Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

NOCOP

By staff

Student speaks out against charges against pro-Palestine protesters.  | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On Friday, September 13, Tulane University encampment arrestees held a press conference outside the Orleans Criminal District Court ahead of their court appearance. They read a resolution signed by over 40 of New Orleans’ community organizations, demanding that charges against pro-Palestine encampment protestors and activist Toni Jones be dropped.

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By staff

Josh Teitelbaum, of Jewish Voices for Peace demands charges be dropped against pro Palestine protesters at courthouse rally.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution in solidarity with New Orleans’ pro-Palestine protesters.

WHEREAS, the undersigned organizations stand in complete solidarity with New Orleans’ pro-Palestine protesters, and denounce Tulane University for pursuing unjust charges and tacitly endorsing police brutality against these activists, simply because they protested this institution’s ties with Israel;

WHEREAS, Tulane emeritus board member Walter Isaacson grabbed and shoved Tulane student Rory MacDonald on video at a protest on March 13, without facing repercussions;

WHEREAS, Toni Jones, organizer with New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP), was arrested by TUPD on March 16 at a protest for MacDonald’s and other students’ rights to free speech;

WHEREAS, Brenna Byrne, Sruly Heller, Quest Riggs, Serena Sojic-Borne, and three other protesters, were arrested by TUPD on April 29 on the first day of Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) peaceful encampment for Gaza, several suffering injuries from police horses or officer misconduct;

WHEREAS, Rory MacDonald, Carson Cruse, Juleea Berthelot, Shreyas Vasudevan, Vonne Crandell and nine other protesters were arrested by Louisiana State Police on May 1, the third day of SDS’s peaceful encampment for Gaza, over one hundred state troopers used tear gas, a BearCat armored vehicle, and rifles aimed at students to arrest fourteen people, including one just passing by for a walk that evening; and

WHEREAS the TUPD targeted and arrested a student days after the encampment ended, unjustly charging them with a felony;

BE IT RESOLVED, the undersigned demand that District Attorney Jason Williams and City Attorney Donesia Turner drop the trumped-up charges against these protesters;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the undersigned call upon the administration of Tulane University to end their witch-hunt of these protesters.

In signing this resolution, our organizations commit to doing everything we can to make this gross injustice known, and to organize a powerful solidarity movement to defend these protesters, who courageously stood against aid for Israel’s genocide.

Voice of the Experienced

Masjid Omar

Jewish Voices for Peace – New Orleans

First Grace Community Alliance

Hagar’s House, shelter

Project Ishmael, immigration law

Louisiana InterFaith for Human Rights

Friends of Sabeel – New Orleans

Palestinian Youth Movement New Orleans

William Quigley, Emeritus Professor of Law, Loyola University

American Federation of Musicians – New Orleans

Starbucks Workers United NOLA

Louisiana National Lawyers’ Guild

Queer Trans Community Action Project

New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police

Sunrise Movement NOLA

Reproductive Justice Action Collective

Harvey Mudd College Dissenters

NOLA Healthcare Workers for Palestine

Southern Solidarity

New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports

Muslims for Just Futures – Gulf South

NOLA Musicians for Palestine

Freedom Road Socialist Organization NOLA

Laveau Contraire, drag artist

Students Organizing Against Racism TU

Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane

Rev. Gregory Manning

Justice and Beyond

Muslim Students Association – Loyola

NOLA Democratic Socialists of America

NOLA Freedom Forum

Miss Anne’s Maypop Herb Shop

LifeCity Impact Management Firm

End Jim Crow Louisiana

SPORTS DRINK

Trans Income Project

Mo Munchies LLC

Fight Covid NOLA

Fred Hampton Free Store

Chicken’s Kitchen

Tulane Students for a Democratic Society

Loyola Students for a Democratic Society

LSU Students for a Democratic Society

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #FreeSpeech #NOCOP

By Toni Duplechain-Jones

Some of the participants in New Orleans vigil for Sonya Massey.

Baton Rouge, LA – On July 28, around 20 community members gathered in a local hair salon to hold a vigil for Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was wrongfully killed by state of Illinois Deputy Sean Grayson. The vigil took place five days after the release of body cam footage by Illinois police. The goal of the event was to link the killing of Sonya Massey to the killing of Alton Sterling by Baton Rouge police almost exactly eight years ago. Participants called for an end to the ongoing police brutality that plagues Louisiana.

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By Serena Sojic-Borne

Activist shouts into microphone as crowd gathers around them. One protestor waves a trans pride flag. One carries a sign that says “Stop the attack on Black people.”

New Orleans, LA – On July 15, at least 13 New Orleanian activists will join thousands to march on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This baker’s dozen is a group of leaders and organizers from Black liberation, labor, student and gender liberation movements.

“We are the phantom that haunts them in their sleep”

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By staff

Pro-Palestine protesters hear speeches at Lafayette Square. | Toni Jones/Fight Back! News

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, June 29, nearly 100 community members gathered in Lafayette Square to show support for Palestine, and to put pressure on local lawmakers to pass a ceasefire resolution.

Leading up to the rally, the city’s local Palestinian coalition hosted cultural and political events from morning to evening. The day started with a cultural exchange and bazaar in Harvey. Bazaar participants then drove in a motorcade to Lafayette Square. At the Square, speakers from many local groups and one politician addressed the crowd. English and Arabic chants, such as “Free, free Palestine,” rang off the walls of the many federal and local government buildings in the area.

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By Lucas Harrell

New Orleans protesters stand in front of Audubon Place holding anti-Trump and anti-GOP signs and flags.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

New Orleans, LA – On June 24, Donald Trump arrived in New Orleans for a fundraising dinner as protesters disrupted the event with a rally. The protest was organized by the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP) and New Orleans for Community Control of the Police (NOCOP). They chanted and demonstrated the opinions of the working-class queer and Black people of New Orleans, with additional speakers in solidarity to the Palestinian liberation movement.

The dinner, hosted by shipyard CEO Donald Bollinger and real estate magnate Joe Canizaro, cost $3300 per ticket for one person, with an additional approximate $22,000 for an opportunity to take photos with Trump. Bollinger and Canizaro are two of the most generous donors to the Republican Party in Louisiana.

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By Carson Cruse

Protesters in Baton Rouge gather with mock body bags in protest against reactionary republican agenda. | Fight Back! News/staff

Baton Rouge, LA – On April 22, over 50 students and community organizers rallied on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol demanding an end to the GOP’s reactionary agenda. The protesters then took to the streets and marched to Governor Jeff Landry’s mansion for a rally. This action served to unite the people against the Republicans and bring the people to the march on the Republican National Convention this summer in Milwaukee.

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By staff

Protestors hold signs while gathered outside of building.

New Orleans, LA - On April 15, activists and community members in New Orleans gathered in an emergency rally at the Harol Boggs Federal Building to voice their support for Iran’s calculated and warranted retaliation against Israel’s illegal attack on the Iranian embassy and officials in Damascus, Syria. The protesters further highlighted the need to oppose any U.S. military involvement in the region that could result from Iran’s retaliation.

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By staff

New Orleans residents at town hall meeting on police accountability at Treme Rec Center. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, April 9, around 100 community members filed into the gymnasium of the Treme Recreational Center for a People’s Town Hall on Policing. The town hall meeting, hosted by New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police (NOCOP), interviewed New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. The superintendent is the local equivalent of a chief of police. Community members spent the town hall voicing their anger with police crimes, abuses of power, civil rights violations, and lack of transparency.

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By Naomi Retherford

Protesters march through the French Quarter holding banner against Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On March 31, over 200 LGBTQ folks and allies gathered in Washington Square Park near the French Quarter. Just an hour before the annual Gay Easter Parade, the crowd came together to hear opening remarks from organizations.

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