The All Peoples Revolutionary Front is a People of Color led movement that formed in the fall of 2011 in San Diego out of concern for the safety of members of communities of color participating in the Occupy Movement and to create a People of Color led space for discussion of issues impacting communities of color.
I met with three members of APRF, DJ Kuttin Kandi, Fernanda and Enrique, on January 9 at the Centro Cultural de la Raza to talk about their movement. Topics included the Zapatistas, the Occupy Movement and the founding and goals of APRF.
--Read More and Video-- || All Peoples Revolutionary Front Web Site || APRF e-mail:aprfsandiegoinfo@gmail.com
Excerpts:
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"Our peoples have been struggling for over 500 years. And its something that we have been bringing up time and time again, because Zapatismo is something that people feel, it's an intuition, it's an analysis that goes beyond what somebody might have written a hundred years ago. And it makes a lot of sense to people because it is so simple. And that's what makes it very effective no matter where we are, where somebody is, or what they are trying to organize."
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"The Zapatistas have always been very respectful, not only to each other, but to land and the space that they are in. Even before the Zapatistas rose up, there was an understanding amongst themselves, they had been talking and building community for so many years. They didn't just decide to rise up in arms one day and see what would happen there. The Zapatistas are very strategic, and they have been throughout the years, and they continue to show us, like when La Otra Campaña happened. In 2003 to 2005 you didn't hear much about the Zapatistas and everybody thought the Zapatistas are gone, the Zapatista movement is dead, but they were strategizing, they were building. And so, when we see the Occupy Movement, you don't really see a lot of strategizing, you don't really see a lot of building community."
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"Yes a lot of people are being hit economically, but let's be clear about those who are being impacted most. People of Color, working class communities, as well as folks who are immigrants, or migrants, indigenous communities, those who are undocumented, those who are pushed out, and being affected by ICE raids and police brutality. If the focus of the work is not focused on the communities that are drastically impacted, then it becomes problematic. Because to me, if we make that central, then we are able to really work on a space, then we are really allowing the folks who are impacted to really get their issues addressed, their struggles addressed, And then able to expand out to make sure it includes all people, not just People of Color. So that's why I feel the focus needs to those who definitely have been in this long term movement, for years and generations, fighting for our liberation. This is the focus of what APRF is, this is why we are People of Color led. This is not to say that we do not work with white folks, but that we work with white allies who clearly understand this struggle… If there are no goals, then that becomes problematic for People of Color. We have some serious struggles that we have been fighting for many years. For our own self-determination, it means to have clear goals… What Occupy has done - it has sparked something. But for my own self-determination, is to know that I can't just rely on that. I have to rely on the movements that have been existing before us, and the ancestors that have made that space for us so we are able to continue the work."
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