Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Racism

By Students for a Democratic Society

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Tallahassee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

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By Loretta VanPelt

Minneapolis, MN – Over 100 people braved sub-zero weather, Jan. 18, to demand justice for Jamar Clark and Marcus Golden in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Black Lives Matter Saint Paul and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark organized the event.

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By Dave Schneider

Columbia, MO – On Nov. 9, both the president and chancellor of the University of Missouri announced their resignation after mass protests by the student body against racism on campus. The announcement came after about 30 African American players on the school's football team threatened to strike and not play Saturday's game if University President Tim Wolfe did not resign. Had the football strike taken place and the team not played, the school would have suffered a $1 million fine for breaking its contract with Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

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By Students for a Democratic Society

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Nov. 9 statement from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

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By Zachary Schultz

Tallahassee students rally to demand justice for Corey Jones.

Tallahassee, FL – Over 30 students rallied on the Florida State University (FSU) campus, Oct. 29 to protest the recent shooting of Corey Jones, a 31-year old African American drummer from Lake Worth, FL. Corey was murdered by plainclothes police officer, Nouman Raja, early on Oct. 18 while parked on the side of the highway waiting for roadside assistance after his car had broken down. The rally was called for by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at FSU, and was joined by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at FSU, Jennicet Gutiérrez from La Familia, as well as supporters representing the family of Corey Jones.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Build the movement for community control of police!

The Chicago August 29 demonstration to stop police crimes and to establish community control over the police is nothing short of a historic step forward for the movement against racist discrimination and national oppression, and an advance in the fight for freedom, equality and liberation.

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By staff

Arlington, TX – On August 10, Mothers Against Police Brutality held a vigil for Christian Taylor outside the police department here. About 100 people attended.

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By Loretta VanPelt

St. Paul, MN – Over 300 people gathered in here, August 10, in a show of solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Missouri and to remember the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown at the hands of the police.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Nov. 24, a Ferguson grand jury decision cleared police officer Darren Wilson of the murder of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was an 18-year-old African American youth shot and killed by the white police officer as he walked to his grandmother’s house in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9. Witnesses stated that Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in the air when officer Darren Wilson shot and killed him. With blatant disrespect to Michael Brown, his family and the neighborhood, the police left his body lying in the middle of the street for hours after the police killing.

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By Jared Hamil

Tampa, FL protest against police brutality.

Tampa, FL – On a rainy afternoon, Aug. 23, 70 people rallied in downtown here, demanding justice for Mike Brown of Ferguson, Missouri. Gathering at Lykes Gaslight Park, the people protested outside the Tampa Police Department and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida. Protesters showed solidarity with the people fighting back in Ferguson by demanding the jailing of killer cops in Tampa.

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By Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 19 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP):

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Aug. 9, Michael Brown was murdered by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The African-American youth was only 18 years old. He was unarmed and committed no crime, yet was brutally shot by the police after they stopped and harassed him while he walked to his grandmother's house. Michael had a bright future ahead of him, as he was set to start classes at Vatterott College just a few days later. His family was proud of their son.

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By Tom Burke

Tampa, FL — University of South Florida computer engineering professor Sami Al-Arian was set free today in Virginia. Federal prosecutors decided to finally drop his case today after his family waited in legal limbo for five years. The judge who delayed the ruling presides over a court nicknamed the “rocket docket” for its speed of settling cases.

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By staff

Jacksonville, FL – On June 10, Circuit Judge James Daniel pushed back Marissa Alexander's retrial date from July 21 to Dec. 1. Alexander is a 33-year-old African-American mother facing 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband. Originally convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years in prison, Alexander received a new trial in 2013 when a District Court of Appeals judge overturned the decision.

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By staff

Demanding justice for Corey Stingley

Milwaukee, WI – 150 people gathered on the steps of Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's office, Jan. 17, to demand justice for Corey Stingley. Stingley, a 16-year-old Black male, was strangled to death by three white customers after a store clerk accused him of theft.

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By staff

Protest in support of justice for Corey Stingley.

West Allis, WI – Family and friends of Corey Stingley organized a rally outside VJ's Food Mart, Dec. 15, where the 16-year-old was strangled by white vigilantes one year ago. Supporters demanded charges be filed against the people responsible for killing Stingley.

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By staff

Jacksonville, FL – The Civil War may have ended in 1865, but people in Jacksonville continue to struggle against the remains of the racist Confederate States of America in 2013. With more than 157,000 petitions signed and growing mass pressure on the Duval County School Board, community activists are waging a campaign to rename Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.

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By staff

Jacksonville, FL – On Sept. 26, a Florida appeals court ordered a new trial for Marissa Alexander, the African American mother given a 20-year prison sentence for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband. The announcement comes after more than a year of protests across the country that raised the demand, “Free Marissa now!”

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By Walt Byars

Sanford, FL – Sixty people rallied in Sanford, Florida, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin on Friday, July 12. The protesters gave speeches and press interviews on the last day of George Zimmerman’s murder trial at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center. Members of the Sanford community, the NAACP, the Tampa and Tallahassee chapters of Dream Defenders, the New Black Panther Party, Students for a Democratic Society, union members, and others waved signs “Justice for Trayvon Martin” and “We are all Trayvon”. They chanted “No Justice, No Peace” while cops and media looked on.

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By Fight Back! Editors

Youth in Sanford lead protest demanding "Justice for Trayvon Martin" as jury del

Fight Back! is calling for protests in the wake of the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. The trial of George Zimmerman is now concluded and the jury is deliberating. Across the United States, people are awaiting the verdict on this racist killer who stalked and shot dead 17 year old African-American student Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Odds are there is not going to be any justice for Trayvon Martin in the courtroom. The vigilante murder of an African-American will likely not result in a guilty verdict on a murder charge. Fight Back! is calling on people to protest the verdict!

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