A contingent of about 50 anarchists marched against the occupation of Iraq in Hollywood on March 19th, 2005, the 2nd anniversary of the war.
What are the Black flags all about?
The black flag is the traditional anarchist symbol.
The color black has been associated with anarchy since the 1880s. Many anarchist groups contain the word "black" in their names. There have been a number of anarchist periodicals titled Black Flag.
The uniform blackness of this flag is a representation of the anarchist propensity to break down barricades. Specifically, it represents internationalism in that it negates all borders. Additionally, a white flag is the universal symbol for surrender to superior force — thus a black flag can be viewed as the polar opposite of surrender.
History
Many anarchist theories are adopted and modified versions of the central tenets of socialism, whose symbol is a red flag. As anarchism began to distinguish itself from socialism in the 1880s, it simultaneously adopted the black flag as its symbol to differentiate it from other socialist currents. It should be noted, however, that anarchism is not a direct descendant of socialism. Anarchism did not spring from any one source. For example, the writings of Max Stirner had a strong influence in the formation of modern anarchism.
Regardless of the exact origins of anarchism, it is a fact that the color black became associated with anarchism starting in the 1880s. The French anarchist paper, Le Drapeau Noir ("The Black Flag"), which existed until 1882, is one of the first published references to use black as an anarchist color. Black International was the name of a London anarchist group founded in July 1881.
In the Russian Revolution of 1917, Nestor Makhno's anarchist forces were known collectively as the Black Army. They fought under a black flag with some success until they were crushed by the Red Army. Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican revolutionary in the 1910s, used a black flag with a skull and crossbones and the Blessed Virgin Mary on it. The flag's slogan was "Tierra y Libertad" ("Land and Liberty"). In 1925, Japanese anarchists formed the Black Youth League. In 1945, the group named their journal Kurohata ("Black Flag").
More recently, Parisian students carried black (and red) flags during the massive General Strike of May 1968. In the same year, these flags were seen at the American Students for a Democratic Society national convention. Also at about the same time, the British based journal Black Flag was started, and is still in existence today. Black flags remain a symbol of anarchists today.
For more information check out the Southern California Anarchist Federation...
www.AnarchistFederation.org