Fight Back News is circulating Rasmea Odeh's March 8 speech at the Chicago International Women’s Day event.

Minneapolis, MN – About 40 people came together here, March 8, to celebrate International Women’s Day. The program included speakers from the trade union, welfare rights, student and anti-war movements.

Milwaukee, WI – For over 100 years, International Women's Day has been a day to celebrate accomplishments in the struggle for women's liberation.

Build the fight for justice, equality and liberation

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate our accomplishments in the struggle for equality and liberation, to take stock of the situation we face and to plan for battles ahead. Nothing can hold us back.

Protest vigil and live stream speaking event planned for Feb. 13

Minneapolis, MN – Protests, speaking events and fundraisers are being organized across the U.S. as part of the growing national movement to win justice for Rasmea Odeh. Two events will take place in the Twin Cities on Friday, Feb. 13. First is the weekly Palestine Solidarity Vigil to Demand Justice for Rasmea, 4:30 to 5:30 at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues in Saint Paul, followed by a speech by Rasmea Odeh, via live stream, which will be at the center of an event running from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

Chicago, IL – Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Chicago Network is hosting a fundraiser Feb. 3 to celebrate the resilience of Rasmea Odeh. The event, at 8:00 p.m. at DePaul University, will include dinner, a comedy performance from Amer Zahr, spoken word and dance performances and a speech from a representative of the Rasmea Defense Committee. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Odeh’s legal defense fund.

Jacksonville, FL – Activists, some coming from as far away as California, converged on the Duval County Courthouse bright and early on Jan. 27. Hopes were high, as Marissa Alexander was due for another day in court and faced the possibility of being released from jail.

Jacksonville, FL – Marissa Alexander took a plea deal offered by the State Attorney to avoid an upcoming trial on Dec. 8 where she would have faced up to 60 years in prison. Alexander was charged in 2012 with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after firing a warning shot to defend herself from her estranged abusive husband.

Gainesville, FL – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a banner-signing event, asking students to pledge to stand against rape and sexual violence both on and off campus. SDS also provided literature on consent and ways for students to help prevent sexual assault. By the end of the day, around 50 students had signed the pledge banner.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 3 statement from the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees:

Minneapolis, MN – This has been a hard week to listen to the news – especially as a mother. I have had trouble sleeping all week thinking about the girls and mothers living in hell in Nigeria.

Gainesville, FL – On March 18, University of Florida Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) filled a room with about two dozen students and community members to celebrate International Women's Day. They hosted an educational panel titled, “Celebrating Women's Solidarity and Palestinian Activism,” which addressed the history of the holiday, the Palestinian women’s movement, and the trumped-up immigration charges against Palestinian women's rights activist Rasmea Odeh.

Salt Lake City, UT – Four women leaders spoke to a room full of activists, March 8, at an International Women’s Day event hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Across the country, FRSO joined the Committee to Stop FBI Repression in demanding justice for Rasmea Odeh and is circulating a petition to drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh.

Tampa, FL – Activists from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered here, March 8, to celebrate International Women’s Day. At this event, representatives from each group talked about the radical roots of International Women’s Day and spoke about Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian-American leader facing jail and deportation for on trumped-up immigration charges.

Miami, FL- Activists in South Florida celebrated International Women’s Day here, March 8, at the Wynwood Art Walk. The anti-war group People's Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR) organized the event, which included a spoken-word performance of speeches by women freedom fighters, past and present.

Movement leaders demand: Drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh

Minneapolis, MN – Trade unionists, students, anti war and low income activists came together here, March 8, for a spirited celebration of International Women’ s Day. The event, “Women's Liberation from the U.S. to Palestine,” was organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

March 8, International Women’s Day, is a day of celebration and resistance. It is a day to hail the past victories over oppression and inequality, to prepare for the challenges of the future in the fight for complete liberation and to reaffirm the basic principle, “The stronger the role of women in all progressive movements, the stronger our movements will be.”

Asheville, NC – On Aug. 8, protesters gathered in downtown here, to rally for an end to the attacks against women and against abortion restrictions in North Carolina. The event was organized by WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend).

Raleigh, NC – On Monday, July 15, over 1500 rallied at the capitol again for the 11th installment of Moral Monday, chanting, “Forward together, not one step back!” Organized by the NAACP (http://www.naacpnc.org/), this week’s rally was focused on demanding an end to the Republican legislature’s attacks on women and demanding an end to racial oppression.

Madison, WI – On June 20, a grassroots group held a rally outside of the Wisconsin state capitol and then tried to occupy the floor of the Senate to speak out against SB 206, otherwise known as Sophie's Law.