Tallahassee, FL – On Friday, April 10, Tallahassee SDS, along with Freedom Road Socialist Organization and FSU YDSA brought together over 40 people on FSU’s Landis Green to protest the Israel Fair, an event sponsored by pro-Israel groups across the campus to celebrate Israel as it carries out genocide against Palestinians.

The event took place two days after Israel conducted 100 airstrikes against Lebanon in ten minutes, killing hundreds.

“It is shameful that FSU is allowing an event on our campus in the name of a state that is built on colonization and genocide,” said Maria Duarte, a member of Tallahassee SDS who spoke at the protest. “Israel is a state that has been displacing and murdering Palestinians for over 70 years. A state that believes that bombing children and innocent civilians is ‘self-defense.’ It is disgusting how our university is whitewashing genocide while Palestinians continue to be murdered and displaced.”

The fair was created by various Zionist organizations, including Students Supporting Israel, Hasbara Fellowships, Hillel at FSU, Zionist Organization of America and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

The protest began at 1 p.m. and was supposed to go until 2 p.m. but continued until around 3:45 p.m. Students chanted “Free Palestine” and made statements that showed solidarity with Palestine, condemned Israel, and ridiculed those involved with the fair.

Zionist counterprotesters responded with slurs and attempts to disrupt the rally, which the protesters ignored. As for the Israel Fair, it should have gone until 3:30 p.m., but it was closed down a little after 2:00 p.m. due to pressures from the protest – which would outnumber the attendees of the Israel Fair.

The speakers made a point to emphasize FSU’s support of Israel and, by extension, the genocide of Palestinians.

The speakers mentioned how the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering partners with Boeing. A close partner of Israel for 75 years, the company recently signed an $8.6 billion contract with the Pentagon to make 25 new F-15 Fighters for Israel. More recently, in March, Boeing signed another deal for $289 million to deliver 5000 air-launched smart bombs to Israel.

“Make no mistake, our campus is heavily complicit,” said one protester.

Before the Israel Fair, FSU power washed pro-Palestinian statements that were written in chalk on Landis Green. An anonymous affiliate of the fair’s organizers posted on YikYak, “this is what FSU thinks of your anti-fair chalk,” with a picture of the Landis Green walkways being power washed.

The “anti-fair chalk” included statements such as “72,000+ dead” (the number of Palestinians who have been killed thus far in the Gaza genocide), “One should not be killed for just being a Palestinian” and a list of names of children who were killed in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli occupation forces.

As FSU’s administration defends allowing of Zionist organizations on their campus, Israel continues to perpetuate its genocide of Palestinians. Tallahassee SDS deplores FSU’s hypocrisy in sanctioning hate groups on their campus while suppressing leftist student movements, and they remain in solidarity with Palestinians.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO

Detroit, MI – On Sunday, April 12, another protest took place in Detroit to demand an end to the war on Iran. The second weekly protest brought around 90 participants to the Spirit of Detroit sculpture and through the streets around Woodward Avenue and Campus Martius Park.

The weekly protests are organized by the Detroit Anti War Committee, along with the support of US Palestinian Community Network, Code Pink, Wayne State Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Engineers Against Apartheid.

The protest began with people lining the edge of the street holding banners and signs, such as “Detroit divest from war profiteers!” Cars passed and honked in support of the anti-war messaging. With the route going around Campus Martius, the One Campus Martius Building sparked up heated chants of “Fuck Dan Gilbert!” referring to the billionaire Zionist who owns the building and contributed over $80,000 to Detroit election campaigns, including that of Mayor Mary Sheffield.

Bryce Morin from Students For A Democratic Society stated, “We here at SDS oppose Wayne State’s support of these mass killings and displacements through investments in companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. And we are against our university allowing ICE to continue to deport students from our campus. Because we believe that our tuition and tax dollars should go towards funding education, not towards supporting war.”

Hiba Elturk, a founding member of the Detroit Anti-War Committee came out to speak on her experience having familial ties to Beirut and Bechamoun in Lebanon, “When Israel broke the ceasefire, it felt like the weight of the entire world had come down on me. I pray to God none of you ever have to reach for your phones and make the decision of who to call first to check and see if they’re still alive! Thanks to the Zionist entity, these decisions I’m being forced to make,”

Elturk continued, “My uncle was on his way home from work when the street he was driving on got struck by a missile. Five minutes too early, five minutes too late, and he would have been murdered.”

Jo Pico, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “Ultimately, in this moment of uncertainty, trauma, and pain, there is one fact we can hold onto: we have power. This is what gives us clarity to meet the moment.”

After marching, the demonstrators rallied in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, which is where the city council meets.

Daanyal Syed of Detroit Anti-War Committee stated, “The city of Detroit is complicit in genocide, as it has contracts like Shot Spotter, whose technology is used to surveil Palestinians, is used to surveil our Black and brown communities.” Syed closed out the protest by calling on everyone to show up to protest next week.

#DetroitMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #DAWC #Iran #Palestine #FRSO #SDS

On Monday, March 30 DHS and ICE took Salah Sarsour into custody. While driving, he was pulled over by ten ICE agents with no just cause.

Salah has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States for over 32 years. Salah serves as the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee (ISM), board member of the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and has been a prominent advocate for the Muslim and Palestinian communities for three decades.

Members of these communities understand that Sarsour is being targeted due to his leading roles locally and nationally. Like the targeting of Mahmoud Khalil, Leqaa Kordia, Mohsen Mahdawi and other pro-Palestinian people of conscience, Sarsour is being subjected to the same treatment. Just as in their cases, the people are calling to mobilize!

A press conference will be held today, April 2, at 4 p.m. in the Islamic Society Milwaukee Community Center (815 W. Layton Avenue).

Solidarity to Sarsour, his family, the Palestinian, Muslim, and immigrant communities. Opposing the genocide in Gaza is not a crime! Fighting for Palestinian liberation is not a crime! Free Salah Now! Join the movement to free Salah!

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #ICE #ImmigrantRights #AntiWarMovement #FRSO #ISM #AMP #Palestine

Los Estados Unidos e Israel están lanzando una guerra contra Irán. Es una guerra injusta y sin provocación. Ha habido numerosas bajas civiles en Teherán y en otras ciudades, incluyendo los reportes de 85 niños escolares muertos en Minab.

Esta es una guerra que EE.UU. eligió. Trump se apartó de las negociaciones, y luego alistó a Israel apartheid, y ahora, bombas y misiles están lloviendo sobre escuelas y estaciones de televisión. Irán tiene todo el derecho de responder.

Este año llega en un contexto. El declive del imperialismo de EE.UU. se está acelerando. Trump está tratando de preservar el moribundo imperio estadounidense, y el control del Medio Oriente es parte de ese proyecto. El año pasado, EE.UU. e Israel lanzaron una guerra fallida de 12 días con el objetivo de quebrar a Irán.

Ahora han regresado para intentarlo otra vez. Junto con su cómplice Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump enfrentará más derrotas y fracasos — si no pronto, será después. De cualquier forma, tendrán el mismo destino de los tigres de papel que los precedieron.

Irán traza un camino independiente. Se encuentra en el centro de un eje de resistencia que incluye a las fuerzas progresistas y patrióticas de Palestina, Yemen, Líbano e Irak. Los pueblos libres del Medio Oriente no vivirán bajo la dominación de EE.UU. Están determinados a acabar con la ocupación genocida de los sionistas. Así que los defensores del imperio tendrán sus manos llenas.

Aquí en los EE.UU., progresistas y revolucionarios tienen que salir, uniendo a todos los que se puedan unir para terminar con la guerra contra Irán. Lo que EE.UU. e Israel están haciendo contra Irán es un crimen, y debe ser juzgado como tal.

Trump ahora está hablando sobre un cambio de régimen. La verdad es que sí necesitamos un cambio de régimen — un cambio de régimen en Washington DC. Mientras nos oponemos a la guerra en Irán, y construimos un frente amplio contra Trump, podemos y haremos a los EE.UU. ingobernable.

#es #Iran #AntiWar #Statement #FRSO #OSCL

Trans Day of Visibility Statement by the Women’s & LBGTQ Work Team of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Transgender Day of Visibility, Freedom Road Socialist Organization unites with the masses of transgender people who refuse to be erased from public life. This past year saw an escalation in anti-trans Executive Orders from the Trump administration and reactionary legislation in states across the country. The struggle for visibility has been hard-fought and must be defended. Now is the time to hit the streets to demand trans liberation.

Attacks on trans healthcare have taken center stage in Trump’s anti-LGBTQ agenda. While 27 states have already enacted laws to limit gender affirming care for trans youth, Trump intends to ban this healthcare nationwide by blocking Medicaid and Medicare funding for all services at hospitals that also provide pediatric gender-affirming care. Trump has given hospitals an ultimatum: end their youth gender-affirming care programs or face bankruptcy. Already, this has resulted in a pause in care at many facilities, including those in states where gender-affirming care for youth is still protected under local law.

The Trump-appointed 4th Circuit Court takes these attacks a step further, ruling that West Virginia’s Medicaid program can exclude coverage of all gender-affirming care procedures, even for consenting adults. The decision opens the door for similar bans in other states. This was never about protecting children. Attacks on trans youth chip away at the bodily autonomy of all trans people, and we are seeing the true plans of reactionary forces take shape in real time. Our enemies seek to eliminate gender-affirming care in its entirety and to stamp trans people out of existence, and we must fight them on every front.

The civil rights of trans people in the United States are extremely uneven and precarious. Laws vary from state to state. In Kansas, the drivers licenses of trans people are being revoked en masse. Conversely, in Minnesota, a trans refuge bill was passed to protect patients and providers of gender-affirming care. Depending on where they live, trans people face bathroom bills and sports bans, are forcibly misgendered in schools, left unprotected from workplace discrimination, and more. But this polarization also offers fertile soil for the seeds of struggle. Organized resistance is the only way to beat back these attacks, defend our gains, and truly improve the conditions in the lives of transgender people.

Across the country, members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization have led the fight for trans liberation by protesting cuts to gender-affirming care, opposing anti-LGBTQ bills, rallying their communities against hate crimes, and demanding justice for stolen trans lives. FRSO is involved in yearly events for Trans Day of Visibility, Trans Day of Remembrance, as well as protests during Pride Month that revive the revolutionary spirit of Stonewall. Campaigns to lower the cost of name changes and bolster sanctuary resources for trans refugees ignite the struggle for trans liberation year-round. Where people stand and fight, there are victories to be won.

In its accelerating decline, the U.S. Empire will continue to launch repressive attacks against working and oppressed people as a means to prevent revolutionary change. We must help those fighting for liberation of any kind to see trans liberation as intertwined with their own. Visibility is only the beginning. One day, trans people will be more than visible—they will have the political power to take their destinies into their own hands.

#TransDayOfVisibility #Trans #LGBTQ #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Statement #FRSO

New York, NY – On March 26, around 100 people gathered at 8 a.m. across the street from the Southern District of New York courthouse in solidarity with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Government officials and the defense appeared before a judge to determine whether or not the two could use their own lawyers. The defense argued that the kidnapped couple have a right to due process, and that the entire trial is unconstitutional, violating the 6th Amendment.

The action was organized by a coalition of anti-war organizations in New York City that have been organizing around the Maduro and Flores case since January 3.

Michela Martinazzi of Brooklyn Against War led the protest. Martinazzi told the crowd, “We do not want our tax dollars to go to war, plunder and genocide. We do not want our tax dollars to go to illegal kidnappings of foreign government officials. The Venezuelan people have a right to decide their own future and destinies. It is not up to the United States. We demand that all charges are dropped and that President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are returned safely to Venezuela.”

The crowd in the plaza chanted, “From Venezuela to Iran, no more sanctions, no more bombs!” and “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!”

The opposition and anti-Maduro forces showed up as well. They brought with them an effigy of Maduro and hung it from a tree – a disgusting show of cruelty and racism. Many of the opposition resorted to name-calling and slurs as they attacked the pro-Maduro forces. There were a few instances where the opposition tried to enter the protest and disrupt, but the pro-Maduro forces were organized and prepared. They easily pushed out the counter-protesters.

Tom Burke, the organizational secretary of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “Trump’s trial of President Maduro is a political trial meant to portray the upstanding and righteous leader of Venezuela as something else. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being punished for standing up to the U.S. empire interfering in their country. The whole world sees Trump and Wall Street attempting to dominate Venezuela’s oil, minerals and economy.”

The protest ended with a march out of the area to end on a high note. While the hearing didn’t determine whether or not Maduro and Flores can use their own funds for their defense, the protesters were resolute in their determination to keep fighting to get the charges dropped.

New York City protesters will be at the Metropolitan Detention Center on April 3 for the three-month anniversary of the kidnapping of President Maduro and First Lady Flores.

#NewYorkNY #NY #International #AntiWarMovement #Vemezuela #Maduro #AWAN #FRSO #BAW #Featured

Chicago, IL – On Monday, March 16, UIC students gathered in the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center to learn about and discuss women’s and LGBTQ liberation and socialism.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization held the presentation and discussions to commemorate Women’s History Month by showing how both women and the LGBTQ community are oppressed by capitalism, and that both have an interest in fighting for socialism.

Speakers engaged the audience in discussion about how the rich benefit from gender-based exploitation in and out of the workplace. Audience members shared personal experiences of seeing how women in their life face gendered oppression in both their jobs and in their homes.

“LGBTQ equality presents a direct challenge to this oppressive system, and so LGBTQ people are also subject to severe repression, including discrimination in employment, housing, education, and healthcare, and denial of the right to marriage equality,” explained River Argyilan from FRSO.

Students also shared the stories of women fighters for liberation including Claudia Jones, a Black Trinidadian communist woman who was a dedicated leader within the Communist Party USA in the 1940s and 50s, as well as Marisol Marquez, an active Chicana revolutionary in California who is a member of FRSO.

Presenters recommended that students read Marisol Marquez’s pamphlet “My Journey to Aztlán,” which discusses her path to becoming a revolutionary Chicana activist, and to honor Women’s History Month by continuing to study and fight for women’s and LGBTQ liberation as an integral part of the struggle for socialism.

#ChicagoIL #IL #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #InternationalWomensDay #FRSO

Colorado Springs, CO – On March 1, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) organized a protest over 150 people at Colorado Springs City Hall to demand an end to all military action against Iran.

Protesters chanted, “Hands off Iran,” “Donald Trump, CIA, how many kids did you kill today?” and “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, US out of everywhere!”

“How dare [Trump] act like he has the moral high ground when this is his second extrajudicial regime change in as many months?” asked Rowan Mayfair from AFVAW. Veterans make up around 15% to 17% of the population of Colorado Springs.

Brianna Campbell of Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression told the crowd, “Can we blame the Iranians for turning to Khomeini, who promised independence and dignity after what we had done to them? Can we blame the Iranians for even storming the U.S. embassy? Can we blame the Iranians for shouting ‘death to America’ after what we have done? No!”

The action ended with a speech from Jessie Proffitt of the FRSO, who stated, “This is a war for control and for profit, for an empire that is clinging onto its waning power, one that is willing to make the people pay any price to hold onto it. Long gone are the days of unchallenged U.S. dominance.”

Proffitt concluded, “It is time to make the U.S. ungovernable. We reject a future of blood and fire and we assert a future for workers, for socialism. If you want to help us fight for that future, to fight for revolution, join us in FRSO. If you want to fight for any future, join an organization today. The one thing the billionaire class fears more than losing control is the millions united in action.”

About Face Veterans Against War (AFVAW), 50501, Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission (PPJ&PC), and the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR) endorsed the action.

#ColoradoSpringsCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #FRSO #Iran

Washington, D.C. – El martes, 24 de febrero, un grupo de organizadores y activistas de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad – DC (OSCL – DC) y de la Alianza de DC Contra la Represión Racista y Política (DCAARPR) se unieron en el centro de DC al alcance del oído del Capitolio de EE.UU. para protestar el discurso de Trump en el Estado de la Unión.

Con un micrófono en la mano y el capitolio detrás, el grupo denunció la política racista de Trump, incluidos los ataques contra inmigrantes, trabajadores, personas negras, personas LGBTQ, y países como Venezuela, Cuba e Irán.

El Departamento de Policía Metropolitana (MPD) había bloqueado todas las calles en un radio de unas pocas millas del capitolio, pero el grupo se estacionó cerca de las barricadas. Se encontraron con un gran despliegue de policías, la prensa, simpatizantes del público y un hombre cada vez más enojado que continuaba gritando, “¡Yo amo ICE!”. Sus gritos fueron acallados por el sonido de la gente que coreaba, “¡Chinga la migra!”.

El programa empezó antes y continuó durante el discurso de Trump en el Estado de la Unión.

Merawi Gerima, un nativo de DC y organizador de DCAARPR, dijo, “Estamos aquí esta noche porque Trump está en esa rotunda mintiéndole al pueblo estadounidense sobre todas las cosas que está haciendo. Ha dicho que es el portador de la paz al mundo, ha dicho que está trayendo empleos a los Estados Unidos, ha dicho que está trayendo paz a las calles de DC, ¡y sabemos que eso es mentira!”.

Gerima continuó, “Es nuestro deber, y nuestro derecho, hacer todo lo que esté a nuestro alcance para hacer este país ingobernable. Hacerlo imposible para que continúen explotándonos, matándonos y brutalizándonos a nosotros y a todos los demás en el planeta. Hacerlo imposible para que destruyan otros países en busca de ganancias. Tenemos todo el derecho y el deber de ponerle un alto a eso, y eso es exactamente lo que estamos haciendo aquí en Washington, DC”.

Christina Murdoch, miembro de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad, habló sobre los ataques de la administración de Trump contra la comunidad LGBTQ, explicando la política reaccionaria que quieren implementar en la Oficina Federal de Prisiones.

Murdoch dijo, “La nueva política busca quitarle a más de 2200 personas trans que se encuentran actualmente en prisiones federales su acceso a atención médica necesaria. Serían sometidas a una constante invalidación de su identidad de género por parte del personal y les confiscarían todos sus artículos de afirmación de género, como carpetas de pecho, brasieres y maquillaje. Primero que nada, chíngate Donald Trump. Si crees por un momento que nos vamos a quedar quietos mientras le haces esto a cualquier miembro de nuestra querida comunidad trans, estás equivocado”.

#WashingtonDC #AntiWarMovement #Iran #DCATA #DCAARPR #PYM #FRSO #OSCL

Chicago, IL— On Tuesday, February 17, the Chicago District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization drew over 35 community members to a presentation honoring Black History Month and discussing strategy and tactics in the Black liberation movement.

Kobi Guillory, a FRSO leader and middle school science teacher, opened the event with a presentation on revolutionary movements. He described how oppressed workers and colonized peoples have always fought back against their oppressors, and said we are called to do the same today.

Trump, Epstein and the whole ruling class “are proving through the crimes they commit against the people that they need to go. They need to be overthrown,” Guillory said. “And it is on us to do that. No one is going to do that for us.”

Next, Guillory offered a definition of nationhood. Marxist-Leninists consider a nation to be a group of people who share a common territory, economic base, culture, and language. The Black nation fits all these criteria, from its history as a people enslaved to the common territory of the Black Belt South today, Guillory said.

Frank Chapman, a longtime leader in the Black liberation movement and member of the FRSO central committee, spoke next. “The Black nation is oppressed and exploited to an extreme degree by the ruling class of the United States, meaning it has a natural ally in other nations and oppressed groups also fighting against U.S. imperialism,” Chapman said.

The history of Chicano people and Black people in the United States is intertwined going back to the annexation of Texas from Mexico in order to preserve slavery in the union, he said. “The border patrols in Texas were also slave patrols.”

People ask what the ICE attacks “got to do with Black folks,” Chapman said. “We’re talking about a mutual enslaver, a mutual oppressor. We have a real reason, not an imaginary one, to be united with the Chicano people, with brown people on this question,” Chapman said, as the audience applauded in approval.

The racist super-exploitation of Black workers hurts all workers and oppressed people, Chapman continued. “It is our duty and responsibility to work with the immigrants’ rights movement and all progressive democratic forces to oppose the entire Trump agenda,” he said. “Ain’t none of this shit right.”

“The thing that broke the confederacy and lost them the war was the general strike of the enslaved,” he said. The slaves – the people who made the clothes, worked the farms and generally produced the goods and services that sustained the lives of the white slaveholder class – walked off the plantations and stopped their production.

But a general strike does not in and of itself destroy the entire system, Guillory said.

Chapman agreed. “The real solution is revolution,” he said. “We have to overthrow this corrupt, rotten, racist, regime.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #FRSO #OppressedNationalities #BlackHistoryMonth

Washington, D.C. – On February 28, DC residents awoke to the news that the Trump administration had begun a bombing campaign on Iran overnight. Within hours, the DC Against the Trump Agenda Coalition (DCATA) made the call for people of conscience in the DMV area to join in protest at the White House.

DCATA had been preparing for a US strike against Iran for weeks, connecting organizations in advance to mobilize within 24 hours of a strike. 32 organizations demanded, “No war with Iran!” with DCATA at the helm. A few hundred people started gathering towards Lafayette Square, as close as you can get to the White House due to the barricades, at the start of the rally. Protesters were carrying Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as signs reading, “No bombs on Iran!” and “U.S. out of Iran!”

The organizers of the rally began their program on the bed of a pickup truck with emcees from DCATA and Palestinian Youth Movement DMV.

Merawi Gerima, a member of the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR) and DCATA, started the protest stating, “Unity of action, not of ideas! That’s exactly how we’re gonna stop the United States from pulling us into another war.”

The emcee from PYM DMV stated, “They’re sending Americans to die on behalf of the rich. Americans have made it clear that they do not want another war!”

Elizabeth Paige White, a movement lawyer with the DC Lawyers Against the Trump Agenda (DCLATA) told the crowd, “Donald Trump’s lawlessness has extended to every single resident here. I’m in court every single day defending people who were wrongfully – illegally – arrested, searched, shot at, and almost killed in this city because of these illegal police gangs, these feds riding around with MPD, violating our rights day in and day out. Why do we expect [Trump] to do differently around this country and around the world?”

Earlier that day, 50501DC and others organized a March for Democracy that started on the National Mall. As the DCATA program continued, over 1000 people from the March For Democracy joined the No War on Iran protest. At this point, organizers knew they had to march. As the truck carrying the lead emcees started moving, droves of MPD flooded the streets, and tried their hardest to impede the march. Quickly thinking, organizers stripped the truck of its audio equipment and proceeded on foot, leading the people to the Department of State building to condemn Trump and Marco Rubio’s attacks.

A member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization – DC also spoke during the march, “I think it’s very ironic that Trump billed himself as the ‘anti-war’ president, and here we are, one year into his regime, and where do we stand? We see that he is funding Netanyahu and funding genocide in Palestine. We see that he has kidnapped the president of Venezuela. He has now created war with Iran. He is threatening war with the greater Middle East. He’s threatening war with China. This president doesn’t know the meaning of anti-war – all he knows is war!”

Thousands of people marched down the streets of DC protesting attacks on Iran, Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela, as well as immigrants and Black people in the U.S. MPD continuously tried to thwart the march by blocking their path at every turn; however, the people stood firm, and marched right through them. The march ended at the Department of State building, and the program closed out with a few more speakers.

#WashingtonDC #AntiWarMovement #Iran #DCATA #DCAARPR #PYM #FRSO #Featured

The United States and Israel are waging a war on Iran. It is a war that is unjust and unprovoked. There have been widespread civilian casualties in Tehran and other cities, including reports of 85 schoolchildren dead in Minab.

This is a war that the U.S chose. Trump walked away from negotiations, then enlisted apartheid Israel, and now, bombs and missiles are raining down on schools and TV stations. Iran has every right to respond.

This year comes in a context. The decline of U.S. imperialism is accelerating. Trump is trying to preserve the dying U.S. empire, and control of the Middle East is a part of that project. Last year the U.S. and Israel waged a failed 12-day war that was meant to break Iran.

Now they are back again for another try. Along with his partner in crime Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump will face more defeat and failure – if not sooner, then later. Either way they will meet the fate of the paper tigers that have gone before them.

Iran is charting an independent course. It stands at the center of an axis of resistance that includes the progressive, patriotic forces of Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq. The free people of the Middle East won’t live under U.S. domination. They are determined to end the genocidal occupation of the Zionists. So, the defenders of empire will have their hands full.

Here in the U.S., progressives and revolutionaries need to go all out, uniting all who can be united to end the war on Iran. What the U.S. and Israel are doing to Iran is crime, and it needs to be judged accordingly.

Trump is now talking about regime change. The truth of the matter is that we do need a regime change – a regime change in Washington DC. As we oppose the war on Iran, and build a broad front against Trump, we can and will make the U.S. ungovernable.

#Iran #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Trump #International #Featured #FRSO #Statement

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, February 24, over 30 students and community members gathered in University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) Black Cultural Center for a screening of Judas and the Black Messiah, followed by a guided discussion led by comrades in the Chicago district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Directed and written by Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) is a cinematic telling of the story of the Black Panther Party Illinois Chapter, the grassroots genesis of Chicago’s historic Rainbow Coalition, and the final days of Chairman Fred Hampton of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Following the story of both the late chairman and William O’Neal, FBI informant and party infiltrator, the film depicts the real-life conspiracy to murder Chairman Fred carried out by the FBI, the Cook County State Attorney’s Office, and the Chicago Police Department.

After the movie, Kobi Guillory, a member of FRSO Chicago and the Chicago Teacher’s Union, inquired about the audience’s takeaways from this story of revolutionary struggle, class solidarity and political repression. Audience members recounted similarities to their own experiences of police brutality, loved ones murdered or abducted by state thugs, others invoked the very origins of U.S. law enforcement as rooted in the slave patrols.

This Black History Month, it is more important than ever to remember the revolutionary legacy of the Black Panther Party and the Rainbow Coalition: a legacy of working class solidarity, standing against anti-Black and anti-worker political repression. Fred Hampton, as chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and deputy chair of the National Black Panther Party, could see Chicago’s race divide for the smoke screen that it was.

In the wake of a torrent of state-sanctioned violence against the oppressed nationalities and those who stand with them continues across the nation, we continue to struggle. And in the words of Comrade Fred Hampton, when you dare to struggle, you dare to win!

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #SDS #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackHistoryMonth #FRSO #CTU

New Orleans, LA — On February 24, students from the Black Students Resistance Network (BSRN), a Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) affiliate at Xavier University of Louisiana, organized a panel of activists from around the New Orleans area to discuss how and why students should fight for progressive policies on their campuses and in their communities.

The panel featured speakers from BSRN, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the NAACP, Students for a Democratic Society, and a political opinion blog, The Daily Salad.

Central to the discussion was the question of “Why do we protest?”

“One of the reasons we hold these direct actions is because that is how people learn about these struggles and how we keep attention on these issues,” said Rosalina Framboise, a student activist at Loyola University. She invoked the story of the Black Panther Huey P. Newton putting up a stop sign in a community when the government refused to, and concluded by saying, “I think that is what our job is as organizers. If campus administration, or the government, or anyone else is not going to properly advocate the needs of the students or the community, it is our job to get together and do that ourselves.”

Among the other questions posed to the panelists was a question as to how people should respond to the idea Black people should “sit back,” as opposed to engaging in political organizing, because it “isn’t [their] fight.”

Aniya Grisham of BSRN responded, “Just because we can ‘sit at the front of the bus’ now doesn’t mean that it’s all sunshine and rainbows.” She added, “Black people are the most incarcerated people in the country, the least educated.” Grisham emphasized that the work of Black liberation is not done and that it is up to the people to continue fighting.

Overall, the event was a strong opportunity for Xavier students to discuss their thoughts with local student activists and learn more about how to get organized.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BSRN #SDS #FRSO #NAACP

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, February 24, a group of organizers and activists from Freedom Road Socialist Organization – DC (FRSO DC) and the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR) gathered in downtown DC within earshot of the U.S. Capitol building to protest Trump’s State of the Union address.

With a single mic in hand and the capitol framed in the background, the group denounced Trump’s racist policies including attacks on immigrants, workers, Black people, LGBTQ people, and countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) had all of the roads within a few miles of the capitol blocked off, but the group was stationed right up to the barricades. They were met with droves of police, the press, supporters from the public, and one increasingly irate man who continuously screamed, “I love ICE!” His cries were deafened by the sound of the people chanting, “Chinga la migra!”

The program started right before and continued through Trump’s State of the Union address.

Merawi Gerima, a DC native, and organizer with DCAARPR, stated, “We are here tonight because Trump is in that rotunda tonight lying to the American people about all the things he’s doing. He’s claimed to be the bringer of peace to the world, he’s claimed to be bringing jobs to the United States, he’s claiming to be bringing peace to the streets of DC, and we know that’s a lie!”

Gerima continued, “It is our duty, and it is our right, to do everything in our power to make this country ungovernable. To make it impossible for them to continue to exploit us, and kill us, and brutalize us and everyone else around the planet. To [make it impossible] to crack open these countries for their profits. We have every right and every duty to stop that from happening, and that’s exactly what we’re doing right here in Washington, DC”

Christina Murdoch, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on the Trump administration’s attacks against the LGBTQ community, explaining a backwards policy they are trying to institute with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Murdoch stated, “The new policy aims to strip the over 2200 trans people currently held in federal prisons of their access to medically necessary healthcare. They would be subjected to constant misgendering by staff and have all of their gender-affirming items such as binders, bras, and makeup confiscated. First off, fuck you Donald Trump. If you think for a moment that any of us are going to stand by and let you do this to anyone in our beloved trans community, you are wrong.”

#DC #WashingtonDC #FRSO #DCAARPR #Trump #Featured

Austin, TX – On Sunday, February 22 at 3 p.m., around a dozen people gathered in front of Austin City Hall to demand that the city create a policy preventing local police from collaborating with ICE. People driving by honked and shouted in support as they saw the group holding a banner reading, “ICE out! Legalization for all.”

Jesse Valdelamar of La Frontera Unida said that the group showed up “to protest against the collaboration taking place between the Austin Police Department and ICE.”

On February 5, the Austin Police Department (APD) held a community meeting concerning policy changes over how APD officers will interact with ICE. Valdelamar called this meeting “nothing more than a PR stunt,” and he said, “Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis knew that no reordering of her words will ever change the fact that APD, and the city council, have capitulated completely to the racist and Republican-controlled state legislature without a fight.”

Valdelamar continued, “The city of Austin ended its contract with Flock, a company that sells license plate reader technology and is known to give its surveillance data to ICE. Despite this, APD continues to use Flock cameras maintained by two neighboring agencies in Round Rock and Sunset Valley.”

La Frontera Unida, the organization that called the protest, is starting a campaign to prevent this and other collaboration between APD and ICE.

Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “At the end of the day, as we continue to fight against ICE terror and Trump’s racist agenda, we also recognize that Trump represents an entire rotten system – the system of monopoly capitalism. This whole system must be overthrown!”

Holtzman continued, “So let’s unite to stop the deportations, and stop the raids. Let’s build the mass movement together to kick ICE out of Austin, ICE out of everywhere, and win legalization for all!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #LFU #FRSO #ICE #Featured

Minneapolis, MN – Over 1000 union members, immigrant rights activists and supporters marched through Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood on Monday, February 16, to demand an end to ICE’s occupation of the city and for the defense of immigrant rights.

Marchers held dozens of banners with slogans like “ICE our now,” “Legalization for all,” and “Killer ICE off our streets.” The march began at Stewart Park, crossed a highway where the supportive honks of passing traffic temporarily drowned out the marchers’ chants, and ended at the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street, where Alex Pretti was murdered.

Pretti was shot repeatedly in the back while held down on the ground by masked federal agents agents, after stepping between the agents and a woman who they were attempting to pepper spray.

The march was headlined by the Minnesota AFL-CIO, and was endorsed by many local unions, including AFGE Local 3669, AFSCME Council 5 and Council 65, ATU Local 1005, IATSE Local 13, IAM District 77, IUPAT District Council 82, LiUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Minnesota Nurses Association, NALC Branch 9, SEIU Locals 26 and 284, UFCW Locals 1189 and 663, and UNITE HERE Local 17. Many community organizations endorsed the event and turned out their membership to march as well, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations — MN (CAIR-MN), 50501 Minnesota, Reviving Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), Women’s March Minnesota, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).

Speakers were unanimous in driving home the message that ICE occupation of Minnesota has not ended. Manuel Pascual, a member of MIRAC, spoke to the crowd from the back of a truck as the marchers took the streets, saying, “Just days ago, federal officials announced the end of Operation Metro Surge. Let’s be clear — that did not happen because they suddenly found compassion. It happened because people across Minnesota organized, spoke out, marched, and refused to stay silent. It happened because immigrant communities and allies showed courage. It happened because resistance worked.”

However, Pascual continued to note that the community fight against ICE continues, and spoke to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s agreeing to “unprecedented” levels of state collaboration with ICE, without details of this agreement being made public. Pascual said, “What we are seeing now is not a victory lap from those in power. It is a shift in strategy. A quieter approach. Deals being made behind closed doors. Policies that risk embedding ICE deeper into our local systems — into our jails, into policing, into everyday encounters — where harm becomes less visible but no less real. We must say clearly: we will not be fooled.”

Organizers noted that a decreased ICE presence in Minnesota also does not mean that the battle against ICE has ended on a national scale, and that just as millions marched across the country in solidarity with Minnesota, Minnesota will march in solidarity with any future city to see a large-scale occupation by ICE.

When the march arrived at the site of Alex Pretti’s murder, organizers handed out flowers to attendees so they could lay them in tribute at his memorial. The crowd was asked to repeat these slogans after the emcee: “We have a duty to fight for our freedom! We have a duty to win! We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

MIRAC plans to take their demands for an end to ICE terror and for legalization for all directly to Governor Walz, with a rally outside the Minnesota Governor’s Residence at 1006 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #Labor #AFLCIO #AFGE #AFSCME #ATU #IAM #MIRAC #CAIRMN #FRSO

Santa Ana, CA – On January 24, nearly 100 community members from across Santa Ana gathered on the corner of Bristol and 1st Streets chanting “Killer ICE, off our streets!” The protesters demanded justice for Alex Pretti, the latest victim of killer federal agents terrorizing Minnesota. They also demanded ICE out of Orange County and an end to deportations across the country.

Diana Terreros of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) opened the event by stating, “We are here because a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti just this morning in Minnesota. Alex Pretti was a community ICE watcher and an ICU nurse. The agents that gunned him down in broad daylight shot him over ten times like cowards!”

Terreros added, “We are here in solidarity with Minnesota! We are also here because our own city has been under attack by ICE agents since Trump took office and this week they have been on a rampage in Santa Ana and Orange County as a whole! We want them out of our city, out of our county.”

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) member Matthew Compton stated “In Santa Ana we have seen an increase in ICE raids and guns being drawn on ICE watchers. But when Santa Ana PD shows up, they point their weapons at the people who are fighting back against Trump’s agenda.”

“These killings, all this violence will not simply end! We must put a stop to it! We must organize ourselves and collectively fight back! This administration allows for this violence to happen and denies any sort of accountability. So we the people must demand it! We must fight for it,” urged Rain Mendoza of CSO’s Immigration Committee.

Thomas Crisp of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) stated, “When parents are taken from their children by masked thugs, when Keith Porter or Renee Good is shot for attempting to non-violently resist brutality, these are violations of human dignity.” They also called for a moment of silence while candles and flowers were laid out to honor victims of ICE agents.

Drivers honked in support throughout the event and while protesters marched down Bristol Street. Protesters took up all lanes of traffic and carried signs demanding ICE out of Santa Ana and justice for victims of ICE. Chants of “Chinga la migra!” and “Legalization for all!” echoed through adjacent neighborhoods.

The protest was organized by CSO OC with the support of other local groups including FRSO, CLUE, and more.

CSO fights for community control of the police and legalization for all the undocumented. They hold general meetings every third Thursday in Santa Ana and can be reached on Instagram @cso.oc or on Facebook, CSO Orange County.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #CSOOC #FRSO

Tacoma, WA – On February 6, 375 students walked out from Washington High School and Keithley Middle School before the final class period of the day, joining the movement of students across the country who are standing up to ICE.

As the bell rang students began to gather outside in the sun holding Mexican, Guatemalan, Puerto Rican, Columbian, Brazilian and Honduran flags. Washington High School junior Madyson Smith addressed her fellow classmates with a Puerto Rican flag around her neck saying, they were all together to “stand up for not only our Hispanic community, but everyone else who is affected.”

This action is one of many in the greater Tacoma area. In recent weeks. There have been many walkouts at high and middle schools including at Franklin Pierce, Graham-Kapowskin, Stadium, Silas, Annie Wright, Rogers and more.

“Our community in Tacoma/Parkland is in fear of ICE. Washington High School is a very diverse campus with almost 40% of students being Hispanic,” Smith said. “We want our school district to be more aware of what’s going on and practice our anti-ICE policies more and make school a safe space for students!”

In preparation for the walkout students had sign-making parties and meetings with supporters. They tasked local organizations including Pierce County Immigration Alliance (PCIA), Climate Alliance South Sound (CASS), Philippines US Solidarity Organization (PUSO) Tacoma, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and Rainier View Christian Church with ways to materially support them, including providing snacks and water and on-the-ground support.

When asking FRSO member Ari Pahoundis why they showed up to support they shared, “It's so inspiring to see the next generation of organizers taking to the streets to speak out for their community. These students are going to be out here either way, and we have a responsibility to do what we can to support them.”

A group of volunteers helped block off a side road from incoming traffic so that the students could safely march from the parking lot towards the main road. One of those volunteers, Nick Miskogwane, member of PCIA Teamsters 313 said, “I think it’s crucial we support and teach our youth the importance of free speech and democracy – for [them] to learn the power they have.”

The electric crowd of students marched farther than originally planned, fearlessly taking over a lane on the main road and totaling 1.2 miles round trip. Parents and community members drove by honking and waving flags in support and many joined on foot to help direct traffic. Madyson, Felix, and more helped lead their classmates in chants including, “No justice! No peace! Get ICE off our streets!”

The march wrapped up with students arriving back on campus to catch their buses, greeted by supportive parents and staff. Students also continued to celebrate their cultures, playing Mexican music and dancing Huapango in the parking lot.

An on-the-ground volunteer with CASS and local doula Jessica Whitson said, “These kids will be adults soon and they should have their voices heard and get a say about the systems that impact them. They were brave and energized, marching together making it loud and clear they want ICE off their streets. The teachers that know these kids were so incredibly proud of their students, many shedding tears of joy as the kids marched and made their voices heard.”

When asked about the impact this action had on her fellow classmates, organizer Smith said, “Students before the protest were in a stage of fear — kids weren’t coming to school. After the protest everyone is hyped and lowkey happy about how it turned out.”

#TacomaWA #WA #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #HighSchool #PCIA #PUSO #FRSO #CASS

In the Twin Cities, Trump’s drive for mass deportations hit a brick wall. The FRSO Labor Commission salutes the brave immigrant movement. The protests say it clear: “ICE out now!”

The thorns in Trump’s side are many. On January 23, 100,000 Minnesotans took to the streets in the 20-below winter. The state AFL-CIO joined the day of action. Union locals from the SEIU, UNITE HERE, ATU, and MFE showed out in a big way. About 900 businesses closed up shop. Most of these were small, neighborhood stores in solidarity. Many progressives called out of work to protest.

These forces, and more, followed the lead of the immigrant community. They followed in the footsteps of the May 1, 2006 “Day Without Immigrants,” which revived International Workers Day in this country. For their part in this broad front, many Twin Cities unions are an example for workers from coast to coast.

Some call this a general strike, but that is not true. It was mass outpouring against ICE and mass deportations. It was a remarkable achievement led by Minnesota’s labor movement. Trade union activists can learn from it as ICE continues its campaign of mass deportations in cities across the U.S. It does not make a great event greater by asserting that it was something it was not.

To rise to the level of a general strike, the movement would have to do something different. The bulk of workers in major industries would shut down production. The city’s economy would grind to a halt.

Let’s be honest about how far we’ve come. Let’s not let ourselves off the hook to push farther. There’s more worker power to unleash. ICE has come under fire, but the working class still has guns of a different caliber.

Only fighting unions can employ the weapon of a general strike. To organize against the capitalists, it takes organizing on the shop floor against the boss. Unions with a class struggle attitude – an “us vs. them” mindset – are the basis for lethal strikes to the system. There’s nothing in the world like a militant labor movement.

Union leaders and the rank and file should go to demonstrations. They should pass resolutions to protect immigrant members on the job. They should fight for contracts and MOUs that stop employer cooperation with ICE.

There is much to be done. Our morale is high, our ambitions even higher.

Workers stand with immigrants!

ICE out now!

Legalization for all!

#Labor #ImmigrantRights #FRSO #Statement #Featured