Minneapolis, MN – On November 8, the Twin Cities-based Free Palestine Coalition rallied outside Hennepin County Government Center in support of student arrestees who face both university disciplinary action and potential criminal charges for protest action.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 300 people rallied and marched in Minneapolis’s West Bank neighborhood, November 6, in the wake of Trump’s election. The protest was in solidarity with Palestine and opposed the ever-widening U.S./Israel war in the Middle East. In addition, demonstrators were united behind a broad, progressive agenda that defends the rights of immigrants, workers, LGBTQ people, women’s and reproductive rights, and African Americans and other oppressed peoples.
Minneapolis, MN – On October 28, Cuba solidarity activists rallied at the Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis to demand the Biden administration vote at the UN to end the economic war on Cuba. For 32 years, the United Nations has voted every year almost unanimously to end the cruel economic blockade against Cuba which the U.S. has imposed for over 60 years. To tighten the noose, in 2021 the U.S. added the designation of Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” (SSOT) a ridiculous charge that leads to only more sanctions.
St. Paul, MN – At 5 p.m., October 30, on a chilly autumn afternoon, over 60 Twin Cities community members showed up at the corner of Raymond Avenue and Energy Park Drive in Saint Paul to demand that ForwardEdge ASIC, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, get out of the residential neighborhood and that the state of Minnesota divests all public funds out of Lockheed Martin. This demonstration was called by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.
Minneapolis, MN – The evening of October 27 was unseasonably warm late, with 200 workers picketing outside of Minneapolis’ iconic First Avenue club and music venue. The hospitality workers organized recently with Unite HERE Local 17 and are now in contract negations with First Avenue for their first union contract.
Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, October 27, over 100 people gathered at the New City Center to listen to a presentation given by Willy Massay, a critical care ICU nurse who was one of the few American healthcare workers to go to Gaza since the start of the war last year. The presentation was hosted by the Minnesota Anti War Committee.
St. Paul, MN – MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, is an independent union representing approximately 15,000 employees of the State of Minnesota. At their October 26 delegate assembly, MAPE approved a resolution titled “Supporting a Ceasefire and Divestment in Israel-Palestine.” It included strong steps towards divesting both MAPE and Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI) from apartheid Israel. The MAPE Ceasefire Caucus organizing team had conversations with nearly every delegate over the last six weeks in preparation for the vote, which ended up with 82 for, 49 against, with 17 abstaining.
Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, October 26, the Free Palestine Coalition organized a rally that drew out 75 community members and students to send a message to University of Minnesota administration that the repression of student Palestine solidarity protesters on campus is unacceptable and will not be allowed to stand. The protesters rallied near a UMN football game during homecoming week, and were seen by thousands of students and alumni, many of whom joined in pro-Palestine chants and raised fists in support as they passed the demonstration.
St. Paul, MN – On October 19, Jill Stein, presidential candidate for the Green Party, stopped by the weekly Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) Solidarity Palestine bannering. Stein stopped by to show support for the Palestine solidarity movement on the way to her Green Party fundraiser.
For over a year, every Friday, community activists have steadfastly came to the busy intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues in Saint Paul to call for an end to the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza and for a free Palestine.
St. Paul, MN – On October 17, 40 protesters held banners, signs and Palestinian flags on the Snelling Avenue bridge over Interstate 94 to draw attention to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon. Over 42,000 Palestinians and 2400 Lebanese have been killed by Israel since last October. Now 41% of people in Gaza are in danger of catastrophic levels of hunger in the coming months. Thousands of cars passed under the bridge while hundreds more went up Snelling Avenue.
Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, October 14 over 50 protesters gathered together on Indigenous People’s Day to tell Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance that he is not welcome in Minneapolis. Vance attended a private fundraiser in Minneapolis the same day, and held a press conference at the burned down Minneapolis former 3rd Precinct police station.
The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) as part of a national week of action called by the Legalization for All Network to stand with Haitian immigrants in the fight for legalization for all, in the face of the intensely racist anti-immigrant rhetoric spewed by right-wing politicians at every turn.
Minneapolis, MN – On October 6, over 4000 protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis on to mark one year of protest and resistance to Israel’s U.S. funded genocide in occupied Palestine. The Free Palestine Coalition started the march with a rally at the Gateway Park Fountain on the corner of Hennepin and Washington Avenues. Protesters marched through downtown and the North Loop neighborhood, proudly displaying support for Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq and all people caught in the crosshairs of Israel’s terror campaign.
Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, October 4, 30 abortion rights organizers, allies and community members gathered to mourn the deaths and celebrate the lives of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller. Thurman and Miller tragically passed away because they were unable to access lifesaving reproductive care, as a result of Georgia’s draconian anti-abortion laws. Their stories just recently came to light after the state’s maternal mortality review committee ruled both of their deaths preventable.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, September 18, over 700 protesters rallied outside Northrop Auditorium as the new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham was inaugurated inside. As university workers prepped the Northrop Mall for the massive celebration set to begin in just two hours, students walked out of class, joining the rally to demand that the University of Minnesota divest from Israel.
As the crowd chanted, “Neutrality is a lie! You’re supporting genocide!” nervous low-level administrators fidgeted with their clipboards and took photos of the protest. The rally was a campus-wide effort, called for by the UMN Divest Coalition, AFSCME 3800, and Educators for Justice in Palestine.
Minneapolis, MN – On September 16, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee held a rally in remembrance of those killed during the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre. About 100 people rallied to project a message of solidarity with Palestine.
The Sabra and Shatila massacre was one of the most brutal massacres that Israel should be held accountable for. Between 2000-3500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed in refugee camps outside of Beirut. The massacre occurred between September 16-18, 1982.
Bloomington, MN – On September 14, 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company's role in facilitating Israel's relentless attacks against occupied Palestine.
This event, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, began with a rally at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 88th Street at the corner of the Penn Lake Library. Following 45 minutes of lively speeches and chants, demonstrators marched to the front of General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility.
Falcon Heights, MN – On Sunday, September 1, Cuban solidarity activists bannered at the Minnesota State Fair demanding the United States government remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and to end the 62-year blockade against the country.
Fairgoers heading toward the main gate of the “Great Minnesota Get Together” could see the Cuban flag propped up and waving in the wind. Closer to the main gate, they were greeted by three banners demanding: “U.S.A. people say, Cuba sí, bloqueo no!, No U.S. blockade of Cuba, U.S. out of Guantanamo,” and two banners in English and Spanish, “Take Cuba off the U.S. Terrorist List/Llevar a Cuba de la lista de terroristas.”
Minneapolis, MN – On August 30, 150 University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty and community members rallied and marched from Morrill Hall to McNamara Plaza in response to the Board of Regents vote that happened earlier this week.
The Board voted on a resolution that would impose political and institutional neutrality on the university’s endowment fund. This vote was pushed by new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. It effectively makes any sort of divestment from Israel, or weapon manufacturers and other entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations, impossible. It takes away any accountability that administration has to its students, to its staff, or to its faculty.
St. Paul, MN – On August 10, hundreds of people gathered outside the Minnesota State Capitol to demand that the State Board of Investment, chaired by Governor Tim Walz, divest public funds from institutions complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide and apartheid in Palestine.
Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis park workers have been on strike since July 4, after seven months of negotiations failed to lead to a contract that they could accept. The park workers are represented by the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), Local 363.
On Wednesday July 24, the park workers decided it was time to take their fight to the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board meeting and make them face the workers. The board had intended to vote on a resolution to move a proposal at the bargaining table. However, after LIUNA members and supporters held a picket line for three hours, and packed the board room, ultimately the meeting adjourned with no other business being conducted except approving the meeting agenda.