Chicago, IL — Tyrone Williams, a leader in the fight for community control of the police in Chicago, was arrested yesterday by the judge in the murder trial of Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke committed the heinous murder of Laquan McDonald in 2014. Judge Gaughan has repeatedly ordered arrests of community members in the court room for minor infractions, while allowing the defense attorney endless delays to the start of the trial. In this photo, Williams speaks at a Black History Month program about the campaign for an elected civilian police accountability council (CPAC). He is a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, as well as Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Minneapolis, MN — About 100 people rallied here, March 8, to mark International Women’s Day. Loretta Van Pelt, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, told the crowd, “We in Freedom Road know the enemy is bigger than Trump. And we call out that enemy. It is the capitalist class. We see the oppression and patriarchy that they try to shove down our throats. Their system that says women should work for peanuts, or work for free, and silently accept the abuses that ruin our lives. But we will not be silent! Today, on International Women’s Day, we shout our rage.”
Minneapolis, MN — Plans are underway to mark International Women’s Day with an outdoor rally, March 8, 5 p.m., at Mayday Plaza, 301 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis. Organized by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the event has been endorsed by Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Welfare Rights Committee, Native Lives Matter, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Minnesota, and Women's March MN.
Los Angeles, CA — An event commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the East L.A. Chicano walkouts was held at the Benjamin Franklin Library on March 3, 2018. Organized by adult librarian Patty Alvarado and Centro CSO, dozens attended the historic commemoration. Among those in attendance were Sal Castro’s son Gilbert Castro. Sal Castro was a Chicano public-school teacher who helped organized the walkouts.
Oshkosh, WI – On Mar. 5, more than 50 students participated in a march around the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) campus which culminated in the public announcement of a list of demands developed by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), followed immediately by the delivery of a letter containing the list to campus administration.
March 8 celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD). This important international holiday originates in the struggles of working women in the U.S. Now is a pivotal time in the history of the fight for women’s liberation. At this moment women are finding their voices, their strength, and solidarity in numbers.
MacClenny, FL — On March 1, the family of DJ Broadus II, an African American man brutally murdered in north Florida, called for and rallied at a second town hall meeting here, at Emmanuel Church of God in Christ. About 80 people showed up to a town hall meeting which was led by Dominic Broadus Sr., the father of the slain Dominic “DJ” Broadus II. Participants included Michael Sampson II and Joshua Parks. Sampson and Parks are members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, a local Black-led organization that has been helping lead the effort to get #Justice4DJ, along with other organizations such as the Dream Defenders, Color of Change, and the Black community in MacClenny. MacClenny is on the western outskirts of Jacksonville.
Charleston, WV — Teachers and their supporters rally inside the State Capitol in Charleston. Members of the education and staff unions plan on continuing the strike that has shut down schools across the state. At issue is a wage increase and health care coverage.
Chicago, IL — First of all, this movie took me back to my childhood love of fantastic tales of adventure and romance. So, for me, it was great entertainment made possible by cinematic art at its finest. It was a movie sprung from the pages of a comic book, moving pictures full of enchanting moments of musical chants, poetry flowing through panoramic scenes of spectacular beauty enhanced by the liquid murmurs of water falls. Most importantly, Black Panthe r is a movie endowed with the presence of Black African folk reflecting their social reality as dreams by way of rituals embellished by the contest of battles, dance and song.
Charleston, WV — Teachers and their supporters rally at the State Capitol, in Charleston, Feb. 26. As of March 1, schools remain closed across West Virginia, as members of education and staff unions continue their battle for improved wages and health care coverage.
Masao Suzuki is a leading member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) who follows the economy. Fight Back! interviewed him on March 1, after another drop in U.S. stock market.
To mark the anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, on Feb. 21, 1848, Fight Back! is reprinting the book’s first chapter. This anniversary comes in the context of a growing rejection of capitalism and a renewed interest in the science of revolution, Marxism-Leninism. Enjoy.Chapter I. Bourgeois and Proletarians
As it becomes clear that the Trump administration will not recognize the democratic process in Venezuela, and seeks to overthrow the Maduro government by violent means, the many revolutionary organizations of the Bolivarian Revolution are discussing what must happen to defend their national sovereignty. The Gayones Movement, a Marxist-Leninist labor group, put out this statement in February to elaborate their position on the current crisis, and why they will be supporting Nicolás Maduro in the April presidential elections. This statement was published in Voz Proletaria and was translated by Fight Back! staff.
St Paul, MN – Members of the Twin Cites-based Welfare Rights Committee made themselves visible at the Feb. 20 opening day of Minnesota state legislature. This session, members of the WRC initiated and are pressing for the passage of two bills.
New York, NY – On Feb. 11, a group of over 100 people gathered in front of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for a vigil in support of hunger strikers, who were among those hit by a mass eviction carried out by landlord Joseph Betesh.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Feb. 19 statement from Ka Teresa, Spokesperson, Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan – Southern Mindanao.
New York, NY – About 40 activists gathered outside the Israeli Consulate on the afternoon of Feb. 18, as a part of the national day of action in solidarity with the Palestinian girl, Ahed Tamimi.
Los Angeles, CA – Over 50 angry people protested in front of the Los Angeles Police Department Boyle Heights Hollenbeck police station, Feb. 17. Cardboard signs with slogans like, “Justice for Christian Escobedo,” “Stop police brutality,” “Stop killing our youth,” and “De-escalation not violence” were waved at the people driving by and at the LAPD.
The Melito Glor Command-New People’s Army Southern Tagalog (MGC-NPA ST) strongly condemns President Duterte’s vulgar, unethical and immoral statement where he urged that female guerrillas “must be shot in their private parts once captured.”
