Aurora, CO – Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) joined thousands in Aurora on June 27 to demand justice for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man murdered by police in August of 2019. In the wake of weeks of protests for George Floyd, as well as numerous call-ins, intense social media pressure, and petitions involving millions of signatures, McClain’s case was reopened by Colorado Governor Jared Polis and his story has gone viral, garnering national attention.
Minneapolis MN – The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) has come out against the city council’s proposed Community Safety and Violence Prevention charter amendment (2020-00668), that would rename the Minneapolis police department and would give the city council and mayor the power to anoint the head of the newly-named “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention.” The measure was heard in the online city council meeting June 26.
Green Bay, WI – On June 25, over 50 people gathered on the premises of the Austin Straubel International Airport to protest President Donald Trump, who was recording a town hall inside one of the facilities there. The effort was led by the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention, but also included Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, Justice for Jonathon Tubby, and Black Lives United – Green Bay (BLU).
Los Angeles, CA – After the murder of George Floyd, the Los Angeles Times published an article that looks at the connection between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Force Science Institute, a police training academy from Minnesota that creates fear among police toward civilians. The article spotlights the relationship between FSI and Cory Brente, the LA city attorney in charge of defending LAPD killer cops. The head of the Police Litigation Unit, Brente enjoys justifying LAPD killings of Chicano and Black victims.
The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD), erected a state of Lenin in front of their party headquarters in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on June 20. More than 1100 people took part in the event.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following June 23 statement of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), General Executive Board.
Heard on video saying ‘I can’t breathe’ before death
Tucson, AZ – On April 21, Tucson police officers responded to a call from the grandmother of Carlos Adrian Ingram-Lopez saying he was out of control. Within ten minutes upon arrival, Ingram-Lopez lay lifeless on their garage floor, naked, handcuffed and covered in layers of plastic police blankets. The autopsy report has ruled the manner of death as “undetermined” but that the cause of death as “sudden cardiac arrest in the setting of acute cocaine intoxication and physical restraint.” The autopsy also shared that it was reported that officers applied a spit hood.
Chicago, IL – When it comes to police reform, the powers that be in Chicago have been negligent in their response to the demands of the people of this city and this nation. People across the country are calling for systemic police reforms now. The resounding voice of the people in the streets is, “We will not accept this anymore!” In Chicago, we’re not new to this plaintive cry, unfortunately. We have the longest standing movement for community control of the police in the country, stretching back to the 1969 police murder of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party. Yet our city is lagging behind every other major city with respect to announcing much needed reform, including New York City and Minneapolis.
Tampa, FL – On Tuesday June 23, the Tampa community gathered in the hundreds at the Tampa Convention Center for the monthly Tampa Citizens Review Board meeting. This was the first Citizens Review Board meeting since the outbreak of the justice for George Floyd uprising at the end of May. At the convention center, the city used pandemic social distancing guidelines to prevent many from getting into the building. While 50 people were allowed in the chamber where the meeting was proceeding, 30 were allowed to sit in a lobby outside and watch on a tv screen. Many dozens more were left to congregate at the entrance to the building, holding signs and watching livestreams of the event on their phones.
Green Bay, WI – Last week, it was announced that President Donald Trump would be visiting Marinette in the northern part of the state on June 25, and will hold a “town hall meeting” at a Green Bay airport at 7 p.m. The Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention – a collection of over 50 organizations that’s planning a demonstration on the first day of the DNC in Milwaukee – has called for a protest of Trump’s visit.
Minneapolis, MN – A coalition of police accountability and civil rights organizations held a press conference to denounce plans by Mayor Jacob Frey to turn over police accountability efforts to the Minneapolis Foundation and an unnamed group of advisors. This comes on the heels of nine city council members declaring they will disband the Minneapolis Police Department.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Duterte regime and its armed forces and agents for the killing spree in Northern Samar and Iloilo, June 20, that resulted in the deaths of four civilians and wounding of three others. Three of those killed were peasants and another was a local youth leader.
Tampa, FL – On June 20, Tampa Bay community members gathered at the Joe Chillura Courthouse Square to honor the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, who was sexually assaulted, abducted and murdered. Salau was a known Black Lives Matter activist in Tallahassee, Florida. Her death follows a recent wave of violence against, and murder of, Black people in the United States committed by the police, white vigilantes and others.
Milwaukee, WI – Juneteenth or Jubilee Day is celebrated by people all across the country every year on June 19. It is a celebration of the day enslaved peoples in Texas found out they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This day is celebrated by Black Americans across the United States by gathering, drinking strawberry soda, and eating red velvet cake, red beans and rice, and watermelon.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union (PSU) rallied 30 students and community members, June 18, demanding community control and defunding of the Arlington Police Department. “We need to remember why we are doing this,” said Arlington resident Adara Arrie. “This is not something to post on social media for a trend. Change has not happened,”
Fort Lauderdale, FL – About 400 members of the surrounding communities gathered in downtown Fort Lauderdale to commemorate Juneteenth and demand an end to police violence. The event was sponsored by several local organizations, including SEIU Local 32BJ, Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, Broward Dream Defenders, and the New Florida Majority. The event began at 3 p.m. at Bubier Park, where those in attendance listened to speeches, chanted, and even danced.
Milwaukee, WI – The families of Alvin Cole, Jay Anderson, Jr., and Antonio Gonzales (“Thee 3”), along with organizers from the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Community Task Force MKE, and their supporters, mobilized in the early afternoon of June 18.
