by Terrie Albano

About the author: Terrie Albano is a member of the national board of the Communist Party.

Communists are in a unique position to discuss free speech and hate groups. Our unique position comes from our militant history of being in the forefront of free speech fights—from Elizabeth Gurley Flynn as a founder of the ACLU protecting and expanding free speech for workers and their organizations, to fights demanding Paul Robeson have the right to speak and perform, to Gus Hall and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. Our party has been on the cutting edge of developing and deepening the democratic ideal of free speech by fighting to extend it to the whole working class.

Communists are also in a unique position because Communist Party members were in the most unfortunate and undemocratic position of being denied...