Tallahassee, FL – On May 1, over 30 students and community members gathered in downtown Tallahassee for a march in solidarity with the people of Baltimore for International Workers Day. The march was called by the Black Liberation Action Coordinating Committee (BLACC), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Transgender Liberation Front (TLF). The protesters demanded justice for the murder of Freddie Grey, Jeremy Lett, Mya Hall and all other victims of police brutality.
Tampa, FL – University of South Florida (USF) students rallied in solidarity with protesters in Baltimore, April 30. Over 100 students gathered at the USF library and marched to MLK plaza, chanting “No justice, no peace, no racist police.” Upon reaching MLK plaza, protesters formed a circle, while leading activists gave speeches. The speeches addressed the need to fight for justice in the face of police brutality. Many student speakers denounced the corporate media for lying and distorting.
Houston, TX – The Republican Party in Texas is intensifying its campaign against Chicano and Mexicano people by pushing for new repressive laws in the Texas legislature. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his henchmen are seeking the support of the Greater Houston Partnership, an organization of liberal business leaders.
Houston, TX – The spark that began last September in Ferguson is now a prairie fire in Baltimore. Like people in many cities, Houston activists held an anti-police brutality rally in solidarity with Baltimore, April 29. Over 50 activists gathered in Houston’s Third Ward, a predominately African American neighborhood, to denounce the crimes of the Houston Police Department.
Tallahassee, FL – Student activists gathered at the state capitol on April 18 to confront white supremacists. The Tallahassee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called the protest. On April 9, SDS led 100 students in burning a Confederate flag in front of the Old Capitol to protest Klu Klux Klan fliers being distributed in a Tallahassee neighborhood and news that three prison guards, all KKK members, were planning to murder an African American prisoner.
Baltimore, MD – Hundreds of Baltimore residents took to the streets for the fourth consecutive day, April 22, demanding justice for Freddie Gray. Gray was an African American man murdered while in Baltimore police custody. Protesters held a long marched from West Baltimore to City Hall, shutting down major intersections along the way, chanting, “All night, all day, we gonna fight for Freddie Gray.”
Bloomington City Attorney still pursuing restitution claim for ‘Police overtime’
Minneapolis, MN – According to a letter from their lawyer, the Mall of America (MOA) is no longer pursuing restitution from Black Lives Matter activists for lost revenue after they made the decision to shut down their stores during a Dec. 20, 2014 protest at the Mall of America. This news comes after a massive and sustained public pressure campaign urging the MOA to call on City Attorney Sandra Johnson to drop the charges. The campaign includes a boycott and takeover of the mall’s #ItsMyMall Twitter campaign.
Jacksonville, FL – On April 4, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager shot and killed Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old African American man. Slager, a white cop, pulled over Scott for driving with a broken taillight. Within hours, the North Charleston police began releasing statements supportive of Slager's claim that Scott had reached for his tazer, causing the cop to fire his weapon in fear for his life.
Tallahassee, FL – Over 100 students gathered at the steps of the Westcott Building on the Florida State University campus, April 9, to protest the Ku Klux Klan. The Tallahassee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called the rally after recent Klan provocations.
Tallahassee, FL – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other groups will be rallying against recent Klan activity in Tallahassee and North Florida on April 9. A Ku Klux Klan chapter has been flyering in Tallahassee neighborhoods, passing out racist and Islamophobic messages in an attempt to recruit. Recently it was revealed that three KKK members who worked for the Florida Department of Corrections were plotting to murder a black prisoner.
Salt Lake City, UT – The detainment of Nicoll Hernández-Polanco is sparking protests across the country with Utah joining the fight. Nicoll Hernández-Polanco is a Guatemalan transwoman seeking asylum. However, she is currently being held in the Florence Service Processing Detention in Arizona. Hernandez-Polanco remains incarcerated in the men’s side of the detention center where she faces sexual harassment and assault.
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis supporters gathered at the Hennepin County Courts, March 10, to stand in solidarity with the 11 defendants who are being targeted for political prosecution by the City of Bloomington and the Mall of America (MOA).
Salt Lake City, UT – More than 50 people gathered at the steps of the Utah State Capitol, Feb. 25, in honor of three young Arab American Muslims murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. On Feb 10, Craig Hicks gunned down Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.
Tallahassee, FL – 50 students at Florida State University (FSU) held a candlelight vigil, Feb. 13, to commemorate the three young Muslim victims of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina shooting.
Minneapolis, MN – More than fifty students marched from Coffman Union to Morrill Hall today at noon. They marched to Morrill Hall, the administration building, to support a group of students that had started a sit-in in President Kaler’s office in Morrill. The students have a list of 8 demands and they have pledged to maintain the sit-in until President Kaler negotiates with them or they are arrested and removed.
Minneapolis, MN – Attorneys with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis obtained a copy of a warrant Feb. 2 from the Bloomington Police Department that grants police permission to seize private information from the Facebook account of well-known community activist Nick Espinosa.
Chicago, IL – The movie Selma is a dramatic portrayal of how history was made by African American men, women and children and their white allies in Alabama, the cradle of the confederacy. It’s about people who decided to take a stand and make the ultimate sacrifice. The opening scene is in Birmingham where the KKK blew up more Black churches than anywhere in the U.S. Thus right away we are thrust into the thick of things, the real dirt and blood of battle of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960s with all the emotional and physical pain one can bear. Through the eye of the camera we are immediately swept into the graphically violent acts of KKK terror.
Bloomington, MN – Thousands of protesters shut down large sections of the biggest shopping mall in the U.S., the Mall of America (MOA), in the early afternoon of Dec. 20, demanding an end to police brutality. The mall rotunda was filled demonstrators with raised arms, chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot!”
Gainesville, FL – On Dec. 12, students and community members blocked the entrances to a basketball game between the University of Florida (UF) and Texas Southern University. The action was called as part of a growing movement to protest police killings of African Americans and Latinos in the U.S. This follows the failures to indict police officer Darren Wilson, who shot Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who choked Eric Garner to death.
Gainesville, FL – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Florida marched through campus on Dec. 3. Students are demanding that the University Police Department opt out of the Department of Defense 1033 Program that provides assault rifles and armored vehicles to local police. The 1033 Program came under close scrutiny after protests against the police murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Photos of protesters and residents being confronted by local police armed with assault weapons and tank-type vehicles shocked the world.
