Mathieu Chabaud
Mathieu Chabaud was, in 2023, vice-president of the University of Washington Progressive Student Union.[1]
'Black Liberation and Scientific Socialism'
Community members gathered at the South Tacoma Library on Tuesday, February 25, for a “Black Liberation and Scientific Socialism” panel hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (AAPRP).
“Under neocolonialism the masses toil under stagnant and worsening conditions but must produce substantially more,” said Terrence McCall of the AAPRP.
McCall gave a history of the development of Pan-Africanism, noting the contributions of leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois from the United States, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.
Next, Mathieu Chabaud of the FRSO presented on the history of the Black Liberation Movement in the United States. Drawing from the book Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism by Frank Chapman, Chabaud started with an analysis of the economic driving forces behind the American Civil War, stating, “The reason the South lost was not because of the noble efforts of white abolitionists, but because 186,000 former slaves revolted in general strike and joined the Union Army.”
Lastly, Talison Crosby of the FRSO analyzed the continuation of the Black Liberation Movement into the 21st century and the tasks ahead for the people’s movements. “During the George Floyd Rebellion of 2020, something happened that had never happened before,” said Crosby. “Millions of people in all 50 states took to the streets. It was a Black-led uprising, but the majority of people who participated in it are not Black.”
“I remember hitting the streets during the uprising in 2020. I remember volunteering at the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” said Gemini Gnull. “I’m a member of the Osage Nation. Full indigenous sovereignty and liberation for my people is not possible without socialism. And socialism in the United States is not possible without Black liberation. We’ve all got a common enemy. Black people and Indigenous people are natural allies in the fight against oppression.”[2]
Police death protest
On March 16 2024, a crowd of around 40 activists, organizers and community members marched around the King County prosecutor’s office. In February, King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion’s office declined to file charges against Seattle police officer Kevin Dave, who over a year ago struck and killed a student at a crosswalk with his car.
The protest, organized by the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR), rallied in a neighboring park, featured speakers from the Seattle Alliance, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the University of Washington Progressive Student Union, For the People 206, and the International League of Peoples' Struggles. On all sides of the building and on the steps rang out chants of “Convict Kevin Dave,” “Jail killer cops!” and “Community control now!”
Rob Engel of SAARPR said, “This isn't over. Freedom is a constant struggle! If this is really over and we can't do anything about it, then I guess I'm stupid because I'm not gonna give up and we're not gonna give up because we have no choice but to fight.”
The speaker from Progressive Student Union, Mathieu Chabaud, said “The state wants us to think that we are going to be defeated by them, and they want us to be scared. If we shrink back, if we back down from our demand, then we are letting them win.”
Nikhil Lonberg, a member of Resist U.S. Led War, spoke about the surveillance systems being used to repress our communities, and the need for us to prepare for future fights, stating, “So we know we have to expand, right? We need to be organizing every day. We have to be organizing relentlessly, talking to our communities, talking to our neighbors, building strong organizations that are tackling these issues and waging fighting campaigns.”[3]
Minority enrolment rally
On Thursday, October 5, 2023, the University of Washington Progressive Student Union held a rally to begin a campaign to increase enrollment of Black, Latino and native students at the university. Over 20 students gathered at the steps of Suzzallo Library to demonstrate their support for the demands.
As a result of escalating attacks on diversity nationwide, the University of Washington Progressive Student Union, a chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society, decided to take up a campaign to increase enrollment of these groups. Israel Vazquez, a member of the Progressive Student Union, spoke to the effect that low enrollment of oppressed peoples has at UW, stating “What message does it send to me when I come to UW, and I have to search for my community? When I’m one of the only Chicanos in my classes? It tells me that I’m alone.”
Milan Suarez, of the Students for Farm Workers, said, “We desperately seek community on campus, and we’re tired of being our own support system.” Jonathan Toledo, a member of the Seattle Alliance against Racist and Political Repression, described the primary reasons for a lack of enrollment as “antagonistic administration” and “the general cost of classes.”
The rally finished with Mathieu Chabaud, another member of the Progressive Student Union, explaining the historical context for the current campaign, saying, “What we have here today at this university, in terms of enrollment, ethnic studies, the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, was created because students fought for it and made administration implement it.”[4]
Students for Farm Workers
On Friday, March 31 2023, Students for Farm Workers led a demonstration of more than 150 people starting from the steps of the Suzzallo Library in the middle of University of Washington-Seattle campus to the Husky Union Building.
Students for Farm Workers, SSFW, is a support group for United Farm Workers, fighting to stop the University of Washington from selling and serving mushrooms from Greenwood Mushrooms Farms in both grocery stores and dining halls.
Isela Cabrera, a farmworker at Greenwood, said, “In the 90 days that we have had since the switch, we have only been allowed to take days off when we are assigned them. Every day, we are expected to harvest 50 pounds of mushrooms within an hour and that’s not realistic.” She added, “We say thank you to the young people who seem to have all the energy in the world to excel.”
Adding to this energy, Mathieu Chabaud from the University of Washington Progressive Student Union said, “We need them to keep on losing customers until they get the message, written in their ledger, that they cannot keep oppressing workers.” Diana Paola Vergara from MEChA said “Their fight is not an easy one, but they’re not alone - look at everyone that is here.”[5]