Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Marisol Márquez

Students at Mendez High School walk out of classes demanding rehiring of the school principal.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of May 28, over 100 Chicano students at Mendez High School walked out of their classes. Students were demanding that their school principal Mauro Bautista be brought back after mysteriously being removed for more than a month now from the school.

Starting at 9 a.m., the students walked out of their classes and marched along the front of the school, holding a banner that read, “Free Jefe!” After the march and coming back to school premises, the students refused to return to classes and staged a sit-in, where organizers read their demands and made speeches.

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By staff

Los Angeles event demands charges against the Uhuru 3 be dropped.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Los Angeles, CA – In a packed room of Black and Chicano activists, high school students, and other supporters, a May 23 forum was held in support of the Hands Off the Uhuru 3 movement. The Uhuru movement is led by the African People's Socialist Party, which is facing political attacks by the FBI.

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By Henry Cornejo

Chicanos rally in East Los Angeles in solidarity with Palestine.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Los Angeles, CA – On May 17, Chicanos from the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, California held a rally for the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. Chants like “Desde el río hasta el mar, Palestina va ganar!” rang through the Cesar E. Chavez and Soto intersection. The rally was organized by members of Centro CSO, a Chicano-led grassroots organization, fighting for oppressed people in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.

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By Victor Rodriguez and Julianna Castellon

Los Angeles, CA – On Tuesday, May 7, the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) witnessed a powerful display of solidarity as hundreds of students, led by Students 4 Justice in Palestine, united with community members and alumni at their campus’ student encampment. Their collective voice demanded “Hands off Rafah” and for the CSU system to sever all financial ties with Israel.

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By Carlos Montes

UTLA and SEIU 99 rally in front of LAUSD Headquarters May 7.  | Photo: Sukhbir Gill

Los Angeles, CA – Thousands of spirited Los Angles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers rallied on May 7 to protest proposed cutbacks and layoffs by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

In front of LAUSD headquarters, the educator’s union, United Teachers of Los Angles (UTLA) and SEIU 99 school workers voiced a united strong message of “no cutbacks and no layoffs” that will hurt students.

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By Reuben Navarrete

Crowd gathers holding the Mexican flag and signs with slogans like "Legalization for all".

Los Angeles, CA – On May 1, over 100 people gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to commemorate May Day, the International Workers Day. Across the world workers celebrate this day to highlight the contributions of the working class, regardless of their immigration status. It originated in Chicago, where in 1886, striking workers were attacked by police while fighting for the eight-hour workday, the right to unionize and safer working conditions. Eight of the organizers were convicted and four of them publicly executed by hanging.

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By Luis Sifuentes

Pro-Palestine protest at USC. | Fight Back! News/Luis Sifuentes

Los Angeles, CA – On April 24, thousands of student activists and community members occupied Alumni Park in the middle of the University of Southern California (USC) to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Student activists demanded that the university divest from corporations that sell weapons and technology to Israel, a complete academic boycott of Israel, and an end to its silence on the genocide of Palestine.

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By Gabriel Quiroz

LA protest against attacks on Iran and Palestine.  | Fight Back! News/Gabriel Quiroz

Los Angeles, CA – In response to the U.S. threatening war with Iran and other Arab countries that launched retaliatory air attacks against Israel, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Los Angeles on April 15. Organized by local Palestinian groups including U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the protest’s goal was to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine and Iran as well as demand the end of genocide in Gaza by shutting down LA’s Financial District.

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By staff

Los Angeles protest demands justice for Christian Escobedo. | Fight Back! News/staff

Los Angeles, CA – On April 11, the family of Christian Escobedo continued their fight for justice as they pursue accountability for his tragic murder on January 14, 2018 by LAPD Officer Edward Artiaga from the Hollenbeck Division.

Six years after Escobedo’s murder, there are court hearings for his family’s civil lawsuit against Officer Artiaga, a display of the unwavering determination of his loved ones.

In 2018, Escobedo, a 22-year-old Chicano, was walking home at 6:30 a.m. with a friend when they stopped to rest on the sidewalk for a moment. LAPD arrived and shot him four times without provocation. With the support of Centro CSO, a community organization that fights against police crimes in East LA and Boyle Heights, Escobedo's family began organizing to demand accountability.

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By staff

A young person wearing a black hoodie holds up a sign that says "Fuck the banditos" and a drawing of a skeleton wearing a sombrero and holding a gun.

East Los Angeles, CA – On March 23, 50 people gathered at the East LA Sheriff Station to demand justice for David Ordaz Jr. and commemorate his three-year angelversary. On March 14, 2021, Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies killed Ordaz outside his family home after his family called 911 to request support for him while he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

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