New Orleans, LA – Instead of the usual Independence Day celebrations, over 350 New Orleans residents and activists gathered at the St. Bernard Housing Project in the Ninth Ward district to demand the right to return to their homes and to voice their opposition to the Iraq war.

Houston, TX – Requests for American Red Cross assistance surged beyond its capacity to deliver Sunday afternoon at the new St. Agnes Baptist Church for the second day in a row. The make-shift Red Cross center was opened Saturday in the heart of Houston’s African American community, eight miles away from the Astrodome and nearly an hour’s bus ride from downtown. As a red, black, and green Black Liberation flag waved overhead, aid volunteers passed out water and registration forms to those waiting outside.

Houston , TX – Today was one of the hottest, stickiest days in Houston since the evacuees arrived last week. Despite that, thousands converged on a Red Cross Center set up at Saint Agnes Baptist church, in far southeast Houston. Many exhausted families came in cars, the parking lot was filled up early, and vehicles with Louisiana plates were parked on the streets as far as the eye could see in all directions around the church. Cars were lined up in rows on the grass in the power line right-of-way and along Sims Bayou. The one city bus that runs to the area, the 52, was standing-room only with shell shocked individuals and families.

Brunswick, GA – Forty people rallied here, Oct. 29 to demand that the people of Brunswick, Georgia be given the right to vote for Elaine Brown. Brown, the Green Party candidate was removed from the ballot and barred from voting following a residency challenge. The calculated attack came after six months of campaigning and after the period for Brown to be allowed as a write-in candidate. Beyond all reason, the Glynn County Board of Elections disqualified Brown. The decision was upheld without explanation by Senior Superior Court Judge Tom Pope.

Brunswick, GA – In a dramatic turnaround, Elaine Brown is back in the mayor’s race here. Brown’s re-entry as a write-in candidate was announced on the eve of election day, following a judge’s court ruling in her favor. Brown, a former leader of the Black Panther Party, is running a campaign to see the development of Brunswick’s port to benefit all the residents. Brunswick is a majority Black town where there has never been a Black mayor. Candidate Brown was kicked off the ballot in an election fraught with dirty tricks, reminiscent of the Old South. Rich white developers and Republican Party hacks are working overtime to keep Brown from being the people’s choice.

Brunswick, GA – Mayoral candidate Elaine Brown vowed to continue the fight for a fair and free election and to empower black people. Republicans and rich white developers stole this election here. Elaine Brown, a former Black Panther Party leader, now running with the Green Party, faced a calculated campaign of electoral intimidation and personal disenfranchisement.

Brunswick, GA – On Dec. 1, the Glynn County Superior Court heard the Contest of Election filed by mayoral candidate Elaine Brown and granted Brown’s motion to continue. The hearing is now scheduled for Dec.19 at 9:30 a.m.

Selma, AL – Over 1000 people gathered here, Sunday, March 4, to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 civil rights demonstration known as Bloody Sunday – during which over 600 men, women and children crossed over the Edmund Pettus bridge and were attacked with tear gas, clubs and violence from police. The event gained notoriety around the world, making obvious the hypocrisy of the U.S. government and pushing forward the Voting Rights Act that was passed five months later.

In the wake of the controversy over the racist remarks by radio personality Don Imus, Fight Back! did the following interviews with grassroots leaders of the Black community in Newark, New Jersey.

Selma, AL – Over 100 activists, youth and community organizers met at the 21st Century Youth Leadership Center outside Selma, Alabama, July 14 to witness the aftermath of a recent attack on the center. The 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement is an organization that helps train African-American youth for future leadership roles in their communities.

Newark, NJ – The Aug. 4 killings of three college students in the Vailsburg section of Newark, New Jersey has become national news. Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20, were forced to kneel and were shot in the head. A fourth victim, Natasha Hightower, 19, was also shot but survives.

New Orleans, LA – Days after President Bush visited New Orleans and proclaimed that the city was “making noticeable progress,” people from as far as France and Brazil gathered in New Orleans Labor Day weekend to for an international tribunal to mark the two-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina.

Jena, LA – Momentum continues to build in the campaign for the Jena 6, a group of high school students that were arrested on trumped-up charges for a schoolyard fight. Though the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed charges against one defendant, Michael Bell, ruling that the 17-year old should not have been tried in adult court, thousands still plan on traveling to Jena on Thursday to protest what is being called, “a modern day lynching.”

Fired Up, Won’t Take It No More!

Outraged people are raising their voices, marching in the streets and rallying on campuses across the country to support the Jena Six. Jena is a small town, four hours northwest of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Jena Six are African-American high school students who refuse to be second-class citizens. The Jena Six are standing up for their rights and fighting back against racism in their community. These young men refuse to be insulted, pushed around and harassed. They simply want equality with the whites in their school and community. The Jena Six are now symbolic of the righteousness of rebellion against racist national oppression.

Durham, NC – Speaking to a packed audience of mostly African American students at North Carolina Central University on Oct. 18, Louis Scott, lead attorney for Mychal Bell of the Jena 6, said that the struggle to free the Six was far from over. Reverend William Barber, civil rights leader and president of the North Carolina NAACP, also spoke at the forum. The discussion was focused on the injustices of the Jena 6 case, but speakers at the event also highlighted the ongoing abuses of the criminal justice system used to oppress African Americans here in North Carolina.

Charleston, WV – Hundreds of people rallied and marched here at West Virginia’s capitol building, Nov. 3, to demand justice for Megan Williams and an end to hate crimes in the United States.

The movie The Great Debaters is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a poet and professor from the 1930s. In the movie, Tolson’s character is that of an energetic professor at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas who organizes the school debate team. That debate team goes on to debate white colleges, to a mostly undefeated season where they won a 1935 debate against Harvard, the reigning national champion.

We are publishing the following essay on the life and work of Fred Hampton to coincide with Black History Month, 2008.

Irvington, NJ – “Forty acres and a mule!” and “You stole us. You sold us. You owe us,” chanted here, Feb. 23, demanding reparations for African American people. The march was sponsored by the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) and the New Black Panther Party.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people demonstrated here at the Federal Building Sept. 15 to demand justice for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The protest was organized by the Welfare Rights Committee.