Foreword

Recently, some friends and former members of Bring the Ruckus, a revolutionary anarchist cadre organization from the 2000s, which we hold in high regard, reached out to share some of their internal documents with us to circulate as widely as possible. These documents include a selection from their 2005 political education packet, an assessment of their ongoing work in 2008, and some documents from the Sojourner Truth Organization, an Illinois and Indiana-based cadre organization active in the 1970s and 1980s whose members and approach to organization and political education heavily influenced Bring the Ruckus. Also included is an essay by Joel Olson, a founding member of Bring the Ruckus and member of the earlier Love and Rage Anarchist Federation, whose writings on race, class, and anarchist political organizing were highly influential to the formation of the group.

Bring the Ruckus was founded in the late 90s in Phoenix, Arizona, following the breakup of Love and Rage. While it was a national organization with chapters in several cities across the country, we are most familiar with their participation in several struggles in Arizona, most notably against SB1070, a notoriously racist bill enabling police to stop “suspected immigrants” at any time and check their papers, which the bill compelled immigrants to carry at all times. We are making these documents available on our website because the successes, failures, struggles, and experiments of BTR may be helpful for those experimenting with different forms of anti-authoritarian political organization and commitment today. These documents do not espouse one solution to these questions but demonstrate the essential process of collective thinking, discussion, and disagreement. If you want to read more of BTR’s public-facing writing, much of it is available on the Anarchist Library or the Internet Archive. Below are our friends’ 2025 introduction to the political education packet and a link to the packet’s PDF file (also accessible through our site’s Resources tab).

-Lake Effect Collective

Introduction

Below are excerpts from a reading packet put together by the political education committee of Bring the Ruckus (BTR) in 2008 to grapple with the question of revolutionary organization in the 21st century. The readings and questions were compiled for members of Bring the Ruckus and reflect some of the questions the organization was grappling with at the time. To give some context, BTR was a revolutionary group founded in 2001 which democratically disbanded in 2012. During that time, BTR had locals in various cities, all doing political work around six themes. The political work members engaged in 1) must address systems that attack working class people of color, 2) must attack white supremacy, 3) must have the potential to further the development of revolutionary consciousness among the working class, 4) must have the potential to build a dual power, 5) must actively push the development of a feminist praxis, and 6) should stretch the boundaries of political organizing. If a struggle does not meet these criteria, members would have a difficult time persuading other members that they should be involved in it. The writings here include internal dialogues about cadre organizing, along with readings that present ideas on revolutionary organizations.

Note that the documents included in this packet are historical, meant to provide context and not intended as a final word on what a cadre is or should be. Rather, the intention is to foster debate, dialogue, and ruthless (principled) critique that might lead to the advancement of political work in the streets and in the home.

To be clear: Cadre organizations are not designed to be loose networks. Rather, cadres adopt an organizational structure designed to intervene, organize, support, and pounce during the most vital and integral moments, with a collective strategy and with eyes on the prize.

As you know, we are in a unique political climate in 2025 with an unfortunate but oddly beneficial opportunity for revolutionary development and action. These readings are shared mainly for those interested in both studying and forming cadre organizations in the current moment.

Below are a series of discussion questions for groups interested in learning about cadre organizations. Note that the readings in this document do not provide all the answers to the questions. Rather, the questions are meant for broader discussion, with some of them linking directly to the readings.

READINGS

The Bring the Ruckus Statement
The 2008 Political Education Report
Joel Olson’s “What Is a Cadre Organization?”
Selections from the Bring the Ruckus Revolutionary Organizing Notebook
Sojourner Truth Organization, “Toward a Revolutionary Organization,” pg. 25-3

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