Detroit, Michigan – On January 16, Martin Luther King Jr Day, the Detroit MLK Day Committee organized a large gathering, which took place at Historic Saint Matthew's-Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church with the theme of “Six Decades of Mass Movements, The Struggle Continues.” Issues addressed included winning full funding for the Right to Counsel Ordinance and ensuring that all Detroit residents have access to quality housing, water services, good schools, environmentally sound communities, and healthy food. Marchers also demanded an end to police crimes, no more funds to NATO and ending the proxy war in Ukraine. Several FRSO members took part in and provided logistical support for the event.
As we have seen in our previous article, capitalism’s origins are largely based upon “primitive accumulation” – the theft of land and resources during the colonial period. This theft helped to jumpstart the original accumulation of capital. In the U.S. this began with settler colonialism, whereby colonizers from Europe settled in the Americas, bringing with them terrible violence and oppression of indigenous and other oppressed peoples.
Fight Back! interviews Josh Higginbotham, Organizer and Director of Research and Development for Black Lives Matter-Oklahoma City, at the Workers’ Summit of the Americas which took place June 10-12 in Tijuana, Mexico.Fight Back!: Why are you here?
Chicago, IL – Kobi Guillory will be the first feature guest on our new podcast Fight Back! Radio. Guillory is the co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and an executive board member of the National Alliance. Guillory was amongst the most visible leaders in the streets of Chicago in the aftermath of the police murder of Laquan McDonald by Jason Van Dyke.
Tallahassee, FL – The $27 million in regressive sales tax money diverted from potentially legitimate Blueprint projects to enhance the football experience of powerful white friends of the Chamber of Commerce and Florida State University (FSU) trustees who could care less about poor people in general and Black and brown people in particular, represents a betrayal.
Minneapolis, MN – On February 16, Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota rallied and marched to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by the Minneapolis police in a relative’s apartment earlier this month.
Jacksonville, FL – Throughout the months of January and February, there were over 20 bomb threats directed towards historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Black churches, most of which were in the South. These concentrated actions over the last few months are a microcosm of the extensive history of racism and national oppression that Black people have faced within the United States, particularly its southern region.
New York, NY – Over 80 people rallied in Union Square in New York City on February 8 in honor of Amir Locke and Isaiah Williams, two young Black men murdered by police. Locke was murdered by Minneapolis PD under a no-knock warrant, and Williams by Metro Police near Las Vegas while police executed a warrant for a murder he did not commit.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.
Chicago, IL – On Martin Luther King Jr Day, January 17, the family of Dr. King led a march for voting rights across Frederick Douglass bridge in Washington DC. At the same time, a coalition of over a dozen community organizations and labor unions organized a caravan of over 100 cars up King Drive in Chicago for the same purpose. Activists in both cities and across the country have voiced their support of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement (JLVRA) Act.
Fight Back! interviews Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).Fight Back!: One month ago, you held the second national conference of the Alliance. What came out of that?
Fight Back! interview with Frank Chapman, of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
FRSO strongly condemns the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges. This verdict is another example of how the police and courts work hand in hand with racist vigilantes to kill and injure African Americans, other oppressed nationalities, and all who try to fight to end police crimes.
On the evening of October 19, a number of organizations gathered at Belo Garden Park in Dallas, Texas, for a vigil for Atatiana Jefferson and other victims of state violence. Atatiana Jefferson was murdered in her home while playing video games with her niece by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean on October 12, 2019. The vigil also commemorated others killed by state violence in the U.S. and abroad.
On the evening of October 19, a number of organizations gathered at Belo Garden Park in Dallas, Texas, for a vigil for Atatiana Jefferson and other victims of state violence. Atatiana Jefferson was murdered in her home while playing video games with her niece by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean on October 12, 2019. The vigil also commemorated others killed by state violence in the U.S. and abroad.
Chicago, IL – One year after playing a leading role in the George Floyd Rebellion that swept the U.S. in the summer of 2020, the Black-led National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is convening again in Chicago. The storied organization, originally founded in 1973 from the National Committee to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, was reestablished in November 2019. According to Frank Chapman, Executive Director of NAARPR, “We have 13 cities in which there is organizing against police crimes and for community control of the police.”
Just last year, the halls of power in Minnesota shook when people answered the murder of George Floyd by rising up. We marched on the State Capitol, the county attorney, the state attorney general, the police federation and the interstate highways. Day and night, for weeks on end, we faced riot police, tear gas, National Guard troops and white supremacists. The Third Precinct police station was burned, as were hundreds of other buildings. And fires here sparked protests across the world and transformed the political landscape.
College Station, TX – On September 16, Students for a Democratic Society at Texas A&M University held a protest against the continued presence of a Confederate statue on their campus, racial profiling in the surrounding community, and how TAMU continually fails to meet the needs of Black students on campus.
Desde 2013 cuando la Corte Suprema con mayoría conservadora debilitó la Ley de Derecho al Voto de 1965, Republicanos y derechistas han intentado pasar más y más restricciones jurídicas al voto. El objetivo principal de estos esfuerzos es reprimir los votos de afroamericanos, quienes llevan mucho tiempo luchando en contra del racismo del Partido Republicano moderno. Estos esfuerzos han incrementado tras la derrota electoral de Donald Trump en las elecciones presidenciales del 2020 y la victoria de un senador afroamericano en Georgia. Las mentiras de Trump y sus aliados acerca de fraude electoral se han unido a la campaña para suprimir el voto. Su objetivo no es solamente ganar las elecciones del 2022 y 2024 sino también establecer la fundación para anular futuras elecciones si los resultados no les convienen. La supresión del voto de afroamericanos, chicanos y otras nacionalidades oprimidas es el enfoque de estos esfuerzos.
