“The act of fighting injustice is full of hope and joy when it is viewed, and properly so, as a slice of an innate historical tradition, an ancient reaching out for universal human fulfillment.”
This line from Clara Fraser, Freedom Socialist Party founder, indomitable fighter and dogged optimist, jumped off the page the other day. It captures an invaluable gift that activism delivers—connection to a revolutionary tradition and the people who have carried it forward. It’s a bond that breaks down differences and blows through borders, a kinship that can cross centuries of time.
Standing up to the far right in Huntington Beach, California
Understanding that we are not alone has been a source of resilience for many of us fighting for change during a time of shifting ground. Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, by working together we attained remarkable accomplishments in 2021. A few highlights stand out:
We’re elated by our growing collaboration with Latin American comrades in Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment (CRIR), which seeks to build an organization that unites revolutionaries across the globe. With CRIR we bolstered feminists rising up in Argentina. FSP also provided political and financial aid to Left journalists fighting repression in Afghanistan. Solidarity will keep you sane!
Showing solidarity with the Northwest carpenters strike
This was also the year U.S. workers, fed up with low wages and crappy conditions, intensified their fightback! FSP and our supporters walked many picket lines, bringing moral and material support to striking produce workers at Hunts Point Market in New York City, carpenters in northwest Washington, and operating engineers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in the Bay Area. The wave of workers standing up continues to swell.
Picketing with Kaiser Operating Engineers in the Bay Area
In New York City we helped introduce the historic Community POWER Act to hold police accountable. Los Angeles members continued to organize with community activists in the End Homelessness NOW campaign. Australian comrades stood up to a growing far-right movement.
Most recently, following the lead of our sister organization Radical Women, we went on the offensive against SCOTUS and the right wing with the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice. Through demonstrations in numerous cities, we organized around a powerful set of intersectional demands that defend the right of women and all people to control their own bodies. And this campaign is just getting started!
Revolutionary study at the West Coast educational conference
Thanks to supporters’ generous donations, we kept organizing centers humming in several cities and launched regional educational conferences to train revolutionary leaders. Working folks also responded to the Freedom Socialist subscription drive, which rocketed past goal and brought 252 new readers to our unabashedly radical paper.
The problems facing the planet and the working class loom large. But we draw hope from all those we struggled alongside in 2021, as well as the new fighters who will join the movement in the coming year.
Onward to 2022 with gratitude, solidarity, and revolutionary momentum!
for the U.S. FSP National Committee
