Milwaukee, WI – As the Republican National Convention came to an end on Thursday, July 18, hundreds of law enforcement officers and dozens of media outlets circled a crowd gathered for a rally at Red Arrow Park demanding justice for D’Vontaye Mitchell and Samuel “Jah” Sharpe, Jr.

Mitchell, 43, died while being pinned down by the Hyatt Regency security guards on June 30. His case struck a chord with the Milwaukee community after video footage of his death made its way through social media. Mitchell’s family has been demanding the full release of the video and for charges to be leveled against the four security guards responsible for his death.

After hearing about Sharpe’s murder, Mitchell’s family invited them to take part in their rally and march on Thursday. As has been the case in Milwaukee, families impacted by police crimes tend to come together and forge bonds in order to struggle together for each other’s cases. Although the Mitchell case involves private security guards, the demands for transparency and accountability resonate with the Sharpe family’s demands.

Speaking at the rally, Naisha Mitchell, D’Vontaye’s older sister, stated, “They’re saying we need to wait for the autopsy report, but we saw the video. Why do we need to wait on the autopsy results to determine if these people need to be arrested or convicted of a crime? We saw them murder him in broad daylight.”

Katrina Gaines, Sharpe’s aunt, provided more background about her nephew. Gaines stated, “Most people who know Sam know he has MS and that his gait is unbalanced. He didn’t want us to feel like we were burdened to take care of him, and he told us that God told him to go and live in that community.”

As the days go by, more and more family and community members come out to speak about the kinds of caring and loving men Mitchell and Sharpe were. Contrary to the narratives depicted by law enforcement or city officials, Mitchell and Sharpe’s characters cannot simply be reduced to the seconds or minutes of footage capturing their final moments alive.

The families and community members at Red Arrow Park proceeded to take to the streets one more time to march within sight and sound of the Hyatt Regency, which was located within the credentialed zone of the RNC. In a symbolic juxtaposition of the landscape encapsulated by the RNC in Milwaukee, Trump was getting ready to accept his nomination while hundreds of protesters chanted and demanded justice for Mitchell and Sharpe. A wall of law enforcement agents formed in front of and to the side of the protesters, and after a few more remarks from the families, the protest returned to Red Arrow Park.

Thanks in large part to the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the protest went in and out of the soft security perimeter of the RNC without any issues. Both families are demanding justice, transparency and accountability. The Milwaukee Alliance will continue working with both in order to achieve those demands.

#MilwaukeeWI #RNC2024 #MAARPR #PoliceCrimes

Omar Flores, of the Coalition to March on the RNC, stated, “We are very proud to announce that as of 11 a.m. today, we have reached a handshake agreement with the city of Milwaukee that will allow us to march within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum. A member of the city attorney’s office will be observing the march at the very front, to make sure things go without a hitch.”

Flores continued, “This agreement is greatly beneficial to the coalition, as we can tell our partners that we can march on the route we want to without being impeded by the police. We are encouraging all of conscience to march on the RNC with our 125 endorsing organizations. Join us to fight against the Republicans’ racist and reactionary agenda, to stand with Palestine, to defend women’s, LGBTQ and reproductive rights, to defend and expand immigrant rights, and to advocate for peace, justice and equity for all.”

Protesters will begin gathering at 10 a.m. in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park, July 15. A rally is set for 11 a.m. followed by a march. 

“We are so overjoyed to be able to show that we can fight for our rights, and we can win,” stated Flores

#MilwaukeeWI #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNC #CoalitionToMarchOnRNC #RNC2024 #RNC

Greenwood Village, CO – On Wednesday, July 3, a group of activists and community members came together in front of the Colorado Republican Party’s headquarters to announce their plans to join the march on the RNC.

Members of from Teamsters Local 455, Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were present and spoke on the issues mobilizing their members to attend the march in Milwaukee on July 15. People in attendance wore shirts from local Colorado Palestine Coalition groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and carried homemade signs reading “Stop starving Gaza! End the blockade! Other signs read, “End U.S. aid to Israel!” and “Stop bombing Rafah now!”

First to speak was Sol Swain, sporting a black DAWA shirt with a fist breaking a missile on it. Swain stated that Trump “wants to complete the genocide! He wants every Palestinian in Gaza to be either murdered or ethnically displaced.”

Swain continued, “We must fight the Republicans and their reactionary agenda, and we must fight it with everything we've got!”

Khalid Hamu from SDS explained why local students are on the march, “Denver SDS has been fighting for Palestine and ties to Israel to be cut on our campus. We've organized a day of action against the Republican Greg Abbott for mobilizing troops to the border. We have mobilized people as a partner for reproductive rights and at the local level. The Republicans' racist and reactionary agenda is in contradiction to the wants and desires of students locally, as well as the organizing efforts of Denver Students for a Democratic Society. We will stand with Palestine and fight the racist and reactionary agenda of the Republican Party!”

Caleb Cobb, a rank-and-file Teamster 455 member and worker at Windigo Logistics said, “Trump wrecked the working class during the pandemic with the lack of hazard pay, non-strict COVID protocol and proper quarantine time. Many members when they were exposed had to come into work because they weren't given the proper time off.”

Organizers across the peoples’ movements in Colorado are on the march against what the Republicans have in store for this country, that much is clear. Workers, students and anti-war activists across the state are on the road to oppose the RNC in Milwaukee this July 15.

#GreenwoodVillageCO #RNC2024 #Teamsters #Denver Anti-War Action #StudentsforaDemocratic Society

Chicago, IL – Chicago activist groups are mobilizing in big way for the July 15 march on the Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Many of the protesters coming from Chicago are students,” said Joe Iosbaker of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Iosbaker recalled, referring to Trump, “In 2016, students in Chicago were the first to move against his hate tour.” In March 2016, 5000 protesters rallied and confronted Trump at the University of Illinois at Chicago, stopping him from speaking.

“The same organizations – Students for Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, Mexican Students of Aztlan – are mobilizing to confront him again,” says Iosbaker.

#ChicagoIL #RNC2024 #SDS #SJP #MexicanStudentsofAztlan #FRSO

Milwaukee, WI – The Coalition to March on the RNC is hosting a national online event titled “All Out for the March on the RNC!” The program takes place on Monday, June 24, at 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain, 5 p.m. Pacific). You can register to receive the Zoom link here: tinyurl.com/marchrnc

The event will feature speakers reporting on their organizing in different movements, giving updates on the Coalition's work, and explaining mobilization plans.

“Many students and youth are making plans to travel to Milwaukee to protest the reactionary and racist agenda of Trump and the Republican Party on Monday, July 15, 2024. We need to beat back the Republicans’ vicious attacks on immigrants, labor unions, LGBTQ people, education, the environment and more,” said Chrisley Carpio of National Students for a Democratic Society.

“Trump seems to want to outdo himself with a second term,” Carpio continued, “He is even talking about getting rid of the Department of Education and funds for public college completely. We won't stand for it!”

“We are enthusiastic about a big mass march leading right to the front doors of the convention where Republicans will hear us chanting against their bigoted, backwards agenda. People are coming from across Wisconsin, across the Midwest, and from coast to coast to protest the arch-reactionary Trump,” explained Omar Flores, spokesperson for the March on the RNC.

Featured speakers are Omar Flores of the Coalition to March on the RNC, veteran Chicano liberation movement leader Carlos Montes, Chrisley Carpio of the National Students for a Democratic Society, Robynne Johnson with Minnesota Abortion Action Committee and Tom Burke of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #PeoplesStruggles #RNC2024 #SDS #MNAAC #FRSO #Feature

Step onto the stage of history in Milwaukee, July 15, as thousands march on the Republican National Convention.

More than 100 organizations are participating in this effort, spearheaded by the Coalition to March on the RNC, and mobilizations are taking place in cities across the U.S. As Trump is raking in money from billionaire donors and stepping up his campaign for the White House, it’s vital that all of was who support Justice, progress and peace should be in the streets raising the banner of opposition.

Everyone who can be there should be there.

On July 15, we will be marching under the slogans: Fight the racist and reactionary agenda of the Republican Party; defend women's, LGBTQ and reproductive rights; defend and expand immigrant rights; peace, justice and equity for all, and stand with Palestine.

The plans are for a large scale, family-friendly event, the kind of march you can bring you kids to. To facilitate exactly that, protest organizers are fighting to get permits. The organizers are also clear that we are going