Voter suppression in the U.S. was much in the news during this recent election. But the issue of who has the right to vote, and who does not, is a long-running class battle between the wealthy elite and the workers. Those in power have always maintained their influence through voter exclusion and a rigged electoral… Read more »
history
The role of slaves and abolitionists in securing the Emancipation Proclamation
“In the North, the Emancipation Proclamation meant the Negro soldier, and the Negro soldier meant the end of the war.” That’s what W.E.B. Du Bois says in his incomparable book Black Reconstruction in America, 1860–1880. In this year of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, myths persist about iconic men like President Lincoln and… Read more »
Native American feminist, anti-fascist and unionist reflects on why she became a radical
Ann Rogers is an active Chippewa (or Ojibwe) member of the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) and Radical Women (RW) in Seattle and a mentor in the joint National Comrades of Color Caucus (NCCC) of the two organizations. A writer for the Freedom Socialist on Native issues, Rogers has represented FSP and RW in support work… Read more »
“This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible”
Revisiting Bernadette Logue’s 2014 book review.
The US role in the world: myth and reality
The term “American Century” comes from Henry Luce, publisher of Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune. In 1941, Luce wrote a lengthy editorial to whip up public support for World War II. “Throughout the 17th Century and the 18th Century and the 19th Century,” he wrote, “this continent teemed with manifold projects and magnificent purposes…. Read more »
The ISIS crisis, made by imperialism
The barbarism of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has repulsed workers everywhere, especially in the Middle East. For every “jihadist” recruit, more fighters are taking up arms against it. Among the bravest are Kurdish women from Iraq and Syria. Washington screams “evil” at ISIS’ ruthless beheadings, but remains silent at the dozens… Read more »
Raíces de la explosión en Ferguson — y el siguiente paso para el movimiento
Todo el mundo vio cómo los agravios suprimidos mucho tiempo de los negros explotaron después de que fue exonerado Darren Wilson, el policía que mató al adolescente negro inerme, Michael Brown, en Ferguson, Missouri. Pero la violencia policial está lejos de ser el único abuso al que los negros se enfrentan; el control comunitario de… Read more »
From the Freedom Socialist archives: Derailing freedom’s train: voting rights marauders
The article below was published by the Freedom Socialist in the fall of 1981. It was a frank appraisal of the courageous, sometimes deadly, battle for Black voting rights that won the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and a warning that it was not a permanent victory. • • • “We’re not on our knees… Read more »
From the archives of the Freedom Socialist — The incendiary legacy of Malcolm X: revolutionary internationalism
This article was written soon after Spike Lee’s 1992 movie Malcolm X inspired renewed interest in him. But this piece could have been written yesterday, as African Americans and their supporters protest the wanton murder of Black and other youth of color by cops around the country, along with persistent legal and economic injustice. As… Read more »
Freedom socialist book review — historical novel: of slavery and sisterhood before the Civil War
Who doesn’t love the story of a rebel? The tale of the Grimké sisters is just that. Two daughters of a plantation-owning, slave-holding family, they defied their roots and society to become outspoken abolitionists and champions of women’s rights. When I realized that The Invention of Wings by my latest and favorite novelist, Sue Monk… Read more »
