August
August Open Hours Sunday August 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31, 1-4pm
Drop in for chats, coffee and tea, to pick up something new from the distro, or to browse the library!
Writing New Worlds Wednesday August 6 & 20, 7-9pm
Writing New Worlds is a bi-weekly meet-up for anarchist and anti-capitalist creative writers. These sessions will be a space where we can break the rules of form while we engage with ideas like mutual aid, direct action, and solidarity.
Red Road to the West Bank Fundraiser Tuesday August 12, 8pm
Join us for a 2-hour evening of short clips and rough cuts from Red Road to the West Bank, an in-progress documentary following Mohawk activist Clifton Nicholas’s 2016 journey through Palestine. We’ll explore the shared histories of settler colonialism in Turtle Island and Palestine, then open the floor for a brief discussion and Q&A.
This event is a fundraiser to help make the film a reality—your donations (and solidarity keffiyeh sales) will directly support the project’s completion.
More info at Amplifierfilms.ca/redroad
Reading group: Clarifying Projectuality Thursday August 14, 7-9pm
Clarifying Projectuality: Critical Reflections on Wet’suwet’en Solidarity provides an incisive proposal for anarchists relating to Indigenous land defence struggles. Using the Wet’suwet’en solidarity movement as a case study, it elaborates on the concept of projectuality as a possible way forward. What is projectuality and (how) is it useful? Come to the reading group to discuss!
The text is available at Black Oak, or get in touch with us if you need a copy.
Water Talks Saturday August 16, 5-8pm
Kahnekanoron welcomes friends of Oniatarí:io (Beautiful Big Fresh Water – Lake Ontario) to a talking circle at Black Oak Anarchist Social Space, closing with an offering walk along Burlington Street (heading East from James & Burlington). Free coffee, tea, snacks, zines. Bring your rattles, drums, good medicine, and good minds!
Hair Cutting Drop-in Tuesday August 19, 6-8pm
Need a bang trim or fresh undercut? Whether you’ve got the skills to offer, wanna learn, or need a trim join us at the Black Oak for a hair cutting drop in/social. Coffee, tea, and light snacks will be available. BYO shaver/scissors/combs if you got ’em! We’ll have peroxide on hand to disinfect multi-use items.
Film Screening: A Little Bit Of So Much Truth Friday August 22, 7pm
In the summer of 2006, a broad-based, non-violent, popular uprising exploded in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Some compared it to the Paris Commune, while others called it the first Latin American revolution of the 21st century. Join us for the 90min film and a discussion after.
Groupe de lecture: En attendant la guérilla anarchiste Monday August 25, 7-9pm
A french discussion of the recent proposal for anarchists to increase their capacity to act using the model of the guerrilla. All levels of french welcome. Reading the text beforehand is encouraged (it can also be found in english under the title Waiting for the Anarchist Guerrilla), and we’ll try to use french in our discussion as much as possible.
Text available on https://infokiosques.net/spip.php?article2204 or in zine form at Black Oak!
Queer Anti-Fascist Panel & Discussion Tuesday August 26, 7pm
A panel and discussion on confronting the current moment of gregarious nationalism, gay assimilation, and backlash of queer visibility. As Dykes, criminalised queers and anarchists, let’s dig into lessons from history and discuss genuine solidarity across borders and the idea of taking strategic, offensive action for queer and trans liberation.
Masks required.
The Coming Climate Catastrophe Wednesday August 27
6:30-9:30pm
By now, it’s become a commonly accepted position among scientists and environmentalists that we are not going to be able to ‘prevent’ the effects of climate change. Rather, they are already unfolding, they are only going to get more severe, and the conversation shifts towards mitigation and durability.
But how severe are we talking? Nobody can say for sure. That said, this talk will attempt to summarize a number of current projections and trends, along with our personal analysis, and apply them to multiple facets of life in this part of the world. Mostly addressing climate in a geo- and ecological sense, with forays into the social and political, we hope to sketch out a more realistic view of just where we are headed.