On Liberation: In The Imperial Core, In South Africa, And Abroad.

A recent speech given by Alexandria Rose, to international comrades from Economic Freedom Fighters, refined and reproduced below.

Flag of South Africa under the Economic Freedom Fighters. Credit: Reddit, r/vexillology, u/Prwtfalcon6.

Thank you, Comrades Kim Heller and Carl Niehaus, for once again urging me to speak! I am somewhat uncomfortable being put on the spot, but I will do my best! I want to first extend my warmest wishes to Comrade Carl for a speedy recovery. It was surprising for me to see that you were in a hospital bed this morning, but I am relieved you are making strides toward recovery from surgery.

Forgive me for my rather poor off-the-cuff abilities! I did have some time, between my invitation and now, to put something together, but following some of the excellent speakers, influential comrades, and most learned scholars of the struggle may yet prove to be a tough act to follow!

I want to speak today about the solidarity between our causes, and the similarities of our positions, united across oceans in struggle against the evils of governments that would turn their backs on their own people in favor of White Christian Nationalism, in favor of Anti-Blackness, in favor of segregation and continued racial divides. I want to make special mention of the fact that I do not speak to you today on behalf of any organization, neither DSA itself, nor Liberation Caucus, for whom I have no authority to speak on behalf of. I speak only on my own behalf.

Echoing the powerful words of Comrade Carl: “The ANC is evil, incarnate. For South Africa to be free, the ANC must die!” This struggle will be long and complicated, but there is clarity and certainty in the footsteps of those who have come before us!

What can we draw from history for strength, clarity, and moral guidance? Let us remind ourselves of powerful examples:

The anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa itself. Decades of mass mobilizations, of courage in townships and rural areas, in trade unions, among students and women, refusing to accept a cruel system.

The Vaal Uprising of 1984-1986 showed that when people rise, even in very difficult circumstances, they can force change.

The Sharpeville Massacre and its aftermath: People peacefully protesting the pass laws, killed by the state. That horror shocked the conscience of the world; it showed that even peaceful resistance, when met with brutality, can kindle an international outcry and shift the balance of power.

Global movements: The civil rights movement in the United States, the struggle against colonialism across Africa, the fight against apartheid in Namibia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. In Latin America: Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela. Workers insisted that sovereignty over land, over resources, over their destinies must belong to the masses.

These examples show us something essential: Change becomes possible when the oppressed unite, when courage meets discipline, when moral clarity overcomes fear.

What Struggle Demands Of Us today - Liberation Caucus Points Of Unity & The Seven Pillars Of The Economic Freedom Fighters

Unity and organization:

The anti-apartheid struggle succeeded not only because of heroic individuals, but because of mass, organized, coordinated resistance; student movements, unions, civic bodies, and community groups. The EFF’s constitution affirms democratic centralism, accountability, and grassroots mobilization.

“Democratic centralism is a necessity for any revolutionary movement that hopes to win. It is an organizational method by which the masses of the workers’ party participate in a truly democratic process, freely debating and struggling over the political line and methods to implement it, and then abiding by the decision reached after engaging in a vote, even if individual members disagree. Lines are subject to revisiting, additional debate, and re-vote, but once passed, all members are expected to adhere to them unless they are overturned. This method of inter-formation organizing is essential to ensure that we are able to meet our highly organized, disciplined, and trained enemies with a highly organized, disciplined, and trained force of our own.”

Moral clarity:

To oppose corruption, to stand for the oppressed, to refuse to be co-opted or silenced. We must keep our ethics strong, even when we are under pressure, because compromise of values is the first step toward defeat.

“The Marxist-Leninist-Maoist theory of change, and thus that of DSA-Liberation, is revolutionary. While we do not fundamentally oppose participation in reformist struggles, our engagement in these activities should be to expose the ruling class which steals our wealth and robs us of our happiness. Concessions are not given freely by the ruling class, they are extracted through vicious, bitter struggle.”

Sacrifice and courage:

The path will be hard. There will be resistance. There will be threats. But the sacrifices of those who came before us, like Steve Biko, Albert Luthuli, the many anonymous heroes of the townships, in rural areas, women, youth, those sacrifices were not in vain. They built soil in which new struggles can grow.

“As Maoists, we recognize that class struggle continues during the socialist period, and working class revolutionaries must be vigilant about both old and new bourgeois elements that will destroy the revolution and cast the working class back into slavery. Nationalization of industries and utilities is a key part of socialism, but equally important is shifting the relations of production in a communist direction. The party apparatus must continue to submerge itself in the masses and build communist structures while also forestalling the rise of a new bureaucratic capitalist class as happened in the USSR and PRC.”

International solidarity:

No struggle stands alone. The apartheid regime was weakened by global pressure — sanctions, boycotts, and international condemnation. We must seek alliances wherever possible: with progressive movements abroad, with people in solidarity who see that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

“Communists in the imperial core have as our main duty the destruction of the imperialist system, which makes life for our class siblings around the world a living hell. DSA has historically wavered on questions of anti-imperialism, most recently around the question of Palestinian self-determination and national liberation. The time for such wavering is over. Our goal is to ensure that DSA takes firm stances in word and in deed against imperialism.”

It is with this in mind that I condemn, in no uncertain terms, the words spoken by Zohran Kwame Mamdani on October 7th, 2025. Not only do I firmly reject the notion that the events of October 7th, 2023, should be condemned, but I wish to make clear that the hostility did not begin with Hamas. Not at all. In fact, Israel has constantly proven itself to be the aggressor throughout history.

No right of return to the Palestinian Refugees, May 1948.
Plan Dalet, the massacre of Deir Yassin, the deaths of 15,000 men, women, children, and the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. This was the first Nakba.
The finalization of Plan Dalet, ending in a mobilized Hagana and ethnic cleansing.
The Israeli-Arab war.
The Zionist bombings of the King David Hotel
The Zionist Jabotinsky writings.
The Zionist arms smuggling at Jaffa port.
The arrival of hundreds of thousands of Zionist immigrants.
The reestablishment of Hagana.

All Zionist Israeli aggression. All culminating in the events of the 21st century.

Closing Remarks:

The stakes are high. Without change, inequality will deepen; rage and desperation will grow; division and despair will tear us apart.

With change, there is hope; a society where South Africans, where Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, Indian, Arab, live with dignity; where our children’s future is not limited by birth; where our resources serve the many not just the few.

We owe this to our forbearers who struggled and laid down their lives, to our children who deserve better, and to the world which watches in awe and amazement when people decide to take their freedom!

So let us be bold. Let us be unafraid. Let us keep alive the flame of struggle until economic freedom is our inheritance. Let the EFF, and all who believe in justice, rise together, fight together, triumph together.

Amandla!

¡Viva la libertad, viva la igualdad, vivan los pueblos indígenas, libres, fuertes y orgullosos!

In solidarity we stand, ready!

References:

Economic Freedom Fighters. (n.d.). The EFF Pillars of Economic Emancipation. Retrieved from: https://effonline.org/about-us

Liberation Caucus. (n.d.). Points of Unity. Retrieved from: https://www.liberationcaucus.org/points