Chicago, IL – The 20th Anniversary People’s Thanksgiving will be held here Saturday, Dec. 1. Sponsored by Fight Back! newspaper, the event honors fighters in the people’s struggle. This year, awards will go to:

Sarah Chambers, Chicago Teachers Union. Sarah is a member of the CTU bargaining committee and was strike captain at Saucedo Academy where she teaches.

Pat Hunt, Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda. Pat was one of the initiators of the protests against NATO, a spokesperson for the coalition and one of the main leaders of the massive march to McCormick Place.

Magda Castaneda, Committee Against Political Repression. Magda played a leading role in rallying the Chicano community in Chicago in the victorious fight to defend Carlos Montes.

Warehouse Workers for Justice. An organizing committee of workers in Walmart and other multinational corporate warehouses who organized, fought the boss and won.

The event is a fundraiser for Fight Back!/¡Lucha y Resiste! newspaper. It will run from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., with dinner at 5:00 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 E. 26th Street. Tickets are $30, but only $5 for children and the unemployed.

Emcees for the night will be Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and Kait McIntyre of the Anti War Committee in Chicago. Abudayyeh will speak about the recent victory by Palestinians in Gaza in their resistance to the murderous assault by the Israeli military. McIntyre will talk about the continued work of the Anti War Committee in opposing U.S. wars – wars in Afghanistan and Syria, the Drone War in Pakistan and the U.S.-backed assault on Gaza.

Joe Iosbaker, a Chicago leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which helps to produce Fight Back!, said, “From the march on NATO to the teacher’s strike, this was another incredible year in Chicago.” In explaining the history of this event, he stated, “We started an alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving celebration 20 years ago on the 500th anniversary of the European conquest of the Americas. The leaders we are honoring – coming from the protest movements, union struggles and victories like Carlos Montes defeating the FBI and Los Angeles District Attorney attack on him – these are what we’re giving thanks for.”

Go to the People’s Thanksgiving Facebook page for tickets and more information: http://www.facebook.com/events/476580712373165/

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