News and Views from the People's Struggle
Superior, CO – On Saturday, June 1, a group of several dozen protesters marched to the home of University of Colorado Regent Callie Rennison in Superior, Colorado.
Littleton, CO – On Wednesday, May 29, the Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA) continued their pro Palestine actions against weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin with another all-day picket at the corporation’s Colorado headquarters.
Around 50 protesters engaged in direct action throughout the day, forcing Lockheed employees to take fact sheets that laid out their location’s specific role in the ongoing genocide in Palestine, attached with explicit imagery of carpet bombing and the brutal effects of white phosphorus.
The fliers pointed out the connections between Lockheed Martin and Israel, included graphic imagery of war crimes, and the specifics of the activity that Lockheed Martin is engaged in in Colorado. Lockheed Martin’s primary roles in the genocide are sending F-35s, F-16s and C-130-Js to the occupation as well as providing the tools for mass surveillance and missile and drone targeting with satellites and GPS systems that are produced in Littleton.
One protester with the DAWA, Solveig Swain, explained, “We have to see these traumatizing images constantly by following the news coming out of Gaza. Those actively contributing to the genocide, the people providing the satellite surveillance used to target Palestinians, need to see the results of their crimes as well.”
These engineers of a genocide at Lockheed Martin did not appear out of thin air but were hand picked by Lockheed Martin. Tom Chaney, an organizer with the Students for a Democratic Society Denver (SDS) explained, “These young engineers are brought in with promises of money, with promises of safety and security for the future. There is no security when you’re funding a genocide.
Lockheed Martin, through “donations” and funding for “research” provided to Colorado universities, has deep ties to these institutions which allow them to aggressively recruit Colorado’s students. The end of this relationship is one of the demands of the SDS,and DAWA is also fighting to break the ties with corporations that arm Israel.
Another speaker with the DAWA, Julia Swezy, laid out the future of the movement, “We are building our discipline and militance daily. We will fight until the resistance achieves the victory they deserve, the liberation they are entitled toAs the resistance forces in Palestine wage their struggle against the occupation, those in the United States fight to end the supply of weapons that facilitate the genocide. By building militant people power in a similar fashion to the protests against the war in Vietnam, these activists hope to strike blows against domestic weapons manufacturers in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.”
#LittletonCO #DenverCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #DAWA #WeaponsIndustry
![Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the United States Palestinian Community Network \[USPCN\] urges march on the DNC at Chicago press conference. | Fight Back! News/staff](https://i.snap.as/jszIJ9Sg.jpg "Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the United States Palestinian Community Network [USPCN] urges march on the DNC at Chicago press conference. | Fight Back! News/staff")
Chicago, IL – Preparations for the March on the DNC are well underway, with tens of thousands of people slated to march within sight and sound of the United Center on August 19 to demand that the Democratic Party helmed by Joe Biden end the genocide on Gaza and end U.S. aid to Israel.
Recently, the Democratic Party announced, to comply with shifting Ohio laws, that it will virtually nominate Biden before the convention, meaning that some business of the convention might be resolved before the August in-person convention.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The English translation appeared on the Resistance News Network’s Telegram channel.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that our people, with all their forces and components, are united in demanding the cessation of aggression and that no deal or proposal has any value if it assumes the continuation of the genocide war or maneuvers to allow the occupation to continue its crimes. The resistance forces are entrusted with the demands of our people.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from representatives of New Orleans Healthcare Workers for Palestine. The letter was delivered to Tulane University President Michael Fitts and Medical School Dean Lee Hamm. Healthcare Workers for Palestine is a network of healthcare workers and professionals standing against the U.S.-funded and enabled genocide of the Palestinian people.
Dallas, TX – La Frontera Nos Cruzo held a vigil, May 10, at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to honor mothers who have lost their lives at the border. The event's host, Lesly Torres Guerrero, began the night by singing a rendition of Cielito Lindo before leading a moment of silent prayer for those affected by border violence. An altar of names and faces was decorated with flowers and candles, which passersby stopped to give their respects to.
A guest speaker from the Eagle Pass Border coalition, Amerika Grewal, spoke on the topic, “There is a time for mourning, then there is action!”
Denver, CO – On May 26, Carlos Montes, a lifelong organizer and a member of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), came to Denver to speak about socialism and the struggle for Chicano liberation. Colorado has a long history of radical Chicano organizing, most famous being the Crusade for Justice of the 1960s.
Appleton, WI – After a massive rally and march throughout downtown Appleton on May 15 in commemoration of Nakba Day, the very next day, the student movement at Lawrence University took an action unseen on campus in decades.
Fight Back! is circulating this alert from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. We urge all our readers to call the Humboldt County district attorney when the office opens on Tuesday, May 28.
Call the prosecutors May 28
On May 28, the Cal Poly Humboldt pro-Palestine protesters – who are students, faculty and community members – have their first arraignment court appearance in Eureka, CA. Each of the 30 protesters is being charged with 4 misdemeanors and thus are each facing up to 4 years in prison just for standing with Palestine and saying no to genocide. It was the police and the university who were the aggressors that day. We have a First Amendment right to free speech and protest that must be protected.
Seattle, WA – On May 20, students at the University of Washington in Seattle ended their Palestine solidarity encampment following a protracted struggle that led to an agreement with the university administration. While not a complete win, the agreement marked a real step forward.
On Monday, April 29, students started an encampment. Begun by the Progressive Student Union, a chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society, the encampment had three demands: material and academic divestment from Israel, the cutting of ties with Boeing, and an end to the repression of pro-Palestinian staff, students and faculty.
Los Angeles, CA – In a packed room of Black and Chicano activists, high school students, and other supporters, a May 23 forum was held in support of the Hands Off the Uhuru 3 movement. The Uhuru movement is led by the African People's Socialist Party, which is facing political attacks by the FBI.
Chicago, IL – “This is only a pinch of what we're going to do in August,” Merawi Gerima said to 150 people who rallied outside the 18th District police station on the Near Northside of Chicago, May 19.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine.
The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, representing 64 member organizations, stands by the agreement negotiated by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee administration with the students represented in the UWM Popular University for Palestine on May 14, 2024. We castigate the harsh critiques levied by UW system President Jay Rothman and the joint statement released by Milwaukee Hillel, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and, notably, the powerful Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Both of these statements emerge from false narratives of the encampment as well as the nature of the university.
Philadelphia, PA – During the North American SEIU convention on May 21, around 50 union members and staff led a walkout against Vice President Kamala Harris. The International hosted around 4000 people including delegates, guests and staff.
About ten minutes into Harris’ speech, about 50 delegates, guests and staff stood up and started chanting “Free Palestine!” Harris paused and stuttered for a moment, and some delegates broke out into “Four more years.” Protesters soon overshadowed them. They walked to the entrance and pulled out hidden cloth signs, reading “Workers of the world unite” and “Free Gaza.” They chanted “Harris, Harris you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and sang the union anthem Which side are you on? .
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The English translation appeared on the Resistance News Network on Telegram.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that the brutal massacre by the occupation in Jenin and its camp today, which claimed the lives of 7 martyrs and led to dozens of injured, is the outcome of clear American support for the occupier in its war of genocide against our people.
Austin, TX – Over 3000 people gathered Sunday, May 19, outside of the Texas Capitol building for a statewide pro-Palestine march for Nakba Day.
Apopka, FL – On Wednesday, May 15, more than 40 community members gathered to mourn the tragic loss of eight Mexicano migrant workers killed in an automobile accident early Tuesday morning. The vigil was held at the local headquarters of the Farmworkers Association of Florida.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR).
The Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is delighted to announce that all charges on Antwan Glover have been dismissed! This victory would not have been possible without Antwan fighting with us against these false charges. We thank all who participated in the call-ins, email-ins, and attended his court date protests in Bartow.
Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 teachers and community members rallied at the Duval County School Board office over mass layoffs and school closures. The rally comes after Duval County Public Schools has threatened to lay off 11% of its workforce and shutter over a dozen schools.
Appleton, WI – On May 15, over 100 people met at Houdini Plaza in Appleton to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba ethnic cleansing during which over 750,000 Palestinians were forcefully expelled from their homes.