ACTION ALERT: Tell St Paul officials to grant permit for RNC anti-war march

Fight Back News Service urges all of our readers to respond to this action alert from the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. Please forward it as widely as possible.

St. Paul, MN – On Aug. 25, 3,000 people came to the State Capitol to stand up against the racist Ku Klux Klan and a group of neo-nazis. Organized by a coalition of community groups called Can the Klan, the demonstrators sent a powerful message against racism and discrimination.

Chicago, IL – A fighting community organization, the Blue Line Task Force, has collected 10,000 signatures from transit riders demanding that services be restored. These names will be delivered to Mayor Daley as a petition for much needed train services.

San Antonio, TX – The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Latino civil rights group in the U.S., has issued a call for a congressional investigation of the FBI's partnership with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a private investigative group staffed by former law enforcement officers and funded by the insurance industry.

Oakland, CA – “The Power of the youth, don't stop, don't stop,” chanted hundreds of students at the statewide youth conference held at Oakland's Freemont High School, May 6. The youth set the path for change in a state known for its repressive laws against young people and people of color.

East Los Angeles, CA – The campaign to defeat Proposition 21, the war on youth ballot initiative, climaxed with a statewide week of rage, and protests led by young people. Thousands of L.A. youth protested by walking out of school, and marching through the middle of East Los Angeles, chanting, “Schools not Jails!”

New York, NY – Nearly 10,000 outraged demonstrators overwhelmed a Ku Klux Klan march, October 23. Following a long series of court battles, the Klan was permitted to march in downtown Manhatten's, Foley Square. The American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan anticipated 200 people in their ranks. Only 16 showed up.

Eight years ago an annual celebration began in Chicago that just keeps getting bigger and better: People's Thanksgiving. During this celebration, thanks and recognition are given to fighters for justice, and the continuing struggle against oppression is also commemorated.

Outside the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) convention in Puerto Rico, Saturday, May 31, members of the Puerto Rican teachers union were attacked by riot police when they attempted to distribute fliers. The fliers were critical of SEIU for making a deal with Governor Acevedo Vila for SEIU to replace the militant teachers union in February.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Demanding a halt to the repression of activists working for the independence of Puerto Rico, about 1000 people rallied at the Federal Courthouse here, Jan. 10. Protests took place in ten other cities including, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles.

Fight Back News Service is reprinting the following article on the FBI murder of Puerto Rican freedom fighter Filiberto Ojeda Ríos. A longer version of this article first appeared in Red Banner - a journal for left, progressive and socialist students at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

Minneapolis, MN – Video coverage is now available of the Feb. 9-10 Organizing Conference to prepare for RNC Sept. 1 anti-war protest in St Paul, MN. The planned demonstration will coincide with the Republican National Convention.

Minneapolis, MN – Progressive activists from all over the country will attend an organizing conference here Feb. 9-10 to prepare for a national anti-war rally and march set for Sept. 1 – the first day of the Republican National Convention. The conference is hosted by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call for an important conference that will help prepare for the protests at the Republican National Convention.

Students at University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill made national headlines last week when they confronted the racist ex-congressman Tom Tancredo. 200 students marched, shouted down, or silently protested Tancredo. When 60 students chanted in the lobby of the building where he was to speak, police attacked the demonstration with pepper spray. Two women were thrown to the floor, another protester had her hair pulled by a cop and several people were pushed into the walls. The police drove the students out by threatening them with tasers. Shortly after we were pushed out, a window was broken and the event was shut down.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call for demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. We urge all anti-war and progressive organizations to endorse the protest.

Chicago, IL – Juan and Henry Johnson spent almost their entire adult lives in prison, fighting charges for a murder they didn’t commit.

“Todo el mundo está viendo”

The People's Organization for Progress help a protest here, Feb. 21 at Broad and Market Streets against a racist cartoon published by the New York Post. The cartoon showed two cops with smoking guns standing over a dead ape. One cop is saying, “They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”

'Don’t balance the budget on the backs of the poor!'

Raleigh, NC – Over 4000 people, the majority African American, marched in downtown Raleigh, Feb. 14, in a show of force organized by the North Carolina NAACP. This is the third year that “HK on J” (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) has taken place, bringing together over 85 grassroots organizations, trade unions, coalitions and churches around a 14-point program for change. The 14-point program is centered around addressing the needs of the African American community, low-income people, immigrants rights and ending the war.