The year 2021 was no picnic, with the pandemic, the January 6 Capitol coup effort, inflation, and the temporary defeat of the Build Back Better Act. But there was some good news. Read on.

1. Growth of the Communist Party: Some 2,800 new members joined the party in 2021, with 1,700 signing up since August and still counting. On top of this, the People’s World completed its fund drive, raising $115,000 by May Day. The party’s fund drive in December’s first few weeks raised $34,000 toward its $35,000 goal.

2. Union forever! First, there was the strike wave of 2021. This year’s autumn strike wave brought over 100,000 workers onto picket lines around the country, signaling a growing readiness of workers to fight for better working conditions. Most of the strike struggles resulted in victory: Congratulations! Second, Starbucks workers in Boston and Buffalo voted to form unions. Perhaps the strike wave will turn into a unionization wave.

3. January 6th: A tale of two events: First, the U.S. Senate electoral victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock shifted the balance of political power nationally away from the GOP right. And second, the failed attack on the Capitol to prevent the Electoral College vote raised growing awareness of the threat posed by Trump and Co. The fascist danger, however, is far from over.

4. Community control of the police: The passing of Chicago’s Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance, following a struggle led by the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, was an important step towards community control of the police. The “ECPS centers the community in policing and creates an 11-member, elected Civilian Oversight Commission, the strongest example of directly-elected civilian oversight in the nation.”

5. A tale of 2 convictions: In Minnesota the conviction of Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd and later in the year, the Georgia guilty verdicts against the McMichael family and neighbor Bryan for killing Ahmaud Arbery brought some measure of justice to America’s rash of police murders.

6. U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: The end of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan, while poorly managed,marked a significant defeat for imperialism and met the broad public’s demand for peace.

7. Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday. The Biden/Harris administration’s recognition of the historic African American June 19th celebration of the emancipation of slaves was an important symbolic anti-racist moment.

8. People’s victory: Continuing a growing left wave in the Americas, the extreme right is defeated in Chile, electing Gabriel Boric president.

9. People’s victory continued: The overturning of the Modi government’s agriculture policy by Indian farmers and the role of the Communist Party (Marxist) in supporting it is of enormous significance worldwide.

10. Socialist consolidation: The 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China in July and the country’s ongoing successes in elevating the country’s living standards was greeted by socialist forces around the world.

Images: CPUSA at women’s march 2021 (CPUSA); Kellogg’s strikers, Jared Cummings, Kellogg Union Members Appreciation Page (Facebook); Warnock supporter, Raphael Warnock (Facebook); ECPS victory, SEIU; George Floyd mural, Lorie Shaull, Creative Commons (BY-SA 2.0); Afghanistan, U.S. Army (CC BY 2.0); Juneteenth celebration, covantnyc (Pixabay); Gabriel Boric (Facebook); Indian CP and farmers (Facebook); CPC  meeting, CPC.

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