Fred Beal

Fred Beal (1896-1954) was an American labor organizer, communist activist, and author. He is best known for his involvement in the 1929 Gastonia, North Carolina, textile strike and subsequent trial.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrant parents, Beal became involved in socialist and labor movements early in his life. He joined the Communist Party USA in the 1920s and became a prominent organizer in the textile industry.

The Gastonia strike, organized by the National Textile Workers Union (NTWU), which was affiliated with the Communist Party, sought to improve working conditions and wages at the Loray Mill. The strike was met with violence and repression by local authorities and mill owners. Following the murder of the Gastonia police chief, Beal and several other strike leaders were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The Gastonia trial became a cause célèbre for the American left, attracting national attention to the plight of textile workers in the South. Beal and several others were convicted, but they later escaped from prison and fled to the Soviet Union.

Beal initially embraced life in the Soviet Union, believing it to be a worker's paradise. However, he became disillusioned with the Stalinist regime and eventually denounced communism. In 1939, he returned to the United States and wrote an autobiographical account of his experiences, Proletarian Journey: New England, Gastonia, Moscow, which detailed his disillusionment.

After his return, Beal largely withdrew from political activity. He died in 1954. While once a celebrated figure within the American communist movement, his later rejection of communism resulted in a complex and often controversial legacy.