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Inspired by the rise of anarchist activity internationally, and specifically after the 1999 anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle, a group of anarchists from the Phoenix area organized a May Day demonstration for May 1, 2000. Over 100 anarchists and radicals came to demonstrate against economic inequality and capitalism, with the crowd marching in the streets of downtown Phoenix, stopping to protest corporate chain store Starbucks, taking over a McDonalds, forcing police to briefly close the western entrance to the Bank One building, and through the Wells Fargo Plaza. Four arrests were made during a second march to Phoenix City Hall after the Phoenix Police Department had warned demonstrators not to march into the streets again.
Phoenix anarchists were energized after organizing the first May Day protests in Phoenix in over 70 years, they held a meeting in mid-May of 2000 to discuss the creation of an anarchist organization for the Phoenix area. The result was the formation of the Phoenix Anarchist Coalition (PAC), the group held their first meeting on May 18, 2000 in Tempe. A coalition was chosen as the organization model for the new anarchist group, as many of the founding and original members of PAC were also members of other radical activist groups and as individuals could represent the varied activist groups, and it would also allow for non-affiliated individuals to participate without belonging to other radical activist groups. The other groups included Phoenix Copwatch, Phoenix Earth First!, the Arizona State University (ASU) chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS), and the Arizona Direct Action Coalition (AZDAC). During the first meetings of PAC, members agreed on a common definition of anarchism: "One who believes in self-governance and no capitalism.", and the group also made plans to caravan to Los Angeles in mid-August to attend the 2000 North American Anarchist Conference, and to protest the 2000 Democratic National Convention, also in Los Angeles.
PAC organized a handful of protests during the summer of 2000, most to bring attention to social issues, and to present an anarchist perspective on local and national issues to an unfamiliar public.
Aside from the Phoenix anarchists involved in PAC, there was also an Anarchist Library that was run out of a house for a number of years and eventually moved into a collective art space in central Phoenix, where it remains today. The Anarchist Library houses a large collection of books, zines, magazines, and videos on a variety of subjects, and also hosts workshops and speakers on issues of interest to anarchists and radicals.
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