Chicago, IL – An historic mobilization took place in Chicago’s Loop, the center of the city, August 29, when 3000 people marched to demand an elected, civilian police accountability council.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following August 24 statement from the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In the face of the early elections

Minneapolis, MN – The Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee is calling for a protest on August 26 to mark the end of the Gaza War of 2014. The protest will begin with a rally outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office at 1200 S. Washington Avenue in Minneapolis.

Interview with Frank Chapman

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) is calling for a march on August 29 to demand civilian control of the police. They have written legislation to create a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), elected by the voters. Fight Back! interviewed Frank Chapman, Field Organizer of the Alliance, about the fight against police crimes, the march in August and CPAC. Fight Back!: Why is the Alliance campaigning for this legislation? Doesn’t Chicago already have a civilian review board?

Saint Paul, MN – Thirty people gathered outside O’Gara’s Bar to picket against Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker. Walker was speaking at a fundraiser for the right-wing pro-corporate Minnesota Jobs Coalition.

Minneapolis, MN – On August 9, hundreds of activists and intellectuals gathered at Northrop mall on the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities campus for a memorial rally and march in honor of Jesús Estrada-Pérez, who passed away earlier that week.

Jacksonville, FL – On August 8, activists in Jacksonville staged two demonstrations tied to the Black Lives Matter movement. In the morning, community organizers rallied for a press conference outside of the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center against the mass incarceration of Black youth. Later that day, young activists led a Black Lives Matter march through downtown Jacksonville against racist police crimes.

Chicago, IL – More than 50 people representing 20 different organizations gathered August 12, to make final plans for the August 29 march to stop police crimes.

Arlington, TX – On August 10, Mothers Against Police Brutality held a vigil for Christian Taylor outside the police department here. About 100 people attended.

Minneapolis, MN – To mark one year since the start of the latest U.S. military intervention in Iraq, over 60 people joined a Minneapolis anti-war protest on August 8.

Activists weighing lawsuit against cops

Tampa, FL – According to an August 3 report in the Tampa Bay Times, Major Marc Hamlin, the head of Special Operations for the Tampa Police Department, is boasting about the political spying carried out at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Activists weighing lawsuit against cops

Tampa, FL – According to an August 3 report in the Tampa Bay Times, Major Marc Hamlin, the head of Special Operations for the Tampa Police Department, is boasting about the political spying carried out at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Jacksonville, FL – On August 2, more than 35 people from across Jacksonville attended a forum on institutionalized racism. Sponsored by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC), the event featured a stack of speakers who addressed the Black Lives Matter movement, the struggle against police crimes and the fight against mass incarceration.

Minneapolis, MN – Attorneys appeared in court, August 5, before Judge Peter Cahill for a status conference in the #BlackLivesMatter demonstration case. Notably, Bloomington Prosecutor Sandra Johnson has dropped all substantive trespassing charges against the alleged organizers of the Black Lives Matter demonstration. The move came on the heels of motions to dismiss that were filed by lead attorneys Jordan Kushner and Bruce Nestor, who are representing 10 of 11 individuals identified as ‘ringleaders’ of the Black Lives Matter gathering at the Mall of America last December.

Minneapolis, MN – To mark one year since the start of the latest U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq, a coalition of Minneapolis and Saint Paul organizations will hold a protest on Saturday, August 8. The protest will be held at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis starting at 1:00 p.m.

Fridley, MN – On July 14, 345 Hospital Workers at Unity Hospital in Fridley, a first ring suburb of Minneapolis, voted by a roughly 60% majority to join SEIU Healthcare MN. The new bargaining unit includes Nursing Assistants, Dietary Aides, Patient Care Techs, Health Unit Coordinators, Environmental Services Aides and other job classes.

St. Paul, MN – Minnesota’s Governor Mark Dayton and legislative leaders are considering bringing all the legislators from around the state, 201 of them, to talk about giving zero-interest loans and tax breaks to resort and business owners, claiming they will ‘suffer’ because the walleye fishing season is ending early on one lake – Lake Mille Lacs, in east-central Minnesota.

San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 30 students marched here to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a massacre of Salvadoran students on July 30, 1975. The march started at the University of El Salvador (UES) and marched to the bridge where in 1975 the security forces and military violently repressed a peaceful protest where students were marching to demand their rights and to defend the UES. At that time the UES suffered from constant repression from the military and police.

_Turkey redoubles war on Syria, Kurds and the left _

Chicago, IL – Chicago-based anti-war leader Joe Iosbaker is speaking out against the latest U.S./Turkey attacks on Syria and the Kurds. “What does it mean that the U.S. and its NATO junior partner, Turkey, are creating a ‘Safe Zone’ along the Turkey-Syria border? The first result is that dozens of Turkish fighter planes are engaging in attacks against the Kurdistan Workers Party in Syria as well as in Iraq. In Turkey, they’re cracking down on Kurds and the left, with hundreds of arrests.”

San Salvador, El Salvador – The Cuban 5 spent well over a decade in U.S. prisons, arrested by the U.S. government in the late 1990s for monitoring anti-communist Cuban groups based in Miami, Florida that have planned terror activities against socialist Cuba. The five were recently released from U.S. prisons in the face of a worldwide movement demanding their freedom. They returned to a heroes welcome in Cuba, unbroken and firm in their dedication to the Cuban revolution. Their release by the U.S. government was an early move in the renewing of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S.