Falcon Heights, MN – On Sunday, September 1, Cuban solidarity activists bannered at the Minnesota State Fair demanding the United States government remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and to end the 62-year blockade against the country.
Fairgoers heading toward the main gate of the “Great Minnesota Get Together” could see the Cuban flag propped up and waving in the wind. Closer to the main gate, they were greeted by three banners demanding: “U.S.A. people say, Cuba sí, bloqueo no!, No U.S. blockade of Cuba, U.S. out of Guantanamo,” and two banners in English and Spanish, “Take Cuba off the U.S. Terrorist List/Llevar a Cuba de la lista de terroristas.”
Chicago, IL – On Thursday, August 29, New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) started the week strong with a demonstration on campus, with about 90 students, demanding U.S. hands off Lebanon, an end of U.S. aid to Israel and to stand strong with Palestine.
Speakers from other progressive student organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UIC, and Anakbayan at UIC, also spoke. The rally strengthened the students’ message of funding for education – such as cultural centers and student resources – not for genocide, war and occupation in Palestine.
Minneapolis, MN – On August 30, 150 University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty and community members rallied and marched from Morrill Hall to McNamara Plaza in response to the Board of Regents vote that happened earlier this week.
The Board voted on a resolution that would impose political and institutional neutrality on the university’s endowment fund. This vote was pushed by new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. It effectively makes any sort of divestment from Israel, or weapon manufacturers and other entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations, impossible. It takes away any accountability that administration has to its students, to its staff, or to its faculty.
Salt Lake City, UT – Over a dozen students and youth gathered on August 30 to launch a campaign against the University of Utah’s affiliation with the University of Haifa, an Israeli university with deep ties to the Israeli military and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Utah Students for a Democratic Society hosted the event, which was itself a victory in the aftermath of arrests, intimidation and repression of the student and Palestinian movement in Utah during the last academic year.
Lakewood, CO – Around 10 a.m., August 26, Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA) rallied outside Representative Brittany Pettersen’s Lakewood District office on Wadsworth. Around 35 protesters showed up from various Colorado Palestine Coalition organizations in a continuation of DAWA's fight against Israel’s genocide, Lockheed Martin and war profiteering politicians.
Pettersen, the U.S. representative from Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, is beyond complicit in the Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. Indeed, she actively profits from and endorses it.
Portland, OR – On Monday, August 26, the organization Portland for Palestine (P4P) held a protest at the Leupold and Stevens manufacturing facility in Beaverton, Oregon. About a dozen protesters showed up to expose Leupold’s involvement in supplying the Israeli occupation with rifle scopes and other telescopic technology.
The protesters were met with hostility. Beaverton police department vehicles were spotted making the rounds. Leupold stationed armed private security guards at both driveways leading to their main facility.
Brooklyn, NY – The NYU Students for a Democratic Society held a pro-Palestine rally on August 26, during welcome week for the incoming freshman class at New York University Tandon School of Engineering (NYU Tandon).
The goal of the rally was to make sure the incoming freshman class was aware of the ties that NYU Tandon had to the ongoing genocide in Gaza through the school’s partnerships, sponsorships, research funding, and investments with military companies and companies aiding apartheid Israel.
Denver, CO – On Thursday, August 22, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Colorado Denver kicked off the semester with a pro-Palestine rally and march on the Auraria campus. The 40-person rally was addressed by members of SDS and a speaker from Denver Anti-War Action.
Washington, DC – On Thursday, August 22, over 300 people gathered at James Monroe Park in downtown DC to support the student intifada. Last semester, students and community members from across the DMV set up an encampment at The George Washington University (GWU), called “Shohada’ Square.” Those involved have been facing charges from the courts, repression from the university, and brutalization by the police.
August 22 marked the first day of classes for the 2024 fall semester at GWU, and student organizers planned a protest to remind administration that they will not back down.
Chicago, IL – More than 11,000 people marched for Palestine on the final evening of the Democratic National Convention, August 22. While Kamala Harris was giving her presidential nominee acceptance speech inside, the protesters outside chanted against the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza. Delegates inside the convention report hearing demonstrators on the streets inside the convention hall.
