Milwaukee, WI – Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) spokesperson Ryan Hamann blasted the April 7 statewide election, stating, “Wisconsin FRSO condemns the forced vote in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite the CDC recommendations that people stay home as much as possible and avoid any kind of mass congregation, legislators in Wisconsin and members of the U.S. Supreme Court determined that did not apply when it came to voting in a presidential primary.”
Chicago, IL – Hundreds of people took their cars to Chicago’s jails and detention centers on Tuesday morning, April 7, to demand a mass release of incarcerated people in the city. Isolated from each other in their cars, they were united in their message: Jails, prisons and detention centers must be depopulated before the spread of COVID-19 turns them into death camps.
San José, CA – Much of the day-to-day news coverage on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been on the plight of New York City, which has been the hardest hit to date. With more than 8 million people, NYC is the largest city in the United States, but the number of COVID-19 infections, at more than 63,000, is more than any other entire country in the world except for the United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and China. The death toll of more than 2500 is more than every other country in the world except for Italy, Spain, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Iran and China.
San José, CA – The headline news that the unemployment rate for March jumped by almost a full percentage point, to 4.4%, was bad enough. The actual unemployment rate was much higher by the end of March, given that the more 10 million people who lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance benefits in the last two weeks of March were not counted. Adding in these workers would have increased the unemployment rate by more than 6%, raising the total rate at the end of March to about 10.5%.
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.
Milwaukee, WI – A new date is being announced for the March on the Democratic National Convention: Monday, August 17. Organizers are going ahead with the march by discussing ways to make the protest safe and taking into account health guidelines. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the Democratic Party recently changed their dates, as they continue to discuss limiting participation at the convention.
Minneapolis, MN – Anti-war leaders are condemning U.S. war moves against Venezuela. The Trump administration has indicted Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, and a U.S. naval deployment is underway.
San José, CA – Many immigrants won’t be able to get help from the bipartisan COVID-19 pandemic aid bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. More than 4 million undocumented immigrants who are paying taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, will not qualify for the $1200 per person benefit because they have no Social Security number. Another 5 million American citizen children with undocumented parents also will not get the $500 per child benefit.
