There are ample accounts of the use of black flags by
anarchists. Probably the most famous, was Nestor Makhno's partisans during the
Russia Revolution. Under the black banner, his army routed a dozen armies and
kept a large portion of the Ukraine free from concentrated power for a good
couple years (see Peter Arshinov's History of the Makhnovist Movement
for details of this important movement). On the black flag was embroidered "Liberty
of Death" and "The Land to the Peasant, The Factories to the
Workers." [Peter Marshall, Demanding the Impossible, p. 475] In
the 1910s, Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary, used a black flag with a
skull & crossbones & the Virgin on it -- it also had "Land
& Liberty" as a slogan ("Tierra y Libertad"). In
1925, the Japanese anarchists formed the Black Youth League and, in
1945, when the anarchist federation reformed, their journal was named Kurohata
(Black Flag) [Op. Cit., p. 525-6]. More recently, Parisian
students carried black (and red) flags during the massive General Strike of
1968 as well as at the America Students for a Democratic Society
national convention of the same year. At about the same time, the British based
magazine Black Flag was started and is still going strong. Today, if you
go to any sizeable demonstration you will usually see the Black Flag raised by
the anarchists present.
But the anarchists' black flag originated much earlier
than this. The first account is actually unknown. It seems that this credit is
reserved for Louise Michel, famous participant in the Paris Commune of 1871. According
to Anarchist historian George Woodcock, Michel flew the black flag on March 9,
1883, during demonstration of the unemployed in Paris, France. With 500 strong,
Michel at the lead and shouting "Bread, work, or lead!", they
pillaged three baker's shops before being arrested by the police [George
Woodcock, Anarchism, pp. 251]. No earlier reports can be found of
Anarchists and the black flag.
Not long after, the black symbol made it's way to
America. Paul Avrich reports that on November 27, 1884, the black flag was
displayed in Chicago at an Anarchist demonstration. According to Avrich, August
Spies, one of the famous Haymarket martyrs, "noted that this was the
first occasion on which [the black flag] had been unfurled on American
soil" [Paul Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 144-145].
On a more dreary note, February 13, 1921 was the date
that marked the end of black flags in Soviet Russia. On that day, Peter
Kropotkin's funeral took place in Moscow. Masses of people whose march
stretched for miles, carried black banners that read, "Where there is
authority there is no freedom." [Paul Avrich, The Anarchists in the
Russian Revolution, p. 26] It seems that black flags didn't appear in
Russia until the founding of the Chernoe Zhania ("black
banner") movement in 1905. Only two weeks after Kropotkin's funeral
march, the Kronstadt rebellion broke out and anarchism was erased from Soviet
Russia for good.
While the events above are fairly well known, as has
been related, the exact origin of the black flag is not. What is known is that
a large number of Anarchist groups in the early 1880s adopted titles associated
with black. In July of 1881, the Black International was founded in London. This
was an attempt to reorganise the Anarchist wing of recently dissolved First
International [George Woodcock, Op. Cit., p. 212-4]. In October 1881, a
meeting in Chicago lead to the International Working People's Association
being formed in North America. This organisation, also known as the Black
International, affiliated to the London organisation. [Clifford Harper, Anarchy:
A Graphic Guide, p. 76, Woodcock, Op. Cit., p. 393] These two
conferences are immediately followed by Michel's demonstration (1883) and the
black flags in Chicago (1884).
Further solidifying this period (circa early 1880s) as
the birth of the symbol is the name of a short lived French Anarchist
publication: "Le Drapeau Noir" (The Black Flag). According
to Roderick Kedward, this Anarchist paper existed for a few years dating
sometime before October 1882, when a bomb was thrown into a cafe in Lyons [The
Anarchists: the men who shocked an era p. 35]. Backing up this theory,
Avrich states that in 1884, the black flag "was the new anarchist
emblem" [Paul Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 144]. In
agreement, Murray Bookchin reports that "in later years, the Anarchists
were to adopt the black flag" when speaking of the Spanish Anarchist
movement in June, 1870 [Murray Bookchin, The Spanish Anarchists, p. 57].
At that time, anarchists widely used the red flag. It appears obvious (though
not conclusive) that this is the period that the black flag bonded with
Anarchism. However, use of the red flag did not instantly die out. Thus we find
Kropotkin writing Words of a Rebel (published in 1885, but written
between 1880 and 1882) of "anarchist groups . . . rais[ing] the red
flag of revolution." As Woodcock notes, the "black flag was
not universally accepted by anarchists at this time. Many, like Kropotkin,
still thought of themselves as socialists and of the red flag as theirs
also." [Words of a Rebel, p. 75, p. 225] In addition, we find
the Chicago anarchists using both black and red flags all through the 1880s.
The general drift away from the red flag towards the
black must be placed in the historical context. During the later part of the
1870s and in the 1880s the socialist movement was changing. Marxist social
democracy was being the dominant socialist trend, with libertarian socialism
going into decline in many areas. Thus the red flag was increasingly associated
with the authoritarian and statist (and increasingly reformist) side of the
socialist movement. In order to distinguish themselves from other socialists,
the use of the black flag makes perfect sense. Not only was it an accepted
symbol of working class revolt, it shared the same origins in the 1831 Lyons
revolt [Bookchin, The Third Revolution, vol. 2, p. 65].
It seems that figuring out when the connection was
made is easier than finding out why, exactly, black was chosen. The Chicago "Alarm",
which is right from the horses mouth, stated that the black flag is "the
fearful symbol of hunger. misery and death" [Paul Avrich, The
Haymarket Tragedy, p. 144]. Bookchin asserts that the black flag is the "symbol
of the workers misery and as an expression of their anger and bitterness."
[Op. Cit., p. 57]. Historian Bruce C. Nelson also notes that the Black
Flag was considered "the emblem of hunger" when it was
unfurled in Chicago in 1884. [Beyond the Martyrs: A Social History of
Chicago's Anarchists, p. 141, p. 150]
Along these lines, Albert Meltzer maintains that the
association between the black flag and working class revolt "originated
in Rheims [France] in 1831 ('Work or Death') in an unemployed
demonstration." [Albert Meltzer, The Anarcho-Quiz Book, p. 49]
In fact he goes on to assert that it was Michel's action in 1883 that
solidified the association. The links from revolts in France to anarchism are
even stronger. As Murray Bookchin records, "[i]n 1831, the silk-weaving
artisans. . . rose in armed conflict to gain a better tarif, or
contract, from the merchants. For a brief period they actually took control of
the city, under red and black flags -- which made their insurrection a
memorable event in the history of revolutionary symbols. Their use of the word mutuelisme
to denote the associative disposition of society that they preferred made their
insurrection a memorable event in the history of anarchist thought as well,
since Proudhon appears to have picked up the word from them during his brief
stay in the city in 1843-4." [The Third Revolution, vol. 2, p.
157]
Kropotkin himself states that its use continued in the
French labour movement after this uprising. He notes that the Paris Workers "raised
in June [1848] their black flag of 'Bread or Labour'" [Act for
Yourselves, p. 100]
The use of the black flag by anarchists, therefore, is
an expression of their roots and activity in the labour movement in Europe,
particularly in France. The anarchist adoption of the Black Flag by the
anarchist movement in the 1880s reflects its use as "the traditional
symbol of hunger, poverty and despair" and that it was "raised
during popular risings in Europe as a sign of no surrender and no
quarter." [Walter and Becker, Act for Yourselves, p. 128]
This is unsurprising given the nature of anarchist
politics. Just as anarchists base their ideas on actual working class practice,
they would also base their symbols on those created by the practice. For
example, Proudhon as well as taking the term "mutualism" from
radical workers also argued that co-operative "labour
associations" had "spontaneously, without prompting and
without capital been formed in Paris and in Lyon. . . the proof of it
[mutualism, the organisation of credit and labour]. . . lies in current
practice, revolutionary practice." He considered his ideas, in other
words, to be an expression of working class self-activity. [No Gods, No
Masters, vol. 1, pp. 59-60] Indeed, according to K. Steven Vincent, there
was "close similarity between the associational ideal of Proudhon . . .
and the program of the Lyon Mutualists" and that there was "a
remarkable convergence [between the ideas], and it is likely that Proudhon was
able to articulate his positive program more coherently because of the example
of the silk workers of Lyon. The socialist ideal that he championed was already
being realised, to a certain extent, by such workers." [Piere-Joseph
Proudhon and the Rise of French Republican Socialism, p. 164] Other
anarchists have made similar arguments concerning anarchism being the
expression of tendencies within society and working class struggle and so the
using of a traditional workers' symbol would be a natural expression of this
aspect of anarchism.
But there are other possibilities.
Black is a very powerful colour, or anti-colour as it
were. The 1880s were a time of extreme anarchist activity. The Black
International saw the introduction of "propaganda by the deed"
as an anarchist platform.
Historically black has been associated with blood --
dried blood specifically -- like the red flag. So while it is tied to working
class rebellion, it was also a symbol of the nihilism of the period (a nihilism
generated by the mass slaughter of Communards by the French ruling class after
the fall of the Paris Commune of 1871). It is this slaughter of the Communards
which may also point to the use of the Black Flag by anarchists. Black "is
the colour of mourning [at least in Western cultures], it symbolises our
mourning for dead comrades, those whose lives were taken by war, on the
battlefield (between states) or in the streets and on the picket lines (between
classes)." [Chico, "letters", Freedom, vol.
48, No. 12, p. 10] Given the 25 000 dead in the Commune, many of them
anarchists and libertarian socialists, the use of the Black Flag by anarchists
after this event would make sense. Sandino, the Nicaraguan libertarian
socialist) also said that black stood for mourning ("Red for liberty;
black for mourning; and the skull for a struggle to the death" [Donald
C. Hodges, Sandino's Communism, p. 24]).
There is a possible philosophical rationale behind the
use the colour black. Another reason why anarchists turned to the black flag
could be because of its nature as a sign of "negation". Many
of the writers on the Black Flag have mentioned this aspect, for example Howard
J. Ehrlich argues that black "is a shade of negation. The black flag is
the negation of all flags." [Reinventing Anarchy, Again, p. 31]
As a symbol of negation, the black flag fits nicely in with some of Bakunin's
ideas -- particularly his ideas on progress. Being influenced by Hegel, Bakunin
accepted Hegel's dialectical method but always stressed that the negative
side was motive force within it (see Robert M. Culter's introduction to The
Basic Bakunin for details). Thus he defines progress as the negation of the
initial position (for example, in God and the State, he argues that "[e]very
development . . . implies the negation of its point of departure" [p.
48]). What better sign to signify the anarchist movement than one which is the
negation of all other flags, this negation signifying the movement into a
higher form of social life? Thus the black flag could symbolise the negation of
existing society, of all existing states, and so paves the way for a new
society, a free one. However, whether this was a factor in the adoption of the
black flag or just a coincidence we cannot tell at this moment.
There is also an interesting connection between the
black flag and pirates. There is an unconfirmed report that Louise Michel,
while lead the women's battalion during the Paris Commune of 1871, may have
flown the skull and crossbones. But the association may go further.
Pirates were seen as rebels, as free spirits, and
often ruthless killers. While pirates varied a great deal, many had an elected
Captain of the pirate ship. In some cases the captain wasn't even male, which
was very unusual for the time. He or she was "subject to instant
recall", and life on board a pirate ship was certainly more democratic
than life on board ships of the British, American or French Navies -- let alone
a merchant ship.
For pirates, the black flag was a symbol of death; the
give-away being a skull and bones on black. A sign equivalent with
"surrender or die!" It was intended to scare their victims into
submitting without a fight. It operated in much the same way as Ghengis Khan's
armies.
Many others also adopted the black flag as a sign of
"surrender or die!". A Confederate officer named Quantrill in during
the American Civil War fought under the black flag. He was known as unwilling
to show mercy to his opponents and he did not expect any mercy in return. Also,
General Santa Anna of Mexico was a notorious flyer of the black flag. He even
flew them at the Alamo. Accompanying the black banner, he had his buglers play
a call named "The Deguello," which was a call that meant "no
quarter will be given" (Take No Prisoners). This use of the black flag was
echoed by the America anarchists of the Black International. While it "was
interpreted in anarchist circles as the symbol of death, hunger and
misery" it was "also said to be the 'emblem of
retribution'" and in a labour procession in Cincinnati in January
1885, "it was further acknowledged to be the banner of working-class
intransigence, as demonstrated by the words 'No Quarter' inscribed on it."
[Donald C. Hodges, Sandino's Communism, p. 21 -- see also Avrich, Op.
Cit., p. 82]
While Khan, Quantrill and General Santa Anna are not
connected to anarchism in the slightest -- pirates, on the other hand, are more
complicated. They were seen as rebels. Rebels without a state, owing allegiance
to no code of law except whatever makeshift rules they improvised amongst
themselves. Certainly pirates were not consciously anarchist, and often acted
no better than barbarians. But what is important is how they were seen. Their
symbol was the embodiment of rebellion and the spirit of lawlessness and
rebellion. They were hated by the ruling class.
This may have been enough for the starving and
unemployed to pick up the black flag in revolt. In fact, one could quickly get
a hold of a piece of red or black cloth in a riot. Getting hold of the material
was easy. Painting a complicated symbol on it took time. So an improvised rebel
flag raised in a riot was likely to be of just one colour. Hence it follows
nicely that the black flag flew without the skull and bones because it was
necessarily make-shift for a riot.
To this question of the black flag, Howard Ehrlich has
a great passage in his book Reinventing Anarchy, Again. It is worth
quoting at length:
"Why is our flag black? Black is a shade of
negation. The black flag is the negation of all flags. It is a negation of
nationhood which puts the human race against itself and denies the unity of all
humankind. Black is a mood of anger and outrage at all the hideous crimes
against humanity perpetrated in the name of allegiance to one state or another.
It is anger and outrage at the insult to human intelligence implied in the
pretences, hypocrisies, and cheap chicaneries of governments . . . Black is
also a colour of mourning; the black flag which cancels out the nation also
mourns its victims the countless millions murdered in wars, external and
internal, to the greater glory and stability of some bloody state. It mourns
for those whose labour is robbed (taxed) to pay for the slaughter and oppression
of other human beings. It mourns not only the death of the body but the
crippling of the spirit under authoritarian and hierarchic systems; it mourns
the millions of brain cells blacked out with never a chance to light up the
world. It is a colour of inconsolable grief.
"But black is also beautiful. It is a colour of
determination, of resolve, of strength, a colour by which all others are
clarified and defined. Black is the mysterious surrounding of germination, of
fertility, the breeding ground of new life which always evolves, renews,
refreshes, and reproduces itself in darkness. The seed hidden in the earth, the
strange journey of the sperm, the secret growth of the embryo in the womb all
these the blackness surrounds and protects.
"So black is negation, is anger, is outrage, is
mourning, is beauty, is hope, is the fostering and sheltering of new forms of
human life and relationship on and with this earth. The black flag means all
these things. We are proud to carry it, sorry we have to, and look forward to
the day when such a symbol will no longer be necessary." [Reinventing Anarchy, Again, pp. 31-2]