Freedom Socialist Party
Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Socialism US The Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) is a Trotskyist and socialist feminist political party in the United States. FSP formed in 1966, when its members split from the Socialist Workers Party. FSP views the struggles of women, people of color and sexual minorities as intrinsic to the struggle of the working class. Notable FSP members include Megan Cornish, Heidi Durham, Richard S. Fraser, and Clara Fraser.
Membership
FSP has branches in the United States, as well as Australia, England, Germany and New Zealand.[1] FSP is affiliated with Radical Women, a socialist feminist organization.
History
Background
The immediate forerunner of FSP was the Kirk-Kaye tendency within the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), led by Richard S. Fraser (Kirk) and Clara Fraser (Kaye) who were then married.[2]
The Kirk-Kaye tendency primarily disagreed with SWP leadership on three points: The Kirk-Kaye tendency supported revolutionary integrationism, in contrast to the SWP's support for Black nationalism and the Nation of Islam. The Kirk-Kaye tendency argued that socialist feminism must be a top priority for socialist organizations. And the Kirk-Kaye tendency claimed that the SWP was undemocratic.[3]Template:Rp
Founding
FSP formed in 1966, when its members split from the Socialist Workers Party. The party's Seattle branch, with support from individuals in other cities, split off from the SWP over what it described as the SWP's entrenched opportunism and undemocratic methods.[3]Template:Rp
FSP advocated for class solidarity of Black and white workers, called for a greatly expanded understanding of and attention to women's emancipation, and urged the anti-war movement to support the socialist, anti-colonial aims of the Vietnamese Revolution.
FSP became a pole of attraction for Seattle leftists opposed to the SWP's internal politics and established a home at Freeway Hall.[4][5][6] The party formed Radical Women with the dual goal of building a revolutionary socialist feminist organization and teaching women the organizational and leadership skills that were often denied to them in male-dominated organizations.[7]
Subsequent history
In 1978, FSP joined the Committee for a Revolutionary Socialist Party (CRSP), an attempted united front of Trotskyist parties. In 1980, CRSP collapsed.[8][3]Template:Rp
In 1989, FSP founded the United Front Against Fascism (UFAF), an anti-fascist organization that included a broad coalition of the Left, the LGBT community, labor unionists, feminists, people of color, Jews, and civil libertarians. UFAF took the lead in mobilizing against neo-Nazis in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
In 1991, the Seattle FSP ran two members for Seattle City Council, Heidi Durham and Yolanda Alaniz, who campaigned on guaranteed income for families living in poverty, community control of the police, and domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples.[8]
In 2003, Lyndon LaRouche filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that FSP's Red Letter Press and its managing editor, Helen Gilbert, had violated campaign finance laws. Gilbert had issued a pamphlet critical of LaRouche's ideology and political history.[15] The FEC found LaRouche's complaint to be without merit and dismissed it.[16]
Ideology
FSP is a Trotskyist revolutionary socialist organization.[17][18] FSP leaders Clara Fraser and Gloria Martin hoped to build a Leninist party that is "socialist-feminist" in ideology and practice.[19][20]
FSP supports military aid to Ukraine.[21]
Election results
FSP has fielded electoral candidates in the United States for local, state, and federal offices. FSP candidates usually run as official FSP candidates.
No FSP candidate has yet won an election.
Presidential elections
| Year | Presidential candidate | Vice presidential candidate | Popular votes | % | Electoral votes | Result | Ballot access | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Stephen Durham | Christina López | 117 | Template:Percentage bar | 0 | Lost | Template:Composition bar | write-in campaign | [22][23][24][25][26] |
In 2016, FSP critically endorsed Jeff Mackler of Socialist Action for president.[27]
In 2020, FSP again critically endorsed Jeff Mackler of Socialist Action for president.[28]
In 2024, FSP declined to make a presidential endorsement and instead suggested voters spoil their ballots by writing-in "free Palestine."[29]
Congressional elections
| Year | Candidate | Chamber | State | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Steve Hoffman | Senate | Washington | Class 1 | 7,390 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | all-party blanket primary, did not advance to general | [30][31] |
State legislature elections
| Year | Candidate | Office | Area | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jordana Sardo | State Representative | Oregon | 45 | 2,297 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | ran as Freedom Socialist Party candidate | [32][33][34] |
| 1998 | Marian Sunde | State Senate | California | 22 | 7,665 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | [35][36] |
| 1998 | Adrienne Weller | State Representative | Oregon | 18 | 496 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | ran as independent candidate | [35][37] |
| 1998 | Guerry Hoddersen | State Representative | Washington | 37 | 1,439 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | ran as Freedom Socialist Party candidate | [35][38] |
| 1998 | Stephen Durham | State Assemblymember | New York | 71 | 366 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | ran as Freedom Socialist Party candidate | [35][39] |
Local elections
| Year | Candidate | Office | Area | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Linda Averill | City Council | Seattle | 4 | 16,584 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | all-party blanket primary, did not advance to general | [40][41][42] |
| 1991 | Heidi Durham | City Council | Seattle | Lost | all-party blanket primary, did not advance to general | [8][43] | |||
| 1991 | Yolanda Alaniz | City Council | Seattle | 1 | 27,991 | Template:Percentage bar | Lost | general election | [8][44] |
See also
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- American Left
- Socialist Alternative (United States)
- Democratic Socialists of America
- Green Party of the United States
- History of left-wing politics in the United States
References
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- ↑ Helen Gilbert, "Lyndon Larouche: Fascism Restyled for the New Millennium", Redletterpress.org
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- ↑ Durham/Lopez campaign website, Votesocialism.com
- ↑ Ballot Access News, January 29, 2012, "Freedom Socialist Party Nominates its First National Ticket".
- ↑ The Green Papers "Votes for Stephen Gaylord Durham".
- ↑ Ballot Access News "New York State Posts Final 2012 Election Returns Tally; Presidential Vote Increases by 400,332 Votes".
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Further reading
Archives
- Freedom Socialist Party Seattle Branch Records, 1984–1992. 3.14 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Freedom Socialist Party National Office (Seattle) Records, 1976–1998. 3.09 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Radical Women Seattle Office Records, 1991–1997. 0.37 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Radical Women National Office (Seattle) Records, 1976–1998. 1.28 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- United Front Against Fascism records, 1945-2021. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Melba Windoffer Papers, 1910–1993. 7.42 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Megan Cornish Papers, 1970–2003. 10.26 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Clara Fraser Papers, 1905–1998, 36.70 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- Heidi Durham Papers and Oral History Interviews, 1937–2017, 1.57 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Articles and interviews
- Megan Cornish, Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, 2005.
- Megan Cornish Interview with Nicole Grant and Alex Morrow, October 20, 2005, YouTube, uploaded by Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, September 9, 2016, Megan Cornish - YouTube
- Megan Cornish, Conor Casey, and Ellie Belew Interview with Mike Dumovich, "We Do the Work," KSVR, February 22, 2019.
- Nicole Grant, Challenging Sexism at City Light: The Electrical Trades Trainee Program, Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, 2006.
- Ellie Belew Interview with Mimi Rosenberg, YouTube, uploaded by Radical Women - U.S., uploaded March 28. 2019, HIGH VOLTAGE WOMEN: Interview & slideshow
Books
- Ellie Belew, High Voltage Women: Breaking Barriers at Seattle City Light, Red Letter Press, 2019.
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- Feminism in Washington (state)
- Freedom Socialist Party
- Trotskyist parties in the United States
- Far-left political parties in the United States
- Political parties in the United States
- 1966 establishments in Washington (state)
- Political parties established in 1966
- Organizations based in Seattle
- Socialist feminist parties
- Socialist feminist organizations in the United States
- Socialism in Washington (state)