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Rose City Antifa

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Rose City Antifa
Formation2007;17 years ago(2007)
Founded atPortland,Oregon,United States
AffiliationsAnti-Racist Action
Websiterosecityantifa.org

Rose City Antifa(RCA) is anantifascistgroup founded in 2007 inPortland, Oregon.[1]Aleftistgroup,[2]it is the oldest known activeantifagroup in the United States.[3][4]While anti-fascist activism in the United States dates back to the 1980s, Rose City Antifa is the first to adopt the abbreviated[5]monikerantifa.[3][6]Since 2016, Rose City Antifa has been one of the nine chapters of theTorch Networkcoalition.[7][8]

History

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Rose City Antifa was formed in 2007 to coordinate opposition to a music festival that was planned to be held near Portland byneo-Nazisassociated withWhite Aryan Resistance.[3][9]According to one of its leaders, the group concentrates on "outing"people whom they believe to be neo-Nazis.[10]According toAlexander Reid Ross,the author of the bookAgainst the Fascist Creep,Rose City Antifa grew out of the groupAnti-Racist Action(ARA) which first appeared in 1987. Through Rose City Antifa, "the European and American models were sort of synthesized and the current model of Antifa in the US was developed".[11]

Between 2007 and 2013, Rose City Antifa was part of Anti-Racist Action. Since 2016, Rose City Antifa has been part of the Torch Network.[7]In a 2020 interview, RCA activists described the group as having "a strongfeministandqueercomponent ", as opposed to a tendency towardtoxic masculinityin ARA, and as pursuing tactics going beyond street confrontations with the far right.[9]

Rose City Antifa has campaigned against thewhite separatistorganizationVolksfront,the bandDeath in June,theKu Klux Klanand theAmerican Renaissancewebsite.[3]The group has organized opposition toPatriot Prayerrallies in Portland.[12]Rose City Antifa clashed with law enforcement officials and supporters of thepresidency of Donald Trumpfollowing the2016 United States presidential election.[13]Before a June 2017 rally, the group released a statement saying they would be "unapologetic" over the use of "physical militancy".[14]In August 2020 RCA and Popular Mobilization organized a counter-protest against theProud Boysin Portland.[9]In September 2020, RCA published a photograph of Patriot Prayer founderJoey Gibsonwith Chester Doles, a formerImperial Wizardof theKu Klux Klan.[9]RCA argues that thePortland Police Bureautolerates crimes by far-right groups while suppressing protests by left-wing groups.[9]

The group has sought to counter the argument that anti-fascist activism infringes on thefreedom of speechof the far right. They have argued that theFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution"protect[s] citizens from state interference, not from criticism by the public... we do not have a powerful state apparatus at our disposal... therefore the concepts of 'censorship' and 'free speech rights' are not in any reasonable way applicable."[15]Rose City Antifa also argues that anti-fascism does not target the speech of the far right, but rather targets its political organizing.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Michel 2017.
  2. ^Coaston 2020:"Leftist groups like Rose City Antifa...."
  3. ^abcdBray 2017,p. 107.
  4. ^Reyes & Stanglin 2018.
  5. ^Speri 2021.
  6. ^Sacco 2020.
  7. ^abBjelopera 2018.
  8. ^Evans 2020.
  9. ^abcdeMogelson 2020.
  10. ^Ganim & Welch 2017;Thomas-Peter 2018.
  11. ^Mallett 2017.
  12. ^Wilson 2017.
  13. ^Harbager 2017.
  14. ^Flock 2017.
  15. ^abBray 2017,p. 150.

Bibliography

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