Lynne Stewart, a heroic and long-time progressive lawyer, is serving a ten-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas for ‘material support of terrorism,’ after serving as defense attorney for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. On June 9 Fight Back! spoke with her husband, Ralph Poynter, about her case. Poynter is a Black community leader and retired New York City teacher.
Jackson, MS – On June 4, Chokwe Lumumba won the election as mayor here, winning 87% of the vote in the general election. He had all but assured his victory by winning a stunning come-from-behind upset in the Democratic Party primary on May 21 in this 80% Black city in the heart of the Black Belt South.
Across the globe, workers are fighting back against their bosses and people are standing up to their oppressors. On May 1 people around the world will celebrate International Workers Day – commonly called May Day – by taking to the streets. To mark the occasion, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) urges all revolutionaries, progressives, activists and organizers here in the U.S. to go all out building the people’s fightback against capitalist greed and struggle for socialism.
Jacksonville, FL – Chants of “We all count! We will not be erased!” rang out at Hemming Plaza as over 100 people from across the southern U.S. marched against racism and national oppression on April 28. The protesters marched to the Jacksonville Court House raising banners and signs demanding justice for Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Marissa Alexander and others oppressed by the racist criminal justice system.
Tallahassee, FL – Nearly 30 community members and Tallahassee Dream Defenders attended a public hearing on April 12 in support of Antonio and Rodrizgus Richardson, two African-American brothers in Tallahassee. The brothers were wrongly convicted of first-degree murder and are facing 25 years to life in prison.
Dickson, TN – Community members, activists and students, including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), converged on Montgomery Bell Park in Dickson County, Tennessee on the weekend of April 5-7 to demand the park not host the American Renaissance (AmRen) white supremacist conference. On April 5 and 6, they rallied outside the Montgomery Bell Park Inn and Conference Center, where the racists’ conference was being hosted. Protesters demanded “Shut down AmRen!” and held a conference of their own on Saturday to discuss ways to fight back against racism, white supremacy and to build the power of the people.
Dickson, TN – The state of Tennessee has denied several permit applications for demonstrations and protests against a white supremacist organization that plans to hold a major conference at a park in Dickson County, Tennessee on the weekend of April 5-7. Regardless of the state's efforts to suppress free speech and promote white supremacists, community organizers and students, including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), will converge on Montgomery Bell Park on the weekend of April 5-7 to demand that the park not host the racist conference.
Memphis, TN – Organizers, community members and activists from around the country converged on the city of Memphis, Tennessee on March 30 to protest the presence of the Ku Klux Klan, which held a rally on the courthouse steps. Anti-Klan protesters were met with an extreme show of force by the militarized Memphis Police Department who showed an extreme and flagrant disregard for free speech.
Milwaukee, WI – Occupy the Hood-Milwaukee has called for a protest on March 29 following the news that the three white Milwaukee police who killed Derek Williams – a Black man – will not face state criminal charges. Two federal investigations are still ongoing.
Minneapolis, MN – After a spirited protest downtown, Indigenous rights leaders, including Nina Wilson, a founder of Idle No More, gathered here at the American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue, March 21, for a wrap-up of the day’s activities and to prepare for the next event. On March 22, Wilson and others will be present at the Environmental & Treaty Rights Symposium, also to be held at the American Indian Center.
We stand with Carol Gray, the mother of Kimani Gray, in demanding his murderers be taken off the streets of New York City before they take another young life. Police who murder need to be punished. A few weeks suspension is not enough. The murderers of Kimani Gray need to go to prison.
Pensacola, FL – Activists and workers in 23 cities across Florida laced up their boots, grabbed their picket signs, and took to the streets on March 5 to protest the state’s now-infamous voter suppression laws.
Tallahassee, FL – On the morning of March 5, over 150 Black and brown Dream Defenders from across the state converged onto the state capitol here to deliver one important message to Florida Legislators and Governor Rick Scott on the first day of legislative session: the start of the “Dream Era.”
Tallahassee, FL – On Feb. 26, 2012, African-American high school student Trayvon Martin was gunned down in Sanford, Florida. His murderer is George Zimmerman, a 29-year-old man who maliciously stalked the 17-year-old Martin under the grounds of his ‘looking suspicious.’
Salt Lake City, UT – Trayvon Martin's death sparked outrage and also a movement to combat the racism that led to his murder at the hands of George Zimmerman. On the one-year anniversary of his death, Utahans met as part of that movement to both mourn his passing and learn about racism, police brutality and how to fight them.
Gainesville, FL – The University of Florida (UF) chapters of Dream Defenders and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hosted a speak-out on the one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s murder, Feb. 26. Martin, a 17-year-old black youth, was shot dead on Feb. 26, 2012, in a racist attack by a neighborhood vigilante named George Zimmerman. Martin’s family created an online petition to arrest Zimmerman and it quickly grew into thousands protesting across the country. Six weeks passed before police arrested Zimmerman.
Clarksville, TN – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other students at Austin Peay State University rallied at 4:00 p.m., on UC Plaza, Feb. 26 to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. This was one of a number of actions organized by SDS chapters around the country exactly one year to the day since Trayvon Martin’s murder. Martin’s killer has not been convicted.
Tampa, FL – Feb. 26 marked the one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin's murder. Students and community members met in front of the student union on the University of South Florida campus demanding justice for Martin and an end to Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law. This law legalizes murder on the grounds of self-defense. The state government and judges use it to let white murderers go free for killing African-Americans and Latinos. The same is true for George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s murderer, whose lawyers are attempting to get his charges dropped.
On Feb. 17, the San José Day of Remembrance program commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942.