The future is bright!

Minneapolis, MN – In less than a week, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s (FRSO) Spring Fundraising Drive has netted more than $17,000. FRSO aims to raise over $130,000 to hire more full-time organizers to work in our national office, grow our fund to purchase a building, and publish more revolutionary literature.

Minneapolis, MN – Bright yellow picket signs stood tall by University Avenue at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, as students and campus community gathered to protest outside the Donhowe building at the University of Minnesota to demand immediate action from administration to expand abortion access on campus. The action was organized by the UMN chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and co-hosted by the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee. Students chanted “Hey Gabel, what do you say? Protect abortion rights today!” calling on University President Joan Gabel to act on their demands to defend women’s and reproductive rights on campus and in the broader state of Minnesota.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 26 Cuba solidarity activists responded to the national call for monthly car caravans to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and to take Cuba off the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list (SSOT). The 18-car caravan flew Cuba flags and displayed pro-Cuba signs while they drove down Lake Street through a Latino neighborhood. It was welcomed with car honks and fist pumps.

Minneapolis, MN – To mark 20 years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a coalition of Minneapolis anti-war, peace and social justice groups held a protest on Saturday, March 18 as part of a national day of anti-war actions. The protest was held in the very busy Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. Hundreds of people driving and walking by and using public transit saw the visible anti-war statement. The Minneapolis event was called in solidarity with a national anti-war protest in Washington DC at the White House on March 18. That day saw protests being held in other U.S. cities as well.

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, March 17, over 50 students and community members gathered outside the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and braved the bitter winds to demand the University of Minnesota expand the Native American Promise Tuition Program and fund the American Indian Studies department. University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) collaborated with the American Indian Student Cultural Center (AISCC) to organize this protest to fight for native students’ rights.

Family wants answers

Minneapolis, MN – The family of Khalil Ahmad Azad, a 24-year-old Black man who was found dead in Crystal Lake in Robbinsdale, Minnesota on July 5, 2022, still had many unanswered questions on March 10, after Robbinsdale police released some body camera footage. The footage was released months after Khalil’s family said they requested it in September of last year. Azad was chased on foot by police in July after he was pulled over, and his body was discovered in Crystal Lake two days later.

Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis’ Mayor Frey and seven Minneapolis city council members are talking about how they feel personally threatened after the Roof Depot struggle has become national news – after years of ignoring the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the group that has been spearheading the push to buy the building with the goal of creating a neighborhood space. As the neighborhood is mobilized and righteously angry about the pollution, Frey and his cronies in the Minneapolis city council try to demonize the neighborhood, attempting to paint activists, particularly indigenous activists, as violent.

Minneapolis, MN – 20 people gathered at a busy Dinkytown intersection for a rally organized by Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota to show solidarity with the Tampa 4 and demand that all charges against them be dropped.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 1, workers held pickets at three Allina Hospitals in the Twin Cities metro area. The pickets were held at Allina’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, and Unity Hospital in Fridley. Coon Rapids and Fridley are suburbs of Minneapolis. The pickets were part of a fight for first contracts for a large collection of groups who recently organized and joined the Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa (SEIU HMNIA).

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, March 5, residents of the south Minneapolis neighborhood of East Phillips and supporters marched to celebrate community and fight against an environmentally racist project.