One significant US-based effort to support the Spanish workers started only eight days after the uprising of Francisco Franco. About 200 U.S. Hispanic cultural and mutual aid societies came together in what became known as the Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas (SHC, Confederation of Hispanic Societies).
Through the publication of Frente Popular (1936-1939) and later España Libre (1939-1977), the SHC remained devoted to its antifascist cause throughout the Franco years.
Although the SHC grew to 65,000 members at its height, it maintained close ties with anarchist and socialist networks, which often shared their membership. Among the thousands of Spanish workers who arrived in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century, many brought radical traditions rooted in their homeland. They created scores of cultural and mutual aid societies in cities, rural and mining areas across the United States, fueling anti-authoritarian and emancipatory practices that foregrounded the creation of culture and collective knowledge from below. During and after the Spanish Civil War, they also built support networks for refugees and published periodicals that reported on the war and denounced Francoist repression.
Spanish Youth affiliated to SHC. Speakers included Castelao, Félix Martí Ibáñez, Margarita Robles (14 years old and militia), Teresa Pamies,”
The father of Margarita Robles (14-year-old militia), José Robles “ left his post as a professor at the University of John Hopkins to go to the invading fascist hordes.
Artistic cooperation by various SHC artists.
Protest in the Streets
SHC regularly picketed in front of Consulates, shops, and institutions that supported Franco. Members of other antifascist organizations often joined these demonstrations and boycotts of pro-Franco institutions and businesses.