New York, NY – Around 60 people gathered in the historic Saint Mary's Episcopal Church in Harlem to honor the legacy of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been his birthday weekend. Organized by Struggle-La Lucha, a panel of 11 speakers took part in the event that demanded: No war and sanctions, strop funding white supremacy in the Ukraine, shut down NATO, and stop racism, transphobia, union busting, and the attacks on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ and immigrants.

The speakers included Margaret Kimberly of Black Agenda Report, Melinda Butterfield of Struggle-La Lucha and Omowale Cla, December 12 Movement.

Jessica Schwartz gave a speech on behalf of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, where she said, “Too often, socialism and national liberation are seen as separate ideologies, when in fact they go hand in hand. It is revolutionaries like Harry Haywood and Claudia Jones who took the works of Stalin and other Marxist-Leninists and applied it to their own conditions, creating the theory of Black Belt South as part of their struggle for national liberation and self-determination. The Black Panther Party used scientific socialism to fight national oppression and were infiltrated and attacked because of this. Leaders like Thomas Sankara used social programs to liberate his people, only to be assassinated because of the threat he posed to U.S. and European imperialist powers. It is when Black people and other nationally oppressed people use socialism and take on the imperialist powers of the world that they are seen as especially dangerous and need to be taken down.”

Michela Martinazzi closed out the event and spoke on behalf of the steering committee of the International League of Peoples Struggle. In her speech she referenced Dr. King’s famous anti-war speech “Beyond Vietnam”, including the quote, “We were taking the Black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them 8000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.”

Martinazzi followed up the reference by saying, “What MLK zeroed in on in that speech is that war abroad means fighting for ‘freedom’ in countries that were free before U.S. troops set foot there. It means fighting for ‘freedom’ that oppressed people here in the U.S. have yet to experience.”

She ended her speech by calling out, “We have a massive and tumultuous battle ahead of us. Let’s lean on each other, let’s lean on solidarity, and let’s win the war together. Long live the legacy of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr! Long live international solidarity!”

The event ended with a beautiful live rendition of Solidarity Forever on the piano.

#NewYorkNY #Antiracism #MartinLutherKingJrMLKDay

Richmond, VA – On the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18, around 100 students with the Virginia Student Power Network rallied outside the Virginia state capitol, demanding the right to a free education. Students chanted, “Education is a right, that is why we, fight, fight, fight!” and “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities.”

“The fact is that the Virginia government as been balancing their budget on the backs of poor people and people of color and it’s not okay that people have to choose between paying bills and paying tuition,” said Ayanna Ogaldez, an activist with the Virginia Student Power Network. “That needs to change.”

#RichmondVA #PeoplesStruggles #education #Antiracism #MartinLutherKingJrMLKDay #Virginia

The march through downtown Grand Rapids was sometimes somber, but sometimes joyful as spectators smiled, waved and encouraged the student protesters. The march stretched a block long with city notables and educators in the lead. It united African Americans with whites, Chicanos, Latinos and other nationalities. Students from Grand Rapids Christian High School and Northview High School enthusiastically participated, linking arms as they marched in the cold winter weather, sharing their message of opposing racist discrimination and police brutality.

Nearby, hundreds of college students marched silently across the GVSU campus, passing yard signs highlighting the life and struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was quiet anticipation as the GVSU field house filled up to standing room only. After an inspiring rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing and introductory remarks, the crowd rose to their feet in thundering applause at the introduction of Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother.

Fulton opened with a moment of silence for Martin Luther King Jr. and others, like her son Trayvon Martin, killed by gun violence in the U.S. She was steadfast, “This could not happen to a more average family,” adding, “We should not be comfortable with burying our children.” She clarified her purpose, “So what happened to Trayvon, we don’t want to happen to any more of our children.”

Fulton, a labor union member, described discrimination on the basis of race, class, religion and gender, exhorting, “All of these things are a form of profiling, are a form of discrimination, and they need to be got rid of in the U.S.”

She finished by expressing, “It hurts my heart to see what continues to happen in our country. Are you going to sit back and just do nothing, or are you going to participate in what is happening in your country? We cannot continue to remain silent.”

In response to an audience question, Fulton gave an energetic response, “The community has played a big role, but more importantly the colleges and universities have played a big role because they were active in their protests, they were active in their marches...I give it to the college students who were on the social media and constantly keeping this story alive. Even before CNN and ABC and CBS and all of those networks that got involved, it was the college students that got involved first and they were fed up with what was going on.”

Fulton emphasized, “It is the young folks that keep this movement going, that say, ‘I’m just not going to take this anymore.’”

#GrandRapids #GrandRapidsMI #AfricanAmerican #MLK #TrayvonMartin #GeorgeZimmerman #Michigan #MartinLutherKingJrMLKDay