A teenage delinquent and drug addict, Ben Morea went looking for the Beatniks in the late 1950s, discovered the Living Theatre, and developed a taste for, and involvement in, art and anarchism. A painter, rabble-rouser, and troublemaker, he was the main instigator of the Black Mask group, The Family (popularly know as Up Against The Wall Motherf**ker, and no relation to the West Coast Manson “family”), and the Armed Love communal movement. By the end of the 60s, facing increased police attention, Ben Morea “disappeared” into the rural communal movement and anonymity. He continues to paint (and now blog), and galvanized by the current Imperial wars, has re-emerged to talk of the legacy and history of Black Mask and The Family, and their relevance to the struggles today.