Unconventional Action in the Bay Area (UA-in-the-Bay) developed following the mobilizations against the Democratic and Republican National Conventions at the end of the Summer of 2008. We began as members of the Bay Area anarchist community seeking to coordinate in a national strategy to disrupt the spectacles of false democracy represented by the two conventions. Once we returned to the Bay Area following these actions we decided to continue organizing together, but focusing on our own communities and building strong local networks capable of challenging the structures and institutions of oppression and domination in our society and building our own models in their place.

While mobilizations over the past decade have demonstrated the great number of anti-capitalists and anti-authoritarians willing to struggle, there has been no way for individuals and groups to plug in beyond the rare spokescouncils and days of action. Based upon this reflection our efforts are targeted in a different direction, one that positions our organizing over the course of years instead of single days of resistance.

This focus on building community networks through anarchist practice is vital to building a sustained and thriving movement, capable of growing and pushing its vision forward. One of our main objectives in this group is the development of parallel structures outside of capitalism as a means of engaging in mutual aid and empowerment, both within our communities and our movement itself. Whether it be a housing cooperative, food distribution network, or neighborhood assembly, all are important to successfully take on illegitimate structures and hierarchies. The seizure and defense of space to allow for the proliferation of concurrent formations based on our values and for the benefit of all is a necessity. We must build up as we tear down.

For UA-in-the-Bay, standing in solidarity with existing and developing movements of oppressed and disempowered people across the globe, but especially in the Bay Area, is a top priority. While many of us come from backgrounds of racial, gendered, and/or class-based privilege, it is crucial for our movement to stand and fight together with activists from other communities, engaging in a true process of mutual aid and respect.

No movement based in free-thought and a radical shift in values and ideas can expect to grow without looking at education. This comes in many forms, from direct participation to common interaction to study. In our work we seek to balance all three, aiming to expand the common knowledge of anarchist and anti-authoritarian ideas. By aiming for participation and holding ourselves to anti-authoritarian ideas—by simply being engaged in our organizing—there is tremendous educational opportunity in the strengths as well as challenges of non-hierarchical organization.

But bottom-line, a movement is only a movement if it moves. Right? To move we need to continuously organize and grow as an organization, incorporate new folks and new ideas. UA-in-the-Bay is currently active in San Francisco and the East Bay and would love your participation.

We will be actively inclusive of anyone who agrees with the following:

• A rejection of all forms of hierarchy including capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy, heterosexism, colonialism, and party-based politics.
• Organizing on a consensus-based, non-hierarchical basis that promotes autonomy, solidarity, grassroots involvement, and the agency of those most affected by each decision.
• Embracing a diversity of tactics based on practicality, regardless of legality.
• Working actively to build relationships and institutions that are based on equality, self-determination, community, and sustainability.
• Holding ourselves accountable to ensure that we meet our own standards listed above.