Brunswick, GA – Forty people rallied here, Oct. 29 to demand that the people of Brunswick, Georgia be given the right to vote for Elaine Brown. Brown, the Green Party candidate was removed from the ballot and barred from voting following a residency challenge. The calculated attack came after six months of campaigning and after the period for Brown to be allowed as a write-in candidate. Beyond all reason, the Glynn County Board of Elections disqualified Brown. The decision was upheld without explanation by Senior Superior Court Judge Tom Pope.
Brunswick, GA – In a dramatic turnaround, Elaine Brown is back in the mayor’s race here. Brown’s re-entry as a write-in candidate was announced on the eve of election day, following a judge’s court ruling in her favor. Brown, a former leader of the Black Panther Party, is running a campaign to see the development of Brunswick’s port to benefit all the residents. Brunswick is a majority Black town where there has never been a Black mayor. Candidate Brown was kicked off the ballot in an election fraught with dirty tricks, reminiscent of the Old South. Rich white developers and Republican Party hacks are working overtime to keep Brown from being the people’s choice.
Brunswick, GA – Mayoral candidate Elaine Brown vowed to continue the fight for a fair and free election and to empower black people. Republicans and rich white developers stole this election here. Elaine Brown, a former Black Panther Party leader, now running with the Green Party, faced a calculated campaign of electoral intimidation and personal disenfranchisement.
Brunswick, GA – On Dec. 1, the Glynn County Superior Court heard the Contest of Election filed by mayoral candidate Elaine Brown and granted Brown’s motion to continue. The hearing is now scheduled for Dec.19 at 9:30 a.m.
Selma, AL – Over 1000 people gathered here, Sunday, March 4, to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 civil rights demonstration known as Bloody Sunday – during which over 600 men, women and children crossed over the Edmund Pettus bridge and were attacked with tear gas, clubs and violence from police. The event gained notoriety around the world, making obvious the hypocrisy of the U.S. government and pushing forward the Voting Rights Act that was passed five months later.
In the wake of the controversy over the racist remarks by radio personality Don Imus, Fight Back! did the following interviews with grassroots leaders of the Black community in Newark, New Jersey.
Selma, AL – Over 100 activists, youth and community organizers met at the 21st Century Youth Leadership Center outside Selma, Alabama, July 14 to witness the aftermath of a recent attack on the center. The 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement is an organization that helps train African-American youth for future leadership roles in their communities.
Newark, NJ – The Aug. 4 killings of three college students in the Vailsburg section of Newark, New Jersey has become national news. Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20, were forced to kneel and were shot in the head. A fourth victim, Natasha Hightower, 19, was also shot but survives.
New Orleans, LA – Days after President Bush visited New Orleans and proclaimed that the city was “making noticeable progress,” people from as far as France and Brazil gathered in New Orleans Labor Day weekend to for an international tribunal to mark the two-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina.
Jena, LA – Momentum continues to build in the campaign for the Jena 6, a group of high school students that were arrested on trumped-up charges for a schoolyard fight. Though the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed charges against one defendant, Michael Bell, ruling that the 17-year old should not have been tried in adult court, thousands still plan on traveling to Jena on Thursday to protest what is being called, “a modern day lynching.”
