Chicago, IL – On May 3, the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention held a rally and march to celebrate International Workers Day. The 400 attendees heeded the call from the coalition to come stand with Palestine for May Day and vowed to show up again to protest against the Democratic National Convention (DNC) when the convention comes to Chicago August 19 through 22.

Minneapolis, MN – On May 1, over 500 people took to the streets on International Workers Day to march for immigrant and workers’ rights. The rally and march was organized by a coalition initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and MN Workers United (MWU).

Each year, International Workers Day is celebrated around the world with a call for solidarity with all workers and for union rights. International Workers Day has its origin in the fight for an eight-hour workday in the United States, where there were massive strikes and sharp confrontations in May of 1886.

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday May 1, Minneapolis 4 Community Control of the Police (M4CCP) held a press conference in the Public Safety Center, the temporary home to city hall offices, to turn in their petitions to put community control of the police on the November ballot.

Milwaukee, WI – May 2 marks the fourth day since students, faculty and community supporters flocked to Mitchell Lawn at UW-Milwaukee on April 29 after a massive rally and march. The end of the march saw the rapid assembly of tents and the official launch of an encampment for Palestine, bringing Milwaukee into the national movement sparked by the actions of heroic students at Columbia University and Cal Poly Humboldt.

Chicago, IL – At an April 30 press conference, speakers announced that a motion for a preliminary injunction has been filed in federal court by the Coalition to March on the DNC. They are asking a federal judge to block the city of Chicago from enforcing its ordinance regulating parade permits, as it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Speakers at the press conference included Chris Williams, Attorney; Hatem Abudayyeh, US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN); Faayani Aboma Mijana, Coalition to March on the DNC; and Liz Rathburn, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – University of Illinois at Chicago.

New Orleans, LA – On Monday, April 29, around 5 p.m., Students for a Democratic Society at Loyola and Tulane universities held a joint rally and march which gathered over 300 people. Students, university staff and community allies marched on both Tulane and Loyola’s campuses. The protesters paused on a sidewalk in front of Tulane’s admissions building and Gibson Hall, the oldest structure. Suddenly, the students took to the lawn in front of the building to set up their camping site.

Denver, CO – On Saturday, April 27, the Auraria Encampment for Palestine entered its third day. Despite police violence and the arrest of 44 protesters the day before, campers were in high spirits to continue.

The encampment is organized by Students for a Democratic Society with community support from the Colorado Palestine Coalition. Throughout the day, hundreds of students, faculty and community supporters spent time at the camp. At 1 p.m., there was a rally featuring speakers from SDS, supportive city council members, and veteran organizers from groups such as the American Indian Movement.

Something big is happening. From Columbia University to UCLA and points in between, the student movement that stands with Palestine has been erecting encampments on campuses. The results have been powerful. The demand for universities and colleges to divest from, and break all ties with, Israeli apartheid serves to weaken the apartheid regime.

Denver, CO – On Saturday, April 27, the Auraria Campus Encampment for Palestine entered its third day. Despite freezing temperatures and downpouring rain, dozens of protesters have remained through the second night at the encampment.

The previous day the encampment faced attacks from the Denver Police Department. After arresting over 70 protesters, DPD retreated from the encampment before returning a few hours later. Dozens of riot police surrounded the encampment and issued an order to disperse. The crowd linked arms and did not move.

In a radical act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, university students across the country have escalated the struggles on their campuses with the campus encampment movement. At Emory University in Atlanta, students, faculty and community members created one such encampment demanding for the immediate and total divestment from the Israeli apartheid state. The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol were called to the encampment by the Emory administration where they brutalized, beat and arrested dozens of protesters.