Symbionese Liberation Army
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| Symbionese Liberation Army | |
|---|---|
 SLA members: Sara Jane Olson, Nancy Ling Perry, Patricia Soltysik, William Harris, Patty Hearst, Donald DeFreeze, Emily Harris, Angela Atwood, Camilla Hall[1] |
|
| Active | 1973–1975 |
| Country | United States |
| Role | Guerrilla warfare |
| Size | Around 20 members |
| Equipment | Small arms |
| Actions | 6 November 1973 shooting of two school administrators February 4, 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst April 15, 1974 Hibernia bank robbery May 16, 1974 Mel's Sporting Goods shot up May 17, 1974 LA shoot out most members are killed April 21, 1975 Crocker National Bank robbery |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Donald DeFreeze, a.k.a. "Field Marshal Cinque" Died in police shoot out May 17, 1974 (aged 30) |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
 Seven headed cobra |
The Symbionese Liberation Army (S.L.A.) was an American self-styled urban guerrilla warfare group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army. The group committed bank robberies, two murders and other acts of violence over the period of its activity.
The S.L.A. became internationally notorious for kidnapping media heiress Patty Hearst, abducting the 19-year-old as she and her 26-year-old boyfriend, Steven Weed, sat relaxing in their Berkeley, California home. International interest grew into worldwide fascination when Hearst, in audiotaped messages delivered to (and broadcast by) regional news media, denounced her parents and announced she had joined the S.L.A. She was subsequently observed participating in their illegal activities. Hearst later alleged that she had been held in close confinement, sexually assaulted and brainwashed.
[edit] S.L.A. beliefs and symbology
In his manifesto "Symbionese Liberation Army Declaration of Revolutionary War & the Symbionese Program," DeFreeze wrote, "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word 'symbiosis' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body." [2]
Although the S.L.A. considered themselves leaders of the Black revolution, DeFreeze was its only Black member. His seven-headed S.L.A. cobra symbol was also based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, with each head representing a principle. They are: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).
The appearance of the symbol of the seven-headed cobra[3] on S.L.A. propaganda indicates that it was copied from the ancient Sri Lankan / Indian seven-headed nāga; carved stones depicting a seven-headed cobra are commonly found near the sluices of the ancient irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka and these are believed to have been placed there as guardians of the water. [4]
Russell Little attests that the group's primary activity during this period was acquiring and storing firearms and learning to use the weapons at public shooting ranges (Stone 2004).
[edit] Formation and initial activities
[edit] Prison visits and political film
The S.L.A. formed as a result of the prison visitation programs of the radical left-wing group Venceremos Organization and a group known as the Black Cultural Association in Soledad prison. The idea of a South American-styled urban guerrilla movement, similar to the Tupamaros movement in Uruguay, combined with Régis Debray's theory of urban warfare and ideas drawn from Maoism, appealed to a number of people, including Patricia Michelle Soltysik (aka "Mizmoon").
Some activists within the New Left compared America's prison system to concentration camps designed to oppress African Americans. They believed that a majority of African American convicts were political prisoners, and that Black power ideology would naturally appeal to them. Group member Willie Wolfe developed this ideology into a plan for action, linking student activists with prison militants (Stone 2004).
[edit] DeFreeze escapes prison
The S.L.A. formed after the escape from prison by Donald DeFreeze, a.k.a. "Field Marshal Cinque." He had been serving 5-15 years for robbing a prostitute. DeFreeze took the name Cinque from the leader of the slave rebellion who took over the slave ship Amistad in 1839. DeFreeze escaped from the Soledad State Prison on 5 March 1973 by simply walking away while on work duty in a boiler room located outside of the perimeter fence.
DeFreeze had been active in the Black Cultural Association while at the California Medical Facility, a state prison facility in Vacaville, California, where he had made contacts with members of Venceremos. He sought refuge among these contacts, and ended up at a commune known as Peking House in the San Francisco Bay Area. For some time he shared living quarters with future S.L.A. members Willie Wolfe and Russ Little, then moved in with Patricia Michelle Soltysik. DeFreeze and Soltysik became lovers and began to outline the plans for forming the "Symbionese Nation."
[edit] Assassination
On 06 November 1973, in Oakland, California, two members of the SLA killed school superintendent Dr Marcus Foster and badly wounded his deputy, Robert Blackburn, as the men left an Oakland school board meeting. The hollow-point bullets used to kill Dr Foster had been packed with cyanide.[5]
The SLA had condemned Foster's plan to introduce identification cards into Oakland schools as "fascist." Ironically, Foster had originally opposed the use of identification cards in his schools, and his plan was a watered-down version of other similar proposals. Foster, an <a h