Born in Flames

This week of celebration

commemorating the 10th anniversary

of the War of Liberation

is a time when all New Yorkers take pride

in remembering the most peaceful revolution the world has known.

It is time to look back on the events of a decade ago,

to consider the progress of the past ten years

and to look forward to the future.

Hi, there.

This is Isabel from Radio Ragazza,

bringing you a little tune

that you'll be hearing an awful lot of these days.

From the makers of our revolution.

You might not be hearing it here,

but you'll be hearing it everywhere else you go.

Happy anniversary.

Adelaide Norris, 24.

She seems to be the founder of the Women's Army.

Her background?

Ordinary.

Uh, typical of a lot of blacks.

Mother a domestic... that's her on the left.

Her father died when she was a teenager.

Eight kids in the family.

Adelaide's the oldest, she helped raise the others.

Uh, these are some of them.

Always a jock,

good in track and basketball, goes to school nights,

works construction jobs during the day.

Homosexual?

Yes, the Women's Army appears to be dominated

by blacks and lesbians.

Norris started as a radical separatist vigilante group

three or four years ago...

I'd like to know if anyone has any ideas or any suggestions

as to how we can keep this center open,

because for those of you who are working,

what this means is that you're gonna have to stop working

and stay home and take care of your kids.

No, it's gonna be impossible for me to stop working.

Highly impossible.

We have to figure out some kind of way

we can keep the center open independently.

Good evening, this is Honey

coming directly to you from Phoenix Radio,

a free radio station.

A station not only for the liberation of women,

but for the liberation of all,

through the freedom of life which is found in music.

We are all here because we have fought

in the wars of liberation,

and we all bear witness to what has happened since the war.

We still see the depression from the oppression

that still exists both day and night.

For we are the children of the light

and we will continue to fight.

Not against the flesh and blood,

but against the system that names itself falsely.

For we have stood on the promises far too long now

that we can all be equal under the cover of a social democracy.

Where the rich get richer

and the poor just wait on their dreams.

Look at this sweet little thing

coming up the block here.

Hey baby, what's happening?

Where you going?

What are you doing?

What's the matter, you won't say hello?

Today began the weeklong celebration

of the tenth anniversary of the War of Liberation.

Festivities began this afternoon

as organized labor joined forces in a parade up Fifth Avenue,

commemorating the overwhelming victory

by the Social Labor party ten years ago.

Labor's abandonment of the old Democratic party

is considered by many

the cornerstone of today's liberation.

Setting aside for a while

the growing pressure of economic crisis,

Labor spent the day in a celebration

of pride and accomplishment.

Mayor Zubrinsky combined partying and politicking

when he addressed a throng of 150,000 marchers

at the parade's end in the Central Park Sheep Meadow.

I'm gonna open this up now

to any general questions you may have.

Why is it called Women's Army?

I thought army's for the men.

Sounds awfully muscular.

Hillary Hurst, 26.

We figure her to be the acting leader of the Women's Army.

There's no actual political record,

but she's been instrumental in bringing the Army

to large numbers of women

through induction meetings she holds around the city.

What connection does she have to Norris?

Well, she's not responsible to Norris within the organization,

they are in close contact,

but that may have to do with their lifestyles.

Is Hurst in command?

That's impossible to say.

We're not even sure how the organization is structured.

All we know is that they're starting to appeal to women

who would've written them off as lunatics a few years ago.

...President of the City Council Ryan,

members of the Board of Estimate,

ladies and gentlemen.

As chief executive officer of this great city,

I am pleased, proud and grateful to you all

for affording this city the opportunity to share

in that which is the 10th anniversary

of the War of Liberation.

The anniversary which heralds our society

as being the very first true socialist democracy

the world has ever known.

Ours has been the greatest cultural revolution

of all time,

through which we have wed democracy,

with its respect for freedom and individualism

and its abhorrence of all forms of communism and fascism,

coupled with the moral and ethical humanism

of American socialism.

How does one illuminate a dark and lonely sky?

There's only one thing left to do

You gotta ram at the darkness with your rhyme

Rhyme, chime stop on a dime

My love is yours and your love is mine

Kick the stops out bump and grind

Bojangle and shake till the hearts all break

How does one illuminate a dark and muddy sky?

There's only one thing left to do

You gotta ram at the darkness with your rhyme

Police have been puzzled in the past week

by what they describe as well-organized bands

of 15 to 20 women on bicycles attacking men on the street.

While these victims have claimed

that these incidents were unprovoked,

eyewitness reports have led investigators to believe

that these men may themselves have been attempting

to assault women.

However, officials have condemned

the lawlessness of such vigilante groups,

and ask for information leading to the arrest

of the women involved.

Maybe even their telephone numbers.

We'll have more information on the 11:00 report.

Now here's Linda with the weather.

Lesbianism and faggotism.

Niggerism, honkeyism.

You know, really,

that could have been the Women's Army that did that.

It couldn't have been the Women's Army!

It sure could've.

No, they're not aggressive enough.

They're not aggressive enough?

What are you talking about?

I'm telling you, Jules,

they're a service to the community,

they deal in childcare and daycare centers

and stuff like that, but they...

That's not all they do.

They do vigilantes, they do violence,

they could've done this easily. Nah.

Yep. No!

They're not aggressive enough, they're not terrorists.

Good evening, this is Honey

coming directly to you from the Phoenix radio station.

We're gonna let you know what's going on, what's happening.

Hey, why don't you leave the lady alone?