St. Paul, MN – The Senate Business, Industry and Jobs Committee voted to outlaw workfare – forced, free labor performed by welfare recipients. The bill, authored by David Tomassoni (D-Chisholm), was initiated by the Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee.

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Twin Cities based Welfare Rights Committee picketed at the governors mansion, Nov. 20 to, “put Governor Pawlenty on notice that, in the 2008 legislative session, we will fight his every attempt to take poor families’ money.” The protest had a Thanksgiving theme. A huge banner reading, “Hey Pawlenty! Stop gobbling up poor people’s money!” was fastened to the mansion’s wrought iron fence.

Houston, Texas – Hundreds more New Orleaneans came to the Astrodome today seeking help. Yet many were turned away at the security gate and given nothing. The people who left New Orleans before Katrina landed are very aware that without federal government aid, they will not be able to survive much longer.

St. Paul, MN – The Welfare Rights Committee, Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition and supporters gathered in front of the Capitol here, Feb.12 to unfurl a banner too large to hold, cascading down the steps reading, “Tax the Rich! Stop the cuts to poor and working people.” They came for their annual protest at the start of the 2008 legislative session.

Live from Death Row

The following is one in a regular series of commentaries by Mumia Abu Jamal from SCI Greene Prison

The following is a special editorial from Fight Back! that's being distributed as a leaflet among the evacuees in Houston, Texas.

St. Paul, MN – Low-income families spoke out April 15 against the state politicians who are raiding federal welfare (TANF) funds to balance the budget. The tax day protest was organized by the Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee.

St. Paul, MN – Welfare recipients and low income people chanted and held signs in the state capitol building here, Nov. 29, while government officials delivered their state budget forecast.

St. Paul, MN – Taking the podium at the June 3 meeting of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020, Angel Buechner, flanked by members of the Welfare Rights Committee, stated, “We are here today at the ‘retreat’ of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty to speak out against the tens of millions of dollars stolen from Minnesota’s poor. Just 15 days ago, on the last day of the Minnesota legislative session, tens of millions of dollars were taken from the TANF fund – the federal block grant for welfare – and used to pay for the state’s budget deficit. Furthermore, not one dime of the tens of millions in federal welfare dollars was spent to put money back into the pockets of poor families.”

Demand Relief, Action and Justice Now!

Statement by Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Minneapolis, MN – Low-income tenants of the Rodeway Inn won a victory! On March 31, Hennepin County Housing Court ruled that homeless families living in the building could stay for another 30 days. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is buying the building and plans to turn it into a parking lot for museum patrons.

As the rich grab up every piece of land they can on Chicago’s South side, thousands of low-income people are being pushed out of the neighborhoods they call home. Powerful institutions like the University of Chicago and its local partner The Woodlawn Organization are colluding with Mayor Daley to subject neighborhoods like Woodlawn to a feeding frenzy by greedy developers – a nightmare for families who can no longer afford skyrocketing rents and property taxes. But as the tenants of the Kimbark Tenants Association are showing, you don't have to just pack up – you can fight back.

Chicago, IL – “Ain’t no power like the power of the people ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop!” echoed up and down Cottage Grove, Aug. 25, during the Hands Around Grove Parc demonstration. Tenants and supporters linked hands and held signs saying “Urban renewal = black removal” and “I live in Grove Parc, I want to stay, not gonna go no way!” as passing cars honked and cheered the demonstrators on.

Chicago, IL – “Homeland security arrests us ‘cause we are trying to stay in our homes. We told them, ‘Housing is a human right and we wasn’t goin’ without a fight!’” said Grove Parc tenant and Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) organizer Lonnie Richardson amidst cheers of tenants and supporters gathered on a cold November day outside the offices of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in downtown Chicago.

Editors note: Since this article was written, Minnesota Governor Pawlenty has announced there will be no special secession of the legislature this year and, in an unprecedented move, he states he will use the line item veto and his power to unallot to carry out massive budget cuts.

Interview with Parents of Police Murder Victims

Fight Back! talked on May 8 with Elizabeth (Bonnie) Moore, whose son Rasheed, 26, was killed in January by Newark, NJ police officer Thomas Ruane (see Fight Back! March/April 2005.) Fight Back! also talked with Earl Williams, whose son Earl Faison was killed by Orange, NJ policemen in April of 1999. After a struggle of five years, led by the Faison’s family and by the People’s Organization for Progress, four cops were sentenced to terms of 33 months each for violations of the victim’s civil rights. One officer was sentenced to nine years.

Chicago, IL – Residents of the Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side are fighting to hold on to our neighborhood. We are threatened by gentrification, which is happening in many poor areas of the city. What does this mean? It means that 61st Street, which used to have a thriving business strip, would have condos instead.

For this year’s holiday honoring Dr. King, we are printing 3 commentaries on King’s political thinking that are important for understanding today’s situation – Fight Back! editors

In 1967, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. described the economic plight of African Americans: “Let us take a look at the size of the problem through the lens of the Negro’s status in 1967. When the Constitution was written, a strange formula to determine taxes and representation declared that the Negro was 60% of a person. Today another curious formula seems to declare that he is 50% of a person. Of the good things in life he has approximately one-half those of whites; of the bad he has twice those of whites. Thus half of all Negroes live in substandard housing, and Negroes have half the income of whites. When we turn to the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a double share. There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality (widely accepted as an accurate index of general health) among Negroes is double that of whites.”

St Paul, MN – Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bail Out organized a picket line at the Minnesota Department of Revenue Building, where Governor Pawlenty proposed his plan to address the $5.2 billion budget deficit, Jan. 27.

St. Paul, MN – The MN Welfare Rights Coalition (MN WRC) won a victory at the State Capital in the 2000 legislative session. After packing hearings, protests, and civil disobedience actions, they triumphed in killing one of worst bills. The politicians, mainly Republicans, tried to pass a law that would have forced 100% sanctions on families receiving welfare from the Minnesota Family Investment Plan (MFIP).