Black Autonomy Podcast

The Black Autonomy Podcast is a series of discussions on anarchism and the relevance of its revolutionary ideals to the ongoing Black Liberation Movement. The show is hosted by JoNina Abron-Ervin and Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, two veteran organizers, former Black Panther Party members and co-founders of the Black Autonomy Federation. The show is produced by a collaboration between writer William C. Anderson (@williamcson) and the Black Autonomy Federation. JoNina Abron-Ervin is a former editor of The Black Panther newspaper, author of Driven by the Movement: Activists of the Black Power Era, and a co-founder of the Black Autonomy Federation. Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin is the author of Anarchism and the Black Revolution, a co-founder of the Black Autonomy Federation, and a former member of the Black Panther Party. (Artwork by Theo Thirdaye [@Thirdayetheory]. Introduction music is an instrumental version of “Song 33” by Noname.)

Rebuilding the City From the Bottom Up (Part II) 05/12/2025

Rebuilding the City From the Bottom Up (Part II) Listen to Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin and JoNina Abron-Ervin speak with the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), one of the nation's few independent architecture schools. They discuss urbanism, architecture, and planning in a rare speculative treat. In part two of this two-part episode, JoNina talks about the significance of urban rebellions, the Kerner Commission, spatial deconcentration, and the killing of Yulanda Ward. This event took place in front of the Mobile Architecture Platform Apparatus (MAPA), a bicycle-powered mobile archive of scanned building parts for co-envisioning new worlds out of dismantled old ones, part of the “Views of Planet City” exhibition at the SCI-Arc Gallery (September 13, 2024 – February 14, 2025). You can watch on Youtube with an introduction by John Cooper. Additionally, thanks to Theo Parrish for letting us use his track "Serengeti Echoes" in the show. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/36526015

Rebuilding the City From the Bottom Up (Part I) 03/22/2025

Rebuilding the City From the Bottom Up (Part I) Listen to Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin and JoNina Abron-Ervin speak with the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), one of the nation's few independent architecture schools. They discuss urbanism, architecture, and planning in a rare speculative treat. In part one of this two-part episode about rebuilding the city, Lorenzo recounts some of his educational history with urbanism, city planning, and local struggles organizing with the Black Autonomy Federation in Atlanta. This event took place in front of the Mobile Architecture Platform Apparatus (MAPA), a bicycle-powered mobile archive of scanned building parts for co-envisioning new worlds out of dismantled old ones, part of the “Views of Planet City” exhibition at the SCI-Arc Gallery (September 13, 2024 – February 14, 2025). You can watch on Youtube with an introduction by John Cooper. Additionally, thanks to Theo Parrish for letting us use his track "Serengeti Echoes" in the show. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/35822350

Students, Fight for Your Right To Protest! 06/20/2024

Students, Fight for Your Right To Protest! On this episode, Lorenzo and JoNina reflect on the student protests in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As veterans of many struggles prior, including the student and anti-war protests of the 1960s, they offer invaluable perspectives. Listen in as these movement elders discuss the history of the student movement, police brutality, counterviolence, and the limits of "rights." /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/31812487

Live From Detroit: Black Anarchist Legacies Part 2 12/28/2023

Live From Detroit: Black Anarchist Legacies Part 2 This episode was recorded live from the Institute for Social Ecology's 2023 Summer Intensive Course in Detroit. Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, JoNina Abron-Ervin, and Modibo Kadalie reflect on their personal histories in the Black Power movement, and how their experiences in hierarchical revolutionary organizations - such as the Black Panther Party and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers - led them to anarchist/anti-authoritarian politics. Facilitated by William C. Anderson. Discuss this episode with your friends and family and, as always, . /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/29261553

Live From Detroit: Black Anarchist Legacies Part I 09/25/2023

Live From Detroit: Black Anarchist Legacies Part I This episode was recorded live from the Institute for Social Ecology's 2023 Summer Intensive Course in Detroit. Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, JoNina Abron-Ervin, and Modibo Kadalie reflect on their personal histories in the Black Power movement, and how their experiences in hierarchical revolutionary organizations - such as the Black Panther Party and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers - led them to anarchist/anti-authoritarian politics. Facilitated by William C. Anderson. Discuss this episode with your friends and family and, as always, . /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/28125569

Rent Is Theft! Housing Is Our Right! 09/26/2022

Rent Is Theft! Housing Is Our Right! In this episode Lorenzo and JoNina discuss how US capitalism oppresses us through the housing crisis. They reflect on what's rent and housing mean in the context on the broader society and reflect on past defense tactics. Discuss this episode with your friends and family and, as always, . /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/24485415

Prison Abolition and Struggle Against Mass Imprisonment. 05/09/2022

Prison Abolition and Struggle Against Mass Imprisonment. This episode is about the Black anarchist struggle against prisons and state slavery. Lorenzo and JoNina discuss the relevance of overturning the entirety of the state apparatus in the struggle for prison abolition rather than stopping at mere reforms. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/23053202

Love and Struggle 02/14/2022

Love and Struggle This special Valentine's Day episode is about Lorenzo and JoNina's relationship. Listen as they recount the story of their encounter and discuss how they relate to one another as partners, thinkers, and coconspirators. This episode covers topics like gender roles, dating, and conflict resolution. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/22125071

JoNina Speaks! 01/19/2022

JoNina Speaks! This episode covers the life of co-host JoNina Ervin. As an author and veteran activist, JoNina Ervin offers important insights from her life in an interview with Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin. She was a member of the Black Panther Party for nearly a decade and was the last editor of the Black Panther newspaper. She was also a news correspondent at the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism and was once the managing editor of Black Scholar magazine. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/21811547

Black Anarchism Across the Generations 12/16/2021

Black Anarchism Across the Generations This episode of Black Autonomy Podcast is brought to you in collaboration with the Pluto Press podcast 'Radicals in Conversation,' in which JoNina Ervin hosts a discussion between Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin and William C. Anderson about Black anarchism across the generations. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/21499424

Medical Racism, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Radical Organizing 10/19/2021

Medical Racism, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Radical Organizing This episode discusses the legacy of medical neglect and institutional racism in healthcare. Lorenzo and JoNina talk about Black distrust when it comes to vaccination and medical care. However, drawing from their experience in the Black Panther Party, they discuss how intercommunalism can be used to meet the needs of people who aren't vaccinated and subject to shortages. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/20834111

Crisis Capitalism and the Survival Economy 05/10/2021

Crisis Capitalism and the Survival Economy This episode discusses how movements can connect mutual aid efforts and survival programs to build a survival economy. Lorenzo and JoNina's discussion places emphasis on the need to move beyond being passive consumers in order to foment a revolutionary alternative that can be transition to stateless socialism. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/18995063

Black Anti-Fascism and Armed Self-Defense 03/15/2021

Black Anti-Fascism and Armed Self-Defense This episode discusses some of the Black civil rights protests and anti-klan movements that practiced armed self-defense. Certain groups were linked to the NAACP and defended protesters at Southern civil rights marches. These self-defense groups laid the foundation for the emergence of the Black Panther Party in 1966, an urban organization that created a Black anti-fascist movement. The relevance of having such a movement shouldn't be lost on us today. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/18307535

Building a Poor People's Survival Movement 02/17/2021

Building a Poor People's Survival Movement Addressing immediate needs on the road to revolution /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/17980559

Dual Power: A Simple Explanation 01/27/2021

Dual Power: A Simple Explanation Discussions on building dual power when the state fails us /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/17712797

Vote For Me, I'll Set You Free: Black Politics and Elections 01/08/2021

Vote For Me, I'll Set You Free: Black Politics and Elections Premier episode of Black Autonomy Podcast discussing elections, the Democratic Party, political power in Black politics, proposing direct democracy as an alternative. /episode/index/show/blackautonomy/id/17469989

Black Autonomy Podcast

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