Another Way Out: We Need a Mosaic Movement, Not Fragmented Leftism
The U.S. Left’s Sectarian Wars Are Fueling Fascism’s Rise—Here’s How a Mosaic Movement Could Change Everything
May 27, 2026, 17:10 ET — The U.S. Left is drowning in its own fragmentation while fascist movements gain ground. A radical rethinking of collective action—rooted in Black liberation theory and anti-colonial praxis—offers a path forward. But time is running out.
The Problem: Why the Left’s Infighting Is a National Security Risk
The U.S. Left isn’t just failing—it’s actively enabling the conditions for authoritarianism. While progressive movements squabble over ideological purity, far-right organizations consolidate power at the state level. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2025 Hate Economy Report, hate groups saw a 32% increase in organized recruitment between 2023 and 2025, with 78% of new chapters forming in states with Republican-controlled legislatures. Meanwhile, leftist organizations—combined—represent less than 0.4% of the U.S. Voting population, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2024 voter registration data.
This isn’t just academic. In Ohio, where the state legislature passed SB 123 (the “Anti-Protest Bill”) in March 2026—criminalizing “coordinated civil disobedience”—local activists report a 40% drop in organizing due to fear of prosecution. “We’re not just losing elections,” says Dr. Amara Enyia, director of the Ohio Alliance for Equity, a coalition of labor and racial justice groups. “We’re losing the ability to organize at all. The left’s internal wars make us effortless targets.”
The Historical Blueprint: Russell Maroon Shoatz’s “Mosaic” Theory
Former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member Russell Maroon Shoatz—who spent 44 years in prison before his 2018 parole—has spent decades studying why centralized revolutionary models fail. In his essay “The Mosaic”, Shoatz argues that the left’s obsession with doctrinaire purity creates artificial divisions where none should exist. “The mosaic isn’t about forced assimilation,” he writes. “It’s about self-determination within collective struggle—letting oppressed communities decide their own paths while finding common ground in shared oppression.”
“Freedom is indivisible, or it is nothing at all besides sloganeering and temporary, short-sighted, and short-lived advancement for a few. Freedom is indivisible, and either we are working for freedom, or you are working for the sake of your self-interests and I am working for mine.”
Shoatz’s framework draws from Marxist-Leninist organizational principles, anarchist horizontalism, and Black nationalist self-determination—yet rejects all three when they become dogma. “The problem isn’t ideology,” he told Prism in 2025. “It’s orthodoxy. When you treat a tactic like a religion, you lose the ability to adapt.”
Where the Left’s Fragmentation Is Most Dangerous
The U.S. Left’s sectarianism isn’t just theoretical—it’s geographically concentrated in key battleground states where fascist movements are making inroads:
In Georgia, for example, the state’s Republican-led legislature passed SB 423 in 2025, banning “critical race theory” in schools—a law that directly targets Black-led education initiatives. Meanwhile, leftist groups in Atlanta spend more time debating whether to call themselves “anti-racist” or “abolitionist” than coordinating with labor unions to fight the law.
The Solution: Building a Mosaic Movement—Where to Start
The mosaic isn’t about merging into a monolith. It’s about strategic interdependence. Here’s how it could work in practice:
- Local Legal Defense Funds: In states like Ohio and Texas, where protest laws are being weaponized, ACLU-affiliated legal clinics are already overwhelmed. A mosaic movement would [Legal Aid & Civil Rights Law Firms] to create regional defense funds—pooling resources from labor unions, racial justice groups, and environmental coalitions.
- Cross-Sector Mutual Aid Networks: The Mutual Aid Hub reports that 68% of aid groups in Florida and Texas are struggling to cover basic needs like food and medicine due to state budget cuts. A mosaic approach would [Community Organizing Consultants] to merge food banks, tenant unions, and healthcare collectives into regional resilience hubs.
- Independent Media Collaboratives: Far-right disinformation campaigns—like the 2025 “Great Replacement” narrative surge—are 300% more effective in areas with no local leftist media. Freedom Forums and Democracy Now! could partner with [Hyperlocal News Outlets] to create state-specific truth squads.
“The mosaic isn’t about unity—it’s about coordination without surrender,” says Dr. Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and a longtime advisor to labor and climate movements. “We’ve spent decades fighting over who gets to lead. What if we spent that energy figuring out how to win together?”
The Warning: Why This Can’t Wait
The U.S. Is at a crossroads. A 2026 Brookings Institution report warns that 17 states are now “high-risk” for authoritarian consolidation, defined by:
- Legislative gerrymandering to eliminate opposition
- Militarized police responses to protests
- Corporate media blackouts of progressive movements
In Wisconsin, where Governor Tony Evers (D) vetoed AB 120 (the “Union-Busting Bill”) in 2025, 12,000 public sector workers are still on strike over wage freezes. Yet their unions have no formal alliances with the Black Lives Matter chapters in Milwaukee or the Dineé Bikeyah (Navajo environmental group) fighting fracking in the Badlands. “We’re stronger together,” says **Luther “Luke” James**, president of the Wisconsin State Employees Union. “But right now, we’re just a bunch of solo acts playing the same song.”
The Kicker: The Mosaic or the Abyss
Fascism doesn’t care about your ideological purity. It cares about power. The left’s current trajectory isn’t just ineffective—it’s self-destructive. The mosaic isn’t a fantasy. It’s a survival strategy.
If you’re part of a labor union, a racial justice group, an environmental collective, or a mutual aid network, the question isn’t whether you should coordinate—it’s how. The tools are already here:
- [Community Organizing Consultants] to design mosaic frameworks
- [Independent Media Collaboratives] to amplify shared campaigns
- [Legal Defense Funds] to protect organizers
The ruling class has already won the culture war. The only battle left is the battle for power. The mosaic isn’t about perfection. It’s about movement. And right now, movement is the only thing that can save us.