Tuesday, October 15
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center

When a struggle happens in one part of the world, it affects all struggles throughout the world for liberation. We are committed to learning our shared history and coming together to celebrate it! Local community organizer and art curator Fauzi Isaac is presenting at the general ANSWER Indiana meeting, where he will teach about an Arab street gang that started to protect Arabs in the Chicago area against racist attacks.

The Tall Arab Posse Boyz (or TAP Boyz) formed in 1992 to protect their community from the anti-Arab sentiments that permeated the Chicago area and much of the country. This sentiment was fomented by the U.S. government. George H.W. Bush was president and just coming off the heels of the Gulf War that ended in 1991, the Bush administration used racism as a tool to build support for the war in Iraq, a country rich in oil. Over 100,000 people were killed during the Gulf War and as many as 6 million people were displaced from their homelands.

The fall of the Soviet Union left Afghanistan vulnerable as well as their major power ally to defend against U.S. interests. With the drum beat for war building under President Bush and continuing under Bill Clinton, displaced Arabs were escaping U.S. foreign policy initiatives by moving to the United States. The growing Arab population in the Chicago area were not met with open arms. Instead, they had to band together to defend against the anti-Arab racism that the U.S. government was complicit in building and condoning. Arabs and other minority groups were scapegoated as the reason for the declining conditions of Chicago area workers. The crumbling infrastructure was further strained by a flood in April 1992.

Many workers, divided along racial lines, sought to take out their frustrations on a growing immigrant population where few opportunities allowed for them to operate in legal labor sectors. The Arab immigrants were forced to scrape by and use the illegal economy to make ends meet. Learn how Arabs were defending themselves from attacks and created a sense of safety while also building solidarity with other workers. It was through their struggle against bigotry and U.S. imperialism that a growing number of workers now see that U.S. imperialism is the true root of our collective problems.

Schedule:
6:00 – 6:30 PM:
Meet & Music

6:30 – 7:00 PM:
Program Presentation

7:00-8:00 PM:
Community and Music

Featured image: TAP Boyz members in 1990s.