Minneapolis, MN – North Minneapolis was on high alert Monday, Nov. 30, after Mayor Betsy Hodges and Congressman Keith Ellison joined others in a press conference calling for an end to the occupation of the Fourth Precinct police station. The block of Plymouth Avenue in front of the police station has been closed for two weeks by protesters calling for justice for Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African American man killed by police.
Minneapolis, MN – Some 3000 people marched two-and-a-half miles from the Minneapolis Police Fourth Precinct to City Hall to protest the police murder of Jamar Clark, and demand the prosecution of the police officers that were involved. The march from the Fourth Precinct started in the afternoon of Nov. 24. Protesters have been occupying the precinct around the clock since the killing on November 16.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 people filed into New Salem Missionary Baptist Church for a community meeting to respond to the police murder of 24-year-old Jamar Clark in North Minneapolis. Pastor Jerry McAfee was joined by some 20 other pastors, imams and other community leaders to give comfort to Clark’s family, and unite the community in calling for justice.
Minneapolis, MN – Some 30 people braved rain, sleet, hail and snow for a protest to build the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and to remember the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin. The Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) organized a bannering at the busy Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue intersection, complete with Palestinian flags, signs and a new banner that read, “Boycott Israeli apartheid, boycott Coke!”
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people came out for a protest against islamophobia and racism, Feb. 17, in response to the killing of three Muslim students last week. Gathered at a busy intersection in the heart of the local Somali community, near the University of Minnesota campus, they held signs and chanted for an hour, as temperatures dropped below zero.
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of Palestinian community members and supporters gathered here July 8, outside the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, to demand an end to Israel’s recent campaign of collective punishment against Palestinians.
Minneapolis, MN – 40 protesters gathered to mark International Human Rights Day at the corner of Franklin and Nicollet Avenues, Dec. 7. After a few rounds of chanting, the rally opened with a speech by Sabry Wazwaz, who spoke about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, the right of return and basic human rights. He noted that Israel is an enemy of peace and human rights, supported by billions of dollars in U.S. aid.
Fight Back! is circulating a speech delivered by anti war leader Jess Sundin, at the Sept 24 protest in front of the Federal Building in Minneapolis. About 100 demonstrators demanded an end to the federal investigation of anti war and international solidarity activists.
Growing movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel
Minneapolis, MN – On Sept. 19, activists with the Minnesota Coalition for Palestinian Rights will return to the downtown Minneapolis Target store, urging shoppers not to buy products from SodaStream. This will follow a successful Aug. 15 mobilization, where 30 people held signs, chanted and passed out informational flyers to hundreds of pedestrians.
Fight Back News Service is reprinting the speech of Jess Sundin, a leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, delivered at the FRSO-organized May Day celebration, May 3.
St. Paul, MN – More than 100 rallied here Nov. 16 to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza, which has been escalating since it began two days earlier. Protesters lined one of the busiest intersections in Saint Paul, at Summit and Snelling Avenues. The carried Palestinian flags and banners and signs in solidarity with Palestine and in opposition to U.S. support for Israel.
Chicago, IL – Hundreds gathered from across the country for the People’s Summit, united in their opposition to the NATO/G8 agenda of war and poverty. Organized jointly by the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda (CANG8) and Occupy Chicago, the People’s Summit included 40 workshops and four plenary sessions. More than 50 attended a workshop featuring three Chicago leaders of the CANG8, speaking on, “The Strategic Aim in Opposing NATO in Chicago.”
Minneapolis, MN – About a dozen people from Occupy MN/Minneapolis interrupted a Hennepin County Commissioners Board meeting Dec. 13, demanding an end to county attacks on the Occupy movement and the People's Plaza.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement made by Jess Sundin, of the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, at a Jan. 12 press conference on FBI infiltration of the peace movement. Sundin is one of the original 14 activists who was issued a subpoena during the FBI raids of Sept. 24, 2010. She was also one of the principal organizers of the 30,000 strong anti-war march at the Republican National Convention in 2008.
Minneapolis, MN – Morning rush hour drivers into downtown Minneapolis were greeted by several banners across the interstates reading, “Jobs not war” and “Recruiters lie people die.” This was the start of Zero Recruitment Day (ZRD), where more than 150 people protested at six military recruiting sites in Minnesota.
Minneapolis, MN – We have a social safety net that is nearly gone, and the politicians are stealing the last crumbs from the tables of our state's poorest families. Not only do they ignore our kids when they cut the budget, they try to hide the fact that children make up the majority of impoverished people in this country.
Raul Reyes, a leading member of the FARC – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – was killed by the U.S. backed Colombian government March 1. Fight Back! asked Jess Sundin, who traveled to Colombia and met with Raul Reyes, to give her impressions of him and to speak about the significance of his slaying. Sundin is a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and an important leader in Minnesota’s peace and justice movement.
El ataque sobre Irak empezó con un fallído golpe sorpresa. Minutos antes de que los bombarderos cruzaran la ciudad, las sirenas ululáron con fuerza para dar el aviso a un Baghdad adormecido. Eran las 5:30 a.m. del 20 de Marzo, 2003. La fuerza total militar mas grande del mundo empezó su guerra de terror, a la cual le dieron el nombre de “Shock and awe.” (impacto violento sin aviso y respeto por temor o miedo.)
The assault on Iraq began with a failed sneak attack. Minutes before bombers cruised over, sirens blasted a warning to the sleeping people of Baghdad. It was 5:30 a.m. on March 20. The full strength of the world’s largest military began a war of terror, which they called ‘shock and awe.’