New York, NY – On August 15, over 100 people gathered in the heart of Times Square, near the Army Recruiting Office, to mark Korean Liberation Day. The protest was organized by Nodutdol and Bayan USA.

Korean Liberation Day is a celebration of the Korean resistance rising up and overthrowing Japanese imperialism on August 15, 1945. Since that day, it has become a yearly celebration to remember the militancy of the Korean people against imperialism and occupation.

For this protest, Nodutdol and Bayan demanded “U.S. out of Korea” and an end to the Pacific war. The United States has long engaged in violent meddling and intervention in South Korea to oppose North Korea. Additionally, weapon trade and war games in the region have escalated deaths of civilians.

A speaker from Nodutdol said, “My grandmother lived through the Korean War as a young girl. The U.S. claims to have saved Korea, but my grandmother and the millions of civilians killed would say otherwise. We cannot hear the voices of the dead, but we must hear the voices of the living!”

Next, the action marched to the Philippines Consulate, where a speaker from Anakbayan told of the complicity of the Philippines government in the oppression of its people both in the U.S. and at home. They went on to share how Filipino and Korean people are both affected in similar ways by U.S. imperialism, the military presence in their homelands, and “war games” conducted by the U.S., Philippines and South Korea, to imitate acts of war against China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Protesters marched to a corporate office for Hanwha, a South Korean weapons profiteer that also makes deals with the government of the Philippines. A speaker from the Philadelphia Alliance Against Imperialism explained how Hanwha has recently expanded its operations in the nearby city, directly profiting from U.S. imperialism’s warmongering and forcing its workers to endure dangerous and even deadly conditions.

Throughout the rally and march, protesters chanted, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere!” and “From Korea to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Korea #USOutofKorea #Nodutdol #BayanUSA #AntiWarMovement #KoreanLiberationDay #Featured

Brooklyn, NY – On August 3, at 5:30 p.m., anti-war activists gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, demanding freedom for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. This rally was part of a picket that takes place on the third day of every month, marking the anniversary of January 3 , when the United States bombed Venezuela and abducted the two political leaders.

The organizations in attendance, including Black Alliance for Peace NYC/NJ,Brooklyn Against War, Code Pink, and Workers World Party, have been on the front lines of the struggle to free Maduro and Flores for seven months.

Chants of “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!” and “¡Cilia aguanta, el pueblo se levanta!” rang through the isolated area surrounding the prison.

Briony Smith, a member of Brooklyn Against War and the Anti War Action Network Steering Committee, stated, “Seven months since Maduro and Cilia were illegally kidnapped from Venezuela — say shame! Seven months that they’ve been imprisoned in the United States, right here in the MDC, awaiting a bogus trial of fabricated charges. Shame!”

Smith continued, “And one more time, you all have been out here every single month. You’ve been here through the freezing cold, through brutal heatwaves, in apocalyptic smoke. We have been outside the court in January, in March, and July despite the racist, reactionary gusanos who pretend to speak for the Venezuelan people.”

The rally ended with a short march around the federal prison buildings. Protesters are determined to continue the picket, which will take place again on September 3, and are prepared to mobilize for future court dates.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #Maduro #CiliaFlores #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela

New York City , NY – Early on the morning of Wednesday, July 22, dozens of anti-war activists and community members gathered facing the courthouse in downtown Manhattan for the federal hearing of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

This was the third hearing after the abduction of Maduro and Flores from their home in Caracas on January 3. The Trump administration carried out a bombing campaign that killed around 80 people in their pursuit of the president and first lady. They were brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where they are awaiting a sham trial.

The protest outside was organized by several organizations, many who have been on the frontlines of the struggle to free Maduro and Flores since January 3. The forces were Brooklyn Against War, Black Alliance for Peace, Workers World Party, Bronx Anti War, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The rally began with chants such as, “We want justice, you say how? Free Maduro, free him now!” and “Donald Trump, you’re a liar! No more wars for empire!”

“President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were kidnapped by Trump and the U.S. government after an illegal military invasion. They have committed no crime. We are here in NYC to oppose their kidnapping, detention and trial! They should be set free!” said Tom Burke, a longtime anti-war activist and organizational secretary for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The chants and rallies continued, despite the small opposition forces trying to feebly out-chant the protest.

As the protest in New York was happening, there were concurrent protests all over Venezuela in support of their president and first lady.

The last speech was made by Briony Smith, a member of Brooklyn Against War and a steering committee member of the Anti-war Action Network, “It is not the will of the American people to invade foreign nations and capture their leaders, because it is not the American people who grow rich off their exploitation. Every day, more and more people in this country are realizing that we have more in common with the people of the Philippines, Palestine or Venezuela than we do with Congress, the White House, or Wall Street.”

Smith continued, “American imperialism is crumbling, while our movement is growing. President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have done nothing wrong, and they will walk free! The sanctions on Venezuela will be lifted! The people will be victorious!”

The rally finished with a march and protesters are ready to gather for future hearings. The next seems to be set for November 17. The trial is officially set for June 2027, and activists are ready to hit the ground running to build the campaign to free Maduro and Flores.

#NewYorkCityNY #NY #NYC #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #Maduro #CiliaFlores #Featured

Brooklyn, NY — On the evening of Friday, July 17, community members gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center for a speak-out style protest under the banner “No more ICE murders!”

The action, held in full view of the Gowanus Expressway, was organized by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was joined by organizers and speakers from Brooklyn Against War, NYC ICE Watch, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Protesters unfurled a massive banner reading “ICE out of everywhere” as rush-hour traffic roared past on the elevated expressway and Brooklyn’s 3rd Avenue. That tactic drew plenty of positive attention, as drivers on the expressway responded with a chorus of honks, signaling solidarity with the demonstrators. Meanwhile, organizers handed out flyers to pedestrians walking past on the sidewalk, some of whom joined the action to chant and listen to the lineup of speakers.

Speakers addressed the crowd and passing commuters alike, demanding justice for the victims of recent ICE violence, legalization for all undocumented immigrants, and a complete withdrawal of ICE and all federal agents from New York City. Conditions around the MDC, a federal facility holding at least 200 immigrants, many of whom have not been charged with a crime, were condemned as a manifestation of racist national repression.

“The Metropolitan detention center is notorious for being dark and overcrowded, for mold and fungus, and poor quality food, for non-functioning toilets and unsanitary conditions,” NYAARPR organizer Jamie Kowalski said in a speech. “We demand free all ICE detainees from the MDC!”

The evening's program also featured calls to action linking local resistance to the broader national movement against ICE violence.

“We are the New York Alliance, and we are out here to say we reject the idea that communities are made safer by armed immigration raids,” said organizer Ruby Doswell. “We reject the criminalization of immigrants who come to this country to work, support their families, and build a future. We demand accountability for the deaths of Lorenzo [Salgado Araujo], Joan [Sebastián Durán Guerrero], and Juan [Jairo Coronilla Duran].”

In their speech, Briony Smith, an organizer with Brooklyn Against War, observed that repressive immigration enforcement is not “arbitrary” or “isolated,” but the domestic arm of U.S. imperialism.

ICE repression “is part of a larger agenda that looks to expel, in particular, Latin American people but not exclusively, at the same time that the Trump administration attempts to extend its tentacles throughout Central and South America to suck dry the resources of sovereign countries, in order to enrich American billionaires,” Smith told the crowd.

The protest comes amid escalating outrage over ICE’s deadly operations and the ongoing invasions of immigrant communities. Organizers made it clear that the struggle is far from over, vowing to continue building pressure until ICE is removed from every corner of the city.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #ImmigrantRights #NYAARPR

Last week on July 1, Nadia Topete, an immigrant rights activist and organizer with Centro CSO, was issued a grand jury subpoena by police in Los Angeles. By now, it’s clear the purpose of this grand jury is to investigate and harass organizers who mobilized to resist ICE oppression in Los Angeles last summer.

The New York Alliance is proud to stand in solidarity with Nadia and all other immigrant rights organizers facing this vile repression throughout the country, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms. Repression against activists takes many forms, and the grand jury is one of the key legal tools weaponized against organized movements.

Grand juries are secret proceedings often used against activists in order to criminalize dissent and weaken our movements. 

Nadia was first subpoenaed to testify in June, and now they’ve come for her again. It’s clear this grand jury is being called to pressure Nadia into talking about last summer’s anti-ICE protests — which led to bogus conspiracy charges against fellow organizer Alejandro Orellana that were later dropped. 

We demand that US Attorney Bilal Essayli and assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat drop the grand jury investigation now! 

Hands off Nadia! 

End repression of all immigration activists!

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYAARPR #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression

NYC, NY – On June 28, beginning in Union Square, Manhattan, thousands participated in the annual Queer Liberation March.

The event is an alternative to the Pride march and gives the radical and militant activists in the LGBTQ community the opportunity to organize away from the corporate sponsors of Pride.

The annual march always hosts a large array of progressive, leftist and revolutionary organizations who uphold the militant legacy of 1969 Stonewall Riots, where the LGBTQ community of NYC’s Village fought back fiercely against violent police raids.

One organization present at the march was Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), which led a contingent of 700 people at its height.

Chants included “Out of the closet and into the streets, no justice, no peace!” “We will not be quiet, Stonewall was a fucking riot!” “Say it loud and say it clear, ICE and feds ain’t welcome here!” Flags showing solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon were also present.

The march went from Union Square to the ICE headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza, showing solidarity with immigrants detained by ICE.

A participant in the march and member of FRSO, Shivani Ishwar, said, “The cause of queer liberation is much bigger than a corporate Pride parade. We understand that all rights that queer and trans people have were earned in blood. The system is trying to claw back those rights, with crackdowns on queer and trans communities nationwide, along with the terror being unleashed on immigrants by ICE and the feds. We recognize that we must continue to stand together in militant solidarity, to protect those rights and to win our demand for liberation. Until all of us are free, no one is, and that goes for every community under attack by the Trump administration and U.S. imperialism.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #LGBTQ #Pride #Stonewall #ImmigrantRights

Brooklyn, NY – Organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression gathered in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn on Friday, June 19, to speak out against police crimes that disproportionately affect Black and brown communities of New York City.

Held on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the day when the enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom after the U.S. Civil War, the speakout was a part of a National Day of Action called by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Speakers from the New York Alliance focused on the struggles of families to demand justice for their loved ones lost to police brutality across the country. In Brooklyn, the Alliance works closely with the family of Eudes Pierre, a young Black man who was murdered by the NYPD while in the midst of a mental health crisis in 2021. Over four years later, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has ruled in favor of the officers, and State Attorney General Letitia James has declined to pursue any charges against them.

“If executing a young Black man during a mental health crisis is ‘within guidelines,’ then the entire institution is fundamentally, structurally criminal,” said Jamie Kowalski, a member of the New York Alliance. “We stand in unwavering solidarity with the family of Eudes Pierre, alongside the families of every person whose life was stolen by police violence.”

The day of action also focused on the erosions of voting rights that the Trump administration and Supreme Court have been steadily pushing, including the recent Louisiana v. Callais, which rolls back protections of Black people’s right to vote enshrined by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, protections that were hard won by the Civil Rights and Black Liberation movements of the 1960s.

Shivani Ishwar, the Chair of NYAARPR, said, “Across the country, the National Alliance is working to defend Black communities from going back to the Jim Crow era. We will not allow this racist system to silence Black voices, to ignore Black communities, or to take Black lives.” As an organization that fights for community control of the police, Ishwar went on, the New York Alliance recognizes that the right to vote is fundamental to Black people’s ability to control how their communities are run.

The New York Alliance also invited community members to join an upcoming protest on Thursday, June 25, to commemorate Eudes Pierre’s 31st birthday and continue demanding justice for his family. The protest will be held at the 71st Precinct, which responded to Eudes’ call back in 2021, and where one of the officers who killed him still works. The New York Alliance are demanding that both of the officers who killed Eudes be fired and prosecuted for murder.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #NAARPR #InjusticeSystem #Juneteenth #EudesPierre

New York, NY – On June 4, New Yorkers protested outside of the annual New York City Police Foundation Gala at the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan, where billionaires representing some of the top financial, tech and political dynasties in New York City gathered to donate millions of dollars to the New York Police Department.

The crowd of 75 protesters, led by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR), shamed each gala attendee as they arrived, chanting “Blood on your hands!”

The New York City Police Foundation is a 501©(3) non-profit which funnels millions of dollars each year into the already bloated NYPD budget. The money goes to programs which surveil communities, pilot new technologies, and extend the reach of the NYPD.

For example, one of the foundation’s principal programs is the International Liaison program, which establishes NYPD offices in cities across the world, including in Tel Aviv. Additionally, donors who attend the gala tend to get massive contracts with the NYPD These include companies like surveillance giant Palantir, and Motorola, the company supplying cops with their radios. Both have made huge contributions at the gala which have turned into major contracts with the NYPD.

The protesters assembled outside of the gala to demand a public police force that does not function like a private piggy bank for billionaires, but that is accountable to the people of New York City. At the protest, NYAARPR demanded: No funding for killer cops; community control, not billionaire control; and justice for Eudes Pierre and all victims of police violence.

Speakers at the rally included representatives of NYU Students for a Democratic Society, Brooklyn Against War, Adolfina, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Coalition for Justice for Eudes Pierre.

Sheina Banatte, cousin of Eudes Pierre, who was killed by the NYPD in December 2021, said, “The money being wasted to fund racism and corruption here at this gala can best be spent in the community places and spaces that can truly benefit people, families, community and quality of life.” She continued, “We will keep fighting for community control of the police, justice for Eudes Pierre, and justice for all stolen lives.”

After the program concluded, protesters tore open several pig head effigies, scattering red paint splattered money in the street to symbolize the blood money raised at the gala. The protest then marched through the streets of Manhattan chanting, “NYPD kills on patrol! How do we stop them? Community control!”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #InjusticeSystem #NYPD #PeoplesStruggles

Brooklyn, NY – on the evening of June 3, around two dozen New Yorkers gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to stand in solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela and against the ongoing aggression from the United States.

The Trump administration has charged Raul Castro, the former president of Cuba, with murder in connection to the downing of civilian planes in 1996. These charges are bogus. They are an escalation of the U.S. attacks on Latin America that began last year when the Trump administration set its eyes on Venezuela.

The day also marked the fifth month since President Maduro and First Lady Flores were kidnapped from their home. The Trump administration launched a bombing operation on Venezuela on January 3 where close to 100 people were killed, including 32 Cuban bodyguards.

The action had a high energy and there were many organizations in attendance, such as Black Alliance for Peace, Bronx Antiwar, Palavar Collective, and Brooklyn Against War.

Joe Lombard from the United National Antiwar Coalition gave a speech discussing the importance of solidarity and standing up to U.S. imperialism.

Katrina Kozarek from Brooklyn Against War stated, “We will continue to resist systems of oppression here in the U.S. and to do so, we must also reject and stand up against U.S. oppression and complicity against the peoples of the Caribbean, South America, Palestine, Iran and everywhere. We demand an end to all U.S. sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela now! Free President Maduro and Cilia Flores – we demand they be returned safe and sound to their homeland!”

The organizers will return to the courthouse for President Maduro and First Lady Flores’ hearing on June 30.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Cuba #Venezuela #AntiWarMovement #PeoplesStruggles

New York, NY – On Wednesday, May 6, the Movement of Rank and File Educators gathered for general assembly in Midtown Manhattan. More than 40 classroom teachers from across the city met to discuss the presence of NYPD in schools and the police’s role in oppressing the student body of New York and intimidating teachers and staff in schools. The group was joined by the Dignity in Schools organization, which is against scanners and police in schools.

The meeting began with a teach-in on the history of policing in schools in NYC, which first began in the 1970s after the United Federation of Teachers made a mistake by striking against Black and Puerto Rican parents who wanted to exercise control over their children’s schools, known as the Oceanhill – Brownesville strike. The UFT, led by Albert Shanker, made an historic mistake by pitting the rights of white teachers to a job against the rights of Black and brown parents to decide who taught their children, instead of uniting the struggles together against a common enemy.

The assembly moved on to discuss the way language in the UFT contract about students “disruptive behavior” has been used by teachers to have students removed from their classes. This practice disproportionately affects Black and brown students today.

They also talked about how the NYPD imposes expensive scanners for students onto certain schools, and obscures data about where these scanners are located in the city. It can be assumed that most scanners are placed in majority Black and brown schools. Some students in the NYC public school system are required to go through metal detectors and scanners operated by cops and are treated as possible suspects when they get to school.

The frequent delays at scanning make students late to school and makes it more difficult for teachers in the classroom to teach their lessons. The group discussed how the money that goes into expensive scanners could easily be used to give teachers better working conditions, and students better learning conditions, or funneled into job positions in the school that are staffed by unions.

The teachers then broke out into groups to talk about the situations in their schools, and, with the help of a campaign toolkit, some came up with plans to get rid of racist scanning and NYPD presence in their schools through rank-and-file mobilization and engagement of the broader school community.

#NewYorkNY #NYC #NY #MORE #UFT #Labor #PoliceAccountability #Teachers

New York, NY – Filipino community organizations and their allies rallied outside of the Philippine Consulate in New York City, April 20, to call for an end to U.S. military involvement in the Philippines.

The protest marks the beginning of the month-long Balikatan joint military exercises between the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand. The organizers included the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Malaya Movement, and BAYAN. Speakers also included members of Anakbayan as well as Filipino residents whose families are still living in the country.

An unconscionable waste of needed fuel

In the midst of crisis-level fuel prices, criminalization of labor organizing and protest, and exorbitant military spending, these war preparations come at a steep price for the average Filipino family, and should be terminated immediately.

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has spiked fuel prices across the globe and has had a devastating effect in the Philippines. The average price for one liter of fuel currently exceeds the daily minimum wage in the country, and many Filipinos are unable to pay. Filipino workers and parents are having to skip meals and make other serious sacrifices in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the Marcos-Duterte regime has stockpiled enough fuel for an entire month of military drills—fuel that is desperately needed by the Filipino people.

No support for immigrant workers

Community organizers denounced Marcos’ bid to join the United Nations Security Council, as well as the UN’s decision to use the Philippines’ migrant worker policies as a model for the rest of the world. Those policies have caused severe harm to the Filipino people and should not be emulated.

Speakers denounced the ways that the Marcos-Duterte regime has turned its back on immigrant workers, including by refusing to support Filipino immigrants kidnapped by ICE and detained for months without a trial. The Philippines supplies more than 20% of the world’s seafarers, including commercial shipping workers as well as cruise workers. Right now, many of those same Filipino workers are stranded on oil tankers in or near the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Trump’s illegal war. Those workers are not being paid but are unable to return home, while their government continues to support the United States and Israel’s war.

The expansion of U.S. military presence and the campaign to kick Cerberus out of the Philippines

NYCHRP members also announced a new campaign targeting Cerberus Capital Management (CCM), a Manhattan-based private equity firm that has unjustly acquired 300 hectares of land on a former U.S. military base in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. The U.S. Navy was expelled from Subic Bay in 1991 after massive community uprisings against human rights abuses and environmental destruction by the U.S. military. Now, CCM is leasing that same land to U.S. weapons and defense contractors, and plans were recently announced to build the world’s largest munitions factory on that same land in Subic Bay, which will be the first U.S. ammunition plan in Asia.

The presence of CCM in Subic Bay has additional devastating effects on the local working-class communities: peasant communities are subject to bombings and displacement, fisherfolk are not permitted to fish during military drills, including the Balikatan exercises, and women and children living near U.S. bases are frequent victims of sex trafficking and assault.

NYCHRP and BAYAN members who visited Subic Bay in November 2025 reported: “Fisherfolk whose livelihoods depend on fishing near Subic Bay now face more and more problems with more coastal guards, maritime guards and militarization of the sea. The areas they are able to fish are now heavily restricted. There have been incidents of fishermen venturing out to get better catches and the Chinese Coast Guard is shooting water cannons at them. They can’t even pass close by to Cerberus’s complex because private security will point guns at them.”

This issue is especially pertinent for New Yorkers because the New York City Employees Retirement System and the New York State Teachers Retirement System have invested funds in Cerberus. To join NYCHRP’s campaign against Cerberus, email nychrp@protonmail.com.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Philippines #Bayan #International #NYCHRP #AntiWarMovement

New York, NY – Organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression held a speakout outside New York City Hall on Friday, April 18, to protest the dramatic rise in police violence against Black men across the city since the beginning of April.

New York Alliance Chair Shivani Ishwar noted that, in April alone, the NYPD has shot three Black men – Lucien Colon, Carlos Santiago and Anthony Griffin – and maimed another, Timothy Brown, in a racist attack in downtown Brooklyn.

The speakout began on the corner of Center and Chamber Streets, where members of the New York Alliance handed out flyers, gave fiery speeches, and connected New Yorkers to their campaign for community control of the police.

Organizers staged their protest near a busy subway station, where they were able to take advantage of rush-hour traffic to educate the community about police violence and the struggle for community control.

“We are here today because we demand justice for Lucien Colon, Carlos Santiago and Anthony Griffin,” NYAARPR organizer Quinn Hughes. “We are here to say that we refuse these conditions. Our demands are clear. We call on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire and arrest these officers, justice for all victims of police violence, and community control now.”

In her speech, NYAARPR organizer Ruby Doswell said there are “no excuses for the police to kill a man.”

“Police should not feel comfortable enough to kill a person in any circumstance,” Doswell said. “It’s no coincidence that Black and brown men are consistently met with violence and force instead of de-escalation, care, or support.”

Organizers likewise observed this isn't a new phenomenon. They noted that the case of Eudes Pierre, another Black man shot and killed by the police in December of 2021, follows the exact same pattern of racist violence. As organizers wrapped up the action, they affirmed their commitment to continue the struggle for community control of the police, a fight which takes on renewed urgency under the recent wave of NYPD violence.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYAARPR #NAARPR #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #KillerCop #EudesPierre

New York, NY – On March 12, around 20 NYU students and faculty picketed at the front of the Kimmel Center, where the university senate was set to take place. The Students for a Democratic Society at NYU organized the picket to demand a sanctuary campus.

The picket comes after the organization’s petition delivery on February 20, where students rallied and delivered a petition with over 600 signatures demanding the administration implement a sanctuary campus. The administration has yet to provide any response to SDS’ demands.

Protesters chanted “NYU, hear our call! Sanctuary for all!” and “Say it once, say it twice! We will not put up with ICE!” as they picketed. Protesters also held signs reading, “Sanctuary campus now!” and “ICE murders, ICE lies! We can see it with our eyes!” As people passed by, they joined along with the chants, clapped in approval, and took photos of the picket. NYPD and NYU campus security officers stood by watching as well.

Andres Luke from the NYU Young Democratic Socialists stated, “NYU has a clear political allegiance. That being said, student safety is not political! No matter what Linda Mills and her administration may claim. We are not asking them to violate the law to protect our students, we are asking them to protect our students from violations of the law.”

Sonya Posmentier from the NYU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine told the crowd, “I’ve seen our students and colleagues put their bodies on the line to stop federal agents from taking our neighbors on Canal Street and at Federal Plaza. And I’ve seen our students provide accompaniment and detention support. I’ve seen you set up rapid response networks, community defense, and alert systems when the university failed to do so.”

A member from the NYU SDS read a statement from Latinos Unidos Con Honor y Amistad (LUCHA), “The targeting of immigrant communities is our reality in 2026; it is a direct assault on human dignity. When families are separated, when students disappear from their classrooms and dorms, when communities live in fear, we cannot turn a blind eye and deny these human rights violations. LUCHA calls on NYU to align its actions with its stated values of inclusion, equity, and global citizenship.”

Patrick Reddy from NYU SDS stated, “NYU has done irreparable damage to its relationship with its students by bending to the will of a federal administration whose values directly contradict the diverse community this university proudly advertises in its promotional materials. Why? To avoid legal battles? To protect funding? At what point do you decide that protecting students matters more? The student body has had enough of being ignored. You may choose to back down and cower, but we will not. We will stand up for each other.
We will protect our peers.
And we will keep fighting until our university does the same.”

Protesters continued to picket after speakers – with their chants being heard from inside the meeting room of the university senate. Afterwards, protesters dispersed with a promise to continue taking action until their demands are met.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYU #StudentMovement #SDS #ImmigrantRights

Brooklyn, NY — On the rainy and blustery evening, March 3, around 50 people gathered in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The protesters hailed from various antiwar organizations, such as Brooklyn Against War, Workers World Party, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Venezuela Solidarity Network, Black Alliance for Peace, and Bronx Antiwar.

March 3 marks the second month since President Maduro and First Lady Flores were kidnapped by the U.S. government. They are currently awaiting trial based on sham charges at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

The action was part of a day of action called by the UNAC, and the Antiwar Action Network.

Despite the frigid temperatures and rain, the protesters were passionate in their chants and speeches. Chants included “We want justice, you say how? Free Maduro right now! Free Cilia right now!”

Michela Martinazzi, a member of Brooklyn Against War, opened the action by saying, “We’re here because the U.S. government feels like they have a right to kidnap a democratically-elected president of a sovereign nation. This is wrong! This entire case is wrong!”

Sara Flounders of the Workers World Party spoke of the importance of showing solidarity with the people of Venezuela, stating, “We are joining thousands of people around the world. We are joining thousands of Venezuelans who want their president back.”

The rally continued with powerful speeches and with a message from Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, who called into the rally to deliver a message of solidarity.

The action ended with Martinazzi reminding the crowd to continue showing support for President Maduro, Cilia Flores, and Venezuela on March 8 for International Women’s Day, and March 26 for their next court appearance.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Maduro #Venezuela #AntiWarMovement

New York, NY – On April 14, over 40 students, alumni, faculty and community members rallied at Washington Square Park to hold NYU accountable for a white supremacist event that had been set to take place a few days before.

The NYU College Republicans were set to host an April 10 panel on campus called “Immigrant Invasion.” The panel scheduled three speakers: Elijah Schaffer, Sarah Stock and Lucian Wintrich. Students quickly found out about the event, and many of them took note of its xenophobic nature and the white supremacist backgrounds of all of the speakers. One of the speakers, Elijah Schaffer, used a Studio Ghibli-styled AI-art generation to create a poster for the event which depicted racist caricatures of Black men.

On April 9, the NYU Students Democratic Society (SDS) mobilized several student organizations to release a petition and a statement demanding the event be shut down. Within just a few hours, the petition garnered over 4500 signatures, and the statement was endorsed by over 40 student organizations. Elijah Schaffer, after finding out about the petition and the massive student backlash towards the event, tweeted an ask for armed security to bring onto NYU campus. This call prompted the university to shut the event down, releasing a statement regarding the cancellation of the event.

However, many students quickly pointed out how NYU did not condemn the event on grounds of its racist and xenophobic nature or acknowledge that the NYU College Republicans organized the event. In addition, many students highlighted how this was only yet another event that put student groups at risk, noting an Islamophobic attack on the university prayer room, student visas being revoked, a racist cyberattack on the NYU website, punishment of pro-Palestine student protesters and free speech, and much more just this semester.

NYU SDS called for a rally to hold NYU accountable, receiving endorsements from over a dozen student organizations. At the rally, students chanted “NYU we know you, you invite racists too!” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” As students chanted, members from the NYU College Republicans tried to record people’s faces and attempted to disrupt the action but were blocked from doing so by the rally’s marshals.

Amilcar Javier, from Omicron, which is the NYU chapter of La Unidad Latina fraternity, spoke on how the NYU College Republicans attempted to organize another xenophobic event in 2007 called “Find the Illegal Immigrant.” However, he highlighted how, even then, students mobilized together in their hundreds to disrupt the event from taking place. He emphasized the continued need to fight back against racism and injustices of all kinds.

After speakers, protesters marched around the area passing by several NYU buildings. They chanted “NYU! Shame on you!” and “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” As they marched, hundreds of students and community members took notice, with many recording, joining chants or expressing support through cheers. At the end of the march, protesters gathered at the front of the NYU Kimmel Center, which was the location where the white supremacist event was set to take place.

“White supremacy is rooted deep within American society. It continues to rear its ugly head all throughout this country, from our current president to these speakers and even at NYU,” said Ebtesham Ahmed, speaking for NYU SDS.

“As NYU continues to endanger our student aid community, it will be up to us to stand up and fight back! To come together as a community to protect our brothers, sisters and siblings – because NYU has clearly shown that they will actively work to endanger us,” Ahmed continued. “It is more important than ever to organize and fight back because by daring to struggle, you dare to win. And we have shown that we can win. And we will keep winning!”

The rally ended with chants of “Dare to struggle, dare to win!” and a call by NYU SDS to join them in future organizing meetings. NYU SDS has promised to continue its overall campaign demanding NYU end its compliance with Trump’s dicates.

#NewYorkNY #NY #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #SDS #NYC #WhiteSupremacists

New York, NY – On February 27, the New York University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally and picket outside the NYU Kimmel center to demand that the university senate refuse to comply with Donald Trump’s executive orders, and to commit to protecting its students from any attacks that may come in the future. 

Approximately 50 students marched outside the front entrance to the Kimmel center, where the U senate was meeting, and chanted “No compliance! With Trump’s violence!” and “When students are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

“NYU might promise to ‘comply with the law,’ but we will not comply with anyone, NYU-affiliated or otherwise, who seeks to threaten our rights, safety, or solidarity,” said an NYU student and speaker at the event. 

In the four weeks since Trump’s inauguration, he has enacted executive orders threatening the funding of institutions that welcome and protect trans, Black, brown, and immigrant students. Already, NYU has demonstrated a dangerous willingness to comply with these policies, preemptively canceling lifesaving gender affirming care at its institutional hospital and committing to “follow the law” when asked about allowing ICE on campus. 

The university administration has also attacked its students' rights to speech and protest, having suspended 13 activists and placed over 20 students on probation at the end of the winter term. This willingness to bend the knee to dangerous and discriminatory federal actions presents an ongoing threat to the safety of NYU’s student community.

NYU SDS commits to continued action to protect and serve our community. To quote the ending speech of the rally, “If the NYU administration refuses to defend its students against the Trump regime, we will defend ourselves.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #ICE #SanctuaryCampus #NYU #SDS #NYUSDS #Trump

New York, NY – On February 25, over 20 NYU students, faculty and workers picketed the board of trustees meeting demanding they disclose and divest from all companies supplying Israel in its genocidal occupation of Palestine.

In addition to disclosure and divestment, the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition demanded the closure of the NYU Tel Aviv campus, built upon stolen Palestinian land, and the reversal of all suspensions and probation charges of Palestine student activists. The coalition’s demands aim to cut the university’s ties to the state of Israel.

As board of trustee members were escorted into their meeting by campus security officers, they were confronted by picketersdemanding that they disclose and divest. As the meeting went on, picketers chanted “Trustees pick a side, justice or genocide” and “We want justice you say how! Answer our demands now!”

The picket was called for by the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition, which consists of the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Shut It Down NYU, NYU Graduate Student Workers Union – UAW, and several other organizations.

The participating organizations vow to continue their fight against NYU, no matter what repressive tactics are thrown their way. They will continue struggling until they win all their demands.

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #NYU NYUPSC #SDS #NYUSDS #NYUSJP #SJP #BDS #UAW #NYUGSWU #FreePalestine #Disclose #Divest

New York, NY – On January 24, over 50 NYU students gathered at a rally called by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (NYU SDS) to protest against Trump’s backwards agenda for his second term as president. The rally took place at Garibaldi Plaza at Washington Square Park, a popular rallying spot for NYU student organizations. 

Students chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!”, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay Donald Trump go away” and “Trump hear us loud and clear, immigrants are welcome here!” Hundreds of people walked by the rally, stopping for brief moments to take photos and videos or to catch parts of it. 

Speakers from the NYU SDS, NYU Queer Union, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine (NYU SJP), NYU Black Student Union and the NYU Young Democratic Socialists of America (NYU YDSA) brought attention to the various attacks that Trump had already launched or plans on launching on the American people, including the NYU student body. 

In response to these attacks, speakers called on the people to unite, build community and fight back. 

“We must continue to support efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion. To combat white supremacy, to fight against a world that only recognizes heterosexual attraction, to oppose a world where the gender binary is the only reality, we must be louder and more forceful,” said the speaker from the NYU Queer Union. 

The speaker for NYU YDSA, said “Let me tell you we cannot fall into this world of despair, misery and belief that all we can do is stand by as conditions get worse hoping that will wake people up on their own. The work starts now. To educate, agitate and organize for the better world that each and every one of us deserves.”

After the speakers, protesters marched by the NYU campus. As they marched, campus security officers ran to set up barriers by NYU Gould Plaza. Gould Plaza used to be a public space that anyone was able to enter. However, after the first encampment at NYU, the administration had walls and a checkpoint constructed, restricting access to the plaza to only NYU students. As protesters marched, they chanted “The students united will never be defeated” with hundreds of NYU students looking on and making way for the crowd. 

The march ended at Schwartz Plaza, the site of the NYU second encampment from last year. Schwartz Plaza is next to the John A. Paulson Center, named after a billionaire hedge funder who donated millions to the Trump campaign. Campus security rushed to put up barriers in front of the plaza to prevent protesters from entering it. 

Ebtesham Ahmed, the emcee and a member of NYU SDS, ended the rally by saying, “We will be here to resist. We will be here to fight back. No matter how much they try to repress our movement, they will fail. Because we are daring to struggle and daring to win! And from the bottom of my heart, I believe that we will win.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NYC #NYU #NYUSDS #SDS #NYUQueerUnion #NYUSJP #SJP #BSU #NYUBSU #NYUYDSA #YDSA #Trump #Inauguration

New York, NY – Several hundred people gathered in midtown Manhattan at The People’s Forum to launch Nodutdol’s U.S. Out of Korea campaign. Hundreds more gathered at events in Oakland and Los Angeles for similar launch events.

The event began with Nodutdol organizers presenting the background of the organization. Nodutdol (노듯돌, meaning stepping-stone) has roots in the 1990s when members of the Korean movement would travel to Korea to learn from the people in the South and North of the peninsula about their organizing against U.S. domination. They became fully established in 1999 in Queens, New York and in the early 2000s pivoted their focus to anti-war efforts in the Middle East. They continued their delegation trips to Korea and deepened their anti-imperialist resolve.

The organizers also gave a brief but in-depth review of the history of the Korean war. They began from when the Japan imperial flag was lowered in 1945 to how the U.S. military swept in immediately to quell any rising socialist sentiments. The Korean people were forced to trade from one brutal, imperialist force to another. The U.S. helped lead a murderous campaign against the Korean people to eliminate any opposition. At the time, it was estimated that 70% of the people of Korea were interested in socialism and the U.S. effectively eliminated close to 3 million of them.

With the U.S. still present in the peninsula, this makes it the longest running war in U.S. history.

In the last few years, the U.S. military activity has sharply increased in recent years. In 2023, U.S. forces conducted 200 days of military exercises. In mid-August, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold nuclear war exercises in Korea in joint military drills. These drills will occur during the Democratic National Convention in the U.S.

The escalation on behalf of the U.S. and the ROK has increased tensions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This led to the DPRK’s announcement earlier this year that they can’t see a future where peaceful reunification is possible with the ROK. As long as the ROK is not just under U.S. influence, but actively seeks to ally themselves with them, there can’t be a peaceful process.

Additionally, under President Biden's administration, the U.S., ROK and Japan have joined in an alliance called JAROKUS and are on the way to build the new “Asian NATO.”

Ju-Hyun Park, the Nodutdol lead organizer for the U.S. Out of Korea campaign, stated “We are just weeks away from the U.S. conduction nuclear war exercises in Korea. These drills do not keep Koreans safe—in fact, they are pushing the Korean Peninsula towards open warfare. For more than 70 years the U.S. government has pursued a failed strategy of aggression against North Korea. Now, the U.S. is escalating its aggression to try to turn Korea into a battlefield for the New Cold War.”

Once the attendees understood the history of the region, Nodutdol organizers presented the campaign demands to an enthusiastic crowd. The demands, reprinted here are:

• US OUT OF KOREA: the full and permanent withdrawal of US troops and weapons systems from Korea. We demand all Korean land, water, and airspace appropriated for the US military be returned to the Korean people.
• END THE U.S.-SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE: an end to ALL US-South Korea alliances, including the JAKUS trilateral security cooperation. We demand an end to ALL US-South Korea joint command structures—the Combined Forces Command, and the UN Command. 
• END ALL AGGRESSION AGAINST NORTH KOREA: We demand an end to ALL US military exercises in Korea. We demand ALL sanctions against North Korea be lifted.
• END THE WAR ECONOMY: We demand the US government divert spending from war, prisons, and policing. We demand housing, education, healthcare, and climate justice for working people.

The crowd clapped as each demand was listed.

Park continued, “As Koreans in the diaspora, we refuse to stand by as the U.S. foments war in our homeland. We believe standing up to U.S. imperialism in Korea is not just in our interests as Korean people, but in the interests of the majority of people in the U.S. as well. It’s time to work together to stop U.S. warmongering in Korea and around the world.”

Over 30 organizations have endorsed the campaign, including: Black Alliance for Peace, Codepink, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Bayan USA.

The next event will be a rally on August 18 to protest the U.S. and ROK war games.

 #NewYorkNY #NYC #DPRK #USOutOfKorea #BlackAllianceforPeace #BAP #Codepink #FRSO #BayanUSA #ROK #RepublicOfKorea #Korea #Nudutdol #JAROKUS #Japan #ThePeoplesForum

New York, NY -This past week reports poured in as New York City opened and built several new medical support structures to aid the overwhelmed city hospital network. Over the weekend, pictures of the converted Javits Center, a huge convention center in Midtown, were circling around, boasting 1200 new hospital beds.

On Tuesday, March 30, tents began going up in Central Park. The makeshift tent hospital will have 68 beds, each with their own respiratory equipment. It will treat overflow patients from Mount Sinai Hospital as the spread of COVID-19 continues to overwhelm NYC hospitals. As Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the new makeshift hospital, he glossed over the finer details of the organization which funded and erected the new facility – Samaritan’s Purse.

Samaritan’s Purse is led by Franklin Graham, an anti-LGBTQ and Islamophobic preacher, who has used humanitarian and charitable missions to preach an evangelical agenda.

Samaritan’s Purse is already hard at work with its bigoted agenda as Graham’s son, Billy Graham, is seeking to recruit only Christian medical staff to the facility in Central Park. Graham and his son are asking all volunteers and staff to adhere to their statement of faith, where they define marriage as “exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female” and the unrighteous are sentenced to “everlasting punishment in hell.”

Under normal circumstances, involvement from a right-wing fundamentalist organization in the medical field is troubling. During a pandemic, it’s dangerous and could cost the lives of hundreds. Under normal circumstances, folks have a choice to disregard certain medical facilities. During a pandemic, where hospitals are overwhelmed and access to a ventilator is a matter of life or death, many will have to turn to makeshift facilities.

A NYC city hall spokesperson stated that any field hospital must operate as an extension of the permanent facility, and therefore their code of conduct. The Samaritan’s Purse facility should be operating under Mount Sinai and therefore must adhere to the hospital's policy against discrimination.

Later that day, Mayor DeBlasio finally spoke about it. “We're going to send people over from the mayor's office to monitor,” de Blasio said. “I am very concerned that this is done right. But if it is done right, we need all the help we can get.”

Other doctors have spoken about their concerns of Samaritan’s Purse setting up in Central Park. They’ve mentioned that Samaritan’s Purse’s response to other crises, such as Ebola, was disastrous and only caused confusion and chaos.

Graham went on Sean Hannity’s FOX news show on Tuesday night to attempt to calm fears and salvage their image. “We're going to give the best health care we can to all New Yorkers, it doesn't matter who they are or what they are,” he said. “We're going to give them the best medical care that we possibly can in Jesus' name.”

New Yorkers shouldn’t have to worry about whether their doctors and specialists are discriminating against them, especially during this pandemic. This global virus continues to push the contradictions of imperialism and more and more working-class people are forced into a smaller and smaller corner.

#NewYorkNY #CapitalismAndEconomy #PoorPeoplesMovements #LGBTQ #SpecialCoverage #Healthcare #NYC #Coronavirus #COVID19 #CentralPark #SamaritansPurse