London Action Resource Centre

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The London Action Resource Centre (LARC) claims to be a "collectively run building providing space and resources for people and groups working on self-organised, non-hierarchical projects for radical social change".. Originally called the Fieldgate Action Resource Centre, a company limited by guarantee, No. 03836099 was set up with this name. In 1999 the building became the property of this company which is now known as the London Action Resource Centre Ltd.. However this asset does not appear in any of the accounts filed by the organisation at Companies House. The building is situated in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, and was formerly a synagogue and at one time housed the Louise Michel International Modern School.

File:LARC-Antisystemic-Library.jpeg

The Antisystemic Library in LARC

Function of LARC

The London Action Resource Centre claims to support individuals and groups taking direct action on social and ecological issues, or engaging in other radical projects. Groups using the space include the London sections of Queeruption, Indymedia and Rising Tide UK. It also functions as an info-point for Peoples Global Action.

The resources of the building include office space, computer and internet facilities, a roof garden and a radical library. The space is used for meetings, talks, yoga, self-defence, film screenings, womenzone, kids days, and banner/prop making for a variety of autonomous actions.

LARC is open to visit every Wednesday 1pm til 6pm, Thursday 4 til 9pm, and Sunday afternoon from 2pm til 5pm.

The address of LARC is 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 1ES.

History of the project

LARC was purchased in the autumn of 1999 by people active in Reclaim the Streets grouped around Mark Brown , just after their success in the Carnival against Capitalism which occurred June 18th 1999. It was rebuilt over three years.

The library was set up to run on the principles of the Antisystemic Library on June 18, 2003. A split in the User Group over claims of institutional racism and of fascist infiltration of Peoples' Global Action. of which LARC is one of the founding info-points, led to the expulsion of the No Platform group West Essex Zapatista at the December 2004 AGM of the company. This led to the forced departure of the Voice Refugee Forum and eventually the relocation of the Antisystemic Library. Many of the books and resources, however, were retained by the LARC library.

It was around this time that the term anarcho-racism started to be used with the moniker London Anarcho Racist Centre used by LARC's critics for its perceived institutional racism.

Events which have occurred at LARC since January 2003 are listed on the group's website

History of the building

On Sunday 6th March 1921 the last of the English International Modern Schools opened at (62) Fieldgate Street. There was still a small group of Jewish anarchists living in London who had been associated with the Workers Friend Group, Louise Michel's International Modern School and the anarchist commune at Marsh House during the war. Some of these people, C.B Warwick, Helena Applebaum, A. Gilbert, E. Michaels and H. and E. Samuels formed themselves into a group known as the Free Educational Group and announced in Freedom in February 1921 that they were looking for teachers.

By June 1921, having started with 30 children, there were over 100 at the school, and there was an average weekly attendance of 85. The school declared it's aim "to combat the anti-social environment of capitalist education as operating through the state schools and the religious institutions, and to bring up the child in the spitit of freedom". The school intended to entertain "such subjects that may develop the young mind towards the love of nature, beauty. self-expression and social outlook and activity." Further, the method was to attempt to "interest and instruct without the use of domination."

Function of LARC

History of the project

History of the building

References

See also

External links