Oct. 7, 1934 – Jan. 9, 2014

Newark, NJ – He was a poet, playwright and political activist. He was my mentor and guide for almost a quarter of a century.

In honor of the 120th anniversary of Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong’s birth, Fight Back! is reprinting his April 16, 1968 statement in support of the struggle of the African American people. Statement by Comrade Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Support of the Afro-American Struggle Against Violent Repression

School was named for KKK grand wizard

Jacksonville, FL – With more than 50 activists and community members present, the Duval County School Board voted unanimously, Dec. 16, to change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The historic vote by the school board comes at the end of a six-month campaign by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) and other forces to drop the local high school's racist namesake.

West Allis, WI – Family and friends of Corey Stingley organized a rally outside VJ's Food Mart, Dec. 15, where the 16-year-old was strangled by white vigilantes one year ago. Supporters demanded charges be filed against the people responsible for killing Stingley.

Minneapolis, MN – In early November, Shannon Gibney, an English Professor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), was given an official letter of reprimand by the college’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Lois Bollman after two white male students interrupted a discussion on structural racism in her Intro to Mass Communication class. The two white students said they felt uncomfortable and “singled out” for being white. After class they, along with another white male student, issued a formal complaint of racial discrimination with MCTC’s Office of Legal Affairs.

Minneapolis, MN – Over 800 people gathered here, Nov. 7, to demand the Washington Redskins change their racist name. Marching from the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue south of downtown to the Vikings stadium, the protesters rallied in front of the Metrodome chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, little red Sambo’s got to go!”

Jacksonville, FL – About 30 residents of Jacksonville rallied and spoke out at a Duval County School Board meeting on Nov. 5 in favor of changing the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first Imperial Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and members of the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) have been gathering community support to change the name of the local high school named after this monster for some time.

Jacksonville, FL – Protesters from across Florida gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse on October 31 for the first status hearing in the retrial of Marissa Alexander, the 33 year old African American mother who fired a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband.

New York, NY – On Oct. 20, the City College of New York (CCNY) administration shut down the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Student and Community Center in the North Academic Center (NAC) building. The Morales/Shakur Center is a hub of political and social activism at CCNY and the surrounding Harlem and Washington Heights communities.

Jacksonville, FL – The Civil War may have ended in 1865, but people in Jacksonville continue to struggle against the remains of the racist Confederate States of America in 2013. With more than 157,000 petitions signed and growing mass pressure on the Duval County School Board, community activists are waging a campaign to rename Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.

Jacksonville, FL – On Sept. 26, a Florida appeals court ordered a new trial for Marissa Alexander, the African American mother given a 20-year prison sentence for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband. The announcement comes after more than a year of protests across the country that raised the demand, “Free Marissa now!”

Milwaukee, WI – The immigrant rights group Youth Empowered in the Struggle at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is finishing preparations on campus to host veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who will be speaking here on Oct. 11.

Plan to put U.S. government on trial

Minneapolis, MN – On Oct. 2 through Oct. 4, the U.S. government will be put on trial for “malfeasance in Indian Country,” according to a statement released at a press conference Sept. 4. Witnesses are being subpoenaed to appear in Oneida, Wisconsin for the three-day tribunal entitled “The Leonard Peltier International Tribunal on the Abuse of Indigenous Human Rights.”

Los Angeles, CA – Under the slogan “Education not war!” Boyle Heights community members participated in a townhall meeting to commemorate the Chicano Moratorium Day of Resistance. The event was sponsored by California State University, Los Angeles MEChA and the Community Action Taskforce on Chicano Studies Education (CATChE).

Fight Back News Service is circulating an important commentary written by veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes in 2010. Montes is a regular contributor to Fight Back!

Washington, D.C. – On Aug. 24, thousands of people from across the country gathered together here at the National Mall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. Crowd estimates are in the hundreds of thousands.

Washington DC – More than 300,000 people are gathered on the mall today for the March on Washington, with at least 150,000 on each side of the reflecting pool. The massive crowd is largely African-American, mobilized by the 50-year anniversary of Martin Luther King’s speech and by the pressing demand for justice for Trayvon Martin. African-American groups range from Florida’s Dream Defenders, to New Jersey’s People’s Organization for Progress, to the national NAACP. There is also a big union mobilization, with the United Auto Workers turning out thousands of members in t-shirts. Many other unions and their associated groups like Working America are also out in force.

Los Angeles, CA – Local community activists and the Committee for Community Control of Police held a rally press conference here, August 18, to demand that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder file charges against George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The rally also raised the slogan of self-determination for the Black nation in the South and marked the 50-year anniversary of the historic civil rights march on Washington D.C. Speakers denounced the continued oppression of Blacks and Chicanos as evidenced of the ongoing killings and beatings by the police and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Chicago, IL – 60 youth from the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), along with their supporters, held a rally and march here, Aug.15, to demand an end to racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims and and end to the criminalization of all communities of color. The youth who organized and led the protest reminded onlookers that harassment, surveillance and infiltration by the FBI and its local counterparts doesn't just happen in New York City and California, but is widespread in Chicago.

Durham, NC – On Aug. 28, 1963, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom galvanized hundreds of thousands in the streets of the nation’s capital. On Aug. 25, 1925, A. Philip Randolph helped to establish the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Harlem, New York. It was in August 1791 that the Haitian Revolution first broke the chains of French colonialism. August marks the Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831 and Watts Uprising of 1965. It was on Aug. 8, 1978 that the Philadelphia Police Department first raided the MOVE Organization, giving way to the MOVE 9. August also bears the births of Fred Hampton, Marcus Garvey and Mutulu Shakur. Ironically, August has always been a month of African American struggle and radical resistance.