Northwoods Socialist Collective

Dr. Tom Alter, a respected and tenured university professor, was fired by Texas State University (TSU) President Kelly Damphousse on Sept. 10, 2025, for remarks he delivered at a socialist conference in his capacity as a private citizen. After clips of his comments were taken out of context and circulated online by a self-described fascist streamer, they came to the attention of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who politically pressured TSU to fire Dr. Alter. He was fired without due process, in violation of both Texas State University policy and Texas state law. This attack is another in a wave of politically motivated attacks on professors and teachers as part of what is often called the New McCarthyism (referring to the Red Scare-era attacks on free speech in the 1950s). These attacks today are attempting to strangle free speech in schools and academia by rewriting history and restricting what can be taught to ideas that are palatable to the far right. Speaking about his termination at a...

This past Saturday was the No Kings protests, which took place all across the United States in 3,300 different communities.   It is estimated that upwards of 8 million people participated!   Similarly, here in the Northwoods, large numbers of folks turned out at numerous different communities.   The largest was in Duluth, where several thousand participated in a 2pm rally, and a couple of feeder marches which were held before hand.   Organizers estimate the running tally for the event may have been as high as 7,500.   We also feel it is worth noting that the Duluth protest had a significant number of union members present, including from the United Steelworkers, MN Nurses Association and AFSCME.   The second biggest was in Grand Rapids, MN, where over 1,700 folks turned out.   Almost a 1,000 turned out for both the protest in Superior and in Ashland.   Cloquet had an impressive 600 people. Hayward had a turnout of 445. Two Harbors had just ...

 For some time the Douglas County jail in Superior has had a contract with the U.S. Marshalls that allows the feds to temporarily keep prisoners and detainees in the jail for a fee.  In recent years, ICE (Immigrant, Customs and Enforcement) has started to take advantage of this contract to put immigration detainees there as well.  Most detainees are only kept there for a few days, but some have been kept there much longer (one was held for 100 days before being transferred).  In 2025 over 100 ICE detainees passed through the jail, and the county received $285,000 for holding them. As far as activists can tell, none of these detainees were from the Twin Ports.  Most are from farther afield in the Midwest, and are just temporarily kept there before being sent to a larger detention center.  The presence of these detainees has also resulted in a steady stream of ICE agents coming to town, staying in our hotels and eating in our restaurants - making a Superi...

As the Trump administration unrolls a new imperialist war, working women must be prepared to fight a brutal gendered assault in the offing. In military actions like the war on Iran, the government daily burns up millions of dollars in fuel and destroyed weaponry, and moves quickly to get rid of non-military costs deemed expendable. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill set the pattern. Even before Washington had launched the war on Iran, the government had budgeted $1 trillion for war, while simultaneously cutting $1 trillion from funds previously won by working people for health, education, and housing support.   Now, with the cost of the Iran war approaching $1 billion a day, the MAGA forces are preparing to offload the costs of any social welfare benefits still intact onto the backs of individual working-class households. How do the right-wing capitalist think tanks advise the government to do this? A deeply reactionary Jan. 8, 2026, Heritage Foundation report, “Saving America by Savin...

Here are 5 slave uprisings that everyone should know. Nat Turner’s Rebellion: August 21 – August 23, 1831 Led by enslaved preacher Nat Turner, this Virginia uprising was a militant challenge to the slave regime rooted in prophetic Black liberation theology. Turner and others struck directly at slaveholders, hoping to ignite a broader regional revolt. Although the rebellion was suppressed within days, it sent shockwaves through the South and intensified white fears of organized Black resistance. In response, Southern states expanded surveillance, repression, and anti-literacy laws – proof of how seriously enslavers took the threat. Amistad Rebellion: July 2 – August 24, 1839 The Amistad Rebellion was a successful revolt of 53 Mende captives, who, led by Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinqué), broke free of their chains and seized a Spanish ship. After being captured by the U.S. Navy, the rebels fought their case in a landmark Supreme Court case, backed by abolitionist organizers. Their...