Oral History Interview with Bill Weinberg, 2021 May 6
- Abstract Or Scope
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In this oral history interview conducted by Kimberly Springer, Bill Weinberg discusses his life, activism, and work as a journalist and author. Weinberg describes his upbringing and youth in Jackson Heights, Queens. He describes the attraction of the Lower East Side, attending punk shows in the city, and his introduction to activism. Entry points to activism included anti-draft activity, Rock Against Racism, and attendance at the Black Hills Survival Gathering in South Dakota, an American Indian Movement-sponsored event protesting uranium mining. He discusses his introduction to anarchism, the Libertarian Book Club, and his personal approaches to anarchism. Weinberg also speaks to his career as a journalist and author of books. He discusses his travels in Latin America, particularly Chiapas, and his reporting for High Times and Native Americas. He discusses the dynamic at High Times in the 1990s as well as the founding of his blog CounterVortex. Weinberg also describes his involvement with the WBAI radio show Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade (MORC). He details how he got involved with the show, other members of the show's collective, and the character of the show. He discusses the show's name and the initial influence of the Moorish Science Movement, and muses on different varieties of "Moorish" identity. He discusses the influence of Bob Fass and his own experiences as a WBAI listener as a youth. He discusses the activities of co-host Ann-Marie Hendrickson, including her anti-nuclear activism, her contributions to MORC, and her WBAI show Mansion for a Rat. He also details his rift with WBAI over political issues that ultimately led to MORC's removal from the station. He gives an analysis of factions of the anti-imperialist Left that took unnuanced, contradictory, and anti-Semitic stances in the years following 9/11. He also discusses these contradictions in the context of United States involvement in Syria. The interview also addresses Weinberg's involvement in activism on the Lower East Side. Specific topics include the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riot and its impact through early 1990s, squatters, gentrification, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, and activism around community gardens in the late 1990s through early 2000s.