Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador – On January 11, 2023, five environmental activists and community leaders from Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador were arrested on bogus charges in a clear case of political persecution. They are still detained five months later and the movement to free them is growing around the world.
St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) meets quarterly to review investment reports and to hear from the public. Normally the meetings start around 10 a.m., but on May 25 the SBI started their meeting over three hours late. The Executive Board, which includes Governor Tim Walz, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Attorney General Keith Ellison and State Auditor Julie Blaha, heard testimony concerning taconite mining leases until after 1 p.m.
San Francisco, CA – On May 19, around 100 people gathered in San Francisco State University’s Knuth Hall for the San Francisco leg of the Mandela Nakba 75 Tour. It featured the Honorable Chief Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela and member of the Parliament of South Africa.
Detroit, MI – The International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS), Public Citizen, and local organizers united in a day of resistance to APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). The senior officials of APEC stopped in Detroit for some of their U.S. meetings to solidify the IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework) deal.
Chicago, IL- “Let us all join hands in the inevitable march to freedom for Palestine and we dare to dream of a free Palestine where Muslims, Christians and Jews can live side by side in peace as they have done for centuries,” stated Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, South African member of parliament and grandson of revolutionary icon Nelson Mandela, to an audience of 400 at the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters, on Saturday, May 20.
Minneapolis, MN – On May 20, over 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered at Bryant Square Park in Uptown to show solidarity with the global Palestinian movement to remember Al-Nakba, or “The Catastrophe”, in which more than 750,000 Palestinians were exiled from their homes and homeland in 1948 by Israeli militia forces with the help of imperialist forces. Speakers from different movements gave messages of solidarity with Palestinians in diaspora in the Twin Cities and across the world.
Havana, Cuba – In a rose and butter-yellow building held up by Greek columns, Cuba’s LGBTQ activists work every day to advance equality. This building, formerly someone’s mansion and now repurposed by the socialist government, houses the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX).
Minneapolis, MN – “Today, I call on you and all freedom-loving people of the world, and boldly say to all of you, do not speak in hushed and muffled tones about the more than 7 million Palestinians in the diaspora who are being denied their right of return. Today, we call on all freedom-loving people of the world to support the global call for their return to Palestine,” said Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of South African revolutionary Nelson Mandela, to a crowd of over 200.
Milwaukee, WI – May 15 marked the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. Over 250 community members and activists gathered in downtown Milwaukee to see Chief Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of the great anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, in commemoration of the tragedy in Palestine.