Interview with Frank Chapman

Frank Chapman, a long-time leader in the Black liberation movement, talks about the November 22- 24 Chicago conference to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The interview was prepared for the print edition of Fight Back! which is now on hold due to the pandemic.

Milwaukee, WI – A new date is being announced for the March on the Democratic National Convention: Monday, August 17. Organizers are going ahead with the march by discussing ways to make the protest safe and taking into account health guidelines. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the Democratic Party recently changed their dates, as they continue to discuss limiting participation at the convention.

Minneapolis, MN – Anti-war leaders are condemning U.S. war moves against Venezuela. The Trump administration has indicted Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, and a U.S. naval deployment is underway.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 29 statement from the Twin Cites based Anti-War Committee.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

San José, CA – Many immigrants won’t be able to get help from the bipartisan COVID-19 pandemic aid bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. More than 4 million undocumented immigrants who are paying taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, will not qualify for the $1200 per person benefit because they have no Social Security number. Another 5 million American citizen children with undocumented parents also will not get the $500 per child benefit.

Chicago, IL – Two dozen prominent organizations and individuals have urged Gov. J. B. Pritzker in a letter to use “the powers of [his] office to provide long overdue justice to Gerald Reed.” Reed’s deteriorating health puts him at extreme risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has heart failure, and late last year while awaiting a new trial at Cook County jail he had a heart attack.

The communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) inflicted more than 1000 casualties of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2019.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC).

State and local officials can help save lives by independently reaching out to China.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the statement from the MN Anti-War Committee.

Los Angeles, CA – Long time Chicano leader Carlos Montes blasted the Trump administration’s mishandling of the pandemic, March 25, stating, “President Trump’s irrational and disjointed response to this COVID-19 pandemic is causing major harm to working people.”

The National Prison Movement (Movimiento Nacional Carcelario) and other prisoner rights groups called a demonstration in Colombian prisons on March 21, to protest the lack of protection against the COVID-19 virus and the general lack of decent healthcare in the Colombian prisons. Twelve Colombian prisons answered the call for a ‘cacerolazo,’ a protest where one bangs on pots and pans to make enough noise so that the protest is heard.

Minneapolis, MN – The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) wanted to be a part of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s global week of action for Palestinian Land Day but they couldn’t do it as a protest the way they had originally planned. Instead on March 24 the MN AWC reorganized their protest as a call-in day, and then did a five-person social distancing bannering protest.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 24 form the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Caracas, Venezuela – A Freedom Road Socialist Organization labor delegation toured the Canaima laptops and tablets factory in Caracas, Venezuela on March 12. The Canaima plant is located within walking distance of the bridge where U.S. puppet Juan Guaido launched a failed coup d’état April 30, 2019. Upon arrival, leading representatives of the Canaima assembly plant greeted the American Teamsters with genuine smiles and warm handshakes.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 13 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Mass pressure and a mayor’s own greed stall a planned power grab

Chicago, IL – In true Chicago fashion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had expected to easily ramrod through a police reform bill this week that would have affirmed her grip on power. If passed, the “Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability” ordinance would have left the entire police accountability system in her control, rendering it at the discretion of the executive branch whether to hold itself accountable for abuses of power committed by its police department, rather than giving communities terrorized by police tyranny the power to defend their rights.

Caracas, Venezuela – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) labor delegation met today with Tibisay Lucena, president of the CNE (the National Electoral Council) to discuss the upcoming elections. Lucena spoke about this election as very important in the face of U.S aggression and the economic war.

Jacksonville, FL – Over 75 people gathered together to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 in Jacksonville. The program was held in the union hall of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Tallahassee, FL – In honor of International Women’s Day, Tallahassee residents attended a panel discussion on the origins and impacts of the socialist holiday.