Grand Rapids, MI – A crowd of hundreds marched to the Grand Rapids City Commissioners meeting, April 12, to demand both the release of the raw video showing the murder of Patrick Lyoya and the arrest of the still-unnamed killer cop. Lyoya was a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant executed by the Grand Rapids Police Department last week. In the days after his death, citywide mourning and protests against the police have increased and are expected to surge after the release of the video this Wednesday.
Los Angeles, CA – On March 26, over 50 people gathered at Belvedere Lakeside Park in East LA to support the surviving family of David Ordaz, Jr. The event was led by Emily Ordaz, the 16-year-old surviving daughter of Ordaz, and Centro CSO’s Sol Marquez.
Grand Rapids, MI – Hundreds marched to remember Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old African man murdered by Grand Rapids police in Michigan. Lyoya’s family led a march, April 9, through the Black neighborhood of Boston Square to a vigil for their first-born son.
Tallahassee, FL- On April 2, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee held a vigil for the lives lost by police brutality and violence within the city. The event was held for those who perished in recent killings such as Tony Mcdade, Mychael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Oluwatoyin Salau, as well as previous killings such as the murder of George “Lil Nuke” Williams by Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
Chicago, IL – Almost two years after the rebellion that swept the country after the murder of George Floyd, people continue to come forward demanding an end to racist policing and mass incarceration. Despite the law-and-order backlash occurring in Illinois, a group of families from the Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side are fighting for justice for their loved ones in Menard Penitentiary and other prisons in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
New York, NY – Members of New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) gathered on the cold and windy Sunday, March 13, after International Women’s Day, to speak out and protest the New York Police Department’s treatment of women in New York.
Austin, TX – On Thursday evening, February 24, students at the University of Texas at Austin gathered at a campus plaza to demand justice for Amir Locke, who was murdered by Minneapolis police earlier this month. The group held signs and chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, these racist cops have got to go!” and “Say his name: Amir Locke.” A few passersby joined the speak-out upon hearing the chants and reading the signs.
East LA, CA — A small tortilla-making store, La Imperial Tortillería, hosted a public event inside of their shop titled “Coffee with a Deputy,” February 23. Inside of the shop were less than a dozen people surrounded by East LA sheriffs who were having coffee. This sad event was a public relations stunt by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to counter the ever-growing sentiment against deputy gangs and the LASD.
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Denver, CO – On February 10, students gathered outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the disarmament of Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) and the end to their involvement in the Pentagon 1033 Program. Denver Students for a Democratic Society began their “Defund, Disarm, Demilitarize” campaign, joining many student and community organizations around the country in the struggle against police injustice.
Denver, CO – On February 10, students gathered outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the disarmament of Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) and the end to their involvement in the Pentagon 1033 Program. Denver Students for a Democratic Society began their “Defund, Disarm, Demilitarize” campaign, joining many student and community organizations around the country in the struggle against police injustice.
New York, NY – Over 80 people rallied in Union Square in New York City on February 8 in honor of Amir Locke and Isaiah Williams, two young Black men murdered by police. Locke was murdered by Minneapolis PD under a no-knock warrant, and Williams by Metro Police near Las Vegas while police executed a warrant for a murder he did not commit.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, February 2, a young Black man, Amir Locke, was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department. He was shot by an officer nine seconds after entering the downtown Minneapolis apartment unit where Locke was sleeping. He was shot around 6:50 a.m.
Chicago, IL – A delegation of activists demanding Justice for Laquan McDonald met with an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago’s Federal Building. They presented a letter signed by 38 organizations and unions, as well as five elected officials, demanding federal charges against killer cop Jason Van Dyke.
Los Angeles, CA – In the afternoon of January 8, community organizations marched through North Hollywood to demand justice for Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a 14-year-old who was killed by LAPD officer William Dorsey Jones Jr.
Fight Back! interviews Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).Fight Back!: One month ago, you held the second national conference of the Alliance. What came out of that?
Los Angeles, CA – On December 23, 2021, the crowded North Hollywood Burlington store became the scene of two lives taken by LAPD. Daniel Elena Lopez was assaulting a woman, and 911 calls were placed by witnesses. One witness incorrectly reported that shots had been fired inside of the store. LAPD showed up to the scene. Police body cam video recently released shows the LAPD negligence and disregard for human lives.
Activists from 22 cities attend NAARPR conference in Chicago
Chicago, IL – Two years after the refounding of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) in November 2019, over 125 NAARPR members and affiliates from around the country convened for the second NAARPR conference in Chicago starting on Saturday, December 4. They shared updates about their work fighting against police crimes and for community control of the police, among other areas of struggle, then voted on resolutions and new leadership for the next two years.
Colorado Springs, CO – On the evening of November 21, activists from Colorado Springs gathered on the steps of City Hall to hold a candlelight vigil for Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Huber and Rosenbaum were in Kenosha, Wisconsin, protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, when they were gunned down by right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse in August of 2020.
