As 2024 draws to a close, we prepare to march into the new year. It promises both challenges and opportunities, and now is the time to take stock of the world around us and recommit to the work ahead.

The past year has been a flashpoint—a series of crises that have shone a piercing light on the stakes of our fight. In Palestine, the genocidal war in Gaza, and the unflinching resistance of the Palestinian people and their allies, provoked a global tidal wave of solidarity and outrage, making clear the urgency of the anti-imperialist struggle.

Here in the U.S., we’re facing a crossroads. Polarization deepens as the contradictions of capitalism become impossible to ignore. Prices for housing, healthcare and education creep higher and higher, and wages stagnate. At the same time, more wealth is concentrated in fewer hands than ever before. The climate crisis looms large, and Trump’s plans to strip away environmental regulations and bolster industries that destroy the planet. With the threat of emboldened anti-immigrant policies, the fight against deportation and family separation will be a major front of struggle. Trump’s return to office and the Republican agenda threatens to continue to erode democratic rights and social protections, while the Democrats offer no real alternative to the system’s crises. The bipartisan consensus to fund war and repression, rather than meet the needs of working people, exposes the fact that the ruling class has no solutions. These are all symptoms of a system in terminal decline.

When we look around, it’s clear that today’s crises haven’t gone unanswered. The streets have filled with voices of resistance in massive solidarity protests for Palestine. We’ve seen the seeds of a revitalized labor movement, with workers across industries striking and organizing, demanding dignity and decent wages. Facing a steady rise in police crimes, Black communities and other oppressed nationalities are mobilizing against police violence, calling for accountability and control over the institutions that oppress them.

The student movement took things to the next level this past year. Young people across the country refused to accept the status quo of a genocidal war, and are standing resolutely in solidarity with Palestine. Answering the call to action, they confronted expulsions, misdemeanors and even felonies. These experiences transformed them forever – they saw the real face of the enemy in the state’s relentless efforts to silence a generation and justify genocide. Through it all, the Palestinian resistance became their teacher, showing them the meaning of courage.

It’s no question that the year ahead will be critical. Police repression and reactionary violence are on the rise, and the monopoly capitalist class will do everything in its power to maintain its grip. Imperialism is failing, and as it fails, it flails. But even with the challenges ahead, there are sparks of resistance and a massive potential for change. During Trump’s first term, the people were mobilized and were able to beat back many of Trump and his congressional allies’ attacks. We are preparing to confront the Trump agenda and his billionaire backers. Our movements are alive and growing, but they need organization and direction to become an unstoppable force.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization is committed to building a new communist party capable of uniting the struggles of workers, oppressed nationalities, and all those fighting for liberation into a powerful force for socialism. We are active in unions, community organizations, anti-war coalitions, and many other strands of the people’s movements, working to connect the immediate struggles of today with the revolutionary goals of tomorrow. We know that history is made by the masses, and we are dedicated to organizing those masses into a force capable of transforming society. We’re building a party that is serious, disciplined and rooted in the needs and of the people.

As we enter 2025, let’s recommit ourselves to this work. We have grown rapidly in the past year; let’s double down and expand the ranks of the revolutionary movement. History doesn’t wait, and neither can we. Talk is cheap. We’re making things happen, step by step, in the real world. Moving together, we can build the party of the revolution and take decisive steps toward a socialist future. Join us in this fight and make 2025 a year of struggle—because the world can’t wait.

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