A-Radio Network, Anarchist, Author, Autonomy, Chicago, General, IWOC, Mutual Aid, repression, Transcribed, United States, Xinachtli, zine

Hybachi LeMar Shares Some Thoughts + Updates On Xinachtli

washed out black and white image of Hybachi in an adidas jumpsuit and mask holding lit in one hand, look at the camera from in front of a chainlink fence that divides foreground from a lawn and brick building in the bakcground. The image shows an anarchist black cross fist / cross, the words "Solidarity With Hybachi Lemar" and "TFSR 4-19-26 | Hybachi Lemar Shares Some Thoughts + Updates on Xinachtli”
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This week, we’re sharing two segments: the main feature is an interview with the recently released anarchist organizer and writer Hybachi LeMar; but first up you’ll hear Aarohi of the Xinachtli Freedom Campaign about the elder political prisoner’s medical condition and the phone zaps to pressure the TDCJ to alleviate his medical neglect

Xinachtli Phone Zap

[ 00:01:48 ]

Xinachtli is an elder, Chicano communist activist and political prisoner 30 years into a 50 year sentence for disarming a sheriff’s deputy. Of that 30 years, he’s spent 23 in solitary confinement. At age 73, Xinachtli has and continues to face medical neglect at the hands of the Texas prison system, with outside supporters having to apply pressure to get him things like a wheelchair or a proper diet. You’ll hear Aarohi of the Xinachtli Freedom Campaign talk about his case and about the phone zaps about Xinachtli’s condition as well as how to get in touch with the comrade.

Links

Past Interviews:

  • Our 2024 interview with  Xinachtli talking about his conditions
  • An audio of Xinachtli telling his story

Hybachi LeMar

[ 00:17:07 ]

First up, an interview that’s been a long time in the making. Hybachi LeMar is an anarchist who grew up in Chicago and began considering anarchism thanks to a letter he received from Anthony Rayson of the South Chicago Anarchist Black Cross Zine Distro during over a year in solitary confinement years ago. Since that time, Compa LeMar has been organizing with projects like IWOC, IWW IU613, the self-organized Liberation School in Englewood, food distribution mutual aid, the Chicago local organizing committee of the Black Autonomy Federation and is now the author of three collections of essays (listed at his website) as well as numerous zines.

The majority of this chat has difficult audio quality because it was over prison phones. Happily at the end of the chat, we speak with Hybachi following his recent release, having maxed out his sentence and returned to his organizing and life in the streets of Chicago. There is a fundraiser ongoing to support Hybachi in his post-release life.

To hear Hybachi’s spoken piece On The Powers of Self-Reflection, produced by Slug, check it out at the end of the chat.

There are a few mentions of mental distress and suicide in the chat, just a headsup. Compa LeMar mentions a few names in the episode of people that we’ve had on the show in the past, and we’ll link those episodes where we can (Brianna Peril of IWOC, Sean Swain, Anthony Rayson of South Chicago ABC Zine Distro, True Leap). You can find ways to support Casey Goonan at their support site.

Announcements

B(A)D News Episode 100!

If you’re looking for more anarchist news beyond the Channel Zero Network podcasts, check out B(A)D News: Angry Voices from Around The World from the A-Radio Network (of which we are also a member). The March 2026 episode features:

  1. FrequenzeA presents an interview about environmental struggles in Russia.
  2. A-Radio Berlin presents a satiric piece called “Weird politics” where they talk about German military, AfD, and the wolf.
  3. Parias radio-show presents an interview about the repression the Community of Squatted Prosfygıka in Athens.
  4. The last contribution is from Radio Ausbruch that was visiting feralcrust, an Eco-anarchist Infoshop and Social Center close to Davao City, Philipines. The first of a series.

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Featured Track:

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Xinachtli Support

Aarohi: My name is Aarohi. I use they/them pronouns, and I’m with the Xinachtli freedom campaign.

TFSR: Some listeners may be aware of who Xinachtli is, would you mind saying a few things about him and a bit about the support campaign?

Aarohi: Xinachtli is a 73-year-old communist Chicano indigenous political prisoner, and right now he’s held at the Estelle Unit of the Texas prison system. He’s been in solitary confinement for over 23 years, and he’s serving a 50-year-long sentence. He’s been inside for 30 years in total. He has been a longtime organizer and fighter against police violence and US imperialism. He is a longtime fighter for Chicano and indigenous rights. He continues to write about the Palestinian resistance, the Black liberation struggle, and the Zapatistas.

He was wrongfully convicted at 23 for a murder charge. After he was exonerated and released, he started organizing for prisoners on the outside. In the late 90s, he spearheaded the free Ricardo Aldape Guerra campaign and got him off of Texas death row. He’s literally been organizing since before I was born – since, I’m sure, before a lot of listeners were born. And he continues to do so inside prison. He guides the campaign in everything we do.

His most recent case happened in 1996. He’s inside for disarming a cop who was threatening his life. Of course, unfortunately, Xinachtli was convicted for threatening the Sheriff. This is all just because he was fighting for his people and organizing for them. Like I said, they’re just scared of his revolutionary potential and what he can do.

TFSR: If listeners want to go back, we have a recording of him talking about the two cases that have brought him into prison, as well as an interview that I conducted with him about two years ago. We will link them in the show notes.

The support committee has been a bit more active recently, with calls for people to join phone zaps for Xinachtli. Can you talk about any moments in the last year that have described his situation? The status of his health and what treatment he’s been getting or being denied?

Aarohi: Yeah. These last two years his body has been deteriorating. He has been complaining about numbness radiating throughout his body. He has lost a severe amount of weight in a very short amount of time, and there’s nothing that the pigs inside are doing for him. There’s no diet that he’s been getting. He has been denied a walker and a wheelchair at many of these units. He’s been denied physical therapy. He’s fallen and hit his head in these past few months and there’s no handicapped or elder-accessible shower. That was very terrifying. He recently told us he was crawling around in his cell before we started these most recent phone blasts. That’s how we got him a walker and a wheelchair. It’s severe medical neglect for decades and severe elder abuse. They’re not giving him the care he needs and they’ve been leaving him in the dark about his health for decades. There’s no proper documentation about any treatment that he’s been getting, any medications that he’s been receiving or not receiving, or any documentation of checkups. Usually, when someone loses so much weight in a short amount of time, that’s when you start giving them more attention. But there’s no record of that. So, that’s a little bit more about what’s been going on these last two years.

Earlier this month, he was transferred from Carol Young to the Estelle Unit in Huntsville, and his condition had worsened – this was before we started calling. It only took one day of calls to get him the walker and the wheelchair. These phone blasts work. But he’s continued to be denied regular physical therapy, B12 shots, and a diet prescribed by UTMB doctors – which is imperative to getting his health to a better place. He also has not received any of his books, letters, or other personal property that should have been transferred with him from McConnell and the Carol Young unit.

There’s also a light that never turns off when he’s sleeping in his cell. He’s been complaining about this really bright light. He was telling me, ‘You know, even sleep deprivation is like a weapon of the state too,’ especially with his health. He has also not been allowed any recreation time since his transferred.

So, we want to keep pushing his cell. Every single unit they take him to, every single transfer, no matter what they’re doing. We want the whole Texas prison system to know that Xinachtli has an army of support behind him, that we know who he is, and that we’re always going to be watching them. We need to keep them accountable and just continue disrupting until we see a change in his conditions.

TFSR: And what kind of success have you seen from those? He was just transferred into the Estelle Unit not that long ago, as I understand, so I imagine part of that has been in response to people stepping up and speaking out about the case.

Aarohi: For sure. He literally told me yesterday on the phone, ‘Anyone who tells you that phone blasts don’t work is lying.’ He cannot walk, he told us he was forced to crawl around his cell, and he was denied access to a walker or wheelchair. But just after one day of calling with this most recent phone blast, we were able to get him both a walker and a wheelchair. And this most phone blast is still going on. In my opinion, it’s just about making them so sick of us that they give in to our demands. At one point, getting him into a long-term geriatric facility like Estelle was also one of our demands. I think they work. I think it’s the least that we can do.

And the phone blast is still going on. He has also been denied recreation time and physical therapy, which is imperative for his health. He’s been denied just like any kind of long-term health care. His medication and all his personal property from McConnell and Carol Young have not been restored yet. So we just want Estelle Unit, or wherever Xinachtli goes, to know that we’re watching and that he has an army of supporters behind him. We’re not going to stop until not only his demands are

met, but until he’s free. Any lie that they tell, any kind of communication repression – that’s all a small obstacle to us, because we’re not going to stop until he’s out of there.

TFSR: You’ve said that he’s no longer able to walk. Are there any known medical conditions that medical professionals have pointed to and said, ‘Oh, he’s developing symptoms of this,’ or any particular conditions or medications that he’s being denied, anything like that?

Aarohi: It was hard for him to get his B-12 shots. That’s something that he’s consistently needed. There was also some kind of growth on his liver and it was affecting his kidney functions. We found out about this way too late in January but a doctor that we work with was telling us that with his symptoms of numbness in certain areas and things like that, he could be at risk of cancer. He’s dropped a severe amount of weight in a very short amount of time. We’ve been able to figure out that he does not have cancer, but it was a very scary few months. And they were keeping us in the dark about all of it. Whenever we got medical records back, they were very unclear. He’s been inside for 30 years now, so we should have decades of documentation on this elder, but we don’t.

TFSR: Just to stick to the phone zap. Can you talk a little bit about how people get involved in the phone zap? I’ve seen them before where a graphic goes around, and people are suggested to call in. But I know that with that sort of approach towards requesting popular and visible attention in support of a prisoner, sometimes phone numbers get changed, or people pick up the phone and just leave it off the hook at the prisons. Or maybe you get news that one of the officials that you’re trying to reach isn’t the right person anymore. Do you keep in contact with the people? Are people signing up to do phone zap, or is it just, ‘Here’s the number, call when you can’?

Aarohi: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for asking. We post all our phone blasts on Instagram as well as at bit.ly/xphoneblast. And then we have an Excel spreadsheet where we ask everyone who’s called to take notes on who you talk to. We have a phone number to leave behind if they ask for a number so we can get more information later. We want to know exactly what they said and what they’re telling you, and then we document it all. They could tell one person one thing and then the next caller another. We try to read these notes daily, so we can keep the phone blast as updated and accurate as possible. You can sign up at the link Bit.ly/xphoneblast. Put whatever name you want, and just write down notes about your interactions. The numbers do change, he’s also been moved around a lot. I feel like they just stopped really knowing what to do with him. He was at the hospital in Galveston. He was at Carol Young and he was at McConnell for that whole time. Now he’s in a cell.

With all this moving around, we’ve done many phone blasts by now and we can keep up. So we’re keeping this up as often as we can. We’re updating the numbers daily. An updated graphic will probably go out again after this, because, as I said, he received his wheelchair and his walker, so now we’re just focusing on the other demands – and he’s still in a high-security area.

So yeah, you can sign up at that link. We have a list of numbers that you can call and we have a place to take notes. We also have a script. A lot of times, it can be nerve-racking to talk to these people and you don’t know what to say. We’ve learned that it’s not best to always lead with ‘My name is this, and I’m calling about Xinachtli.’ Instead, say that you’re concerned about an elder who’s inside and you haven’t been able to get information about him. We have tips on how to have a properconversation to get the information that we need. As much as we hate talking to the pigs, this is what we have to do. We have a script, and we have all the numbers that you need to call. We have a place to take notes, and you can also read other people’s notes just to know what to say, or what other people have [said] and what the other guards and officials have been saying this whole time.

TFSR: Cool, thank you. And do you have to be in Texas to participate in this?

Aarohi: Nope, sometimes we even send emails because we’ve been getting asks from people outside of the US who want to participate. So we just clog their emails instead of their phone lines. This current phone blast is just phones, but you can call from anywhere. It shouldn’t take more than 5-10, minutes out of your day, and it really makes a huge difference.

TFSR: Anytime you’re calling anyone, it’s pretty easy for them (unless you’re taking precautions) to get your number off of the call. Are there any personal privacy things that you would suggest with that?

Aarohi: We’ve been telling people to dial *67 before the phone number their calling and that still works. If you don’t want them to have your real name, you don’t have to tell them. You can give them whatever name you want. That’s just a way for them to scare you or intimidate you or make you feel like they’re gonna have all this information on you. But you can tell them whatever name you want and/or call from whatever number. Dial *67 before the phone number if you don’t want them to have your number. We have more information about privacy on the Excel spreadsheet at bit.ly as well.

TFSR: I heard about this phone zap from an email that I received, I’ve spent as little time as possible on Instagram for mental health reasons. Is there a thing that people can sign up for as well if they want to get email updates on what’s going on?

Aarohi: You can always email us if you have questions about the phone blast, or you can DM us as well; one of us will answer. But right now, we’re posting most of our things to Instagram, unfortunately.

TFSR: It’s what a lot of people use, and it makes sense. It’s a good way to reach a large audience. Well, that’s super helpful. Is there anything that comes to mind right now that you want to bring up that I didn’t ask about?

Aarohi: I just wanted to say that Xinachtli sends his regards. He’s always talking about how all of us who’ve been supporting the campaign and him make him really proud and feel really strong. So please join us! I want to see him fre and I want to see him continue feeling proud and strong and doing better. He always says ‘you can jail his body but not his spirit’. He also always talks about the importance of linking prisoner struggles to community struggles, because that’s where prisoners come from, and that’s eventually where they’re going to return to. So we need to embrace prisoners. We need to embrace political prisoners and our revolutionary elders. This is the state’s attempt at quelling revolutionary movements and we just can’t let that happen. Political prisoners are our compass. They weren’t just organizers in the past. They still are.

As I said, Xinachtli is one of the facilitators of his own freedom campaign. He’s guiding us on every single phone blast, every single post, and every single newsletter we put out. They’re still organizing behind bars, carrying this struggle into a whole new location, and expanding its reach.We can’t let the state continue to target these freedom fighters, isolate them, and stamp out this huge movement. If you can, please join our phone blast, and please join the Xinachtli Freedom campaign. We’re looking for members and volunteers all the time. Follow @freexinachtlinow on Instagram for more updates. If you just want to donate, we have links on our Instagram for that as well. All the money goes to fundraising materials, his commissary, his legal fees, and post-release support. So please just help us out however you can and free Xinachtli!

TFSR: I’ll just prompt for that. If people want to be in touch with Xinachtli, what’s the best way? And if they write or email him, can they expect to hear back?

Aarohi: Yeah, message him on Securus, try to get on his call list. He really loves writing letters back. Right now, with his health conditions, he’s gotten a bit slower at it. He was telling me he reads every single thing that comes across Securus. Every single letter, he says, is like a burst of revolutionary hope. So I just want to keep those bursts going for him. Even if he doesn’t respond right away, he’s reading it, and it does a lot for his spirit. So message him on Securus. Continue to send him letters, and more of that information will be on our Instagram.

TFSR: You can find a bunch of his articles on freealvaro.net, right?

Aarohi: Yeah, we’re about to revamp the website soon. We also have a newsletter on Substack called Tierra y Libertad. We just put out our women’s month issue two days ago. Follow us on Instagram for that too and read our Substack. We publish his writings on it at least once a month, and have a lot of archival writings and art pieces that Twitch dropped off one day. I’ve been trying to scan those and put them on there too, just to show the storied life that he has. So there are many ways to stay in touch about the campaign and learn more about who Xinachtli is.

TFSR: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk and for this work that you’re doing.

Aarohi: Thank you.

. … . ..

Hybachi Transcription

Hybachi LeMar: My name is Hybachi LeMar. I go by he/him pronouns. I’m a ghetto bred anarchist who organizes throughout the country, but I’m primarily stationed in Chicago. I do grassroots work with other community organizers and we basically organize the hood, seeing if folks have food and shelter and work with collectives throughout the city. Through mutual aid, it becomes something that’s substantially, not just relevant, but a lot easier and more convenient than the capitalist approach that has been consuming the city and reducing it to vacant lots – where we now have community gardens and things like that up and cracking. To maximize the time on the phone that I have, I guess you could say that’s it for the moment. I’m also a member of the Black Autonomy Federation, which is part of the Chicago local organizing committee.

TFSR: Cool. That’s dope. Thank you for that. I wonder if you could tell us a bit about your life, your political development, and how you came to identify as an anarchist and what that even means to you.

Hybachi LeMar: My life has been one of struggle. I’ve learned through trial and error; they’ve been my teachers. I haven’t had too much else when it comes to learning. When I was 10 years old, my mom was shot. She’s still alive, she’s a recovering quadriplegic. So at the age of 10, I was pretty much on my own, sleeping here and there where I could and hopping freight trains. I lived a little bit with my mom when she got out of rehab. I had no guidance; my father passed away when I was 15, if I’m not mistaken. I remember seeing him about two or three times. From what I heard, he was a member of the Black Panther Party for self-defense. I made a lot of mistakes in my life, a lot of choices I wish I had made differently. Those are the things that happen with no guidance. However, It’s given me the ability to relate with other people and with others who are in the streets who also have had no guidance: a lot of youth, a lot of people who may have felt like an outcast, for lack of a better word, and on the socioeconomic margins, who grew up in a way that somebody might consider rough.But what helped me evolve was trial and error. Trial and error and reading books.

When I was a youth and juvenile, gang bangers took me in and taught me about the ways of the street and philosophy. Later on, they introduced me to avenues of the mind. So those four guides- trial, error, the streets, and philosophy- assisted in my development psychologically, and emotionally, and inevitably led me to thinking about the deeper aspects of life and about questioning my own existence and where I stand in the universal scheme of it all. I was introduced to anarchism from a prison cell after receiving a letter by Anthony Rayson, my compa and my friend, and, it’s been a wrap from there.

TFSR: Cool. That’s awesome. Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate it.

Hybachi LeMar: Sure. I appreciate you too, compa.

TFSR: If you were to be speaking to someone and they weren’t familiar with the term ‘anarchism’ or with the concept of black autonomy, how would you point them out to what your thinking is of those topics/concepts?

Hybachi LeMar: If I’m not mistaken, you asked, how would I let people know about anarchism and black autonomy?

TFSR: Yeah, and what they mean to you?

Hybachi LeMar: What do they mean to me? They mean everything to me, both of them. Anarchism is something that gave me a sense of understanding, of innerstanding. It gave me a sense of freedom. It showed me that I can have control of my mind and of myself. That there are things such as autonomy, which is self-rule, and that I really don’t need any guru or anyone in authority, or anyone trying to tell me what’s right or wrong. I can listen to myself, and there’s a community of people who are on the same wavelength.

And for black autonomy, with autonomy being in control of ourselves, to resonate in the black community is substantial. Especially considering how many people, particularly black people, already resonate with that vibration. It is ruling ourselves and controlling ourselves psychologically socio-economically in an anti-capitalist way. Instead of the dog-eat-dog way of living… [phone call interrupted]

TFSR: Last time we spoke, you were talking about how anarchism, to you, partially means that you don’t need a guru or someone telling you what to do. Your second book, Anarchybalion: Anarchism and Ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) Knowledge carry themes of erased knowledge and history that lead people to underestimate themselves. This theme is woven through many pieces of the book. Can you speak a bit about this idea that knowledge is weaponized to undermine people’s ability to self- organize and about the energy that you hope to engage with critical writing, like in your book?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, thanks again for having me. [The knowledge] is weaponized against us, particularly in this country, in the United States of America. From early grade school on, it’s compartmentalized and geared toward us serving a system, to feed it, instead of us serving us. We are starving for some type of fulfillment more and more as we grow. Ideas such as anarchism liberate us from our lack of intellectual, as well as social, resources to find that fulfillment. To find fulfillment from physical, to social, to even spiritual.

So, spiritual means knowledge [that] can help us in spiritual ways. Whereas, people look for fulfillment in other people’s theories and things like that. People can turn inwards and realize that within ourselves, we can find answers to a lot of the questions that we’ve been having. This deals a lot with intuition, for example. The ancient Egyptians referred to intuition as the most important quality to develop. A lot of times, we may ask people, ‘Hey, do you think I should trust this person?’ or, ‘What do you think about this?’ When a lot of times, we could just ask ourselves the same question and then just be quiet for a minute and listen to our inner voice. The system may say, ‘Go to war’ or ‘It’s honorable to sign up for the military and invade other countries’. ‘Don’t think, just do’ and things like that. When we could just sit for a moment and ask ourselves. These are things that weren’t really taught to us in school. One of my mentors, a person who introduced me to anarchism, Anthony Rayson of South Chicago Anarchist Black Cross Zine Distro, once said in a zine, “people have been taught what to think instead of how to think”.

TFSR: Can you talk about the role that zines and projects like South Chicago ABC Zine Distro, which Anthony Rayson is involved with, or True Leap Press, have played in your writing and your self-awareness, particularly the power of short-form essays and the challenge to pack a punch in just a few pages?

Hybachi LeMar: Sure. Well, Anthony Rayson is amazing. I know that’s a thing that people say about the people they’re fond of, but he’s a remarkable individual. What drew me in initially was him writing me when I was in solitary confinement. I was in my 14th month or so in solitary confinement, and I reached out to an address and resource list that was being passed around. We would fish it underneath our cell doors with a line. We pull a string from our towel and keep attaching the strings onto the end of an envelope that we poke a hole through with our pen, with our flex pen. Then we move the string through the hole and put a staple from the mail. When we get mail, whether it’s in-house mail or whatever, they staple the thing closed. So we undo the staples. The opposite side of the hole where we put the string through, the loop, through the horizontal opposite end of the envelope, we’d poke the staple in there, and put the staple into it like a little hook, and then fish. We called it fishing. We slide the envelope under the door, and we connect lines.

Initially, I was drawn to pen-pal ads, but it wasn’t really fulfilling me in a way that I wanted. There was some vacancy, an empty pit that was just still stuck there. I don’t know if I ever told Anthony, but at the time, I was thinking of taking my life. So I wrote to him, and I didn’t mention anything about that. I just said simply, ‘Hey, I see this resource list, and it says that you provide free literature dealing with anarchism, and I’m interested in knowing about it. I’m interested in any literature, any type of material will be really appreciated.’ He wrote back immediately. As I said, he didn’t know me at the time. I don’t know if I even told him, but the very day when I got this letter, I was thinking of doing stuff to myself, and I ended up flushing a razor down the toilet after I read this letter. It was a little incorrigibly written. It was hard to read a little bit, but it made it even more invaluable, because at first I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m getting a letter from a genius, because that’s how geniuses write.’ That’s what I was thinking. Actually, that was the second thing I was thinking. The first thing I was thinking was, ‘Wow, somebody wrote me, this person wrote me, and he doesn’t even know me, or anything. And he still took the time out to write me.’ He was telling me about anarchism, and he was letting me know that the resistance welcomes me, even me, somebody in prison who is inside of solitary confinement. And it’s been a wrap since. He sent me not only his handwritten letter, but also Alexander Berkman’s ABC of Anarchism, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin’s Anarchism and the Black Revolution, and a zine I kept under my pillow for years, which was Emma Goldman’s ‘The Psychology of Political Violence’. And it’s been a wrap since then.

I also gained a lot of insight on writing through reading Anthony Grayson’s zines and his collaborations with Sean Swain. I learned a lot from Sean Swain through his writings. [I learned] about the invaluability of beginning writings with a quote, how to write concisely, and paint images in the mind. I also learned writing from Tom Big Warrior, who is a brilliant Marxist. I heard he just passed. I used to paint his house while he taught me dialectical materialism. And when I write articles from an anarchist perspective, I appreciate that he let me print in his press. So I learned from different people, and I’m still learning. I also learned from the feedback that people give me. I want to give a huge shout-out to North Carolina. North Carolina is phenomenal. I’m here for y’all, I love y’all, y’all are great, and we appreciate all the work that y’all are doing with putting out the resistance and keeping the flames rising.

TFSR: Thank you. Are you thinking about the Black Bird Distro, or Durham ABC, or Blue Ridge ABC, or any individuals? Anyone in particular?

Hybachi LeMar: All the above. Everyone in Asheville, and everybody showing support and contributing to making the world a world of resistance against oppressive forces and making it into a more ideal society. One that is free and liberated from the prison gates of oppression. So whether it’s in here, whether it’s outside, collectively, we hold the bolt cutter, and it takes collective unity and resistance to liberate ourselves [call interrupted].

TFSR: I understand that you were a founding member of the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. You have long been a member of the Black Autonomy Federation. You also helped to run the Liberation School at an abandoned space in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, and you did Sunday Food Distribution. I wonder if you could talk about some of the political revolutionary thrival projects that you’ve been involved with.

Hybachi LeMar: Sure! Well, Brianna Peril, a few others, and I co-founded the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee in 2014, and basically, it was a hands-in-the-mud project. Writing prisoners back and forth between the union office that used to be on the Jay Street, it used to be on the North side, it’s a little further than where it is right now. I’d sit there and talk with Brianna while she was in the city she was in. We basically wrote prisoners and asked if they’d be interested in joining the one big union. It’s something that revolutionaries such as Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin have been wanting to see for quite some time now, and I was just rubbing my hands with enthusiasm to see it spark into a flame. We’ve gained substantial ground. I believe it’s over 500 members now and ‘good standing’. To me, everyone who’s interested and gets involved is standing on good ground. Our numbers are growing. We started up the IU 613 branch, and then the Industrial Workers of the World Union, a worldwide workers’ union. Our newest member, whom I know at least from my end, is my bunkie, my cellmate, who just requested membership the day before yesterday.

He’s also requested membership in the Black Autonomy Federation. Black Autonomy Federation is an organization that is geared toward reclaiming the autonomy of black people and people of color who are interested in advancing autonomously from the government, to put it frankly. We organize all over. It started in the mid-1990s by co-founders, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, sister JoNina Ervin, who was also a very remarkable and skillful organizer as well as journalist and author in Atlanta and in the late 2010s I’ve had a substantial role in co-organizing the Chicago local organizing committee of the Black Autonomy Federation, which has been very exciting.

I’m a member, and you know, all of members within it have been very good at learning as students, while at the same time teaching others in skillshare, whether it’s in the housing projects, or whether it’s on a corner or an alley or doing a teaching on 63rd and King Drive, or doing a teaching in a project, at Parkway gardens. And mind you, these things are kind of taboo in the areas that we’ve been in, because these are areas where there’s a lot of poverty, and talking about gang rivalry from right across the street from each other. To see the ability to form affinities, even in an environment where there’s so much hostility and opposition, and to hear people’s requests for guidance has played an instrumental role in laying the groundwork for future revolutionary development in these areas. Particularly on the South side of Chicago, but in different places throughout the country as well.

The day I was locked up, I had a substantial amount of books that Anarchybalion, which has been a substantial organizing instrument that I was looking forward to sharing with more folks, and people have been expressing substantial interest. There’s also a really important thinker and new member of the collective as well, who’s on my phone, who’s also a prolific author. There are some important thinkers, important authors who are locked up and who have, not just a really good head on their shoulders, but also have their hearts in the right place. There’s the same thing on the streets as well. It’s just that a substantial number of people in the ghetto don’t have resources, and a lot of people in prison have life sentences or just basically are cemented behind concrete and cell bars.

Radio stations such as this, podcasts such as this, such as The Final Straw Radio, are extremely important, because how else are people supposed to have a chance to hear about these ideas and what’s behind the cement?

TFSR: Can I ask more about the liberation school?

Hybachi LeMar: Sure, thank you. Just a little taste, the liberation school at Englewood was something really exciting and it was brand new to the area. To be able to organize from a liberated space is something that would be good to see more of in the future, just like there are in different places throughout the world. I was just reading a book on South African women who were workers back in the ‘70s, they have things going from a squat turning boarded up tents into liberation schools. That’s an optimistic way of going about the reality that we’re in.

TFSR: I’ve been really enjoying your latest book, sharing the title with one of your zines, The Ghetto Bred Anarchist, out from Liberation School Press last year. I’m really struck by the writing style running through many of the pieces, which I would describe as an invitation or incitation towards self-awareness and uplifting. Hybachi, can you talk about who you’re writing to in that book and in those zines, and what you hope the readers will take from it?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, thank you. I wrote that book, and I write for those who can relate to oppression and the ambition to obliterate it from our existence to the best of our capabilities. Whether it’s people who are systemically oppressed through racism, through gender bias, from being physically different in any way, shape, or form, or mentally alienated from the modus operandi of society today, or at any time, even when we’re long gone. I basically write for people who are interested in reading something a little bit different and something more liberating. And for those who’ve taken a step forward, and have been taking a step aside and reflecting on things. So that’s in a nutshell, who I write for.

TFSR: Cool. Thank you.

Hybachi LeMar: I write for everyone on that vibration.

TFSR: Great. What are you working on these days that you can share about? Is there anything you’re excited about and finding challenging and inspirational?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, I’ve been writing things regarding the books I’ve been receiving, from Midwest Books to Prisoners. They’re very empowering, and they’re very relevant to the situation today. Even in books that may be considered a little dated years-wise, there are many things that are relevant today. I just got out of the hole and in the hole they had me in the Diversionary Treatment Unit. In the Diversionary Treatment Unit, people are constantly being spun by correctional officers and by the Psych Treatment Unit people. The day that I got let out of the Diversionary Treatment Unit and back to the general population, someone took 22 ibuprofens after letting the CO know that he was about to commit suicide, and the CO [corrections officer, guard] just walked by and thumbed him, like a cop. The cameras don’t have any audio, so it just shows they’re making their rounds. We were all kicking our doors and letting them know, ‘Hey, this guy’s been requesting to speak with somebody, and he’s been constantly ignored.’ Finally, after someone came, he got seen and everything, and they took him out. By the way, he’s now a new member of the Black Autonomy Federation, the Prison Chapter.

TFSR: That’s awesome.

Hybachi LeMar: Yep, it is. And I hope the brother’s okay. The compas at Midwest are sending them some literature, so it’s constant empowerment. That’s motivation. Every day, people in here are constantly oppressed. Outside, in the whole governed world, people are oppressed in some way, shape, or form. This happens to just be the eye of the oppression storm. With so many things going on, forming study groups and having literature available is the key. Because many people haven’t heard about anything like prison strikes going on, such as the ones that happened in 2014 and 2011, and the later ones. So, people in here that’ve been doing life, there are people in here that are being woke for the first time, due to the materials being sent and due to the rapport.

TFSR: Listeners to this interview will have just heard Hybachi LeMar speaking while incarcerated last year. Now I’m very happily joined by Hybachi, not incarcerated, having maxed out your sentence.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to make this phone call. Really appreciate it.

Hybachi LeMar: Oh, thanks for having me, and I appreciate you for all the phenomenal work that you’re doing and for communicating with me while I was on the inside as well.

TFSR: The last time that we had spoken, you were talking about being in and out of solitary confinement a bunch. I don’t know if you want to talk about how the last year of your sentence went? If there are any experiences you want to share right now, or talk about anyone who was in there with you? If not, that’s fine. I can just move on to a different question. But I want to make space if you do.

Hybachi LeMar: With the exception that understanding people’s suffering throughout solitary confinement and prison in general, throughout the country and throughout the world should be of prime consideration in everyone’s life – Particularly in this era of Trumpian policies and agendas that are cold as ice. With that being said, there’s so much that’s happening every moment, it would be a whole new thing if people only knew what people are experiencing right now, knowing on a perpetual basis. Jonathan Jackson mentioned that his favorite line from Fanon was ‘The time for talking has ended. The time for acting has begun.’ We can move on to the next question.

TFSR: Yeah. One thing that we had tried to record from the conversation that listeners will have just heard from earlier, over the series of calls that we had, was your thoughts on what black anarchism is, what it means to you. We talked a bit about how you got into politics and how you got into anarchism through interacting with South Chicago ABC Zine Distro and some other projects that you had named. But I wonder if you want to speak to that concept, or that tendency, as it’s named, and just share with the audience some sort of framing that you take with you, of what that means.

Hybachi LeMar: Black anarchism may mean different things to different people. For one person, it may be something dealing with a strictly no nation mosaic, and with the different pieces from that mosaic being those that are formed out of things that support the idea of that particular form of anarchism. And you have black anarchists, or people who have a definition of black anarchism, where the idea is meant toward a particular ethnicity or people, particularly being derived from African descent. Most immediately in the human race. Some people believe in both, and it’s not to say that any other two are racist, because neither essentially [can] be racist as well as anti-racist. Anti is what anarchism is about.

Anarchism is beautiful also in the extent that it is an ever-expanding idea and an ever-blossoming formation that federates into new explosive, dynamic formations, and parts unknown. It constantly develops, even in places where its possessor was placed, for that possessor’s destruction. When Berkman wrote ‘The idea is a thing,’ he was on to something. Returning to black anarchism, Black anarchism is what we make of it. It’s also a frame of mind. It’s the black flag in the eye of everything pure by the standards of those who uphold the 25% poverty level of black folks in Chicago, etc.

Politricks, I don’t even call it politics, I call it politricks. You have people here, working here at the Dollar General, they’re working hard, grinding. Where the managers? Probably getting their nails filed, getting paid a whole lot more in Honolulu, somewhere or something. Nothing to take away from getting to vacay. But there are people who are on their hands and knees, grinding, making sure that everything is okay for folks who have mouths to feed. The unrecognized of the world, who feel, who sense more than have an etymological understanding of a term, blackness, of a term, black anarchism, black revolutionary, and black revolution. It’s an attitude, it’s a state of clarity, it’s an encouraging smile, and an uplifting hand to someone who has been kicked down by everyone else because of the mistakes that they made. And not even telling them about black anarchism, just walking the person home. It’s an insperience. You know how you have an experience? It’s an insperience. And as I said, it can mean many more things to many more people in their time, many more ideas may evolve from these ideas themselves. Without further ado, would you like to move on to the next question?

TFSR: Yeah. Do you want to say anything about the fundraiser that’s running to help cushion the landing now that you’re out?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, yes. Thank you so much to everyone who shows support and to everyone who donated. Even if you couldn’t have, and wish that you could have, but just thought, ‘wow, I’m there with you in thought’. Just donating a thought means a lot in a society where so many of us are dusted under the doormat of the ignorance, I guess you could say, because there are so many things that are not being shown on a lot of news channels. There are a lot of things that are not being shown that, if people were aware of, people would be like, ‘Whoa.’ So the support that helped me out is really appreciated. I really appreciate everything. And it supported me with getting the phone that I’m on right now. So thank you. We’re getting these interviews cracking, thank you. I appreciate y’all.

TFSR: Cool. Are there any organizing projects that you’re excited to be joining back up with or trying to get started, where you’re at in Chicago?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, several.

TFSR: Do you want to talk about them? If not, that’s okay.

Hybachi LeMar: Yes, enthusiastically. I wish I could, but I’m disciplined enough to know that it’s wiser not to.

TFSR: Cool. I hear that. This is my interpretation of what you’d said, but it’s really important that people are thinking about incarceration and just about the grind and how hard life is right now. I’m wondering if when you came out, you were shocked at the prices of stuff? You can only get limited news on the inside, especially if you spend a lot of time in solitary confinement. Was there anything that you were surprised about that you didn’t realize when you were last inside?

Hybachi LeMar: Yeah, actually, the graffiti outside my mama’s place changed. I’m used to it being different. But yeah, the prices are a little higher, I noticed. It’s a big difference from the commissary; there’s ice cream, and even though there’s ice cream with the commissary, it’s not the same selection exactly.

TFSR: They are way more expensive, too, right?

Hybachi LeMar: Yeah. I think of the folks inside and the importance of raising the campaign for support. Compa Casey Goonan, who’s a federal [prisoner], has just been transferred to Pennsylvania

– it’s important that they receive attention. They’re a political prisoner, and I know them personally. They have serious medical concerns, but they’re persevering. They’re all out revolutionary for the people and stewards of liberation and the Palestinian struggle.

TFSR: Absolutely. Thank you for mentioning Casey’s situation, and I’ll definitely put links in the show notes about their case. Are there any other people you want to uplift right now?

Hybachi LeMar: Yes. Whoever’s listening, know that your potential is beyond anything that has ever been seen before, and more than you may ever know. Never let anybody tear you down to the point where you stop exercising the maximization of your potential. I don’t care who it is. Remember, you got someone in this world named compa LeMar. Compa LeMar is someone who understands what it’s like to not fit in in society, not fitting in with the customs of what passes as cool.

TFSR: Is there anything on your mind that you want to talk about right now? Or do you feel good with where we’re at?

Hybachi LeMar: Oh, there’s so much. I’m really thankful for the work that you’ve been doing. I’ve been reading the interviews you’ve been having with Sean Swain, for example, and others, in zine form. [They were] some of our most thought-provoking hours of playing mind palm with ourselves against the wall. So, kudos and congrats, because these zines are dynamic and these interviews are sensational.

TFSR: Thank you. That means a lot. I really appreciate that.

Hybachi LeMar: Thank you.

. … . ..

‘The importance of self-reflection’ by Hybachi LeMar.

Whitney Houston once attested that she decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow.

A scientific principle in magic teaches that energy follows thought. Pythagoras, a philosopher from Crotona and credited founder of Western numerology in the fifth century BCE, imparted to students: ‘Declining from the public ways, walk in unfrequented paths.’

The path of self-reflection, especially when starting, can feel inconsolably lonely.

When I expressed myself in elementary, my teachers had me sit at my desk outside the class. When I hear others laughing, I’d sit at my desk and peek closer to the window from my seat. The effect was – I grew more withdrawn, and would walk home in different directions, preferably, ones where no one could find me, ones where no one could see me.

I’ve been in a lifetime of fights. I’ve been told I was autistic, though I didn’t know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, since autistic people are geniuses. I’ve been told by a prison guard in the hole that his colleagues don’t see me, nor anyone they can find in the unit, as human beings. Naturally, the intellectual incompatibility that draws outcasts like us to turn inward leads to an unconventional thought life, a search for something relatable to embrace.

We teach ourselves from different books, through zines. We learn in a different direction, in a direction that leads to a sense of meaning and unconventional realizations. We find that it is those who treat you as if you’re not human whose sense of humanity deserves to be questioned. In a twist of irony, we discover, [that] it’s through descending the darkest hole, where you find yourself reaching the irrepressible heights of illumination. It’s the exceptional perspective, in fact, that stands out, which is viewed as odd, like a Labrador looking diagonally in the mirror. In retrospect, you see your perspective on life when it’s your own. [It] plays a pivotal role in placing your life in perspective.

These realizations revolve around a personal appreciation of the shadow you cast, of making each moment magical. By determining where your energy is directed, in deviating from the demands of blind obedience, you become a fate-turner. You discover that in determining what steps you take, you determine your destiny.

Every stumbling block is a milestone in disguise. The ups and downs come with the terrain. Be brave, be resolute. Let nothing stop you in your path of self-actualization. It’s a winding path that gives us, in every turn of events, a new vista where we can reflect. Does the dog barking from the edge of a cliff know that it’s its own echo that’s barking back? And do you know that the world will affirm you to be what you affirm yourself to be in the world?

‘The importance of self-reflection’ by Hybachi LeMar, track laid by compa Slug, Spring Load pre-carriers. You know how we do.

Solidarity, shout-outs, and love to The Final Straw!