FRSO Freedom School a success
Milwaukee, WI – 25 student and anti-war activists from Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago and Minneapolis attended the Freedom School, a one-day study hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).
The study was broken up into four sessions: U.S. Imperialism and Our Movement Against War and Occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan; Immigrant Rights and the Struggle for Chicano Liberation; Theory and Practice: the Mass Line; and The Need for Revolution: Why You Should Join the FRSO.
Tracy Molm, an organizer with University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), said the study was good at deepening an analysis on imperialism.
“The study stressed that imperialism is not a foreign policy, but rather a period that exists when advanced capitalist economies driven by monopolies divide up the entire world in seeking more profit. We talked about how we’re working to replace imperialism with a system that fosters peace and justice,” she commented.
The study on immigrant rights and Chicano liberation was co-chaired by student organizer Chance Zombor. Zombor presented FRSO’s views on the immigrant rights movement, and noted “The study was particularly helpful to the student organizers of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán and Students for a Democratic Society who have been organizing against Arizona’s SB1070 and wanted greater understanding of how the fight for immigrant rights is part of the revolutionary struggle to liberate the Chicano nation from imperialism.”
Following the studies on imperialism and Chicano liberation, the study of the mass line brought forward how to put this theory into practice.
A point made during the mass line study was the understanding that we must organize and rely on the masses to make history and that people are going to learn the system best when they struggle against it.
Study participants broke into groups and discussed ways in which they could apply the mass line to their own struggles. One example given was an education rights movement that fought against a university administration that supports an agenda of privatization. The movement united everyone who could be united, including both students and workers and built a powerful campaign that escalated into militant actions, bringing many around to radical groups on campus.
Concluding the day, Stephanie Weiner gave a speech on why people should consider being part of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stating, “Everyone in this room liked the victories of the Republic Windows and Doors Workers and the dropping of the charges against the Milwaukee 16. We liked the struggle to save the home of Rosemary Williams, the protests at the Republican National Convention, and the national student movement for education rights. Joining us means you get to experience more events like these, and we’re lucky to know many more victories are on the way.”