Minneapolis, MN – Over 200 protesters marched here, July 31, demanding justice for Sandra Bland. Bland’s death has come to the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement because of her suspicious jail cell death while in police custody.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 40 people protested outside the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar on July 24, demanding the closing of ‘family detention centers’ housing thousands of immigrant mothers and children near the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. The largest family detention center in Dilley, Texas houses around 2000 immigrant mothers and children, the vast majority of whom fled rampant violence and economic deterioration in the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. After a harrowing and dangerous journey across several borders, these mothers and children are suffering yet another nightmare of being jailed indefinitely by the U.S. government under terrible conditions. The Dilley prison is a private prison operated for profit by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
Eloy, AZ – 200 detenidos iniciaron este sábado una huelga de hambre en el centro de detención Eloy, centro de detención administrado con fines de lucro por Corrections Corporation of America (CCA por sus siglas en ingles). Los detenidos organizaron la huelga de hambre como respuesta a la reciente muerte de dos detenidos, debido al excesivo uso de fuerzas por parte de los guardias. Inmediatamente después, CCA y ICE tomaron represalias contra los huelguistas, manteniéndolos bajo el sol por seis horas sin agua y sujetos a temperaturas superiores a los 100 grados. Las personas que se encontraban protestando afuera de las instalaciones tuvieron que llamar a los servicios de emergencias para prevenir deshidratación e insolación. Sin embargo, estos llegaron 4 horas después de que se iniciara la huelga y CCA les prohibió acceso a los huelguistas. CCA y ICE también son culpables de amenazar a todo aquel que participe en la huelga con 3 meses de detención solitaria.
Phoenix, AZ – 200 immigrant detainees began a hunger strike on June 13, at the for-profit Eloy Detention Center run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The hunger strike is in response to two recent deaths of detainees at the hands of guards who are believed to have used excessive force.
Minneapolis, MN – After months of organizing and community pressure, the Minneapolis city council voted 12-1 to repeal laws against lurking and spitting, June 5. These laws, disproportionately enforced against African Americans and other oppressed nationalities, had been criticized as “Minneapolis Black Codes.”
Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 people attended a candlelight vigil at Planters Walk Apartments, May 13, in response to the police killing the day before of D'angelo Reyes Stallworth, a 28-year-old African American worker. Stallworth's family called the vigil, which brought out friends, coworkers and supporters from around Jacksonville.
Jacksonville, FL – On April 4, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager shot and killed Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old African American man. Slager, a white cop, pulled over Scott for driving with a broken taillight. Within hours, the North Charleston police began releasing statements supportive of Slager's claim that Scott had reached for his tazer, causing the cop to fire his weapon in fear for his life.
Minneapolis, MN – Organizers of the Feb. 9 through 15 national week of actions to defend Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh say that activists in cities across the U.S. are committing to take action and momentum around the case is growing. Odeh was convicted of trumped-up immigration charges last year, and is facing up to 10 years of prison and deportation at her sentencing in Detroit, March 12.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee.In open court, torture expert says Rasmea Odeh suffers from PTSD, and defense slams Israeli military courts