Minneapolis, MN – About 40 people came together here, March 8, to celebrate International Women’s Day. The program included speakers from the trade union, welfare rights, student and anti-war movements.

Stephanie Taylor of Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “We are all here today to celebrate International Women’s Day – a day when, across the globe, people stand up to recognize the struggles of women everywhere. Women have been and always will be leaders and fighters in the struggle for justice. We are here not just to celebrate the victories of women so far, but to anticipate all our struggles to come as we fight for our own liberation and for a better world.”

Taylor also spoke of the case of Rasmea Odeh, stating, “I wanted to take a moment to focus attention on Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian American who is facing the danger of up to 10 years in prison and deportation at her March 12 sentencing hearing in Detroit. Rasmea Odeh should be seen as an example to everyone fighting for equality and liberation.”

Delfina Rojas, who works with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and other community organizations, spoke about the struggle of immigrant women for equality, against domestic violence and for an end to deportations.

To finish out the program, Angie Citlali performed a powerful song dedicated to the 43 Mexican student activists from the Ayotzinapa rural teachers college who were disappeared and almost surely massacred by the Mexican state last September. The song makes connections between students here in the U.S. and in México.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalWomensDay #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCoalitionMIRAc #RasmeaOdeh #Ayotzinapa