Milwaukee, WI – One year ago on Sept. 26, 2014, 43 students from Ayotzinapa Normal School in Tixtla, Guerrero were kidnapped. One year later, in an effort to demand justice for the those disappeared, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Marquette University chapters of Youth Empowered in the Struggle (Y.E.S) jointly hosted a vigil and march in protest.

Tampa, FL – On Sept. 26, Raices en Tampa hosted a vigil and rally on the anniversary on the kidnapping and disappearance of 43 Mexican students. Approximately 20 activists gathered holding signs that read, “Activism is not a crime!” and “They thought they could bury us, but they didn’t realize that we were seeds.”

Demand cutoff of U.S. military aid to Mexico

Minneapolis, MN – Forty students and community members gathered in front of Coffman Student Union at the University of Minnesota, Sept. 25, to mark one year since 43 Mexican student activists from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College in Guerrero, México were forcibly disappeared at the hands of the Mexican government. A year later the students still have not been located.

Los Angeles, CA – Celebrating and parading through the streets of East Los Angeles (ELA), Sept. 13, community members gathered along the route to watch the annual Mexican Independence Day parade. Participants included many local Mexican clubs, leaders and business owners, both Chicano and Mexican, traveling on adorned cars and floats, playing mariachi music and waving at viewers. This year the teachers’ union, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), and Centro CSO marched in unity.

Minneapolis, MN – Con mantas diciendo “Minnesota es Ayotzinapa” y “Vivos se los llevaron, vivos los queremos”, varios líderes y miembros del Comité por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (MIRAC) marcharon en el desfile del Día de Independencia de México el 13 de septiembre en la calle Lake en Minneapolis. El 26 de septiembre 2014, 43 estudiantes de Ayotzinapa fueron desaparecidos por el estado mexicano. Esto provocó un movimiento poderoso en México y a través del mundo exigiendo un alto a la represión, la violencia estatal, la corrupción y la impunidad en México. También en Estados Unidos muchos cuestionan porque el gobierno estadounidense sigue apoyando el gobierno y ejército mexicano con $2.5 mil millones de dolares con la Iniciativa Merida. Después de casi un año las familias de los estudiantes siguen luchando por la verdad de lo que paso con sus hijos, y no han logrado respuestas o justicia.

Minneapolis, MN – With banners reading, “Minnesota is Ayotzinapa,” and “They took them alive, we want them alive,” members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) marched in the Mexican Independence Day parade on Lake Street in Minneapolis on Sept. 13. Last year on Sept. 26, 2014, 43 students from Ayotzinapa, México were ‘disappeared’ by the Mexican state. Nearly a year after the 43 students disappeared, their families continue struggling for the truth of what happened to their children, and they haven’t gotten a response or justice.

Milwaukee, WI – The case of the forced disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students in Iguala, Mexico continues to draw immense support from communities across the nation, including Milwaukee, where over 150 students and community members participated in the Caravana 43 event on the UW-Milwaukee’s campus April 2.

Milwaukee, WI – On Dec. 18, nearly 100 people gathered at a local art studio on the South Side of Milwaukee for a fundraiser dedicated to the ongoing struggle of the Mexican masses against their corrupt government. With $5 admission at the door, all money raised was donated directly to the Comité de Padres de los Desaparecidos, an organization established by the parents of the 43 students from Iguala, Guerrero whose kidnapping and disappearance sparked the powerful mass movement that is gaining strength across México.

National day of action for Ayotzinapa

Saint Paul, MN – More than 100 people protested in front of the Mexican Consulate on Dec. 3, calling for an end to ‘Plan México’ and all U.S. aid that goes to the Mexican military and police, because of their rampant repression and human rights abuses against the people of Mexico.

Minneapolis, MN – Students led a march of more than 200 people here Nov. 20 to demand justice for the 43 disappeared student activists from the rural teacher’s college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero in México. Students came from several area colleges and high schools and many community members marched too.