University of Washington students hold screening of the film Walkout
Seattle, WA – On February 2, the Progressive Student Union (PSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted a joint screening of the film Walkout.
News and Views from the People's Struggle
Seattle, WA – On February 2, the Progressive Student Union (PSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted a joint screening of the film Walkout.
Chicago, IL – 300 Chicagoans braced against the cold night, January 30, to protest the brutal police slayings of Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson and Manuel “Tortuguita” Teron. The eight-degree weather did not deter the crowd as they clustered together to stand in solidarity with protests that have broken out across the country in the wake of the release of the video footage that depicted multiple officers beating Nichols to death.
Detroit, Michigan – On January 16, Martin Luther King Jr Day, the Detroit MLK Day Committee organized a large gathering, which took place at Historic Saint Matthew's-Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church with the theme of “Six Decades of Mass Movements, The Struggle Continues.” Issues addressed included winning full funding for the Right to Counsel Ordinance and ensuring that all Detroit residents have access to quality housing, water services, good schools, environmentally sound communities, and healthy food. Marchers also demanded an end to police crimes, no more funds to NATO and ending the proxy war in Ukraine. Several FRSO members took part in and provided logistical support for the event.
Los Angeles, CA – On Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, a community is devastated and concerned over a recent string of building fires that have destroyed buildings that have landmarked the proud Chicano neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East LA for many years. Some Eastside residents have taken the initiative to call County Supervisor Hilda Solis and voice this concern and call for an investigation. Many of these buildings are designated as historical and thus cannot be torn down without certain permits, but there is fear among residents that new pro-development owners of these properties may be using the outbreak of these fires as a means to get around legal requirements that otherwise bars such demolition.
New York, NY – Around 60 people gathered in the historic Saint Mary's Episcopal Church in Harlem to honor the legacy of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been his birthday weekend. Organized by Struggle-La Lucha, a panel of 11 speakers took part in the event that demanded: No war and sanctions, strop funding white supremacy in the Ukraine, shut down NATO, and stop racism, transphobia, union busting, and the attacks on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ and immigrants.
Los Angeles, CA – Dr. Rocio Rivas was finally declared winner in the highly anticipated Los Angeles Unified School District board race for District 2. On December 13 she was sworn in at an LAUSD board meeting. Board member and longtime human rights activist Jackie Goldberg gave her the oath of office while surrounded by family.
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, December 9, over 50 students and community members gathered in front of the student union on the University of Minnesota Twin Cites campus to demand that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) be protected and upheld in the face of efforts from reactionary, anti-native forces to undo it.
Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of December 10, more than 40 people packed into the community room at Zao MKE Church to listen to a lineup of speakers commemorating the 64th International Human Rights Day. A highlighted speaker was Sarah Wunderlich of the Oneida Nation who joined the program to talk about the current Supreme Court case trying to undermine the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), including some history about the system of boarding schools, the effects this still has on the present, and how these things relate to the broader struggle for indigenous rights.
Oeida, WI – On November 9, over 50 people gathered on the Oneida Indian Reservation in northeast Wisconsin to show solidarity with the Oneida people and all indigenous people as a Supreme Court decision regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) looms. The crowd included members of the Oneida Tribal Nation, concerned community members and several organizations that helped facilitate the event. The gathered community members, both tribal and not, were met with hospitality from the Oneida hosts, with homemade corn soup and community-building conversation being shared before the speakers began.
Chicago, IL – On October 31, a student at Jones College Prep (JCP) in Chicago dressed up in Nazi uniform and was allowed to walk across a stage during a “Halloween Costume Showcase.” The video exposing this incident has amassed over 158,000 views. In it, booing can be heard while the student goose steps across the stage and salutes, further solidifying this overt act of antisemitism and white supremacy.
Fight Back! News interviews the chair of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Joint Nationalities Commission Masao Suzuki. Fight Back!: FRSO says that the U.S. is a jailhouse for oppressed nationalities. What is meant by this?
Chicago, IL – Using the tag line, “Going to the Heart of the People’s Struggle,” our podcast has quickly spread across the country. Fight Back! Radio host Richard Berg noted, “We do interviews with the real leaders of the people’s struggles. We go past the bourgeois think tanks by talking to activists that are organizing workers, oppressed nationality peoples, students and other fighters.”
Dallas, TX – In a response to the call to action by the Legalization for all Network, on August 27, a protest marked the 52nd anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium by speaking out in defense of the local immigrant community.
Los Angeles, CA – Over 100 Chicanos and other participants gathered for a rally at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium. In 1970, 30,000 people once demanded a stop to the Vietnam War and an end to discrimination and racism. The LAPD and LA Sheriff's Department teargassed and beat protesters. Their actions led to the deaths of three Chicanos, including LA Times reporter Ruben Salazar.
Los Angeles, CA – Plans are underway to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the August 29, 1970 Chicano Moratorium, which demanded a stop to the Vietnam War and an end to discrimination and racism. Over 30,000 Chicanos and supporters gathered in East LA at then-Laguna Park. The same park is now named after Ruben Salazar, who was killed by authorities that day. Salazar was a well-known and proud Chicano news producer and journalist. Since 1970, many have honored and continued with the legacy started at the Chicano Moratorium.
Tampa, FL – Hundreds came out to protest the right-wing, billionaire-funded “student group” Turning Point USA summit, July 23. The Turning Point summit featured a gaggle of reactionary, racist and chauvinistic speakers, not the least of whom was Donald Trump, looking to build momentum for a possible second presidential run.
New York, NY – A few dozen New Yorkers gathered in front of 1251 Avenue of the Americas on July 20 to protest Luma Energy and its lawyers, DLA Piper.
San José, CA – Over the last two years, hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans and their supporters have taken to the streets to protest the wave of violence against Asian Americans. From the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a Burmese family was assaulted in Texas; to the Atlanta Spa killing in April 2021, where six of the eight people killed were Asian American women, this wave of violence against Asian Americans inspired protests across the country, even including middle-school students.
San José, CA – 40 years ago, on June 23, 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin died after being beaten by a Chrysler plant supervisor and his stepson. They ended up being sentenced to a $3000 fine, causing an uproar in the Chinese American community. Evidently the killers thought that Chin was Japanese American and blamed him for the success of Japanese carmakers in breaking into the American car market. This racist killing was another of a long history of violence against Chinese and other Asian Americans.
Chicago, IL- En un evento trascendental en Chicago, los fundadores de Young Lords (Jóvenes Señores) le pasaron la antorcha a una nueva generación. La ceremonia emotiva del 4 de Junio involucró al Comité Central de los Young Lords dirigido por José “Cha Cha” Jiménez colocando medallones sobre las cabezas de más de 50 miembros de New Era Young Lords (Jóvenes Señores de la Nueva Era). Los activistas jóvenes de siete ciudades y Puerto Rico llevaban con orgullo sus boinas moradas y sus distintivas camisas de los Young Lords. Los medallones dicen: “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazón”, con el logotipo original de Young Lords.