3/13/2005: Two white anarchists, randomly selected a table at Muddy Waters coffeeshop on 16th and Valencia. While they planned to take some time to read for an upcoming study group, they quickly realized what was happening at the table next to them. A neo-Nazi and young woman had come together and it seemed that she was loosely affilited with right-wing political activity already. He explained to her that while he grew up in the Bay Area, he's been traveling to help build up chapters around the country. Back out in front of Muddy's, a group of friends, all white, mostly queer and majority women & genderqueer, gathered in front determined to "do something". After a brief discussion about the very real possibilities that he might react with violence the group agreed that two of the women would confront the neo-Nazi and tell him that he was not welcome in the communty. The two women went to the back of the cafe and confronted the neo-Nazis, telling him that they wouldn't allow them to continue a conversation about building white supremacist organizing, and to "get the hell out". "I'm just having a conversation and this is America and we have free speech" he replied. The two women replied, "We will judge you and this does relate to us, as white people in this society racism impacts us and we will not tolerate you organizing in this cafe. You can't do this in our city and you have to leave." After ten minutes, with no physical confrontation, the two antifascist women walked the neo-nazi and his recruit out the door. Word was spread to more people coming into the cafe about what had happened and several shared thank-yous with the women who refused to just stand by.

Explicit white supremacist grassroots groups like Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan have long been key forces to maintain and advance right-wing politics in communities around the United States - the shock troops that allow the White Citizen's Council's and the White House to operate as 'moderates/conservatives'. Communities of color, Jewish people and the Left have long been both the primary targets of right wing violence and the communities from which sustained challenges to white supremacy have been based. Throughout the 90's and into today, Left/anarchist activist groups like Anti-Racist Action have led hundreds of successful efforts to confront these right-wing groups. From physically putting their bodies on the line to stop them to organizing white youth to connect their anger and alienation to the real systems of power in this country like capitalism and joining with communities of color in struggles for economic and racial justice.

Read More | Anti-Racist Action Network