'He taught us how to fight'
1988 1988-07Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 6 →
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A meeting in tribute to Fred Halstead took place on June 19 at the Letter Carriers Hall in Los Angeles. About 300 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the Socialist Workers Party. The following messages were sent to the meeting by Socialist Action members who had worked with Fred for many years.
Man of action Thousands of students and young revolutionists in the late 1960's knew Fred as a man of action.
We remember him at numerous Vietnam antiwar conferences and demonstrations emphasizing mass actions and the united front approach. We remember his opposition to dissolving Vietnam antiwar movement. Some of us, in addition, will remember him for demonstrating the living relevancy of revolutionary Marxist ideas. These ideas, and his example, made Fred a vital part of our generation.—Carl Finamore Carl Finamore is staff director of the San Francisco Bay Area Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice. campuses will find the record of his experiences in many working-class battles and his thoughts in books and pamphlets worthy examples in the continuing fight for a socialist future.—Paul Colvin Struggle continues To family, comrades, and friends of Fred Halstead, I fully share the sorrow felt by all of you at the death of Fred.
Fred will most certainly be remembered for the exceptional leadership he exhibited during the years of protest against the war by the U.S. corporations and their government against the people of Vietnam.
I met Fred soon after joining the Young Socialist Alliance in 1961.
In 1968, we shared the honor of being the Socialist Workers Party presidential and vice-presidential candidates, thus being able to carry the major political struggles of the 1960s (anti-Vietnam War and Black Power movements) into the political arena— nationally and internationally. Fred courageously presented views against the war to Gls in Vietnam and Japan during the campaign.
Fred is gone, but like many before him, there is a legacy of inspiration, warmth and uncompromising commitment to social revolution. Let us continue that struggle.-Kwame M.A. Somburu (formerly Paul Boutelle)
June 14, 1988 To the Fred Halstead Memorial Meeting, Los Angeles, Calif Dear comrades, We feel deeply the loss of Comrade Fred Halstead. Many of us worked side by side with Fred for years, in daily party work, in election campaigns, in defense of the Cuban Revolution, and especially in the movement against the war in Vietnam.
In that movement, Trotskyists played a key role in uniting the initially diverse opposition into a powerful mass united front against the war, Fred was in the middle of it all. Wherever the battle lines formed, whether in the decision-making or in the actions, or in the organization of defense guards for the big marches, there was "Big Red Fred" pushing the unifying Trotskyist slogans, "Bring the Boys Home!" and "Out Now!"
His book, "Out Now," gives the name Fred Halstead a permanent and well-deserved place in the history of the struggle against the Vietnam War.
He will be sorely missed, but not forgotten.
- Socialist Action Political Committee