Minneapolis, MN – Protesters rallied in downtown Minneapolis on April 10, a national day of action to demand that politicians in Washington D.C. take action now for immigrant rights. The Minneapolis protest was organized by a coalition of unions, immigrant rights organizations and religious groups. Speakers emphasized that the time is now for immigration reform, and that the reform must not leave immigrant workers in a second class status.
Minneapolis, MN – Organizers of the weekly peace vigil on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge between Minneapolis and Saint Paul have announced plans to dedicate the April 10 vigil to making an anti-war statement in response to the military crisis in Korea.
Minneapolis, MN – Despite rain showers, nearly 200 people joined a protest here April 6 to speak out against U.S. wars around the world and against the ever-growing use of drones as an instrument of military intervention.
Chicago, IL – Nahla Yafai, a Yemeni student in Chicago, was emphatic. “Drones have hit our country again and again. Many civilians and children have died, but no one knows here, except for our community. And now you know, and you must speak out.” In the past year, Yemen became the main destination for U.S. drone strikes in the world. Yafai stood with three other Yemeni women, all wearing shirts painted with their national flag at an April 6 rally to oppose drone warfare.
Durban, South Africa – Protesters flocked to the U.S. consulate here, March 22, on the tenth anniversary of the abduction of Dr. Siddiqui and her three children in Karachi, Pakistan.
Fort Worth, TX – More than 40 protesters gathered at the Carswell federal prison, March 30, to demand freedom for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and the other women political prisoners held here.
Milwaukee, WI – Dozens of people took to the downtown streets here, March 29, in response to Special Prosecutor John Franke's decision to not seek any charges against the Milwaukee police officers who killed Derek Williams.
Memphis, TN – Organizers, community members and activists from around the country converged on the city of Memphis, Tennessee on March 30 to protest the presence of the Ku Klux Klan, which held a rally on the courthouse steps. Anti-Klan protesters were met with an extreme show of force by the militarized Memphis Police Department who showed an extreme and flagrant disregard for free speech.
Fort Worth, TX – About 60 people gathered here at the U.S. District Court building, March 29, to demand “Free Aafia Siddiqui!” Dr. Siddiqui is a Pakistani woman who was kidnapped in Pakistan and tortured. She is now a political prisoner held in a Texas prison.
Milwaukee, WI – Occupy the Hood-Milwaukee has called for a protest on March 29 following the news that the three white Milwaukee police who killed Derek Williams – a Black man – will not face state criminal charges. Two federal investigations are still ongoing.
Tallahassee, FL – More than 30 student activists from Florida State University (FSU) packed into a room in the Oglesby Student Union to hear Noor Elashi and other organizers speak about government repression, March 25. Holy Land 5 attorney John Cline joined Elashi on the panel, along with Mick Kelly, who was one of the 23 anti-war activists raided by the FBI in September, 2010.
Milwaukee, WI – Students for a Democratic Society’s call for a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education was answered by the Education Rights Coalition, Milwaukee SDS, undergraduate and graduate students, union members and community members who rallied on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, March 14.
Chicago, IL – On the morning of March 20, 2003, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) news anchor opened the broadcast with the news that the bombing of Baghdad had begun the night before. “Protests have broken out in Bonn, Tokyo and London, and in San Francisco and Chicago, hundreds of protesters have been arrested.”
Gainesville, FL – The Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force went before the Alachua County commissioners on March 12 to demand a solution to the wage theft epidemic in the community.
Riverside, CA – On March 16, over 300 people, mostly Chicanos and Latinos, came to the University of California-Riverside for the Alliance for Immigration Reform National Leadership Summit. A similar conference was held in Feb. 2006 at the Riverside Convention Center, which made the original call for mass marches against the criminalization of immigrants on March 10 and 25 of 2006.
The Syrian Arab News Agency charged that Western-backed terrorists launched a “rocket containing chemical materials on Khan al-Asal area in Aleppo Countryside,” on March 19. “The explosion of the rocket claimed the lives of 25 martyrs, while 110 citizens were injured, many of them in critical condition.”
Minneapolis, MN – About 40 students and campus workers rallied at Morrill Hall and marched through the University of Minnesota (U of M) campus on March 14 to protest rising tuition costs and the university’s top-heavy administration. The protest was part of a national day of action for education rights.
Following the tragic death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council announced a new Presidential election for April 14, 2013. In the election, Acting President Nicholas Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is running against right-wing leader Henrique Capriles.
St. Paul, MN – 40 residents and community supporters from the Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone marched on Wells Fargo with the boards used to illegally board up an occupied home. The march was part of the Homes for All national day of action, March 13. It was also hours after bank lobbyists killed the Homeowner Bill of Rights at the Minnesota state capitol.