Appleton, WI – Around 50 people from across northeastern Wisconsin gathered on March 8 in response to a national call to action put out by the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression that is demanding charges be brought against Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd last May. Though the trial is expected to last weeks, multiple grassroots organizations from nearby cities vowed to stand in solidarity with each other and to not let the local communities forget about victims of police brutality and systematic racism.

Cassandra Ross, a local community activist stated, “It will save a lot of Black lives. Black people, for example, stand before racist judges and receive maximum, sometimes over max, time for crimes they committed while others who are white commit the same crime and get a slap on the wrist.”

Activists were also protesting in support of justice at another trial that began on the same day as Derek Chauvin’s. Michael Mattioli, an off-duty Milwaukee Police Officer, murdered Joel Acevedo at a party in April of last year and is facing charges as well.

In addition to justice, another theme at the event was solidarity, an aspect which continues to be important to many organizers. TJ Hobbs, a community organizer in Oshkosh, said “We are all connected, and when any part of our community is being targeted, we are all being targeted. It is crucial to care and to be vocal because our words and actions have the power to shape real change in our communities.”

The rally was called jointly by the Wisconsin National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression chapter (serving the Fox Valley area primarily), United Action Oshkosh, Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #UnitedActionOshkoshUAO #WisconsinAllianceAgainstRacistPoliticalRepressionWAARPR

The Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention led the charge for both of those protests and is doing the same again. Several other organizations and allies have joined in the effort, including rank-and-file trade unionists and United Action Oshkosh (UAO).

UAO is a local organization working on reopening the case of Isaiah Tucker, a Black man murdered by Officer Aaron Achterberg of the Oshkosh Police Department on July 31, 2017. Members of Tucker’s family are joining UAO and the Coalition on August 20 when they march on the DNC in Milwaukee.

“While our Coalition exists to march on the DNC, we’ve been very clear since the start that Donald Trump is the primary enemy of working and oppressed people the world over. Trump is responsible for goading racist killer cops and vigilantes to murder Black men and others. We must defeat Trump,” said Ryan Hamann, co-chair of the Coalition to March on the DNC.

Trump is commenting on “Biden’s failures on jobs and the economy” at the Basler Flight Service on the grounds of Wittman Airport on the southside of Oshkosh. The press conference is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. The president will be met with the force of the masses of people who oppose his hateful, violent agenda. The Coalition to March on the DNC, United Action Oshkosh, and the other organizations and activists involved will be ready.

“Our first official action as an organization was back in January 2018, and it was a protest of the first year of the Trump administration. We’re proud to be in keeping with that tradition,” said Hollie Poupart, a leader with United Action Oshkosh.

Poupart went on, “On August 17 when Trump comes to town, we’re going to make sure he knows he’s not welcome here, and we’re gonna do it while raising the demand for justice for Isaiah Tucker. And after we’ve sent Trump packing, we’re going to take our message to Milwaukee for the march on the DNC on August 20. Enough is enough. We can’t breathe!”

#OshkoshWI #Protest #Antiracism #UnitedActionOshkoshUAO #CoalitionToMarchOnTheDNC

Oshkosh, WI – On March 31, local activists and members of United Action Oshkosh (UAO) held a vigil to honor and commemorate the life and work of activist Amber Evans.

Evans, whose body had been identified a week prior after being pulled from the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio, was a 28-year-old organizer involved heavily with movements such as Black Lives Matter, the Juvenile Justice Coalition, the People's Justice Project, and local anti-fascist projects.

Gathering in the Opera House Square in downtown Oshkosh, attendees of the vigil held a moment of silence for two minutes, symbolizing the two months Evans’ family went without any information about her disappearance. Hollie Poupart, the host of the event, then spoke about the importance of continuing activist struggles in the face of very real danger posed by reactionary elements, and often from law enforcement. After highlighting some of Evans’ work during her life, Poupart asked attendees to join her in remembering the lives of a handful of other activists, fallen too soon, by responding to their names with “We remember you.”

“I believe it was important that we recognize, although this work at times is dangerous, we as activists must support and protect one another as we dedicate our lives to the fight and the people,” said Lindsey Spietz, an organizer with UAO.

“It also highlights the increasing need for accountability for police,” she continued, highlighting UAO’s active campaign to establish community control of policing in Oshkosh. “Not only when there is brutal action but when there is blatant inaction. Amber’s death has remained mysterious as the police have not done enough to find the answers her family needs. We must continue to fight on in her memory and for all of the other activists who have mysteriously lost their lives.”

This weighty action mirrored a similar vigil held by UAO in August of 2018 to honor the life of Isaiah Tucker, who was brutally gunned down by Oshkosh police in July of 2017 while leaving the scene of a non-violent domestic disturbance. United Action Oshkosh remains dedicated to the cause of establishing community control of the police in their city, and in other cities across the nation, and these vigils are a sad reminder of the importance of their struggle.

#OshkoshWI #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #UnitedActionOshkoshUAO #AmberEvans

Braving the frigid Wisconsin winter weather, attendees held signs, flags and banners with messages of support for refugees, women, people of color, LGBTQ people, workers and students. Their voices cut through the air as the group chanted slogans like “We oppose Trump and Pence; they only serve the 1%” and “Racist, sexist, anti-gay; Donald Trump, go away!”

The event featured speakers or messages from UAO, Wisconsin Indivisible-06, Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and Wisconsin Bailout the People Movement.

“I think holding rallies and marches is super important! It shows our city and country that we’ve not given up and we’re not backing down,” said UAO member Jessica Anderson. “If we don’t even try to attempt change, then nothing will ever change. I want everyone to know that we won’t tolerate racism, misogyny, homophobia, or transphobia in this country. Even the smallest of organizations and rallies can create big change, and this is where it all starts.”

After a message of solidarity from Wisconsin FRSO, participants took to marching up and down Main Street, making themselves heard with more chanting.

Back at the square, event leader Hollie Poupart homed in on the violence that is all-pervasive across the spectrum of Trump's hateful rhetoric and harmful policies. The emphasis was placed specifically on Trump's support for brutal and unjust police practices, tying these facts into to the broader movement to win community control of the police.

“It is only when the cops are wholly answerable to the communities which they police and for the crimes that they commit that we will see justice done for people like Isaiah Tucker, Jason Pero, Jonathon Tubby, and the scores of others killed or impacted by police violence,” Poupart said.

UAO will be hosting a showing of the film Do Not Resist at the Oshkosh Public Library on Thursday, January 24 as a part of their campaign to raise awareness about the need of all communities to fight back against police crimes.

#Oshkosh #DonaldTrump #AntiTrump #UnitedActionOshkoshUAO #TrumpInaugurationJ20 #DoNotResist

Oshkosh, WI – On the evening of August 1, encroaching thunderstorms couldn't dampen the passion of protesters as community activists, led by the group United Action Oshkosh (UAO), as they joined friends and family of Isaiah Tucker, a Black man shot and killed by Oshkosh police. The protest marched to the police station, almost a year after Isaiah’s murder, to demand justice.

Isaiah was killed by officer Aaron Achterberg and his accomplice officer Kyle Roberts as he tried to flee in a car. The cops fired 11 times into the vehicle as he drove away. The officers initially said he had tried to hit them, but once body camera footage was released the story was changed to them “feeling threatened.” The state justice department found the officers to be justified in their use of deadly force and they were reinstated without punishment.

Protesters carried signs with the names and faces of Black and brown people murdered by police since the death of Isaiah Tucker, calling out chants for the end of police brutality and racist discrimination.

At the station, the stories of the men and women killed were told by UAO member Lindsey Spietz, with their names then recited by the marchers. A brief moment of silence honoring them followed each name.

The march then circled back to its starting point where a few participants in the demonstration spoke.

Ryan Hamann of UAO told a story that occurred in 2018 where a white woman fled Oshkosh police in a vehicle and actually struck and dragged officers without lethal force being used against her. Mention was in made in his comments about the connections between police occupation of communities at home and military occupation of whole countries abroad. “Police kill Black and brown people here at home,” he said. “The military kill Black and brown people all over the world.”

Hamann then laid out what justice for Isaiah Tucker should look like, calling for the immediate termination of officers Achterberg and Roberts and the creation of an Oshkosh Police Accountability Council (OPAC), similar to what cities like Jacksonville, Florida and Chicago are fighting for.

The event ended with a powerful, emotional speech by Cassandra Tucker, Isaiah’s mother. She spoke of the callous way OPD kept her in the dark, of her sense of loss, her anger and despair, and her desire to see justice for her son. She joined in the call for the officers involved to be fired and for the formation of an Oshkosh Police Accountability Council.

“A significant impact of today for me was verbalizing the emotional loss and pain of one left behind after the death of a child to police violence,” she said. “No one wins in the aftermath of these crimes. The thing that brought peace to my soul was seeing people of all races, faith, and creeds standing together to demand change for a broken system.”

Before the protest, the OPD released this cold, tone-deaf statement: “The death of Isaiah Tucker has impacted our community. The Oshkosh Police Department wishes to continue to offer our sympathies to his family as they grieve their loss.”

This demonstration marks the beginning of the fight for community control of the police in Oshkosh. The struggle for justice for Isaiah and the family he left behind continues.

#OshkoshWI #PoliceBrutality #opac #IsaiahTucker #UnitedActionOshkoshUAO