Philadelphia, PA– On May 18, hundreds of people gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall to rally and march in remembrance of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. Protesters marched west throughout the city, eventually arriving at Drexel University. With the support and protection of the people, student organizers established a new encampment on Drexel’s Korman quad.
Nakba Day commemorates the violent displacement of Palestinians that occurred during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel. The term “Nakba” means “catastrophe” in Arabic and reflects the mass exodus of 400,000 plus Palestinians from their homes and homeland, and the subsequent loss of 15,000 Palestinian lives.
Philadelphia, PA – During the North American SEIU convention on May 21, around 50 union members and staff led a walkout against Vice President Kamala Harris. The International hosted around 4000 people including delegates, guests and staff.
About ten minutes into Harris’ speech, about 50 delegates, guests and staff stood up and started chanting “Free Palestine!” Harris paused and stuttered for a moment, and some delegates broke out into “Four more years.” Protesters soon overshadowed them. They walked to the entrance and pulled out hidden cloth signs, reading “Workers of the world unite” and “Free Gaza.” They chanted “Harris, Harris you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and sang the union anthem Which side are you on? .
Philadelphia, PA – Over 70 people took to the streets of North Philadelphia on May 1, International Workers Day. Community members and political organizations rallied together at the Philadelphia Peace Park, an area that has been liberated by the community from the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s racist management. It is now the site of a community garden where Peace Park volunteers are building a structure to hold community and educational events.
2000 people gathered here, Jan. 26, to protest Trump and the Republican agenda. Protesters gathered at Thomas Paine Plaza to rally against Trump’s recent decisions and executive orders. These include continued construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. Other issues of the day are the freezing of aid to all overseas organizations providing access to and promotion of safe abortions, and the recent signing of an executive order to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
Philadelphia, PA – On July 25 thousands of people took part in several actions outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The first action was billed as the Equality Coalition’s March on the DNC.
Philadelphia, PA – CIA Director John Brennan came to the University of Pennsylvania, April 1, for a talk on “modern foreign policy issues, national security, and the future of the global fight against terrorism.” Firmly drawing the line against Brennan’s warmongering, a group of Philadelphia activists and organizers, led by the UPenn chapter of Students for Democratic Society (SDS), decided to disrupt his speech.
Philadelphia, Pa – On Oct. 15 faculty and students at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) stood in solidarity with professor Divya Nair, who teaches English. Protesters held signs reading “Reinstate Nair” and circulated a petition with well over 1000 signatures.
_Stopping execution is a victory, struggle continues to free Mumia _
Philadelphia, PA – After 30 years, political prisoner and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal is no longer on death row. On Dec. 7, 2011, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced that he would not seek a new sentencing hearing to try to re-sentence Abu-Jamal to the death penalty. He has now been moved to SCI Mahanoy after spending the last 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row.
