Minneapolis/St. Paul, 1995: “Anti-Racist Action (ARA) learned…

Minneapolis/St. Paul, 1995: “Anti-Racist Action (ARA) learned that local “white power” bonehead band Bound For Glory (BFG) were trying to hold a rare show in the Twin Cities, under tight security. Because the band was keeping the location secret we had to do a lot of (pre-internet age) detective work. A couple weeks before the show we were able to confirm that they were using Mounds Park on the Eastside of St. Paul as their day-of meet-point, where their supporters would purchase tickets and get the location of the show. We didn’t want to tip them off that we knew about their meet point so we didn’t make any posters, flyers, or public announcements. Instead we ran a serious and disciplined recruitment effort where we aimed to get 100 solid commitments from friends and allies to occupy the park with a community bbq and baseball game and prevent them from using the meet-point. We would ask friends could they make it and commit to staying all day. We’d say it’s cool if you can’t – but don’t say yes unless you really can ‘cuz we’re gonna be taking attendance. We only got 90 people to commit, but said “fuck it, let’s do it” anyway. We had most people gathered in the middle of the park by the bbq grills and baseball field. With a kind donation from Columbus ARA we had bought out all the used bats from the old Play-it-Again Sports on Hennepin. A couple days before the event we’d actually been able to establish where the show its self was to be. We flyered extensively just in the immediate neighborhoods (mixed white and Mexican) around the venue, an old wedding hall on the West Side. I remember going into bars and flyering the patrons, letting them know there’d be nazis in the neighborhood the next day and we have to shut ‘em down. On the day of at the park we had scouts on foot and in cars at the entrances to the big park with walkie-talkies (pre-cell phone days) so that we’d know well ahead of time when a nazi was headed into the park. By the time they pulled up to the meet-point there’d be a large crew of community baseball players headed over to greet them. This proved as effective as we’d hoped and ruined their ability to mass their fans. After we had fucked up their meet-point we hustled everyone over to the venue a couple hours before the show was supposed to start. When we got there – there was already a growing crowd of neighborhood folks – there must not have been much going on in that neighborhood back then, because this felt like a major EVENT. All kinds of people came out. Some were totally with us, some just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. But it had the effect of totally surrounding the venue. Small groups of ARA organizers did little soap-box speeches on the different corners to let the crowd know what was up and try and get folks hyped up. One Minneapolis punk rocker did a solo charge on the venue and smashed the front door window. Because we’d organized under the radar, the St. Paul police were totally unprepared. In order to avoid a riot, they finally announced that the show was being called off for public safety reasons. We told the police we didn’t believe them and that we were staying. They begged us and finally agreed to let a young African-American woman from the neighborhood protest into the venue to inspect and confirm that the band equipment had all been taken out. Once she came out with a positive report, the crowd turned from protest to party and we slowly and carefully left the scene. Bound for Glory’s attempt to come out of the shadows and have a big local homecoming we’re smashed. It was a combination of dedicated and organized anti-fascists operating off the radar – AND the mass of every day people who came out in West St. Paul saying “hell no” to a nazi show in their neighborhood – that proved the winning formula. We learned a lot and gained tremendous confidence helping propel several years of important organizing and action. A couple more quick notes. First – women don’t get enough credit for militant anti-fascist organizing but it was mainly women who were the key organizers of this action. Second – two of the young people in the picture below are no longer with us, 25 years later. Joel Olson and Jeremy Kelly both continued to make the fight against white supremacy central to their lives and made outstanding contributions to our cause. They are both very missed. RIP, Salut. ❤️🖤” -Kieran, ARA Minneapolis