District Council candidate: ‘Chicago police made me fear for my son’s life’
Chicago, IL – Kenya Franklin recalls her nephew’s unjust beating by Chicago police in 2000. “It made me fear for my son’s life.”
News and Views from the People's Struggle
Chicago, IL – Kenya Franklin recalls her nephew’s unjust beating by Chicago police in 2000. “It made me fear for my son’s life.”
Chicago IL – On November 7, more than 30 activists from Students for a Democratic Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gathered for a march at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Students demanded the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus and provide free birth control for all students. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign by Students for a Democratic Society to demand the university do more to defend women’s and reproductive rights in the face of the mounting Republican attacks.
Chicago, IL – On October 31, a student at Jones College Prep (JCP) in Chicago dressed up in Nazi uniform and was allowed to walk across a stage during a “Halloween Costume Showcase.” The video exposing this incident has amassed over 158,000 views. In it, booing can be heard while the student goose steps across the stage and salutes, further solidifying this overt act of antisemitism and white supremacy.
Chicago, IL – The November 8 midterm election is important around the country, as the seemingly formidable reactionary wave in electoral politics continues. In general, the task in most states is to defeat the most reactionary and backwards candidates.
Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.
Chicago, IL – The first meeting of the Interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) took place on the evening of Thursday September 29 at Malcolm X College. The meeting was attended by almost 200 people, most of who were members or supporters of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) coalition. The CCPSA introduced itself to the community, set up committees to do its work, and elected Anthony Driver and Oswaldo Gomez as its president and vice president. The public comments were filled with support for the CCPSA and demands that the mayor and city council give the Interim Commission the staff and budget necessary to transform the city’s public safety system.
Chicago, IL – Using the tag line, “Going to the Heart of the People’s Struggle,” our podcast has quickly spread across the country. Fight Back! Radio host Richard Berg noted, “We do interviews with the real leaders of the people’s struggles. We go past the bourgeois think tanks by talking to activists that are organizing workers, oppressed nationality peoples, students and other fighters.”
Chicago, IL – On September 7, 30 students marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to demand the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus that is free for students and the community.
Chicago, IL – Chicago saw two developments this past week in the struggle for democratic control of the police by the Black and Latino communities in Chicago. First, after a long delay, Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). This was created out of the passage of historic legislation in 2021, Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS), the most democratic legislation for police accountability in the country.
Chicago, IL – The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) Coalition held a press conference on Tuesday morning, August 30, in response to Mayor Lightfoot's Monday appointment of the citywide Interim Commission for Public Safety. According to the ECPS ordinance, the commission should have been appointed in January. The coalition held a press conference on July 20 demanding that the mayor end the delays and appoint the Interim Commission. With the appointments made, the coalition set its eyes towards the local District Council elections coming up in February 2023.