Madi Jones, a member of Appleton SDS, not only proclaimed that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a threat to the rights of all people with uteruses, but she further highlighted the way in which the birth control movement has historically disenfranchised oppressed nationality working-class people.

The organizations and different individuals involved in the protest are committed to action in the event that the attacks on reproductive rights continue or escalate.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #RoeVWade #AppletonSDS

Appleton, WI – On Saturday, May 21, the family of Jimmie Sanders – a man murdered by Appleton police in May 2017 – alongside Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, Appleton SDS, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and United Action Oshkosh organized a rally and march to bring attention to the case, and to crowdfund for the Jimmie Sanders legal team.

Sanders, an African American man, was fatally shot by Lieutenant Jay Steinke of the Appleton Police Department at Jack's Apple Pub on May 21, 2017. Steinke was responding to the bar for a report of a shot fired inside. Henry Nellum, a 36-year-old from Milwaukee, was convicted of firing that shot during a fight with another man. When Steinke arrived, he shot Nellum, hitting him in the arm, but also shot and killed Sanders, an innocent bystander who wasn't involved in the incident.

Steinke, who retired in 2019, wasn't charged for the murder of Sanders. In fact, a 13-day investigation by Green Bay police led then-Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider to determine that Steinke “acted appropriately given the threat.” Nellum was later convicted for his “role in the shooting death of Jimmie Sanders” and is currently serving 16.5 years in prison despite not being the one responsible for his murder.

Speakers at the rally decried police repression and emphasized the necessity to implement civilian police accountability councils across the country. Terrence Freeman, the chair of Appleton SDS and a member of FRSO, stated, “The police do not exist to protect and serve us. Their purpose is to repress, brutalize and exploit the Black and brown working class. Their purpose is to maintain the white supremacist status quo.”

Freeman continued, “Look at our communities! They are the most heavily policed areas in this country. Look at the statistics – Black people are disproportionately killed by the police every year. And just analyze our history; it is a fact that the police in America evolved from slave patrols. Slave patrols.”

To conclude his speech, Freeman advocated for CPACs (Civilian Police Accountability Councils): “CPACs will ensure that law enforcement is ruled by us – the people – not by some racist police board. We must control the police and ensure that they can no longer control and brutalize us. We want genuine change now!”

After Freeman’s speech, the protesters marched to the Appleton police station chanting for justice for Sanders.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #AppletonSDS #JimmieSanders

The rally began at Lawrence University’s Main Hall Green, four hours after the verdict, with rousing speeches from Appleton SDS Chair Terrence Freeman and Co-chair Gustavo Zuniga, followed by Anders Hanhan, chair of Sunrise Fox Valley. The speeches touched on the discrepancies between trials of white racists and trials of Black and brown people, the inherently unjust judicial system, and the need for the people to rise in action.

“Outraged but not surprised,” said Freeman of SDS, echoing the feelings of those present.

Zuniga, also of SDS stated, “It gives the precedent for these right-wing vigilantes to target whoever they see to be a danger to them – that is usually people of color and people who are protesting their movement.”

Anders Hanhan, of Sunrise Fox Valley concluded with an assessment of the system: “We have a criminal injustice system, instead of a criminal justice system.”

The double standard in this so-called justice system is not hard to miss; a reactionary murderer was able to go home, while protesters in the streets of Kenosha were taken into unmarked cars and while Black and brown people have their lives taken away.

“There is no social or political freedom here for Black and brown people. Racist pigs like Rittenhouse can always uphold the facade of victimhood and expect protection and sympathy from our inherently unjust legal system. What does this tell us? It tells us what we’ve known all along – that Justice lies in the streets! Justice lies in the people’s movement. That is a fact!” said Freeman.

To conclude his speech, Freeman said, “We have to stop allowing police departments to use white supremacists as a tool to repress the people’s movement! Let us stand up, let us fight back! Dare to struggle, dare to win!”

After the speeches, the protesters gathered alongside College Avenue, holding up signs and chanting things like, “We want justice, we want it now! If we don’t get it, shut it all down!” and “Boots, boots on the ground, we’re here, we’re here to burn this s—t down,” a stark reminder to those listening that reform will not change this system.

The protesters then marched down to Houdini Plaza, chanting even more vigorously than before and letting the greater Appleton community know that the protesters are in solidarity with Kenosha, as Gustavo Zuniga stated. The protesters in Appleton did not let the threat of reactionaries nor the cold weather stand in the way of their pursuit for justice.

At Houdini Plaza, the protest was met with supporters and antagonists, but the people were not deterred and continued on chanting demanding justice and demanding systematic change. Expressed by one of their many chants: “Indict, convict, send Rittenhouse to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell!”

After the protesters echoed their voices throughout Appleton’s downtown, they then returned to Lawrence University. They marched past the original starting point, Main Hall Green, going instead to the university’s busy campus center for their message to be heard by as many people as possible. At the campus center a final call to action was made by all, “Stand up, fight back!”

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #AppletonSDS

Appleton, WI – The Appleton Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Sunrise Fox Valley are continuing the “Fight for $15'' at Lawrence University. This campaign seeks to increase the on-campus student worker minimum wage to $15 per hour. At the moment, the average student worker is undercompensated with a meagre $7.25 wage, which is unable to meet the rising costs of tuition and other exorbitant living expenses.

Through consistent agitation and numerous flyer drives, Appleton SDS has been able to gain the support of hundreds of student workers and other sympathetic allies. With the assistance of Sunrise Fox Valley, Appleton SDS hosted an open rally in front of Warch Campus center on October 25. There was a significant turnout of dozens of students over the course of the event. However, zero administrators made an appearance.

The rally was kicked off by a rousing speech given by Terrence Freeman, the co-founder and chair of Appleton SDS. Freeman highlighted the indispensability of student labor on campus.

“We need to recognize that Lawrence University cannot function without student labor power. That is an undeniable fact. What would happen if students didn’t work in the Viking Room, or the library, or the wellness center? I’ll tell you what would happen: Lawrence University would sink under its own weight because we’re the ones who keep this damn institution afloat,” Freeman said.

Next, Anders Hanhan, a leading member of Sunrise Fox Valley, decried the low wages provided by Lawrence University, noting that they have caused many student workers to quit their jobs. After him, Diego Léon and Jonnie Urban, two members of Appleton SDS, discussed how they have been personally exploited as student workers. Urban, a worker at the on-campus bar, asserted that increasing the minimum wage would greatly benefit all student workers, especially those who are either low-income or disabled.

Freeman condemned the wealth disparity at Lawrence University, noting that the annual salary of the 12 highest earners at the institution is nearly double that of all student workers on campus.

“The annual earnings for student workers is a total of $1.6 million. However, the 12 highest earning administrators at Lawrence make a combined $2.5 million annually. This sounds like wealth redistribution needs to happen,” Freeman said.

As the rally came to its conclusion, Freeman laid out the four core demands of the Fight for $15 campaign.

“We demand that the Lawrence administration agrees to increase the wage to $15 for all students employed by the university by the 2023-2024 academic year. We demand that the student worker wage increases every year relative to the annual increase in the cost of tuition. We demand that any increase in the student worker wage does not result in a reduction of the funds directed toward anything that directly benefits the student body. We demand that all of Lawrence University’s budget be made easily accessible to the public on the Lawrence website. This should include individual salaries, the allocation of funds, and our university donors and trustees,” Freeman stated.

Appleton SDS will be hosting more rallies and flyer drives for the Fight for $15. Right now, they are dealing directly with the Lawrence administration and student government to begin to get the demands of their campaign recognized and met.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #AppletonSDS #SunriseFoxValley

Appleton, WI – On May 29, nearly 30 people gathered at Houdini Plaza in downtown Appleton to demand that the Canadian energy company Enbridge be forced to cease production on their Line 3 and Line 5 projects. These pipelines transport tar sands – some of the dirtiest fossil fuel out there – across hundreds of miles of Canada, into northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and through Michigan.

The vast majority of the land that the pipelines cut through is treaty land, and many of the Anishinaabe tribes have no interest in the project and in fact have repeatedly sought its complete removal. As in many other struggles, the fight over Line 3 and Line 5 fundamentally boils down to one about indigenous sovereignty and national oppression.

“The state of Minnesota does not have the consent of the impacted tribes along Line 3, and it does not have jurisdiction over tribal lands,” said Terrence Freeman of Appleton Students for a Democratic Society. “But [these actions] should not come as a shock to anyone who has their eyes open. This trend of systematic oppression, racism and exploitation has not changed, but has taken a different form.”

Freeman continued, “This entire construction project is just another form of modern day colonialism for the sole purpose of capitalist resource extraction and capitalist profit.”

The groups that hosted the event include Youth Climate Action Team, Youth Climate Activists – Fox Valley, Sunrise Appleton, Appleton SDS, Our Wisconsin Revolution, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

In a week, from June 5 to June 8, land and water protectors from the Midwest in particular but with many participants from around the country will be gathering in northern Minnesota for several days of direct actions aimed at stopping construction of Line 3. A few of the people present at the Appleton event expressed that they will be or have been to the resistance camp.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #EnvironmentalJustice #AppletonSDS #Enbridge

“As college students we do have a lot of privilege. We have a lot of resources available and we have to utilize those things to make change,” Appleton SDS chair Terrence Freeman says. “We shouldn’t be inactive, we shouldn’t be lethargic, we should utilize the things we have at our disposal to guarantee that we are changing things in our community, both on and off campus.”

Speakers from each chapter discussed their local work. Appleton SDS is currently organizing to raise the campus minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as doing mutual aid work in the Appleton area. UW-Milwaukee is currently working to defund campus police and refund programs that support students. While the semesters are soon coming to a close on both campuses, their work will continue into the summer and beyond.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #MilwaukeeSDS #AppletonSDS