Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Federal Plaza today with a banner reading, “End the Trump era” and “End white supremacy!” Organizers including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. Also joining were SEIU Local 73 and other unions as well as Black, Latino and other organizations.
Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Federal Plaza today with a banner reading, “End the Trump era” and “End white supremacy!” Organizers including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. Also joining were SEIU Local 73 and other unions as well as Black, Latino and other organizations.
Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Federal Plaza today with a banner reading, “End the Trump era” and “End white supremacy!” Organizers including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. Also joining were SEIU Local 73 and other unions as well as Black, Latino and other organizations.
The militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Workers Movement) condemned the harassment, threats and intimidation towards known labor leaders in Cebu, January 18.
New Orleans, LA – Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) will host a Martin Luther King Day Virtual Rally this Monday, January 18. In support of a call from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, New Orleans FRSO demands a mass release from prisons during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The rally will also demand justice for Jacob Blake and an end to police crimes everywhere. The gathering will take place over Zoom, as the city recently transitioned to stricter COVID safety measures.
Minneapolis, MN – A broad coalition of progressive organizations will rally and march in Minneapolis on the day of the inauguration of the Biden-Harris presidency, January 20. Demonstrators will call for a People’s Agenda that immediately reverses the policies of outgoing President Trump and meets the demands of working people, immigrants and oppressed nationality communities.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns the January 11 U.S. State Department designation of socialist Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” In the few days it has left to remain in power, the Trump administration is trying to implement every reactionary measure it can dream up, all the while calling good “evil” and evil “good.”
Chicago, IL – Karl Marx observed over a 150 years ago that “the biggest thing happening in the world today are on the one hand the movement of the slaves in America started by the death of John Brown and on the other the movement of the serfs in Russia.”
Washington, DC – A delegation of African American workers from the Communications Workers of America sent a letter to Lumen Technologies CEO Jeff Storey, January 11, asking that he designate the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday for all Lumen workers.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), is proud to sponsor the upcoming program “ The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr: The George Floyd Rebellion, Black Liberation, and the Struggle for Socialism.”
Milwaukee, WI – On January 9, nearly 100 people joined a car caravan starting at Kops Park put on by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) to say no to the COPS grant and yes to CPAC (Civilian Police Accountability Council).
Chicago, IL – Prominent Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel and 43 other human rights activists from 18 countries have written to President Donald Trump asking him to free Colombian revolutionary Simon Trinidad.
Chicago, IL – El destacado Argentino Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Premio Nobel de la Paz, y otros 43 activistas de los derechos humanos de 18 países, han escrito al Presidente Donald Trump pidiéndole que libere a Simón Trinidad, 7 de enero, 2021.
Milwaukee, WI – On the morning of January 10, a coalition of left-wing organizations and community groups came together in downtown Milwaukee to put forward a people’s alternative to the chaos of the past week in the U.S. Capitol. The protest featured a speaker officially representing the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. The event, called “Rally Against the Far-Right – Build the People’s Movements,” drew nearly 100 people on foot and in cars.
Minneapolis, MN – Several hundred community members gathered at the Hennepin County Government Center on January 9 in below freezing weather, to rally and march for justice for Jacob Blake, who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Dolal Idd, shot and killed by Minneapolis police.
Tallahassee, FL – I found out about the right-wing attack on the U.S. Capitol while casually scrolling through social media on my phone. It started off as one Facebook post about Mike Pence being dragged away by the Secret Service. It had no context. More information trickled, then flooded, in – “protesters stormed the capitol,” then more videos, images and of course memes – painting a picture of the most nauseating, gut-wrenching and insulting scenes. Cops taking selfies with white supremacist reactionaries. Trump supporters are in politician’s’ offices. One man joyfully flung his boot-clad feet up on House Leader Nancy Pelosi’s desk, and felt so immune that he broadcast himself doing so, live. Some of the far-right wing reactionaries even wore t-shirts that read “MAGA Civil War Jan 6, 2021”, stylized to parody the Marvel movie franchise installment titled Civil War.
Chicago, IL – Thousands of Chicago Public Schools teachers, clinicians and staff returning to school buildings last Monday found conditions far below the standards and promises touted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools in preparation for opening doors to students on January 11. Throughout the week, educators submitted photos, video and detailed reports of their findings, which included no masks available upon arrival, empty hand sanitizer dispensers, hallways filled with debris from locker installation and brown water in bathroom sinks.
On Tuesday, January 5, the people of Georgia made history with their defeat of two Trump-supporting Republican Senators in the runoff election. First to be declared a winner was Reverend Raphael Warnock, who is the first African American ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia. He is only the second African American to be elected from the Deep South since Reconstruction after the Civil War. A little later, with a smaller margin, Jon Ossoff clinched the second seat for the Democratic Party, giving them a bare majority in the Senate.
This afternoon, January 6, racist and reactionary supporters of President Trump followed up a rally at the White House by marching and seizing the U.S. capitol building. Egged on by Trump, they brought to an end to the congressional certification of the election. An armed standoff took place outside the House chamber. The media has been filled with images of Trump supporters occupying offices of congresspeople. New developments are taking place with the passage of every hour.
Chicago, IL – Thousands of rank-and-file educators, clinicians and support staff want the right to continue working remotely because they or a family member are at higher risk of illness and death should they contract COVID-19. Chicago Public Schools’ response has been to refuse to allow educators to ask for an accommodation if family members at risk and to deny members with serious personal health risks like brain cancer the right to work remotely.