Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

MinneapolisMN

By Laci Gagliano

Protest at the home of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Katrina Kessler demands "Shut down Smith Foundry." | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.

And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.

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By Gillian Rath

Protest against genocide defender Matisyahu at First Avenue. | Fight Back! News/Ashley Taylor - Gougé

Minneapolis, MN – On March 6, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee organized a protest outside the First Avenue nightclub, where pro-Israel musical act Matisyahu was performing.

Matisyahu is the stage name of Matthew Paul Miller, a white American reggae musician, best known for his 2005 hit King Without a Crown. Miller is known for his extreme pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian political views. In a 2012 interview, he said, “There was never a country called Palestine.” In 2015, Miller performed for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the notorious pro-Israel lobbying group. He has also performed for Friends of the IDF, which fundraises for Israel’s military occupation forces.

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By Steff Yorek

Minneapolis, MN – In an action against industrial pollution, the Climate Justice Committee and its allies in the Shut Down Smith Coalition confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Thursday, February 29. The coalition also presented the MPCA with a petition demanding the closure of Smith Foundry, a symbol of environmental injustice that casts a shadow over the East Phillips neighborhood.

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By staff

Fight Back! editor Mick Kelly speaking at Twin Cities fundraiser. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, February 10, well over 100 activists, organizers, trade unionists and revolutionaries gathered under the signs and banners from movements past and present to celebrate the work of Fight Back!.

During the short program, various sectors of the people’s movement toasted to the important role of Fight Back! plays in uplifting the demands and wins from the mass movement. Organizers from the student movement, labor, climate, immigrant rights, police crimes, women’s and reproductive rights and the anti-war movement led the attendees in raising their glasses to the revolutionary reporting and editorials of Fight Back!.

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By Natalie Rath

Students hold die demanding the University of Minnesota divest from Israel. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, Mn – On Monday February 19, University of Minnesota’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society gathered outside the U of M student union along with about 70 students, staff and faculty for a rally to demand divestment.

SDS’s main campaign right now is for the University of Minnesota to completely divest from Israel in terms of defense companies, recruiters, study abroad programs and weapons manufacturer companies. SDS also demands that all students, staff and faculty have the right to protest on campus without being repressed.

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By staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, February 15, the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, in collaboration with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, held a panel in Nicholson Hall on the UMN campus discussing Marxist-Leninist perspectives on Palestinian liberation. Thirty people, both students and community members, were in attendance.

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By staff

Flight attendants are fighting for a decent contract. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

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By Jasper Becker

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, MPCA, confronted at a Minneapolis community meeting on Smith Foundry.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from