if you'd like those listed online), whether you want to be listed online or printed materials as part of the network and a way other collectives can contact you. If there is already an affiliated group in your city, you are welcome to start another affiliate or get in touch with the existing affiliate. ABC Network affiliation is consensus-based. If there are concerns about a particular group affiliating, those will/should be discussed. Note the ABC Network is intended to connect autonomous (i.e. non-federated) ABC groups and other autonomous groups, organizers and supporters. This is because there has been no expressly stated network uniting autonomous anti-statist, anti-prison efforts for some time

Get active locally. This is a good way to inform people about issues.

Start an ABC group! If you're not sure, email abc-net@anarchistblackcross.org with your concerns and let's talk.