Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Sam Tunningley

Grand Rapids, Michigan event in solidarity with immigrants and trans people.

Grand Rapids, MI – At Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 15, around 80 people gathered to hear speakers stressing solidarity with the immigrant and queer communities. The event’s purpose was to spread awareness and further mobilization, while also stressing the connections between the two struggles.

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By staff

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, February 8, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression NAARPR-Dallas hosted its Black and Brown Unity: History of DFW Struggle for Liberation Town Hall at the Pan-African Connection in Dallas.

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By staff

Tampa FL – On Tuesday, February 4, over 40 people came out to listen to a panel hosted by Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR) and led by the families who survived police crimes.

The event was part of a weeklong series of events that honor the life of Andrew Joseph III – a 14-year-old boy who was killed in traffic after he was kidnapped by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies in February 2014 – and the struggle for justice and accountability being fought in his name.

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By Al Lamperouge

MN Anti-War Committee panel "Black Against Empire."

St. Paul, MN – On February 8, in honor of Black History Month, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) presented an educational panel titled “Black Against Empire: Perspectives On Liberation In Haiti, Congo, Sudan, and the U.S.A.”

The panel was held at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Experts, activists and community leaders spoke about the timelines, struggles and victories of African people throughout history against imperialist oppression.

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By staff

Protest against NYPD division that targets low income people.

New York, NY – On Friday, February 7, protesters gathered at City Hall facing 1 Police Plaza to protest the new NYPD Quality of Life Division. The creation of this division comes on the heels of cop-Mayor Eric Adams installing officers on every overnight train.

The Quality of Life Division targets poor and working-class New Yorkers. Officers in the division will go after panhandlers, public urination, those sleeping on the train, street vending, and other forms of “broken window” policing. The primary issue with this division is that it doesn’t address the underlying issues that cause people to resort to these actions.

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By Joe Iosbaker

Gabriela Hernández Chico, a leader of Casa DuPage Workers Center, speaking at the close of the two-mile march through Little Village.

Chicago, IL – The streets of Little Village in Chicago were filled with the sounds of drums and voices, February 8, as a crowd of 1500 people of all ages moved through this historic Mexicano/Chicano neighborhood.

Marchers representing a coalition of 30 organizations came together in response to the call by the Legalization for All Network for national days of action to stop the attacks on immigrants.

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By staff

Milwaukee march against deportations.

Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, February 9, the Immigrant Rights work team of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) led a crowd of close to 500 participants in a march through Milwaukee’s South Side, which is home to a significant immigrant population.

This march was part of the Legalization for All’s national week of action, and there was overwhelming support from participants and community members who saw or drove by the march.

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By Victoria Hinckley

Tampa Bay protest against deportations.

Tampa, FL – Over 100 Chicanos and immigrants gathered at the corner of 56th and Fowler on Monday, February 3, in protest of Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities. This rally was organized by a community member.

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By Faayani Aboma

Chicago marcha contra Trump.

Chicago, IL – El frío extremo no pudo parar a la Coalición para Detener la Agenda de Trump, que movilizó a 2500 personas hacia la Plaza Federal en el centro de Chicago para protestar contra la inauguración de Donald Trump.

Bajo el frío sol del mediodía, los manifestantes se reunieron en la Plaza, marcharon hacia la Torre Trump, y luego se manifestaron una segunda vez ahí – todo para marcar la nueva fase de lucha en la que el movimiento por la justicia social enfrentará graves peligros ante la agenda de Donald Trump y sus aliados republicanos.

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By staff

On Thursday, February 6, at 5 p.m. Pacific time (6 p.m. Mountain, 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Eastern), Freedom Road Socialist Organization will be hosting an online meeting “Building the Movement to Fight Trump’s Agenda.”

Featured speakers include Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), Marisol Márquez of Legalization for All, and Sydney Loving, a member of the Central Committee of FRSO. Fight Back! asked each of these leading organizers why they thought this upcoming meeting was important in building the fight against Trump. Here’s what they had to say.

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By staff

Marching against raids and deportations in Dallas, Texas.

Dallas, TX – 3000 people Marched through the city of Dallas, February 2, in response to Trump's recent attacks on immigrant rights, including the raids by ICE that have increased deportations around the country, especially in Texas.

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By Jo Pico

Detroit protest against deportations.

Detroit, MI – On Friday, January 31, a crowd of over 80 people braved pouring rain and rallied outside of the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Headquarters on Michigan Avenue with signs reading “No human is illegal” and “My parents are not criminals.”

The rally started with the chants “Fuck Trump” and “Power to the people! No one is illegal!” This was followed by a speech from Detroit Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression member Marcel Ulacia, who said, “Today we take a stand in front of the racist police institution known as ICE, who have their eyes set on attacking the Chicano, Latino and Hispanic members of our community.”

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By staff

Picket for police accountability in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora, CO – On January 18, despite the cold and snowy weather, the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) and community members gathered outside the Aurora Police Department headquarters to demand transparency and justice.

In the past few years, the Aurora Police Department (APD) has killed at least three unarmed Black men – Jordell Richardson, Kilyn Lewis, and Kory Dillard – and has brutalized dozens of other community members, such as Te’Erica Mosle, who was recording police harassing an unarmed Black man, only to be assaulted herself by the police.

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By staff

Frank Chapman is pictured wearing a black hat and wearing a plaid buttondown.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Frank Chapman, Executive Director, of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

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By Eithne Silva

Tampa, FL – On January 20, over 50 people gathered in front of City Hall in downtown Tampa to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump. Protestors held signs reading “Abortion is a human right,” “No deportations” and “Protect trans students,” showing the range of groups affected by Trump’s unpopular policies.

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By staff

New York, NY – At 4 p.m. on January 20, New Yorkers braved the cold and the snow to gather on the steps of the Brooklyn War Memorial to protest Trump’s presidency and to resist the Trump agenda.

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By Kayla Kuo

Speakers at Milwaukee press conference blast more to place new ICE detention center in community.

Milwaukee, WI – On January 15, Milwaukee Alderwoman Laressa Taylor held a press conference to condemn the proposal for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in the city’s 9th District.

More than 200 local people, many from Milwaukee’s Black and brown communities, gathered in front of the proposed detention facility site, demonstrating their willingness to fight back against the facility and demanding that their voices are heard.

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By staff

Frank Chapman of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Frank Chapman, National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression executive director, on the present political landscape, and the need for the people’s organizations to rally towards an all-out mobilization on January 20. NAARPR branches and affiliates across the country should join up with the call to fight back against Trump’s agenda and show out for Inauguration Day!

Statement on Trump’s victory and need to protest January 20

In all of the post-election analysis and armchair commentaries, there emerges a fundamental truth, and that truth is that both parties are controlled and managed by the rich. Meaning that the people are left with the best election money can buy.

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By Kristen Bonner

A political rally on a sidewalk with many people.

Jacksonville, FL – On Friday evening, December 6, the air was electric as the inaugural Southern Regional Organizing Conference (SROC) of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) kicked off with a rally outside Café Resistance. Over 200 attendees gathered to connect, reflect and prepare for the intensive days ahead.

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By staff

Oakland, CA – Oakland has long been a cornerstone of the country’s revolutionary people’s movements, from the founding of the Black Panther Party to the enduring fight for justice against systemic racism and police violence. On the evening of November 19, at the 510 Firehouse Projects, this legacy was revisited as Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Oakland, in collaboration with East Side Cultural Center’s Community Archival Resource Project (CARP), hosted a film screening centered around some of these historical moments.

Roughly 25 community members came together to watch two films that spotlight the city’s pivotal role in the fight for liberation: Agnès Varda’s Black Panthers 1968 and Shola Lynch’s Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners. The films offered not only a window into the past but a mirror reflecting the struggles and solidarity still needed in Oakland today.

Agnès Varda’s Black Panthers 1968 is an on-the-ground documentary capturing the resiliency of the Black Panther Party as they rallied to free Huey Newton, co-founder of the movement. Filmed in Oakland at the height of the Panthers’ activism, the film is a testament to their ability to unite working-class people and oppressed communities against police violence and systemic injustice. Varda’s work doesn’t just document history; it brings to life the defiant hope of the movement and its roots in the city’s streets.

The second film, Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, is an account of Angela Davis’s trial and the international movement to secure her release. Davis, a scholar, communist and activist, was charged with crimes related to a 1970 courthouse shootout. Lynch’s documentary recounts the global solidarity campaign that demanded her freedom, framing it as both a personal and collective story of resistance. It’s a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished when movements cross borders and people stand united against oppression.

FRSO Oakland members led the program, situating these stories in Oakland’s broader revolutionary history. They reminded attendees of the Black Panther Party’s core mission – building unity between oppressed nationalities and working-class people to fight systemic inequality. They also illuminated the government’s counterattacks, particularly through COINTELPRO, the FBI’s covert program that sought to dismantle revolutionary movements.

The discussion didn’t stop with history. Participants connected the lessons of the films to ongoing struggles in Oakland, particularly the work of the newly formed Oakland Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (OAARPR). This group, a local chapter of the national NAARPR which emerged from the fight to free Angela Davis, works alongside families of police violence victims and pushes for community control of the police.

In this context, the group also critiqued the failures of Oakland’s Community Police Review Agency, highlighting its ineffectiveness as a key example of the city's ongoing systemic issues with police corruption and violence. This discussion tied the historical and contemporary struggles together, underscoring the urgent need for real change.

Adding a tangible connection to the past, CARP displayed a collection of artifacts that captured the spirit of the Black Panthers and the Free Angela Davis campaigns. Old political pins reading “Free Angela Davis and all political prisoners” and “Black Panther Party: All power to the people” sat alongside the Panthers’ iconic “Ten-Point Program”, photo books, and pamphlets from the 1980s. These materials bridged generations, underscoring the enduring relevance of these struggles.

The films and discussions drove home a powerful message: the fight for justice is as urgent today as ever. In a city shaped by revolutionary victories and ongoing battles, the event called on everyone to organize, educate and resist with renewed purpose.

Oakland's legacy as a beacon for liberation movements lives on – not just in history books but in the work unfolding right now. From the Black Panther Party’s bold defiance to today’s campaigns for police accountability, the message resonated loud and clear, the struggle continues, and our commitment must match its urgency.

#OaklandCA #CA #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackPanthers #NAARPR #FRSO #CARP