Minneapolis, MN – More than 20,000 people marched here, May 26, to demand justice for George Floyd, an African American man who as murdered by Minneapolis police on May 25. The three-mile march filled city streets for blocks and then closed a major four-lane highway. It started at the murder scene at Chicago Avenue and 38th Street and went to the Third Precinct station on Lake Street, where intense clashes took place. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Bricks broke some of the stations windows, a police car was demolished, and the slogan “I can’t breathe,” were visible on the station’s wall.
Tallahassee, FL – On March 20, Tallahassee Police Department Officer Zackri Jones killed 31-year-old Mychael Johnson. Mychael Johnson was the second person shot and killed by Jones, and the first since Lawrence Revell became chief of police in January. Revell’s nomination in November and his later appointment led to protests due to his killing of George Williams, a Black teenager, in September 1996.
Chicago, IL – The corporate media has missed what is most important about Chicago’s April 2 elections. Its focus on the uninspiring mayoral contest between Toni Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot helped contribute to the lowest voter turnout ever. Only 29% of registered voters went to the polls.
New York, NY – On October 27, eleven people were murdered in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue by a man yelling “All Jews must die,” in the single most deadly attack on American Jews in history. On November 1, actress Ilana Glazer had to cancel an event at a Brooklyn synagogue after finding graffiti that read, “Kill all Jews.” Then on November 2, the New York Police Department received reports of fires at seven different synagogues in South Williamsburg.
New York, NY – Almost 100 activists and community members gathered in Brooklyn on July 29 to mourn the murders of Black women. The vigil was held after the murder of Nia Wilson, who was recently stabbed to death by a white man in Oakland, California. The vigil also brought attention to the violence that Black trans women face.
Tallahassee, FL – Last weekend, Nia Wilson, an 18-year-old African American woman was brutally murdered by a white man, John Lee Cowell, in an Oakland, California Bay Area Rapid Transit station. Cowell also stabbed Nia’s sister, Malika Harris, who has been released from the hospital.
Interview with Bassem Kawar, of the Campaign to TAKE ON HATE
Fight Back! interviewed Bassem Kawar, national coordinator of the Campaign to TAKE ON HATE, a project of the National Network for Arab American Communities.
To my comrades and friends in the Black Liberation movement I say: Yes, it is important to point out the mutual suffering of separation of Central American and Mexican children from their families at the border and Black children daily separated through policies of mass incarceration and police perpetrated genocide; it is important if our point is to demonstrate that no oppressed people should be alone and isolated in the struggle for their humanity.
This year, International Workers Day on May 1 is important for the labor and immigrant rights movements. For over a year now, the people have faced an onslaught of attacks from President Trump’s right-wing administration. Trump’s White House wants to enact the agenda of billionaires and bigots at all costs, whether through tax breaks for the rich, or through cruel raids and deportations of immigrants that rip families apart.
New York, NY — On Sept. 12, around 100 activists gathered in Columbus Circle in solidarity with the Durham, North Carolina activists who a month before tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier.
Minneapolis, MN — Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee condemned the August 5 bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center, stating, “It is important for all people of conscience to stand with our Muslim neighbors against the rising tide of hate crimes against them. Right-wing bigots feel validated by President Trump's words and policies and are no longer trying to control their hate. We need to denounce all acts of anti-Muslim bigotry and defend our Muslim neighbors. We need to call this what it is – a hate crime! We need to call out people, and politicians who defend these actions, as racists.”
San Jose, CA – On Saturday, March 25, the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC) and the South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA) will be co-sponsoring a day of solidarity with the American Muslim community. A march of solidarity will begin in San Jose Japantown and will end with a rally at San Jose City Hall.
Minneapolis, MN – Dec. 10 marks International Human Rights Day. The Minnesota Anti-War Committee had a short rally at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue, followed by a march of 200 people to denounce Trump's agenda of hate and racism.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 6 statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (CAARPR).Shame on City Hall as COPA Passes – Movement for CPAC Grows as Justice is Denied
Houston, TX – Donald Trump faced a spirited protest outside the Omni Hotel in Houston on Sept. 17. Trump was speaking to a hate based anti-immigrant group called the Remembrance Project.
Milwaukee, WI – The Sherman Park neighborhood became the scene of a Ferguson-like uprising after a police killing of a Black man on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 13. At 3:30 p.m., a Milwaukee cop shot and killed a 23-year-old man they said was running away from them, near 44th and Auer Avenue. Police immediately issued statements claiming they recovered a stolen gun.
Jacksonville, FL – El mundo presenció en horror como la noche del 21 de julio, el multimillonario magnate de casinos Donald J. Trump, fue nominado oficialmente por el Partido Republicano como candidato a la presidencia.
Tucson, AZ – More than 1000 protesters converged on a Tucson Trump campaign rally, March 19. “We were not going to allow for Trump, a promoter of racism, hate and xenophobia to come to Tucson and be unchallenged by the social movements of justice,” says immigrant rights activist Edwards Cott.
Salt Lake City, UT – 2500 people gathered to protest a Trump rally in Salt Lake City on Friday night, March 19. The University of Utah Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the Dump Trump rally. Protesters began to gather at the Salt Lake City and County Building at 6:00 p.m. What began as a crowd of a few dozen swelled to hundreds, then thousands.