Chicago, IL – 100 people attended the International Women’s Day celebration sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in Chicago. The speakers, as well as the people in the room, were from the Black liberation movement – most notably the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression – labor unions, and anti-imperialist movements like the Filipino, Palestinian and Puerto Rican liberation movements, as well as electoral candidates and elected officials.

Christel Williams-Hayes, recording secretary of the Chicago Teachers Union, spoke on the important roles that women played in the 11-day Chicago Public School’s strike in October, and the struggle for a quality and just education for their working class, Black and Latino students. Williams-Hayes was followed by SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer, leader of the 8000 clerical workers, bus aides and janitors who joined CTU in the strike. Talking about this first ever SEIU strike in the schools, “We told our members that we couldn’t promise victory, but we could promise them the fight of their lives.”

Jazmine Salas of FRSO saluted the women across the world who are on the frontlines of all progressive movements and struggles. According to Sala, “If we want to discuss true women's liberation – not just shattering glass ceilings, but shattering the chains that bind all of us- we need to talk about smashing patriarchy, capitalism and white supremacy, and building a new political and economic system where women can live freely – and I’m talking about socialism.”

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