Fight for full-time jobs, $15 minimum wage and child care for working mothers

Jacksonville, FL – After joining a successful statewide event for young workers at the Florida capitol, the Young Workers of Jacksonville (YWJ) are preparing for International Workers Day on May 1. The newly formed group will host a labor-themed cookout for young workers in the city to talk about the major issues affecting them as a class.

Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is gearing up to confront a neo-Nazi conference this weekend at the Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson County. SDSers are organizing a rally outside of the Montgomery Bell Park Inn and Convention Center at 4 p.m. on April 26. They plan to send a message that Nazi terror and white supremacy will not be tolerated in Dickson County. Speakers at the rally will include representatives from organizations such as the Dream Defenders and One People’s Project, as well as local community and religious leaders.

Miami, FL – More than 30 south Florida activists gathered April 13 at the Margaret Pace Park. Occupy Miami, part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, organized a reunion for Occupiers and invited other local organizers to take part in discussions. The Occupy movement inspired many to join the fight for justice and many Miami Occupiers continue to organize.

St. Paul, MN – On March 25 Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) members sat in at Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s office throughout the morning to demand welfare grant increases for poor families in Minnesota. The sit-in was timed to coincide with a Senate hearing on bills pushed by the Welfare Rights Committee.

Tucson, AZ – On the evening of March 14, despite rainy weather, nearly 40 Tucson activists gathered to protest Senator John McCain’s support for terrorism and fascism around the world, particularly in the Ukraine and Venezuela.

_Confrontation with right-wing Ukrainians _

Chicago, IL – In a rally to mark the International Day Against Fascism and Racism, 35 people stood against a right-wing crowd of more than 100 at the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago. Chanting, “Obama, McCain, no fascist Ukraine,” the small crowd braved the anger from the Ukrainian nationalists.

Demands 'Higher Ground' for Florida

Tallahassee, FL – More than 200 people from Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami met at the steps of The Old Capitol in Tallahassee for Florida’s first Moral Monday rally, March 3. The NAACP organized the rally and was joined by other coalition members. Protesters discussed a people’s agenda for the next 60 days of the Florida legislative session, which began on March 4.

Milwaukee, WI – Despite freezing cold temperatures, Milwaukee students and anti-war activists rallied in solidarity with the Venezuelan government on March 3. They stood waving flags and held up signs reading “U.S. hands off Venezuela,” and “Soy Chavista!” Standing on ice and snow, they chanted against U.S. intervention and in support of Venezuela’s President Maduro. They are joining progressive people around the world holding rallies in solidarity with the Venezuelan government.

Tucson, AZ – On the evening of Feb. 27, a group of activists gathered outside Tucson City Hall to protest U.S. interference in Venezuela and declare solidarity with the revolutionary Bolivarian government.

St. Paul, MN – On Feb. 25, Minnesota politicians returned to the State Capitol for the opening of the legislative session and the Welfare Rights Committee and their supporters were there. Over 50 low-income people joined together, despite below-zero temperatures, to send a message to legislators: “Raise the welfare grants. 28 years is too long!”

Raleigh, NC – An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people mobilized early in the morning of Feb.8 for the annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street in Raleigh, organized by the NAACP. This march was in conjunction with the start of the Moral Marches for 2014, intended to continue the momentum from last year's Moral Monday movement, in which thousands of protesters demonstrated at the doorstep of the state capitol. Over 900 people were arrested during acts of civil disobedience during the 2013 protests, refusing to give up their right to assembly.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 40 people came together here, Jan. 25 for an event to raise funds for Fight Back! newspaper. The house party netted close to $2000. Steff Yorek, who helped organize the fundraiser, stated, “The event exceeded our expectations. It’s clear that people want to help build a revolutionary newspaper that builds the people’s struggle.”

Demand 'Free Marissa now!' and 'Justice for Jordan Davis'

Jacksonville, FL – 40 progressive activists marched together in the city's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade on Jan. 20. These activists commemorated King's legacy by demanding freedom for Marissa Alexander, the 33-year-old African American mother whose conviction for resisting domestic abuse was recently overturned, and justice for Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old African American youth murdered in 2012 by a white vigilante in Jacksonville.

Los Angeles, CA – Carlos Montes, a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements, donated his archive collection to California State University, Los Angeles, Jan. 16.

Phoenix, AZ – Governor Jan Brewer delivered her business-as-usual State of the State address here on Jan. 13. Outside the capitol building, a crowd of nearly 100 students and community activists protested the “State of Hate” created by Arizona Republicans. Led by Citizens for a Better Arizona, a coalition of groups rallied, including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) of Tucson.

Doral, FL – Over 100 protesters rallied near U.S. Southern Command here, Jan. 11, to demand an end to the torture and abuse being carried out in Guantanamo Bay. Many of the protesters came from nearby cities like Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and some came from as far away as California and Michigan to demand that President Obama close down Guantanamo Bay for good.

Auburndale, FL – Over 150 community members gathered at the intersection of US Highway 92 and Old Dixie Highway on Jan. 5 to demand Polk County Florida commissioners take action for public safety for high school students.

As 2013 comes to an end, we pause to look back at some of the most important Fight Back! stories of the past year. 2013 has seen an upsurge in many struggles – and Fight Back! News has been there on the front lines with on-the-spot reporting and timely analysis.

Tucson, AZ – A significant grouping of communists recently joined the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). Centered in Tucson, the group ranges from a well-read high school student up to a comrade in his late seventies with lifelong experience in the Communist Party-USA. They include students, workers and educators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, united in struggle for immigrant rights, workers and unions and against U.S. wars and oppression. Rings of other activists and revolutionaries are now discussing this bold move by the Arizona communists.

East Orange, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) held a protest here, Dec. 18 against the recently concluded ‘budget deal’ that will end unemployment benefits to 1.3 million people at the end of this month and to many more in months after.