Minneapolis, MN – Tens of thousands lined Hennepin Avenue to watch the annual Twin Cities LGBTQ Pride parade on June 25. A group of hundreds behind a banner reading “Justice for Philando #NoJusticeNoPride” took the lead of the parade, a few blocks ahead of the police car that was supposed to lead the official parade. The group was protesting Pride’s decision to allow police to lead the parade and be present throughout the festival, despite an epidemic of police violence that particularly targets queer and trans people of color.
Doral, FL – About 40 activists marched from Trump National Resort in Doral to U.S. Southern Command, June 25, to demand that President Trump shut down Guantanamo Bay prison. The prison currently holds 41 detainees, 26 of whom have not been charged or tried for any crimes and five of whom have been cleared for release.
Washington, DC – In a June 23, People's Daily Online article, it was reported that “scientists at the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) announced recently that they have perfected a laser gun capable of shooting down drones flying at low altitudes. The laser system performed well during experiments and tests, shooting down over 30 small aircraft.”
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following June 22 statement for the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).
The United Nations Security Council on June 21st welcomed the deployment by the so-called Group of Five (G5) – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – of a joint force to tackle the threat of terrorism, as well as the serious challenges posed by transnational organized crime in Africa’s restive Sahel region. Also by that text, the Council urged the joint force of up to 5,000 military and police personnel, as well as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali and French forces in that country to ensure adequate coordination and exchange of information regarding their operations, within their respective mandates.
Jacksonville, FL – Around 50 people rallied for trans rights at Memorial Park in Jacksonville, June 24. Organized by the Coalition for Consent, Jacksonville Transgender Action Committee along with other groups, protesters rallied to demand an end to attacks on the trans community, especially oppressed nationality trans women.
Los Angeles, CA – Public school teachers at Roosevelt High School (RHS), joined by professors from Cal-State LA and students from RHS Magnet joined together to demand that authorities free 22-year-old Claudia Rueda.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine denounced the repeated Zionist attacks against the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque and collective punishment that has escalated over the last few days and hours, and the besieging of the village of Deir Abu Mashaal. Zionist forces have launched a campaign of attacks and arrests against the people of the village. These raids against the village will not extinguish the flame of resistance and will only intensify the determination of the Palestinian people to defend their rights, principles and holy sites.
Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Chicago’s Washington Park June 18 to protest the acquittal of the cop that killed Philando Castile in Minnesota. The marchers began with a rally at the location where Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson was shot in the back by Chicago police in October 2014.
New Hope, MN – Protesters packed the June 12 city council work session in New Hope, a suburb of Minneapolis, to demand that the city fire police officer Andy Lamers. Until recently, in addition to his job in New Hope, Lamers also had a part-time job as a police officer with Metro Transit, which operates public transit in the Twin Cities area.
Minneapolis, MN – Judge Hilary Caliguiri approved a deal today, June 12, between Hennepin County prosecutors and Nathan Gustavsson, one of the white supremacists involved in the November 2015 shooting of five Black men at a protest demanding justice for Jamar Clark.
San José, CA – On June 10, 1000 people joined a Unity Vigil called by Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), People Acting in Community Together (PACT), and Meet a Muslim. More than 130 religious, community, oppressed nationality and other organizations endorsed the vigil, which was organized on a week’s notice.
Chicago, IL – In an historic vote, members of ChiACTS Local 4343, the union of charter school educators in Chicago, voted overwhelmingly to unify with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), June 9. CTU members will vote on unification with ChiACTS this fall. Ballots from union charter schools were counted after the close of the Friday school day. Final vote counts of the 1,000-strong union were 671 in favor and 130 against unifying – or about 84% of voting members supporting unification.
Minneapolis, MN – A row of chairs reserved for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents sat empty while university unions held their own public hearing on university budget, June 8.
Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota chapter of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, held a press conference, June 9, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis to show unity on the eve of ACT for America’s national “March Against Sharia.”
St Paul, MN – Hundreds will join “Protest Anti-Muslim Bigotry: Oppose Racists at the Capitol” to challenge a rally planned by the anti-Muslim hate group, Act for America (ACT), June 10, 11 a.m. at the Minnesota State Capitol building. The University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) issued the call, now joined by the Anti-War Committee and some 20 organizations, including religious organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, to, “outnumber, drown out the racists, and rally as a progressive community to appreciate our religious, racial and national diversity and oppose these kinds of anti-Muslim and racist actions in the future.”
Houston, TX – Assembling at the Guadalupe Plaza, angry family members and supporters marched through downtown Houston, June 7, demanding justice for John Hernandez.
_Fight Back News Service is circulating the following June 2 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). _
The World Federation of Trade Unions strongly condemns the death of more than 40 refugees, 20 of them children, crossing the desert of northern Niger to Libya and probably to Europe.
Miami, FL – On June 25, at 5 p.m., protesters will take to the streets of Doral, Florida in front of U.S. Southern Command to demand that Trump shut down the torture prison at Guantanamo Bay once and for all. The march coincides with the International Day in Solidarity with Victims of Torture and will mark the 15th year since the first detainees were sent to the U.S. prison facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since then, 779 men have been sent to Guantanamo Bay without trial and have been jailed without ever having been officially charged with any crime.
“The UPS operations manager held a meeting and asked who wanted to pray. After we raised our hands, he said that he would replace all of us”
Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today announced the filing of a lawsuit in state court, June 1, against UPS Mail Innovations and Doherty Staffing Solutions for firing multiple Muslim employees who wanted to pray during their break times, after previously having allowed them to pray.
