Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

MinneapolisMN

By Meredith Aby

Protest on the Minneapolis U of MN campus demands divestment from apartheid Israel.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On May 9, 200 community members rallied with students and staff at the University of Minnesota outside of the McNamara Alumni Center. The rally was called by the Free Palestine Coalition to draw attention to Israel’s genocidal attacks on Rafah and to put pressure on the University of Minnesota’s board of regents who were meeting the next day to hear from the Divest UMN Coalition’s demands at their public meeting.

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By staff

Petitions demanding community control of police ballot initiative being delivered to Minneapolis city government. | Photo: Clara Marsh

Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis city government placed a roadblock in front of the ballot measure to establish community control of the police, May 9. Community members say the fight will continue.

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By Merlin Van Alstine

Palestine solidarity encampment at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, May 2, 500 people gathered outside the University of Minnesota Humphrey School to celebrate the wins that the UMN Divest coalition had made the previous day.

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By Montana Hirsch

International Workers Day march in Minneapolis.  | Fight Back! News/Brad Sigal

Minneapolis, MN – On May 1, over 500 people took to the streets on International Workers Day to march for immigrant and workers’ rights. The rally and march was organized by a coalition initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and MN Workers United (MWU).

Each year, International Workers Day is celebrated around the world with a call for solidarity with all workers and for union rights. International Workers Day has its origin in the fight for an eight-hour workday in the United States, where there were massive strikes and sharp confrontations in May of 1886.

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By Loretta VanPelt

Activists turn in petitions to place community control of the police on the Minneapolis ballot. | Fight Back!News/Michelle Tong

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday May 1, Minneapolis 4 Community Control of the Police (M4CCP) held a press conference in the Public Safety Center, the temporary home to city hall offices, to turn in their petitions to put community control of the police on the November ballot.

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By Sarah Martin

Linda Hoover.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Linda Hoover, a longtime member and former interim director of Women Against Military Madness, died on April 20, 2024. She was a longtime anti-racist, anti-war activist and a leading member of MPAC (Minnesota Peace Action Coalition) formerly the IPAC (Iraq Peace Action Coalition).

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By staff

Members of unions and immigrant rights organizations who have organized marches on May 1 over the years in Minneapolis were present to receive the city council resolution promoting International Workers Day. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – At their April 25 meeting, the Minneapolis city council passed an honorary resolution recognizing May 1 as International Workers Day and highlighting the struggle for immigrant and workers’ rights. The resolution was presented by Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai together with Councilmembers Aurin Chowdhury and Jason Chavez.

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By Gillian Rath

Twin Cities students establish Gaza Solidarity Encampment demanding divestment from apartheid Israel. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, April 23 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, student activists set up a Gaza Solidarity encampment. This encampment was organized by the UMN Divest Coalition which is made up of Students for a Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Climate Justice. The coalition is pushing for the University of Minnesota to cut ties financially with Israel. This means to divest from weapon manufacturers, stop study abroad trips to Israel and stop having defense companies doing recruitment on campus.

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By Kay Lerohl

 Earth Day march in Minneapolis. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, April 21, a march of approximately 300 people from the Twin Cities metro area marched, blocking traffic for Earth Day.

The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) and Anti-War Committee (AWC) led the march. It drew attendees from the nearby Little Earth indigenous-preference housing complex, the surrounding East Phillips neighborhood, and Camp Nenookaasi, an encampment of the unhoused which has been forced by the city of Minneapolis to move many times.

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By Drake Myers

Palestine solidarity protesters outside the 2024 Education Minnesota Representative Convention where First Lady Jill Biden campaigned. | Fight Back! News/Sabry Wazwaz

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, April 15, the Free Palestine Coalition led a protest of around 100 people outside of Education Minnesota’s Representative Convention. Education Minnesota (EDMN) is a large state-level educators union that announced only the day before that they would be delaying their entire program to host the opening event of First Lady Dr .Jill Biden’s “Educators for Biden-Harris” national tour.

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