Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin

About the author

Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, Influencer of Anarchist Movement

Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin was born on August 1, 1947, in the United States. He is a well-known African-American anarchist and was a member of the Black Panther Party. His writings and political advocacy are largely concerned with issues of race and class. He advocates for black anarchism, a form of anarchism that critiques the traditional anarchist movements' avoidance or dismissal of issues related to race.

Ervin's influential work 'Anarchism and the Black Revolution' is a foundational text in the study of black anarchism. His ongoing activism and advocacy have not only provided significant contributions to the anarchist movement itself but have also greatly influenced the broader field of political thought, specifically in regards to intersectionality and social equity.

Date of Birth: 1947-08-01

Country of Birth: United States

Political Ideas: Black Anarchism, Anarchist-Communism

Quotes Available: 15

Quotes by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin

A white-led movement cannot ever be allowed to usurp the basic role of people of color themselves to fight for their own freedom.

Now one thing white radicals must give up is the idea that the whole struggle hinges around white workers on their own deciding en masse to reject capitalism and racism.

It is very difficult for the Marxist-Leninists to make an objective criticism of anarchism as such, because by its nature it undermines all the suppositions basic to Marxism.

Because of the over-importance of central leadership, the national organisation was ultimately liquidated entirely, packed up and shipped back to Oakland, California.

There are no fair elections in America, certainly when the questions of race and political power are evident.

If there is going to be real class unity or solidarity, there is no way forward for white anarchists, socialists, or autonomous people of color except to recognize the necessity of organizing movements based on new conceptions of class and race.

Only when one understands that she or he is part of a revolutionary movement to restructure society, even if it only wins immediate gains in the early stages, can the talk of functional "unity" be given any credence whatsoever.

I do not believe in government, and so I am an anarchist. I believe that government is one of the worst forms of modern oppression, is the source of war and economic oppression, and must be overthrown.

Who knows if it will be possible for the U.S. anarchist scene to coexist with, let alone work with a newly emerging Black anti-authoritarian movement? One thing that white anarchists must understand it that is not merely a question of getting Blacks and other non-whites to join Anarchist associations, just to say they have a Black face. We must work to build a non-racist society and we must have principled unity.

Many anarchists, anarcho- and revolutionary-syndicalists, advocates of workers' councils, and other libertarian socialists, have made brilliant analyses of the workers' problems and come up with serious programs, but they continue to talk and dream instead of buckling down to work their ideas out in practice.

Libertarian revolutionists should not continue to remain in isolation, when here is an opportunity to build a mass instrument for social struggle and a way to unify our libertarian forces on firm working class lines.

Generally speaking, individualists are mere philosophers rather than revolutionary activists.

I think my brief period in the Panthers was very important because it taught me about the limits of -- and even the bankruptcy of -- leadership in a revolutionary movement.

The Left (including the Black nationalist movement) really is in a backward stage. Rather than building on the legacy of the 1960's protests, we are instead losing ground and taking reactionary positions.

I think the role of the revolutionary movement is still in workplace organising, but I also think, in community organisation.

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