Mercedes Martinez was interviewed on Oct. 22 in San Juan, just over a month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Martinez is president of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR). The FMPR is a leading force in the struggle to defend public education and workers’ rights in Puerto Rico against attacks and attempted privatization. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, they initiated volunteer work brigades to address people's immediate dire needs, while also speaking out and mobilizing against the government's developing plan to use the hurricane as a pretext to close and privatize schools, like what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when public schools were replaced by charter schools. Interview and translation to English by Brad Sigal. Fight Back: We're here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Let's start with who you are and what is the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation? Mercedes Martínez: I'm Mercedes Martínez Padilla, president of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation. The Federation is a union of Puerto Rican teachers, education workers, social workers, advisors, librarians. Educators who struggle to defend public and liberatory education in our country, in defense of the rights of Puerto Rican teachers above all, and for accessible and quality public education for our students.

Interview with Noelanie Fuentes, vice-president of the FMPR local in Rio Grande

This is an interview done on Oct. 22 with Noelanie Fuentes, vice president of the Rio Grande Local of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation and a social studies teacher at Liberata Iraldo Middle School. Her school is one of many across Puerto Rico that is still being used as a shelter for people whose homes were destroyed in the hurricane. Here she discusses the work teachers have been doing to support families living in their school, and her perspective on reopening schools while many in Puerto Rico are still living in shelters, including shelters at schools, or have no electricity or water. Interview and translation from Spanish by Brad Sigal. Fight Back!: Let's start with who you are and what you do here.

Jacksonville, FL – On Oct. 21, the family of Keegan Roberts as well as members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee gathered at the site of where Keegan was killed by racist Michael Centanni IV, to demand justice.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Despite strong criticisms from the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation, Puerto Rico's Education Secretary Julia Keleher is moving forward with plans to start to reopen public schools Oct. 24. More than a month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, public schools have not yet repented since many are still damaged. Much of Puerto Rico is still without electricity and water. According to the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR), some schools being forced to open are not adequately prepared, while others that could be opened are not slated to open under Keleher’s plan.

Utuado, Puerto Rico — On Oct. 21, a large volunteer work brigade of over 50 people went to Utuado, 65 miles west of San Juan near the middle of the island. They did basic post-hurricane relief work that still hasn't been done by the U.S. government or any other official body a month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico.

San Juan, Puerto Rico — On Oct. 20, one month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the secretary of AFSCME Local 3800, Brad Sigal, was in San Juan to bring a donation of money and medicines to the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR, the union's initials in Spanish).

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns Trump’s criminal response towards a struggling Puerto Rico, which was ravaged over two weeks ago by Hurricane Maria. The electric grid is out. Drinkable water is in short supply. People are dying due to the administration’s depraved indifference.

Minneapolis, MN – Puerto Ricans in Minnesota whose families are suffering on the island after Hurricane Maria organized rally on Oct. 4 to demand immediate and sufficient aid to relieve and rebuild Puerto Rico. The 50 person rally was part of a day of action in several cities across the country to highlight the plight of 3.4 million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico who have no electricity or drinking water, face shortages in fuel and food, and who are dealing with severely destroyed telecommunications.

Chicago, IL – Every year on August 30, the Black Panther Party Cubs and Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr. (the son of martyred Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, Sr.) throw the Chairman Fred Streetz Party, a commemoration of his father's 1948 birthday. Chairman Fred, Sr. was assassinated on Dec. 4, 1969 in a 4 a.m. Gestapo-style raid carried out by the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State's Attorney’s Office and the FBI.

Palos Hills, IL – On Sept. 11, hundreds of community members protested outside the Palos Township Board of Trustees meeting for the third month in a row to demand the resignation of racist trustee Sharon Brannigan. The protest was organized by Take On Hate, alongside local Chicagoland partners.

New York, NY — On Sept. 12, around 100 activists gathered in Columbus Circle in solidarity with the Durham, North Carolina activists who a month before tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier.

Tampa, FL – Hurricanes are a common experience to most Floridians, especially to residents of the Tampa Bay area, where hurricanes and tropical storms hit or brush by about every two years. However, Category 4 Hurricane Irma, which is now projected to move up the center of the state, is making some of the most seasoned Floridians panic.

Tallahassee, FL — On Sept. 6, about a dozen students gathered at the Florida State University (FSU) Integration Statue to call for the removal of the Francis Eppes monument.

Jacksonville, FL – Around 200 people gathered for six hours at the August 22 city council meeting to speak about removing Confederate monuments and names from public spaces. The week before, in response to the white supremacist terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jacksonville City Council President Brosche said she wanted to inventory all Confederate monuments, markers, and memorials so they can be moved off public property and into museums or other settings, where they can be “historically contextualized.” When her press release went public, death threats started flooding into her email from Confederate sympathizers.

Los Angeles, CA – Greeted by enthusiastic Centro CSO members, home-cooked food, and Chicano liberation music, history and politics, more than 60 participants gathered to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium in Boyle Heights.

Tucson, AZ – On August 26, the immigrant rights action group L.U.P.E. (Lucha Unida de Padres y Estudiantes) hosted a community celebration of the historic Chicano Moratorium. This year marks the 47th anniversary of the anti-war march originally held in East Los Aneles on August 29, 1970. Set at the height of the disproportionate death rates of Chicano soldiers in the war in Vietnam, the march was the largest anti-war action of any oppressed nationality in the history of the U.S., drawing over 30,000 Chicanos in protest.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 1000 people marched here August 14 to oppose white supremacy and honor the dead and injured in the aftermath of a white nationalist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia. The lead banner of the march read, “Minnesota against white supremacy.” Several protesters carried poster-sized images of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old anti-racist murdered by a white supremacist in the August 12 attack.

Tallahassee, FL — On August 13, over 400 students and community members rallied on the steps of Tallahassee’s historic Old Capitol building in solidarity with the victims of white supremacist terror in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the racist right-wing attack that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12.

Minneapolis, MN — Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee condemned the August 5 bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center, stating, “It is important for all people of conscience to stand with our Muslim neighbors against the rising tide of hate crimes against them. Right-wing bigots feel validated by President Trump's words and policies and are no longer trying to control their hate. We need to denounce all acts of anti-Muslim bigotry and defend our Muslim neighbors. We need to call this what it is – a hate crime! We need to call out people, and politicians who defend these actions, as racists.”