Interview with Frank Chapman

Frank Chapman, a long-time leader in the Black liberation movement, talks about the November 22- 24 Chicago conference to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The interview was prepared for the print edition of Fight Back! which is now on hold due to the pandemic.

Mass pressure and a mayor’s own greed stall a planned power grab

Chicago, IL – In true Chicago fashion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had expected to easily ramrod through a police reform bill this week that would have affirmed her grip on power. If passed, the “Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability” ordinance would have left the entire police accountability system in her control, rendering it at the discretion of the executive branch whether to hold itself accountable for abuses of power committed by its police department, rather than giving communities terrorized by police tyranny the power to defend their rights.

Chicago, IL – A standing room only crowd filled the Holy Covenant United Methodist Church on September 29 to commemorate Reverend Bruce Johnson and Eugenia Johnson. The reverend and his wife Eugenia were remembered for supporting the Young Lords and their role in the struggle against poverty, war and oppression. They were savagely murdered in their own home 50 years ago, stabbed to death, during a U.S. government campaign of repression known as COINTELPRO or the Counterintelligence Program.

New York, NY – Over 300 people gathered at Columbus Circle in New York City on September 21 to rally and march for Puerto Rican independence. The action was just one of many organized by various groups around different issues over the weekend, in response to the United Nations General Assembly.

Chicago, IL – About 400 people rallied marched in neighborhood of Humboldt Park, July 21, calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello. Jazmine Salas emceed the demonstration, which was called by the Chicago Boricua Resistance. Chanting “Ricky renuncia!” (Ricky resign), the crowd added their voices to the hundreds of thousands who are protesting on the island.

Young Lords founder remembers

There are many 50-year anniversaries being celebrated these days, including the founding of the Young Lords on September 23, 1968, and the Rainbow Coalition in April 1969.

New York, NY – On June 16, organizers in New York City held a discussion entitled “Las Carpetas: The FBI’s War on Puerto Rican Liberty.” The event was co-hosted by New York Boricua Resistance (NYBR) and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), and featured additional comments by Jocelyn Rodriguez of Jornada: Se Acabaron Las Promesas.

New York, NY – 200 people marched in a contingent demanding Puerto Rican independence from the United States, June 9 at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The parade is one of the largest demonstrations of Puerto Rican national pride in the United States. It spans 35 New York City blocks. The day celebrates the art, history, and culture of the 3.5 million Puerto Ricans resident on the island, and the 5 million Puerto Ricans living in the mainland U.S.

New York, NY – A group of around 15 New Yorkers gathered, May 17, in front of the Ted Weiss Federal Building, home of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rally was called by the group New York Boricua Resistance (NYBR), in response to the poisoning of Puerto Ricans by Bayer-Monsanto and AES corporations, which are guilty of dumping toxic waste and spraying hazardous chemicals.