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| May 19th Communist Organization | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Elizabeth Ann Duke (MIA) Kathy Boudin (POW) Judith Alice Clark (POW) and David Gilbert (POW) |
| Dates of operation | 1978–1985 |
| Ideology | Marxism–Leninism Anti-capitalism Anti-racism Anti-imperialism Anti-sexism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Opponents |  United States |
| Battles and wars | Edna Mahan jailbreak 1981 Brink's robbery 1983 United States Senate bombing |
| This article is part of a series about |
| Black power |
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| Part of a series on |
| Terrorism and political violence |
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The May 19th Communist Organization (also variously referred to as the May 19 Coalition, May 19 Communist Coalition or M19CO) was a US-based far-left revolutionary group[1][2] formed by members of the Weather Underground Organization. The group was originally known as the New York chapter of the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC), an organization devoted to promoting the causes of the Weather Underground legally, as part of the Prairie Fire Manifesto's change in Weather Underground Organization strategy, which demanded both aboveground mass movements and clandestine organizations. The role of the clandestine organization would be to build the "consciousness of action" and prepare the way for the development of a people's militia. Concurrently, the role of the mass movement, the above-ground Prairie Fire Collective, would include the support for and the encouragement of armed action. Such an alliance would, according to Weather, "help create the 'sea' for the guerrillas to swim in."[3] The M19CO name was derived from the birthdays of Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X.[4] The May 19 Communist Organization was active from 1978 to 1985. M19CO was a combination of the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground. It also included members of the Black Panthers, White Panthers, and the Republic of New Afrika (RNA).[5][6]
In addition to the May 19th Communist Organization being made up of the Black Liberation Army, the group was formed because of infighting in the Weather Underground Organization.[7] Following the split of the Weather Underground Organization into factions, the faction that favored more extreme actions to achieve its objectives joined the Black Liberation Army, forming the May 19th Communist Organization. One of the founders, Laura Whitehorn, was also part of the Weather Underground Organization's predecessor, the Students for a Democratic Society. In addition to being known as the May 19th Communist Organization and the New York chapter of the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, the group was also known as the Armed Resistance Movement, the Red Guerilla Resistance, Resistance Conspiracy, and Revolutionary Fighting Group.[8] Despite these other monikers, the group was most popularly known as the May 19th Communist Organization, predicated on May 19th being the birthday of both Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh.[9]
- ^ Smith, Brent L. (1994). Terrorism in America : pipe bombs and pipe dreams. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-585-06052-5. OCLC 42855404. Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Rosenau, William (2019). Tonight we bombed the U.S. Capitol : the explosive story of M19, America's first female terrorist group (First Atria Books hardcover ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-5011-7012-6. OCLC 1096235272. Archived from the original on 2022-01-09. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Jacobs, Ron (1997). The Way The Wind Blew: A History Of The Weather Underground. Verso. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-85984-167-9. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- ^ Let freedom ring : a collection of documents from the movements to free U.S. political prisoners. Meyer, Matt. Montreal, Quebec: Kersplebedeb. 2008. ISBN 9781604861471. OCLC 435638256.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Karl a. Seger (2001). "Left-Wing Extremism: The Current Threat Prepared for U.S. Department of Energy Office of Safeguards and Security" (PDF). Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: Center for Human Reliability Studies ORISE 01-0439: 1. doi:10.2172/780410. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and the Responses to Terrorism, DHS (March 1, 2008). "Terrorist Organization Profile: May 19 Communist Order". National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and the Responses to Terrorism. Archived from the original on June 7, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- ^ Kushner, Harvey (2003), "May 19 Communist Organization", Encyclopedia of Terrorism (1 ed.), SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 224, doi:10.4135/9781412952590, ISBN 9780761924081, retrieved 2019-05-02
- ^ "May 19 Communist Order (M19CO) | Terrorist Groups | TRAC". www.trackingterrorism.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ "May 19 Communist Order (M19CO)". TRAC Terrorism. Archived from the original on 2020-05-02. Retrieved 2020-05-07.