Tallahassee, FL – Around 15 activists from Tallahassee Dream Defenders, joined by other protesters including immigrant rights leaders, assembled on the fourth floor of the Florida Capitol building here, Nov. 20, showing politicians that Florida brown and Black groups are visible and demanding they remember Trayvon Martin.

Tallahassee, FL – Florida is once again making election headlines as voters struggle to cast their ballots. From Pensacola to Miami and everywhere in between, Floridians have reported prohibitively long lines at their early voting locations. A number of irregularities have many voters concerned that their ballots may not be counted.

Boca Raton, FL – The final presidential debate, held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, was met with a large protest. Dream Defenders, a statewide network fighting for the youth in brown and Black communities, organized the event. Over 200 students and community members from across the state came to demand that the two candidates stop ignoring the issues effecting African American, Latino and other oppressed nationality communities. Police arrested 15 of the protesters for blocking off the intersection of Yamato Road and Military Trail.

Stand up for full equality; strike a blow against racist and anti-gay discrimination

On Nov. 6 Minnesotans will join with the rest of the country to vote on Election Day. But in Minnesota there won’t just be politicians on the ballot – there will also be two proposed constitutional amendments to vote on. If the majority of voters vote ‘yes’ on these amendments they will become part of the state constitution. These two referendums are very dangerous.

Tallahassee, FL – Students at Florida colleges are making the issue of voter suppression a top priority this fall. On Sept. 4, a student civil rights group, Dream Defenders, protested Florida’s racist voter suppression laws. Students from Florida State University (FSU) and FAMU (Florida A&M University) organized a campus rally with dozens of student activists chanting, “Hey hey, ho, ho, the new Jim Crow has got to go!”

In a surprise to many observers, on August 19 Puerto Ricans resoundingly voted “no” on two proposed constitutional amendments that had been championed by conservative Governor Luis Fortuño of the New Progressive Party. Fortuño is also a member of the U.S. Republican Party leadership, and will be a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida next week. The “no” vote is a blow to his agenda.

Oak Creek, WI – Thousands gathered at Oak Creek High School here, August 10, for the memorial of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin massacre victims.

On July 30, Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño signed a highly controversial and sweeping new penal code into law that includes sharp restrictions on a broad range of civil liberties and rights. It’s slated to go into effect on September 1. A week after Fortuño signed it, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to stop the new law, calling it unconstitutional. “The statute is evidently intended to suppress speech, to stop people from protesting against government policies,” William Ramirez, local ACLU director, said in the Washington Post.

Anaheim, CA – Hundreds marched on the Anaheim Police Headquarters, July 29, to protest police killings of young Chicano men. The protesters confronted the police with chants, shouts and banners denouncing these brutal and racist killings. The Anaheim Police Department (APD) has carried out a rash of killings this year, far more than previous years. Two people have been killed in the past week.

Movement calls on Governor Luis Fortuño to veto it

On June 30 the Puerto Rican legislature approved a new Penal Code that includes sharp restrictions on a broad range of civil liberties and rights. Supporters of civil liberties refer to it as essentially a ‘wish list’ of many regressive laws the right wing has dreamed of passing. It now awaits either the approval or veto of Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño, who is from the New Progressive Party (PNP) of Puerto Rico, and is also a member of the U.S.’s Republican Party.

Milwaukee, WI – Dozens of community organizations came together here, April 10, for the “Rally to Demand Justice for Trayvon Martin, Bo Morrison and Victims of Milwaukee Police Brutality.”

Milwaukee, WI – Occupy the Hood, Milwaukee began a new program they call “Urban Community Based Physical Training.” On April 7, for the second Saturday in a row, members of Occupy the Hood and community members have exercised together in the schoolyard of the abandoned Phillis Wheatley Elementary School on 20th Street and Meinecke Avenue.

Tallahassee, FL – More than 200 students from Florida State University (FSU) marched on the streets here, March 26, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. The marched started off at the FSU Integration Statue with organizer of the march, Michael Sampson, reflecting on “why we are marching for justice.”

Salt Lake City, UT – More than 1000 people marched through the streets of downtown here, March 31, with Trayvon Martin posters and peace signs waving. Marchers raised their fists in the air and shouted, “Justice for Trayvon, justice for everyone!”

Milwaukee, WI – Students and community members rallied at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, March 29, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the rally with the Black Student Union, AFSCME Local 82 and the support of Occupy the Hood Milwaukee and Occupy Milwaukee. 75 students marched silently across campus behind a banner that read “Justice for Trayvon.” When the march reached the student union they began chanting a call and response “Jail the killer, fire the cops! Without justice we won't stop!”

Gainesville, FL – Over 200 students, community activists and supporters rallied and marched from the University of Florida campus to the downtown FBI office on March 26, demanding justice for Trayvon Martin. Organizers of the rally brought forward two main demands: Arrest George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin and fire the police involved in the case for obstructing justice and covering-up the truth.

Minneapolis, MN – A large number of protests and events are planned for this upcoming week, March 26 through April 1, to demand “Justice for Trayvon Martin.” A few are listed below.

All around the U.S., people are taking action to denounce the racist murder of African American teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. We demand justice!

Selma, AL – Thousands of protesters gathered here, March 4 to kick off a five-day march to Montgomery. The Selma-to-Montgomery march recreates the route that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led civil rights protesters along in 1965. It marks the 47-year anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked, tear gassed and brutally beaten by Alabama state troopers and local police forces.

Berkeley, CA – Long time antiwar activist Iwao Lewis Suzuki was awarded the Clifford I. Uyeda Peace and Humanitarian award at the Day of Remembrance program in San Francisco, California on February 19, 2012. Dr. Clifford Uyeda was a long-time Japanese American community activist who championed redress and reparations for Japanese Americans incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps during World War II. He also publicized the almost 300 Japanese Americans who refused the military draft during World War II because their families were in concentration camps and spent on average two years in prison each for their courageous stand. Dr. Uyeda also worked to educate people about the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army during their occupation of China, including the Rape of Nanking. Fight Back! interviewed Mr. Suzuki at his home in Berkeley after the Day of Remembrance program.