Los Angeles, CA – During rush hour, Oct. 13, two dozen people gathered in front of the Los Angeles federal building to demand justice for Rasmea Odeh. Odeh appeared before an appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio on the morning of Oct. 14. People traveled from across the country to support her.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution adopted by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Oct. 11, at their national convention.
Minneapolis, MN – On Oct. 13 protesters packed the Board of Education located on West Broadway Avenue in the heart of North Minneapolis. The board was meeting and taking public comment on the controversial Reading Horizons curriculum, that the district recently paid $1.2 million for, to help “close the achievement gap” in literacy between students of color and their white peers. Protest from educators and community members erupted last month upon distribution of materials and trainings, when the curriculum was found to include content that was inundated with racism and male chauvinism.
_Hundreds of her supporters to fill courtroom and stand vigil outside _
Cincinnati, OH – On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, three appellate judges will hear oral arguments in the case of Rasmea Odeh, the prominent Palestinian-American activist from Chicago who was convicted last November in what supporters called a “travesty of justice.” Odeh was found guilty of a single count of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization, and in March of this year, sentenced to 18 months in prison and deportation from the U.S. Organizers with the Rasmea Defense Committee are mobilizing supporters from Chicago, across the Midwest, and as far away as Florida and Georgia—to pack the appellate courtroom and stand vigil outside. Odeh’s colleagues, friends, family, and supporters made numerous and similar trips to Detroit for pre-trial hearings, the trial, and the sentencing since her arrest in 2013.
Salt Lake City, UT – Members of the Utah Anti-War Committee will gather outside Salt Lake City's downtown courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7:00 p.m. to demand justice for Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh.
Columbia Heights, MN – On Oct. 9, 75 people gathered on Central Avenue here to protest the killing of four Palestinian youth, Huthaifa Sulaiman (18), Fadi Alloun (19), Abdul-Rahman Shadi Mustafa (13) and Mohannad Shafiq al-Halabi (19), by Israeli occupation forces on Oct. 4 and 5.
Minneapolis, MN – Chanting, “What do we want? Raises and respect. When do we want it? Now!” about 20 university workers held signs and protested inside the Board of Regents meeting, Oct. 9.
Chicago, IL – Chicago supporters of Rasmea Odeh, a nationally known leader of the Palestinian community, are organizing in a big way to get people to her Oct. 14 appeal hearing in Cincinnati, Ohio. Odeh’s attorneys are set to challenge her unjust conviction on bogus immigration charges in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Minneapolis, MN – On the night of Sept. 29, dozens of educators, students, parents and community members disrupted the Minneapolis Board of Education. Tensions between the community and the board have been rising over the recent adoption of a new $1.2 million district-wide racist reading curriculum for elementary age students, sold by the Utah-based company Reading Horizons.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 250 university workers, students, faculty and community allies rallied at the steps of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota, Sept. 29, to demand raises, respect and a good contract for frontline workers.
Milwaukee, WI – One year ago on Sept. 26, 2014, 43 students from Ayotzinapa Normal School in Tixtla, Guerrero were kidnapped. One year later, in an effort to demand justice for the those disappeared, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Marquette University chapters of Youth Empowered in the Struggle (Y.E.S) jointly hosted a vigil and march in protest.
Tampa, FL – On Sept. 26, Raices en Tampa hosted a vigil and rally on the anniversary on the kidnapping and disappearance of 43 Mexican students. Approximately 20 activists gathered holding signs that read, “Activism is not a crime!” and “They thought they could bury us, but they didn’t realize that we were seeds.”
Minneapolis, MN – Members of AFSCME 3800, AFSCME 3937 and Teamsters 320 will rally Sept. 29, noon until 1:00 p.m., at Morrill Hall to demand raises and respect from the University of Minnesota administration. Sept. 29 is the day that university clerical workers return to bargaining.
Florence, CO – In the mountains of Colorado, 35 spirited protesters marched down Highway 67 to the guardhouse of the U.S. federal supermax prison in Florence on Sept. 21. In the lead were two Colombian American women, with banners reading, “Free Simon Trinidad! Peace for Colombia!” and “Libertad para Simon Trinidad! Paz por Colombia!”
Los Angeles, CA – Celebrating and parading through the streets of East Los Angeles (ELA), Sept. 13, community members gathered along the route to watch the annual Mexican Independence Day parade. Participants included many local Mexican clubs, leaders and business owners, both Chicano and Mexican, traveling on adorned cars and floats, playing mariachi music and waving at viewers. This year the teachers’ union, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), and Centro CSO marched in unity.
Minneapolis, MN – Labor won a victory, Sept. 4 when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling that upheld the rights of workers to engage in union activities.