News and Views from the People's Struggle
Tampa, FL – On February 6, over 25 high school students from Blake High School in Tampa, Florida walked out to protest Trump's attacks on immigrants around the country.
Tampa, FL – On January 20, hundreds of people gathered at Tampa City Hall to protest on the one-year anniversary of Trump's second term. The event was organized by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee as part of a national day of action called by Legalization for All and 50501 National.
Tampa, FL – Several hundred people gathered downtown Tampa in front of City Hall Saturday, January 10, to express their anger at the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross and at Trump for unleashing ICE onto immigrants and the vast community who supports them. Protesters gathered as part of the 50501 National Day of Action: ICE Out For Good.
Tampa, FL – On November 20, students and community members, including members from Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied near the University of South Florida (USF) Tampa campus to demand no war on Venezuela. Slogans and speeches included demands including “Stop the missile attacks now!” “No more U.S. wars for oil!” and “Lift the U.S. sanctions off Venezuela now!” The energy was high, with students passing by taking fliers from the rally, and cars honking in support of the anti-war event.
Tampa, FL – On Wednesday November 12, Tampa protesters led by Tampa Immigrant Rights Coalition (Tampa IRC) rallied in front of the Federal Courthouse to demand Temporary Protected Status (TPS) be upheld for Venezuelans and to stop the deportations. They were supported by groups like Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Food Not Bombs, and the New Era Young Lords.
Chicago, IL- A dozen protesters gathered on Friday, September 19 outside the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Illinois Humanities nonprofit, a celebration for which Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker had been named an honorary co-chair. The protesters rallied and chanted to demand that Pritzker use his executive power to grant clemency for hundreds of petitioners with credible claims of police torture and wrongful conviction.
Tampa, FL – August 31 was the first celebration of Chicano Liberation Day in Tampa history. Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee marked the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium with a showing of the HBO film Walkout, starring Alexa PenaVega and Michael Peña, directed by Chicano actor and East Los Angeles native Edward James Olmos.
The celebration was held at a local bar, La Cantina. The film depicts the events of Spring 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkouts, or Chicano Blowout, where students walked out of five East LA schools to demand better conditions, like allowing Spanish to be spoken and an end to corporal punishment. People who attended the showing learned about both the walkouts and the history of Chicano Liberation Day.
The history of Chicano Liberation Day begins in 1970, when, as moderator Val Beron of TIRC explained, “over 20,000 Chicanos marched in Los Angeles to protest the Vietnam War, specifically the fact that Chicanos made up 29% of casualties despite being 5% of the total U.S. population. Chicanos felt that the true struggle wasn’t in the jungles of Vietnam, but the barrios at home.” This march, called the Chicano Moratorium, demanded an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and an end to oppression at home, such as police violence.
As Florida and the nation experience a wave of anti-immigrant and anti-Chicano repression from the reactionary Trump and DeSantis administrations, the film and the Chicano Moratorium also resonate today. However, just as in the film, when the people organize and fight back, they win – as the concentration camp for immigrants in the Everglades was just shut down this past month due to legal efforts of the Miccosukee Tribe and political pressure from the people holding constant protests.
The Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee will be holding a know your rights training in the near future in an effort to further develop a rapid response network to ICE terror in the Bay area. They can be found on Instagram and Facebook at TampaIRC.
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