On September 24, 2010 the FBI raided seven homes of anti-war activists and the office of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee. 23 activists were subpoenaed to a Chicago-based grand jury that claimed to be investigating “material support for terrorism.” None of those targeted ever stopped resisting this attempt to repress our movement and no one appeared before any grand jury. As time went on, the FBI continued their attack on anti-war and international solidarity activists by targeting important veterans of the movement who worked with the Anti-war 23, including Chicano activist Carlos Montes in Los Angeles and Palestinian organizer Rasmea Odeh in Chicago. Veterans of our movements showed solidarity with the other activists targeted by the FBI and helped push back against this attempt at repression.
Desde 2013 cuando la Corte Suprema con mayoría conservadora debilitó la Ley de Derecho al Voto de 1965, Republicanos y derechistas han intentado pasar más y más restricciones jurídicas al voto. El objetivo principal de estos esfuerzos es reprimir los votos de afroamericanos, quienes llevan mucho tiempo luchando en contra del racismo del Partido Republicano moderno. Estos esfuerzos han incrementado tras la derrota electoral de Donald Trump en las elecciones presidenciales del 2020 y la victoria de un senador afroamericano en Georgia. Las mentiras de Trump y sus aliados acerca de fraude electoral se han unido a la campaña para suprimir el voto. Su objetivo no es solamente ganar las elecciones del 2022 y 2024 sino también establecer la fundación para anular futuras elecciones si los resultados no les convienen. La supresión del voto de afroamericanos, chicanos y otras nacionalidades oprimidas es el enfoque de estos esfuerzos.
Ever since the Supreme Court conservative majority weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republicans and the right wing have tried to pass more and more legal restrictions on voting. The main aim of these efforts is to suppress the votes of African Americans, who have long fought the racism and reaction of the modern Republican Party. These efforts redoubled in the wake of the 2020 elections with Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race, and the election of one African American senator from Georgia. Trump and his allies’ lies about voter fraud have merged with this campaign for voter suppression. Their goal is not just to try to win elections in 2022 and 2024, but to lay the basis for trying to overturn future elections if the outcome is not to their liking. Disenfranchising as many African Americans, Chicanos and other oppressed nationalities is at the center of their efforts to turn the clock back.
On September 1, abortion became illegal in Texas, except in the very earliest stages of pregnancy. The handful of abortion providers in the state are now turning away most people seeking their services because they are not arriving early enough in their pregnancies. The law makes no exception for rape or incest, or for the age of the pregnant person.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization urges all progressive activists to take action to support the Ojibwe people in their fight against the Line 3 oil pipeline. Line 3, just like the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects before it, tramples on the sovereign rights of the indigenous peoples whose traditional lands and waters it crosses – in this case the Ojibwe, who are part of the broader Anishinaabe peoples. In FRSO, we see the struggle against pipelines not just as an environmental issue but also one of the most important and militant struggles for indigenous sovereignty.
The images are searing. Helicopters ferrying diplomatic personnel from the U.S. Embassy while plumes of black smoke billow from the building. Taliban fighters with heavy artillery parade through the thoroughfares of provincial capitals. The International Airport, still under U.S. control, is in chaos as collaborators try storm planes to flee the country. In the space of a few weeks the puppet government collapsed, and its figureheads have vanished. The decades of occupation have come to an end. Those that fought to end it now sit at the former president’s desk.
With the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium, millions of families are facing homelessness. The economic crisis, coupled with the pandemic and rising rents, has hit working and poor people hard. It was no secret that that this moratorium deadline was coming. President Biden’s statements that nothing can be done are nothing sort of absurd. There is no excuse for putting millions of people in the streets. Freedom Road Socialist Organization adds our voice to those demanding immediate action from Congress and the White House.
The working people of Cuba are mobilizing to defend the Cuban revolution and drive pro-U.S. reactionaries from the streets. The Cuban people are united in overcoming the costly U.S. economic embargo and subversion. Cubans steadfastly refuse to return to being a colony controlled by the U.S. Older Cubans remember when it was a playground for American millionaires and gangsters, with widespread poverty, abuse of workers and death an everyday part of life.
With $80,000 in hand, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization fundraising drive is a great success. Thousands of additional dollars are pledged, and many have indicated a desire to give more. Now is that time. We urge you to contribute at once, so that our goal of $100,000 can be achieved.
We are proud of the progress that our Spring Fundraising campaign has made so far. $65,000 in hand, with many thousands in pledges. We are in striking distance of goal of $100,000. We are poised to make a great leap forward.
The Israeli occupiers of Palestine are adding to their long list of crimes. They are attempting to drive Palestinians from the homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. Mobs of reactionary Zionist settlers are roaming the streets and attempting to murder Palestinian motorists. Israeli airstrikes are raining U.S.-made bombs on homes in Gaza. The death toll of Palestinians, including children, is mounting each day. The cruel and callous reality of the occupation is there for the whole world to see. The great South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela was entirely correct to identify Israeli apartheid as a “crime against humanity.”
International Workers Day is celebrated on May 1. Around the world, workers have accomplished many great things over the past year that we can be proud of. The ruling class, made up of monopoly capitalists, have tried their best to keep profits high at the expense of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we’ve seen time and time again that the people can rise above the obstacles created by the 1% and bring about real change. On May Day 2021, it is important to reflect on the past year. We must also renew our efforts to end the rule of the monopoly capitalists and replace their broken, failed system with a system that benefits not the few but the majority of people – socialism.
Take to the streets, organize events for International Workers Day!
Freedom Road Socialist Organization is calling comrades, allies and activists everywhere to mobilize for May Day this year. With good outreach, planning and attention to safety, organizers can build spirited demonstrations and march in the streets to celebrate the struggle of the international working class on May 1.
Over the past year, Freedom Road Socialist Organization has undergone a period of dramatic growth, and we have emerged as one of the largest revolutionary organizations in the United States. We have been in the forefront of the fight against police crimes. We have systematically developed our work in the labor movement. And we have worked hard to build the movements for African-American and Chicano liberation. We have hundreds of cadre who are working day and night to build the people’s struggle and we will soon have more than 1000 members. FRSO is truly national in scope.
Around the world, International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8. It’s a holiday that calls on everyone to recognize and honor the accomplishments of women in the struggle for a better world. The first Women’s Day was celebrated in the U.S. in 1909 to honor the heroic garment workers strike in New York. In 1910, acting on a proposal from the outstanding German revolutionary Clara Zetkin, the Socialist International adopted International Women’s Day. Over 111 years later, women continue to fight on the frontlines for peace, equality and our communities’ futures.
Por todo el mundo, el Día Internacional de la Mujer se celebra el 8 de marzo. Es un día feriado que apela a todos reconocer y dar respeto a los logros de la mujer en la lucha por un mundo mejor. El primer Día Internacional de la Mujer se celebró en los EE. UU. en 1909 para honrar la huelga heroica de las trabajadoras de ropa en Nueva York. En 1910, actuando en un propósito de la destacada revolucionaria alemana Clara Zetkin, la Internacional Socialista adoptó el Día Internacional de la Mujer. Más que 111 años después, las mujeres continúan luchar en las fronteras para la paz, la igualdad, y el futuro de nuestras comunidades.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns in the strongest possible terms the February 25 attack launched by the Biden administration on Syria. There is nothing that can justify this cowardly move and it will be opposed by all who stand for peace with justice.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns the January 11 U.S. State Department designation of socialist Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” In the few days it has left to remain in power, the Trump administration is trying to implement every reactionary measure it can dream up, all the while calling good “evil” and evil “good.”
This afternoon, January 6, racist and reactionary supporters of President Trump followed up a rally at the White House by marching and seizing the U.S. capitol building. Egged on by Trump, they brought to an end to the congressional certification of the election. An armed standoff took place outside the House chamber. The media has been filled with images of Trump supporters occupying offices of congresspeople. New developments are taking place with the passage of every hour.
