Osawatomie (periodical)
[1] After the publication of Prairie Fire: the Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism, the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) continued to establish a media presence by publishing a quarterly magazine entitled Osawatomie.
Osawatomie debuted in March 1975[2] and gave the WUO an outlet to solidify the organization, its purpose, and its politics.
[2] The magazine was named Osawatomie in honor of John Brown, a white abolitionist who, in 1856 in Osawatomie, Kansas, led a small group of anti-slavery forces in an armed fight to prevent the state of Kansas from becoming a slave state and with whom the WUO is symbolically linked through the tradition of militant white anti-racism.
[3] Each issue of Osawatomie included editorials, book reviews, a "Toolbox" section in which certain communist ideas were explained in everyday language,[4] and news about other anti-imperialist struggles around the world.
Each issue also included a "Who We Are" section which gave a brief history of the WUO in which the Organization claimed responsibility for "over 25 armed actions against the enemy,"[5] in this case, the U.S. Government.
The "Who We Are" section also outlined the five key points of the WUO program which included eliminating U.S. imperialism from the Third World; peace, by opposing "imperialist war and U.S. intervention;" fighting racism by building an anti-racist base among the working class and supporting self-determination for oppressed peoples; struggling for freedom of women against sexism; and fighting for socialism by organizing the working class.
[5] After the completion of Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism, the Organization established a larger print shop in Boston which included a darkroom and plate-making facilities.
To prevent the neighbors from discovering the true nature of the print shop, they were told that the business was a small travel agency that had their own press [this needs confirmation].
[2] Each issue of the magazine was between 28 and 32 pages, cost between 25 and 50 cents (including postage), and was distributed to news organizations, activists, and subscribers.
[6] Once the initial distribution was completed, the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee would reprint the magazine for a wider circulation.
[3] Another focus of the magazine was that of organizing a mass movement as opposed to bombings of government buildings carried out by a select few.
[3] For others, it was a significant shift in politics, moving the Organization away from Third World movements and focusing on communist populism.
Each issue of Osawatomie included a section titled "Who We Are" in which the Weather Underground Organization establishes its identity and describes what they are working towards.
The section took up approximately one half of a page and included information from which the name Weather Underground Organization was derived; a line from the song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Bob Dylan which said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
