Tallahassee, FL – 70 students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and Florida State University (FSU) gathered at FAMU campus to hold a rally and demand justice for Trayvon Martin on March 19. Led by African American student leaders, the students denounced the racist murder of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Killer George Zimmerman racially profiled and then murdered the African-American youth vigilante style.
Newark, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) marched and held a speaking program Jan.15 in observance of the 83rd anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An excellent turnout of 150 people representing many different organizations marched from the Lincoln Monument through the downtown area. The gathering marked the 204th day of POP’s Daily Picket for Jobs, Peace, Equality and Justice.
_McDonald granted furlough to work, denied request to return to college _
Minneapolis, MN – Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald appeared in court, Dec. 20 for a hearing where it was decided that her trial will begin on April 30, 2012, instead of the original start date of Jan. 9. Judge Moreno also ruled that, given the delayed trial date, McDonald will be permitted furlough time to seek employment and, once she finds a job, to go to work. The defense argued that McDonald should be granted furlough time to return to continue her schooling at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, given that she has been a “model citizen” in the months since her release from jail. However, Judge Moreno ruled against this request. The prosecution opposed both work and educational furloughs for McDonald, although they did not cite any specific rationalization for their position.
Este sábado 12 de noviembre “Occupy the Hood” y “Decolonize the Hood/Descolonizar el Barrio” marcharán por el poder afroamericano y latino. A la 1:00 p.m., en el lado sur de la ciudad habrá una demostración en la 27 y Nacional, cerca del Banco M&I, mientras en el lado norte la demostración empezará en la 26 y Wisconsin, cerca del US Bank.
Milwaukee, WI, – Over 30 people gathered for an evening vigil, Sept. 22, the day after the execution of Troy Davis. Attendees mourned the death of Davis and denounced the death penalty and this racist execution. Davis was a Black man in Georgia who was given the death penalty for the killing of a white off-duty police officer, despite overwhelming evidence that he didn't commit the crime.
Chapel Hill, NC – A diverse group of over 120 students braved heavy rains to rally on UNC Chapel Hill's campus, Sept. 21, in protest of the scheduled execution of [Troy Davis](/tags/troy-davis). The students held signs saying “I am Troy Davis”, “Stop the execution”, and “Abolish the death penalty”.
Chicago, IL – Death row prisoner Troy Davis was denied clemency today, Sept. 20, by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. He is scheduled to be executed tomorrow night.
_Movement demands ‘Stop the execution!’ on global day of solidarity Sept. 16 _
On Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m., the State of Georgia Department of Corrections is planning to execute Troy Davis by lethal injection. A broad movement has stepped into high gear to stop this injustice from happening, with a global day of solidarity protests planned for Sept. 16. Protests will take place across the U.S. and around the world to demand that the Georgia State Board of Pardon and Parole stop the execution by granting Davis clemency. Davis’s family is also asking people to sign the online petition to the Board of Pardons and Parole. Over 200,000 people have signed the petition in a matter of days.
Newark, NJ – On May 15, 2009, Basire Farrell, 30, was mercilessly beaten to death on the street at 2:00 a.m. by five Newark cops. He was dead, murdered, at the scene. Nothing has happened since to the killers because they are cops.
Raleigh, NC – Over 4000 people marched in downtown Raleigh on Feb. 12 for the 5th annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) protest, organized by the NAACP and the HKonJ Coalition, which is composed of 107 civil rights, religious and social justice organizations. Buses and caravans converged from across the state of North Carolina for the annual protest which centers on a 14-point political program [http://hkonj.com/] for economic justice and civil rights.
Minneapolis, MN – The Committee to Stop FBI Repression has issued a leaflet on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and the struggle against political repression. Tom Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression urges activists to distribute the flyer at Martin Luther King Day events, stating, “Dr. King was a giant in the struggle for equality, peace and justice, and the FBI did its best to destroy him. Distributing this flyer at MLK Day events brings out an important message about the government’s continuing attempts to repress movements that are working for social justice.”
Irvington, NJ – Essex County, New Jersey is the scene of intense struggle of the African-American community against police brutality and violence. On Nov. 24 police attacked a rally for community peace sponsored by the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition (NAVC) here. Three days later the people’s forces showed preparedness when they went back on the offensive at a long-scheduled rally against police brutality led by the People’s Organization for Progress.
Saladin Muhammad es un lider veterano del movimiento de los trabajadores y del movimiento para la liberación de los afro-americanos en Carolina del Norte. El es responsable de la coordinación y organzación en Carolina del Norte y Virginia de los sindicatos de trabajadores de servicio público. Muhammad desarrolla la lucha en contra de una ley en Carolina del Norte, NC 95-98, la cual limita los derechos de los trabajadores de negociar colectivamente.
Chicago, IL – As part of strike preparations at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a leadership group from all three committees met at the famed DuSable Museum of African American history on July 23. Nine out of ten SEIU members at UIC are Black or Latino, and Local 73 had waged a decade long struggle in the 1990s to win pay equity with the employees at the University’s campus in Urbana, where the workforce is mostly white. UIC was compelled to raise workers’ salaries because of the fight that Local 73 waged, and because of a broad coalition that was built with Black and Latino forces on campus and in the community.
Shorewood, WI – After enormous pressure from the community, bogus charges against a Black high school student accused of stealing chicken nuggets were finally dropped. Hundreds of people rallied in support of freshman Adam Hernandez outside the Shorewood Village Hall July 20.
Raleigh, NC – Four activists were arrested during a Wake County Board of Education meeting, June 15, as the struggle to stop the resegregation of Wake County schools intensifies. The civil disobedience action was carried out to protest a 5-4 vote by Wake County's majority conservative board to end Wake's busing program. The demonstrators locked arms and sang We Shall Overcome during the meeting. They were arrested when they did not stop.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice on the important victory on by bus drivers in Alabama.
Tuscaloosa, AL – After a week in and out of work and negotiations, Crimson Ride bus drivers at the University of Alabama have successfully achieved their first contract with First Transit. The agreement was reached at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 8, after several hours at the bargaining table. The negotiating process has stalled several times, which led to the Crimson Ride drivers’ strike on March 1. After a few hours on the picket line, First Transit agreed to come back to the table, but once again these negotiations went nowhere. On March 7, they returned to the table once more, threatening the drivers with a lockout and scab buses if no agreement was reached.
