Biodun Iginla...

I have just scanned your article and am saddened by the revelations you have made - though of course accept their validity.

I will take time to read your article in depth later - it is the kind of analysis that Indymedia can really grow from.

I myself am writing this in the UK where we have a different set of issues and backgrounds - but there are still comparisons to be made about racial politics.

Creating a diverse, non-hierarchical working practice which challenges the prejudices of capitalism are crucial to ensuring the success of the alternative movement that we, hopefully, feel we are all part of.

This is a crucial debate - it will continue.

Respect to you Biodun. We share the same struggle and some of us need to be reminded of that. Solidarity is the answer and breaking the chains of repression will only happen if our movement is liberated.

Viva Zapatista!

I have also read the article and took time to read the original arguments on Twin Cities (Mineoapolis) IMC list, and i took careful note of the comments by other people of color on their lists. I don't think this case is as clear cut as it seems. If there is any case of racism in IMC it would be sad and should be stopped, but as i read the e-mail list i do not feel at all comfortable with blaming the local collective of racism. This seems more like a clash of personalities, and alot of mis-communication, all i can say is read the list for your self.
I also noticed that nearly all the e-mail lists have been drawn in on this argument by massive cross posting, i am personally suspect at the tactics being used here. I am not being paranoid but threats of lawsuits and threats of writing critical articles in national papers are not the way to progress these discussions.

Respect
Peter

For the record: There is only one other person of color in the collective, and she's new. In fact, she joined after I left. She's the "Sistah" who posted the message comparing me to OJ.

most leftists inc IMC, would surely agree that both annarchists and socialists have their faults, make mistakes, say tactless things at times and squabble among themselves too much. but NOT THIS ! NO WAY !

Statement from the Twin Cities IMC Free Press Work Group regarding Mr. Biodun Iginla's article: Race and Alternative Media Activism; Example of the Twin Cities Indymedia Collective.

There are a number of points that Mr. Iginla makes in his article that we feel should be responded to, and some important context that we feel is missing. The issues that members of our collective have with Mr. Iginla have nothing to do with the color of his skin, but deal with his disruptive behavior at meetings and on our email lists. The article contains extensive quotations, out of context, from people who did not grant him permission to use them.

Mr. Iginla attended the third Twin Cities IMC meeting. He wrote an article for the first issue of our print publication, the Free Press. After a comment of his on a news story on our web page elicited personal attacks on him, he requested that they be removed. At the next meeting of our Web working group, we formulated an editorial policy regarding posts, and pursuant to that policy, hid the comments both against and supporting Mr. Iginla.

At about that same time, Mr. Iginla began exhibiting disruptive behavior on several of the TC-IMC email lists. These behaviors included accusing members of racism, and suggestions that he might sue the collective or otherwise involve it in legal action. These accusations were all by email; Mr. Iginla would not meet to discuss them with the collective, despite several invitations to do so. At the same time, email from other addresses defending Mr. Iginla were received which included veiled threats of personal harm. By tracing IP addresses, we were able to determine that email from "Julie Rose" from New York and "Shoshana Rubin" from Los Angeles originated from the same computer that Mr. Iginla was posting from, usually within minutes of his posts. We believe that email coming from "Julie Rose" and "Shoshana Rubin" actually comes from Mr. Iginla. There are people named Julie Rose, who is an Australian translator of French novels into English, and Shoshana Rubin, who is a costumer and set designer in Los Angeles.

Accusations of racism are particularly potent in the Twin Cities, where many activist communities are predominantly white (the state has a minority population of 6%), and acutely conscious of the fact. Our collective has actively encouraged participation by people of color, with positive results. The Free Press, our print publication, has a 40% free distribution target in poor and minority neighborhoods. We know people of all races are hurt by global capitalism. Racism is pervasive in our society, and it is something we actively strive to overcome both as individuals and as an organization.

Any comments or questions regarding this statement can be directed to  mspimc@riseup.net.

More responses at
 http://tc.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=1215

While the Twin Cities IMC is primarily composed of white activists (as the Twin Cities Indy Media post says, about 6% of the population of Minnesota is non-white), there are a few members who have diligently worked (and continue to work) within the collective, and have helped produce the Free Press, who are women of color. The collective is completely open to all who can contribute positively to our group's goals.

First of all, I didn't post the comments above. "Mr Iginla" is none other than Steve Sarof (the SS in my essay), the guy I'm suing for online slander. Yes, indeed, there is my friend Julie Rose, the Australian translator of French theory books (not novels) who is a close friend of mine. She now lives in Hong Kong. Anyone who
doubts what I've said here can contact her at  julieannerose@hotmail.com (an
address that can be verified by the University of Minnesota Press, by the way. The U of MN Press can also verify that this Julie Rose is a close friend, whom I hired to translate
two books by Paul Virilio when I was a Senior Editor at the U of MN Press). There is my Julie Rose ( julierose@onebox.com), whom people often mistake for *that* Julie Rose.
People also often mistake *that* JR for my JR. My JR is a native New Yorker who has also
lived in Hong Kong. The two Julie Roses know
each other and they both get a kick out of the mistaken identities--in fact, they have often
joked about co-writing a play about it. Again, anyone who
doubts this can verify either with the Australian JR or the U of MN Press. Just call
1-612-627-1970, and ask either for Bev Kaemmer (my old supervisor) or Elizabeth
Stomberg (my old assistant). When I got married to my JR, a few people thought I was
getting married to the Australian JR. As for Shoshana Rubin, she's my Julie's cousin and
was visiting us in Minneapolis from Los
Angeles when all the mess was going on at the Twin Cities listservs. Shoshana and I
(and sometimes Julie) often went to use the machines at Wilson Library. (When I'm in
Minneapolis, I always use the machines at Wilson Library for high-speed Internet
access, which I must have for what I do.) Whence the so-called "same computer"
referred to. Some of these responses trying to discredit me are more symptoms of the
same disease of "systemic" racism that I exposed in my essay. One would think that "journalists" playing at media-making would at least do their fact-checking.

I have spent some time and read all I could find on the tc.indymedia site as well as the nyc.indymedia site where Biodun and "Julie" have been posting.

Interesting point is that there is NO Saroff posting at all, and no indication that he is "lurking" or otherwise "stalking." From what I can tell, Biodun and "Julie" are blaming every single post by anyone on the Steve Saroff. Unless everyone everywhere is really Steve Saroff in disguise, I think we should look more at the facts that are being uncovered in the Twin Cities.

Comments?