Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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Protesters at the front of a march with signs that say "Justice for Patrick Lyoya"

Grand Rapids, MI – On Thursday, May 8, over 100 activists and community members gathered outside the Kent County 17th Circuit Court to stand in solidarity, outrage and mourning with the family of Patrick Lyoya, an unarmed black man and Congolese immigrant who was killed in a 2022 traffic stop by the Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr.

After years of waiting for justice while Christopher Schurr walked free of consequences, the prosecutor’s office finally put Schurr on trial for murder. But after days of deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared by the judge.

In response to the news, protesters took to the streets to demand a retrial and justice for Patrick and his family.

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Milwaukee protest at fake clinic defends reproductive rights. 

Milwaukee, WI – On May 10, dozens of people picketed outside the Women’s Care Center on Milwaukee’s South Side, demanding an end to the deceptive “care” it provides. This facility is one of nine crisis pregnancy centers located in Milwaukee. Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are fake clinics that masquerade as facilities offering “all-option” pregnancy counseling, free ultrasounds, and pregnancy testing. However, they often lack trained medical staff and do not adhere to confidentiality regulations.

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May Day march in Santa Ana, California.

Santa Ana, CA – Chants of “No hate, no fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” resounded on the afternoon of May 1 as roughly 300 protesters took to the streets of downtown. The march commemorated International Workers Day. Those in the streets lifted handmade monarch butterfly puppets and signs demanding police accountability, justice for immigrants, and protection for workers’ rights. The event program featured speakers who talked about the history of May Day and the oppression of workers.

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Minneapolis, MN – With just 10 days left in our $100,000 fund drive, we’ve smashed every expectation, rocketing past our goal to $136,000 and counting.

The doubters are shocked, and our detractors are seething. Comrades and supporters across the country answered the call, proving once again that when we unite behind a clear vision, we can turn big goals into big successes.

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May Day event in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs, CO – On Saturday, May 3, the Denver district of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) held a panel in Colorado Springs about the history of International Workers Day, also known as May Day. The event was hosted by three FRSO members who formed a panel that spoke on the history of the holiday and discussed present-day issues that face workers and immigrants alike in Colorado and across the United States.

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Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Friends of Socialist China U.S. Committee.

On March 14th, Republican U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, along with other Republican co-sponsors, introduced a draconian bill to the House Committee on the Judiciary titled the Stop CCP VISAs Act of 2025, which stands for “Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act of 2025.”

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Activist Toni Jones leads chants with her fist raised in front of New Orleans Municipal Court, following her trial.

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, May 6, New Orleans supporters packed the court for community activist Toni Jones’ trial in municipal court. Jones is chair of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police and a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She was arrested while doing security for a Palestine protest over a year ago.

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To mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over fascist Germany, Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech by Joseph Stalin. The speech was delivered on May 9, 1945.

COMRADES! Men and women compatriots!

The great day of victory over Germany has come. Fascist Germany, forced to her knees by the Red Army and the troops of our Allies, has acknowledged herself defeated and declared unconditional surrender.

On May 7 the preliminary protocol on surrender was signed in the city of Rheims. On May 8 representatives of the German High Command, in the presence of representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied troops and the Supreme Command of the Soviet Troops, signed in Berlin the final act of surrender, the execution of which began at 24.00 hours on May 8.

Being aware of the wolfish habits of the German ringleaders, who regard treaties and agreements as empty scraps of paper, we have no reason to trust their words. However, this morning, in pursuance of the act of surrender, the German troops began to lay down their arms and surrender to our troops en masse. This is no longer an empty scrap of paper. This is actual surrender of Germany’s armed forces. True, one group of German troops in the area of Czechoslovakia is still evading surrender. But I trust that the Red Army will be able to bring it to its senses.

Now we can state with full justification that the historic day of the final defeat of Germany, the day of the great victory of our people over German imperialism has come.

The great sacrifices we made in the name of the freedom and independence of our Motherland, the incalculable privations and sufferings experienced by our people in the course of the war, the intense work in the rear and at the front, placed on the altar of the Motherland, have not been in vain, and have been crowned by complete victory over the enemy. The age-long struggle of the Slav peoples for their existence and their independence has ended in victory over the German invaders and German tyranny.

Henceforth the great banner of the freedom of the peoples and peace among peoples will fly over Europe.

Three years ago Hitler declared for all to hear that his aims included the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the wresting from it of the Caucasus, the Ukraine, Byelorussia, the Baltic lands and other areas. He declared bluntly: “We will destroy Russia so that she will never be able to rise again.” This was three years ago. However, Hitler’s crazy ideas were not fated to come true—the progress of the war scattered them to the winds. In actual fact the direct opposite of the Hitlerites’ ravings has taken place. Germany is utterly defeated. The German troops are surrendering. The Soviet Union is celebrating Victory, although it does not intend either to dismember or to destroy Germany.

Comrades! The Great Patriotic War has ended in our complete victory. The period of war in Europe is over. The period of peaceful development has begun.

I congratulate you upon victory, my dear men and women compatriots!

Glory to our heroic Red Army, which upheld the independence of our Motherland and won victory over the enemy!

Glory to our great people, the people victorious!

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the struggle against the enemy and gave their lives for the freedom and happiness of our people!

#RevolutionaryTheory #Stalin #USSR #Fascism #WWII

By staff

May Day celebration in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, May 3, the Twin Cities district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization celebrated the great proletarian holiday of May Day – International Workers Day. The event took place at the Lucy Parsons Center in Minneapolis. The celebration included grilling, live musical performances, and a lineup of speakers from various people’s movements active in the Twin Cities.

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May Day rally in Tallahassee, Florida.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m., around 40 people attended a May Day rally organized by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The protesters demanded the city of Tallahassee end its attacks on immigrants in the city and denounce the 287(g) agreement with ICE.

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People standing holding a banner that reads, "No compliance with Trump's violence."

New York, NY – On April 30, around a dozen students joined a teach-in hosted by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in collaboration with the NYU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and the Omicron chapter of La Undidad Latina fraternity. The teach in informed students of their rights if they ever encountered ICE.

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NYU students rally on May Day. | Fight Back! News staff

New York, NY – On May 1, around 50 NYU students, faculty, alumni and community members gathered at Garibaldi Plaza to demand NYU take further steps to protect its non-citizen students and faculty and to honor union contracts.

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Protesters on a grassy hill.

Iron Mountain, MI – In a powerful display of unity and defiance, approximately 150 people gathered in the heart of this traditionally conservative town on Saturday, May 3, to commemorate International Workers’ Day. The May Day rally, organized by local activists and labor leaders, signaled a growing tide of resistance to Trump and a renewed commitment to solidarity in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

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May Day march in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Appleton, WI – Hundreds of workers, queer activists and community members flooded Houdini Plaza in Appleton, Wisconsin, on May 1, International Workers Day, kicking off a march that would face police repression before triumphantly returning to cheers of public support.

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Karl Marx as he may have looked on his birthday \[partially colorized\].

To mark the May 5, 1818 birthday of Karl Marx, Fight Back News Service is circulating a work he wrote in 1864, a statement of congratulations to President Lincoln upon his reelection.

Address of the International Working Men's Association to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America

Sir:

We congratulate the American people upon your re-election by a large majority. If resistance to the Slave Power was the reserved watchword of your first election, the triumphant war cry of your re-election is Death to Slavery.

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Tampa students demand ICE off campus!

Tampa, FL – On May 1, Tampa Bay’s Students for a Democratic Society held a rally in response to University of South Florida police’s plan to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The contract is an agreement between the University of South Florida Police Department and ICE that allows officers to enforce immigration laws under 287(g). This would allow police officers to detain, question and arrest students or faculty suspected of being undocumented.

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Denver, CO – On May 1, hundreds of people came out for International Workers Day in solidarity with workers all around the world. Chants and demands included “No to deportations!” “No one is illegal” and “Legalization for all!”

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Rutgers SDS at protest against apartheid Israel.

New Brunswick, NJ – On Tuesday, April 29, Rutgers Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally against a speaking event hosted by Rutgers Hillel. The speech was part of “Israel Week,” a series of events intended to justify and celebrate the ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine., New Jersey U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, a staunch Zionist and supporter of Israel’s war crimes, was invited to meet with students that day.

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New Orleanians take the streets downtown to demand an end to attacks on workers, immigrants, and that NOPD not collaborate with ICE.

New Orleans LA – On May 1, New Orleans buzzed with activity to celebrate International Workers Day. In the morning, nurses at the University Medical Center (UMC) went on strike, with dozens picketing alongside them for hours. And later in the day at 6 p.m. hundreds gathered for a march to fight for immigrants and workers’ rights.

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Loyola students drop banner on campus demanding affordable education.

New Orleans, LA– On April 29, students at Loyola University New Orleans dropped a banner from the third floor of the school's Mass Communications building. The banner read “Loyola won’t listen, they’re raising our tuition: Affordable education for all.”

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