Hammerskin nation coming to Portland

[Organic Revolution]

The Hammerskin Nation, a neo-Nazi skinhead organization, aims to attract hundreds of hardcore racists to the group's twentieth-anniversary celebration, to be held October 5 - 7 of this year in the greater Portland area. A coalition of Northwest anti-racists has coordinated three days of community responses to the Hammerskin gathering.
.pdf press release
.pdf press release

Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism

For Immediate Release: 9/24/07

Contact: Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism, fight_them_back [at] riseup [dot] net, 971.285.4688 (voicemail).

"Hammerskin Nation" Racists Will Meet with Opposition
People from All Backgrounds Unite Against White Supremacist Organizations

Portland, Oregon - The Hammerskin Nation, a neo-Nazi skinhead organization, aims to attract hundreds of hardcore racists to the group's twentieth-anniversary celebration, to be held October 5 - 7 of this year in the greater Portland area. The Hammerskins, then known as the Confederate Hammerskins, began life in 1987 as a Dallas, TX gang specializing in violence against Jewish people and people of color, sexual minorities, as well as activists. The Hammerskin Nation?a masthead for Hammerskin racist skinhead crews?has since gone national, and later international, with their bigoted agenda. The upcoming Hammerskin Nation event in Oregon was planned in conjunction with Volksfront, a Portland-led white supremacist group with links to Kenneth Mieske and Kyle Brewster, two of the killers of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw in a 1988 racially charged crime. Volksfront's short-lived musical division "Upfront Records" released a benefit CD for Mieske in 2002, and Brewster had his parole revoked last year after his association with Volksfront was revealed on the internet. The October Hammerskin Nation gathering is currently being openly advertised on such Hitler-admiring websites as ***************

A coalition of Northwest anti-racists has coordinated three days of community responses to the Hammerskin gathering. On Saturday, September 29, the weekend before "Hammerfest 2007," the events include:

Anti-Fascist Awareness Event & Training
3PM, September 29 at Room 236, Smith Memorial Center, Portland State University
Organizers from the Seattle-based "If You Don't, They Will" grouping will discuss white supremacist organizing in youth subcultures and in music, as well as ideas for countering them. This event is free and open to the public.

Musicians United Against Racism show
8PM, September 29 at The Recyclery, 1417 SE 9th & Madison
Portland hip-hop artists Mic Crenshaw and Santotzin, breakdancers, a reggae DJ, and punk rock performers will offer cultural responses to fascism from 8PM onwards this evening.

In addition, the last event at the Red & Black Caf?'s current location (2138 SE Division)?this Wednesday, September 26?has been designated as a further night of "Rock Against Racism." Stop by for performances by the "pirate-punks" of Rum Rebellion, acoustic sounds by The Taxpayers, as well as other anti-racist acts. The Wednesday event also doubles as a fundraiser for the Red & Black's securing of new premises.

A community gathering and rally in response to the "Hammerfest" will take place Saturday, October 6 from 1PM onwards. The gathering will be held in Lents Park, on the corner of SE 92nd and Holgate. Further details plus speakers for the event will be announced soon.

Founded this September, the Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism is dedicated to monitoring and opposing white supremacist groupings in Portland and beyond. As large neo-Nazi rallies have often been preceded by attacks on Jewish people and people of color, sexual minorities, as well as activists, the Ad-Hoc Committee wishes to work with community groups and people of good conscience who want to respond to fascist mobilization. The Ad-Hoc Committee pledges to respond to any racist provocations in the coming weeks. "We also promise to have a better time than the Nazis," says one Committee member.

To obtain a chronology of recent white supremacist activity in the Pacific Northwest, or for more information on anti-racist endeavors, please contact the Ad-Hoc Committee: 971.285.4688 or fight_them_back [at] riseup [dot] net.

phone: phone: 971.285.4688 (v.m.)

[Dr Mindbender]

Good luck organising against those fuckers. Wish I could help out.

[1968]

Originally posted by Ulster [email protected] 26, 2007 04:22 pm
Good luck organising
:ph34r:

[Fawkes]

Though they can be assholes from what I've heard, someone active in the skinhead/hardcore subculture out west should tell FSU about this, as they were originally a skinhead gang meant to get Nazis out of the music scene. I know there's an FSU (Friends Stand United) chapter in Seattle, and maybe they'd be interested in showing up.

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by [email protected] 26, 2007 02:59 pm
Though they can be assholes from what I've heard, someone active in the skinhead/hardcore subculture out west should tell FSU about this, as they were originally a skinhead gang meant to get Nazis out of the music scene. I know there's an FSU (Friends Stand United) chapter in Seattle, and maybe they'd be interested in showing up.
I tried, but they are rather hard to get in contact with, and have lost there drive to fight nazis, but the local Portland radical scene is very ready to confront them, cant say much though.

Try and make it if you can, come from as far as possible, this is a very important protest, and it needs to meet intense resistance. This isnt a call for help, this is a call for action though. A few miles should stop anyone from confronting and putting the politics to the for front of everything they say, if you claim to fight fascism, come to this, this is the biggest fascist rally in a while, and we will need manpower.

I'll see you in the streets. :ph34r:

[1968]

Keep us updated on the how the organising is going and obviously how the action turns out.


Solidarity.

[Fawkes]

Believe me, if I didn't live thousands of miles away, I'd be there.

[Organic Revolution]

We could use more people, SO, please come.

[Organic Revolution]

Well I hope you guys can make it, the rally starts at 11 AM and I will be there. So i might see you there ;).


Damn lazy fucks, haha.

[Comrade Rage]

If I could make it I would.

Skinheads are like cockroaches. If you see one, there's usually 100 of them you can't.

[Fawkes]

Originally posted by COMRADE [email protected] 06, 2007 03:21 pm

Skinheads are like cockroaches. If you see one, there's usually 100 of them you can't.
This isn't about fighting against skinheads, it's fighting boneheads, there's a difference.

[Organic Revolution]

Quick report:

We had a good turnout to a rally at Lents park, with maybe 500 people there (maybe less) with high energy for several hours. There were five speakers, and one speaker did some good hip-hop, which was cool. after the rally, we went and flyered a local Nazi's neighborhood. The hammerfest location is secret as of now, but we are going to search for it right now. Write more later.

[1968]

ANY UPDATES?

From Infoshop:

Portland, Oregon – Thanks to their eyes and ears in Portland and beyond, anti-fascists were able to release information about the location of a white supremacist gathering held on Saturday, October 6 in the greater Portland area, leading to the cancellation of its venue. White supremacists associated with the Hammerskin Nation, a neo-Nazi organization, had rented the Sherwood Elks Lodge (22770 SW Elwert Rd., Sherwood, OR) under false pretexts, for use in its twentieth-anniversary celebration, scheduled for October 5 - 7. Around three hours after receiving information about the true nature of the event being held on their premises, the Elks Club pulled the Saturday venue, denying use of their space to fascist organizers. Approximately 70 - 100 hardcore white supremacists were at the venue at the time of cancellation. Chatter on racist bulletin boards suggests that other bigots had already cancelled their travel plans in earlier weeks, due to concerns about anti-fascist responses. Despite their earlier talk of a comprehensive “action plan” for the weekend, regional law enforcement showed no signs of having developed viable information about the racist gathering’s location.

The October 5 – 7 “Hammerfest” neo-Nazi gathering had been planned by the “Hammerskin Nation” racist organization. The Hammerskins began their organized activity in 1987, when they were known as the Confederate Hammerskins, a violent and racist skinhead grouping in Dallas, TX. The Hammerskins have now grown into a “Hammerskin Nation” with national and international affiliates. The Hammerskins combine thug tactics with recruitment through hate rock, to forward their Hitler-admiring agenda. The Hammerskin Nation organized their “Hammerfest” national gathering in conjunction with Volksfront, a Portland-led white supremacist group linked to two of the killers of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw in 1988. Similar to the Hammerskins, Volksfront has chapters throughout North America and also on other continents.

Acting on information from verified but anonymous sources, the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism contacted the Sherwood Elks Lodge shortly after 4PM on Saturday, October 6. At that time, the Elks booking manager expressed disbelief that there was a neo-Nazi gathering being held on the premises, insisting that only an innocent rock show was taking place. The Committee then released its information to the public and the media, requesting that phone calls be made to the venue urging cancellation of the neo-Nazi event. Elks members, some of whom were present at the venue, subsequently realized what was going on and did the right thing.

The Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism also brought approximately 250 people together for a public rally from 1-3PM at Lents Park (SE 92nd & Steele) on the same Saturday. The Lents Park “Nazis Not Welcome, Unite Against Racism” community gathering featured diverse voices connecting the Hammerskin Nation event to broader problems of bigotry and institutionalized oppression. All those present expressed a commitment to undermining neo-Nazi organizing in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The Ad-Hoc Committee realizes that the Hammerskins and their ilk have at times been deceptive when booking events or when obtaining resources. We also want to note that any number of hotels, venues, civic organizations and businesses may have knowingly or unknowingly profited from “Hammerfest” this year. We believe that institutions in this city need to take responsibility for informing themselves about white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizing in the region. The Ad-Hoc Committee also believes that any businesses that profited from the racist gathering should now take appropriate measures. We urge written accounts of white supremacist movements in the city to be submitted to us by email. We also believe that any profits drawn from the neo-Nazi event—either by accident or through turning a blind eye—should now be redirected to groups combating white supremacy. We recommend either the Center for New Community (www.newcomm.org/) or the One People’s Project (www.onepeoplesproject.com/) for donations.

Founded this September, the Ad-Hoc Committee is dedicated to monitoring and opposing white supremacist groupings in Portland and beyond. To obtain a chronology of recent white supremacist activity in the Pacific Northwest, or for more information on anti-racist endeavors, please contact the Ad-Hoc Committee: 971.285.4688 or [email protected]