When both levees and governments failed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the anarchist-inspired Common Ground Collective was created to fill the void. With the motto of Solidarity Not Charity, they worked to create power from below-building autonomous projects, programs, and spaces of self-sufficiency like health clinics and neighborhood assemblies, while also supporting communities defending themselves from white militias and police brutality, illegal home demolitions, and evictions.
Black Flags and Windmills-equal parts memoir, history, and organizing philosophy-vividly intertwines Common Ground cofounder scott crow´s experiences and ideas with Katrina´s reality, illustrating how people can build local grassroots power for collective liberation. It is a story of resisting indifference, rebuilding hope amid collapse, and struggling against the grain to create better worlds.
The expanded second edition includes up-to-date interviews and discussions between crow and some of today´s most articulate and influential activists and organizers on topics ranging from grassroots disaster relief efforts (both economic and environmental); dealing with infiltration, interrogation, and surveillance from the State; and a new photo section that vividly portrays scott´s experiences as an anarchist, activist, and movement organizer in today´s world.