| Freedom Road Socialist Organization | |
| Abbreviation: | FRSO |
| Colorcode: | Red |
| Merger: | Revolutionary Workers Headquarters (1985), Proletarian Unity League (1985), Organization for Revolutionary Unity (1986), Amilcar Cabral/Paul Robeson Collective (1988), Socialist Organizing Network (1996) |
| Newspaper: | Fight Back! News |
| Membership: | ~1000 general members (2021) |
| Position: | Far-left |
| Colors: | Red |
| Country: | United States |
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) is a communist organization political party in the United States. FRSO formed in 1985 as a merger of several Maoist-oriented New Communist movement organizations.
FRSO describes itself as a revolutionary socialist and Marxist-Leninist party, because capitalism "cannot be reformed out of existence", so socialists must "take the sledgehammer of revolution to the chains of oppression". FRSO describes itself as a Marxist-Leninist organization, working to "build a new, revolutionary, communist party" in the United States.[1]
FRSO has two levels of membership. "General" members pay dues annually and must attend one online seminar per year. "Cadre" members must adhere to Leninist organizational norms,[2] including democratic centralism.
In December 2020, FRSO claimed "over 500" general members.[3] In March 2021, FRSO claimed almost 1000 members and "hundreds" of cadre.[4]
In 2002, FRSO created the Anti-War Committee (AWC), which it leads.[5] In 2008, the AWC protested the 2008 Republican National Convention.[6]
In 2006, FRSO helped create the new Students for a Democratic Society (SDS or "new SDS"), which has significant FRSO leadership[7] [8] and FRSO collaboration.[9] [10]
FRSO's main publication is the website and monthly paper Fight Back! News (FB!N) and its Spanish section Lucha y Resiste.[11]
In 1985, the Proletarian Unity League and the Revolutionary Workers Headquarters merged to create FRSO.[12] [13] [14] In 1986, FRSO fused with the Organization for Revolutionary Unity. In 1988, FRSO absorbed the Amílcar Cabral-Paul Robeson Collective.
In 1993, FRSO merged with the Socialist Organizing Network (SON)[15] and adopted the placeholder name "Freedom Road Socialist Organization / Socialist Organizing Network" (FRSO/SON). The SON was formed by former members of the League of Revolutionary Struggle (LRS), which had dissolved in the late 1980s. The 1994 FRSO Congress, which formalized the merger, was called the "First Congress of FRSO/SON". However, no new name emerged, and FRSO/SON reverted back to FRSO afterwards.
FRSO's component groups believed that ultraleftism was the US New Communist movement's main error. Merging under the FRSO banner, these groups hoped to consolidate the movement's remnants in a single organization and move beyond the sectarianism that marked the previous decades.
In response to Tiananmen Square and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, FRSO began to develop two distinct positions on socialist countries. The "Left Refoundation" group, aligned with democratic socialism, argued that these events resulted from a deep crisis of Marxism. The "Fight Back!" group, aligned with Marxism-Leninism, argued that these events resulted from revisionism rather than failures within Marxism.[16] These divisions grew during the 1990s. In 1998, the Left Refoundation group wrote an internal document, "Theses on Left Refoundation", and requested an organization-wide discussion.[17] The FRSO National Executive Committee (NEC) unanimously rejected this discussion.[18] In 1999, the Left Refoundation group received a second hearing, at which the NEC and FRSO as a whole split in two.[19] [20]
Both factions claimed the name "Freedom Road Socialist Organization". In 2006, the Left Refoundation group renamed itself to "FRSO/OSCL", combining the English and Spanish acronym. In 2019, the Left Refoundation group renamed itself to Liberation Road.[21]
On September 24, 2010, over 70 FBI agents raided the homes of 6 antiwar activists, 5 of which FRSO members, and the Anti-War Committee (AWC) headquarters. The FBI claimed to be searching for evidence of "material support of terrorism".[22] [23] FRSO formed the "Committee to Stop FBI Repression" and claimed that FBI agents left behind documents indicating that the raids were aimed at people suspected of FRSO membership, due to the AWC's political support for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[24] FRSO further claimed that the FBI had placed informants inside its organization.[25]
On February 26, 2014, a federal judge unsealed the extensive documents the FBI collected during its nearly three-year surveillance of FRSO.[26] [27] The FBI never charged any person involved.[28]
FRSO is a Marxist-Leninist and democratic centralist organization.
In labor, FRSO advocates a strategy of the building of a "militant minority" within the unions and opposing "collaborating union officials".[29]
In elections, FRSO encourages members to tactically vote against the "most reactionary" candidate, usually Republicans.[30]
FRSO recognizes China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam as socialist countries.[31] FRSO "positively evaluates" Albania, the Soviet Union, and the Warsaw Pact countries, but argues they "gave up on Marxism". FRSO also supports the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and Nicolas Maduro as "leading the masses of people in building a new society".[32] FRSO participates in the annual International Communist Seminar.[33] FRSO is Anti-Zionist.[34]
The table below includes only the "Fight Back!" majority faction, which retains the FRSO name.
| Name | Date | Statement | Main Political Report | Program | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Congress | Spring 2022 | Seize the Time | Three parts: 1, 2, 3 | Program | ||
| 8th Congress | May 2018 | Statement | 2018 MPR | Program | ||
| 7th Congress | 2014 | Statement | Three parts: 1, 2, 3 | |||
| 6th Congress | 2010 | Congress of Victory | 2010 MPR | before FBI raids | ||
| 5th Congress | May 2007 | Period of Struggle | 2007 MPR | Program | no program before 2007 | |
| 4th Congress | June 2004 | Building on Success | 2004 MPR | |||
| 3rd Congress | May 2001 | 2001 Unity Statement | 2001 MPR | after split, Fight Back! group explicitly gave FRSO "Marxist-Leninist" label | ||
| 2nd Congress | November 1997 | FRSO Strategy | before 1999 split | |||
| 1st Congress | 1994 | 1993 Unity Statement | merged FRSO and SON | |||
| n/a | 1986 | ORU Merges | merged FRSO and ORU | |||
| Unity Conference | October 1985 | 1985 Unity Statement | merged RWH and PUL |