Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Legalization for All Network.

San Jose, CA – Protesters gathered at San Jose City Hall, June 1, for a candlelight prayer vigil, as well as a march, after the murder of Demetrius Stanley by the San Jose Police Department. San Jose residents, including the family and friends of Demetrius Stanley, arrived at around 7 p.m. Led by B.L.A.C.K. Outreach and HERO Tent, they introduced the program, explaining what led to the murder of Stanley by SJPD. In addition, they allowed community members to express their anger. One community member stated, “The same laws that allow those pigs to kill us, were written 300 years ago. The whole system has to go.”

Tampa, FL – Tampa community members rallied May 29 to demand no new Tampa Police Department (TPD) headquarters. The rally was called by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and was held at the proposed site for the new police headquarters. TBCAC and Tampa community members also demanded that the $100 million-plus earmarked for the project be used instead on social services for East Tampa residents.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR).

Appleton, WI – On May 29, nearly 30 people gathered at Houdini Plaza in downtown Appleton to demand that the Canadian energy company Enbridge be forced to cease production on their Line 3 and Line 5 projects. These pipelines transport tar sands – some of the dirtiest fossil fuel out there – across hundreds of miles of Canada, into northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and through Michigan.

Tallahassee, FL – On May 22, over 200 people gathered at the Old Historic Florida Capitol Building to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance against the latest wave of Zionist attacks.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from election observers who traveled to Syria.

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

Damascus, Syria – Enormous piles of rubble and trash line the streets of the Yarmouk refugee camp in south-central Damascus in late May, 2021. Most structures bear reminders of the war: bullet holes, sandbags, the fading graffiti of various factions. Some buildings have collapsed entirely. Stray cats and dogs roam the eerie, quiet streets.

With $80,000 in hand, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization fundraising drive is a great success. Thousands of additional dollars are pledged, and many have indicated a desire to give more. Now is that time. We urge you to contribute at once, so that our goal of $100,000 can be achieved.

Damascus, Syria – On Wednesday, May 26, election day in Syria, crowds flocked to polling places to cast their votes. A delegation of observers from the U.S., South Africa, France and Palestine visited polling locations east of Damascus in the war-torn Ghouta region to witness the voting and celebrations taking place. Occupied by U.S. and Saudi-backed contras for over six years, civilians there were unable to vote in the last presidential election, and many more have only recently returned to finally rebuild their homes. Within Ghouta, the delegation observed voting in the town of Arbin and the city of Douma.

San Francisco, CA – On May 13, over 9000 people gathered at the intersection of Valencia and 16th Streets to rally and march in solidarity with Palestine, demanding an end to Israel’s collective punishment and ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The protest was organized by the Arab Resource and Organizing Center along with the Bay Area chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

Plymouth, MN – On May 27, Minnesotans protested at Northrup Grumman, the fifth largest arms-producing and military services company in the world, to draw attention to their manufacturing and selling of the Longbow system for Apache AH64D helicopters which is used by the Israeli military to attack Gaza. In this month’s 11-day assault on Gaza the Israeli military killed nearly 250 Palestinians, including 66 children. The protest was the fifth Palestine solidarity protest in the Twin Cities area in the past three weeks.

Douma, Syria – On Tuesday, May 25, one day before the Syrian election, an international delegation, which includes a number of observers from the U.S., visited the war-torn cities of Douma and Jobar just outside Damascus. The observers viewed tunnel networks used by terrorists during the six-year occupation of the city and spoke to residents who had returned after the city was liberated in 2018 by the Syrian Arab Army.

Syracuse, NY – On May 23, around 100 Teamsters gathered at Ye Olde Clipper Tavern here to meet candidates in the O’Brien-Zuckerman Teamsters United Slate, also referred to as the OZ Slate. After about an hour of shaking hands and speaking with the attendees, OZ Slate candidates took to a podium to speak to the members about the issues in the upcoming Teamster leadership elections. The candidates laid out their vision to reverse decades of concessions and membership decline in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

On May 25, 2020, the world watched in horror and anger as George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. This was the spark that ignited uprisings and massive protests across the United States and around the world. While a hated symbol of the police went up in flames, people from coast to coast were confronting the police, who tried and failed to repress the protest.

Green Bay, WI – The family of Jonathon Tubby, an Oneida Nation man killed by the Green Bay Police Department in October 2018, has vowed to continue fighting for justice even after a federal judge dismissed their wrongful death lawsuit against the city. Speaking at a May 23 press conference, on the Oneida Nation Indian Reservation, the Tubby family responded to Judge William Griesbach's decision with a renewed call for changes to the policing system in the United States.

Tampa, Fl – After weeks of protests all over the world, the large Palestinian American community and activists within Tampa continued to protest on Saturday, May 22, in downtown Tampa. Approximately 300 supporters and community members rallied to demand freedom for those living in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation over all of Palestine.

The lynching of George Floyd sparked an uprising that transformed the Black-led movement against police terror in this country. Fight Back! interviewed several activists who found their places in this movement in the past year – four newer members of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) and the Executive Assistant for Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence (FSFAPV). TCC4J is a chapter of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. FSFAPV is a group of Minnesota families who have lost loved ones to police violence.

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, May 21, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota held a protest calling for university divestment from companies funding the Israeli apartheid.