News and Views from the People's Struggle
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of protesters are standing strong at the Fourth Precinct Minneapolis police station on the night of Nov. 18, pressing the demand for justice for Jamar Clark. Police have fired a rubber bullet, known as a marking round, into the crowd and have been spraying people with pepper spray.
Minneapolis, MN – Protesters gathered between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. at the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct, Nov. 16, where an occupation is underway to demand justice for Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old Black man shot while in police custody over the weekend. Led by Minneapolis Black Lives Matter, the occupation has been disciplined and well organized with water, food and shelter surrounding the front of the building. Protesters gathered around the fire as people began to arrive. Tensions began to rise early, as the rally began with the expelling of the “white media” demanding that oppressed nationalities be allowed to tell their side of the story.
Minneapolis, MN – About 50 people were arrested here, the night of Nov. 16, in a dramatic protest blocking Interstate 94, as the fight to get justice for Jamar Clark escalated. Clark, who is Black, was killed by Minneapolis police. Witnesses agree that he was handcuffed at the time of his murder.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 250 people gathered at 3:00 p.m. Nov. 15, to protest the previous night’s shooting of Jamar Clark by Minneapolis cops. Witness to Clarks’ shooting say that he was shot in the head while handcuffed. His family says he is brain dead. Neighborhood people confronted police at the Fourth Precinct for much of the evening. Minneapolis Black Lives Matter began an occupation of the Fourth Precinct building demanding that the officer who shot Clark be arrested.
#MinneapolisMN #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #BlackLivesMatter #JamarClark
Minneapolis, MN – More than 200 students gathered at the University of Minnesota (UMN), Nov. 12, to show solidarity with student protesters at the University of Missouri. The rally, organized by the UMN Black Student Union, consisted of speakers representing a number of different student and community groups, including Whose Diversity?, Students for Justice in Palestine, and APIs for Equity and Diversity.
Minneapolis, MN – Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Political Secretary Steff Yorek gave the following statement to Fight Back! regarding the Nov. 13 evening events in Paris.
Tampa, FL – Over 100 University of South Florida (USF) students and faculty members gathered on the steps of the Martin Luther King Plaza, Nov. 12, linking arms and holding a banner that declared “USF stands with Mizzou.”
Tampa, FL – A group of 20 University of South Florida (USF) students rallied at Cooper Hall, Nov. 12, to demand the name change of the C. W. Bill Young building. Students are upset that USF administrators named the building after a Republican politician who worked to ruin the careers of college professors and schoolteachers.
Columbia, MO – On Nov. 9, both the president and chancellor of the University of Missouri announced their resignation after mass protests by the student body against racism on campus. The announcement came after about 30 African American players on the school's football team threatened to strike and not play Saturday's game if University President Tim Wolfe did not resign. Had the football strike taken place and the team not played, the school would have suffered a $1 million fine for breaking its contract with Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Los Angeles, CA – Braving wind and rain, activists and immigrants stood in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center on Nov 2. They were there to demand an end to the detention of Central American children who are currently locked up in multiple facilities across the country.