Chicago, IL- At a momentous event in Chicago, the original Young Lords passed the leadership torch to a new generation. The moving June 4 ceremony involved the Young Lords Central Committee led by Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez placing medallions over the heads of more than 50 New Era Young Lords. The young activists from seven cities and Puerto Rico proudly wore their purple berets and distinctive Young Lords shirts. The medallions read, “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazón,” with the original Young Lords logo.

Chicago, IL – On June 2, 250 students at Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) in Chicago walked out of school to demand “Police out!” They marched through Little Village, which is the largest Latino neighborhood in Chicago, to the North Lawndale neighborhood, which is a Black community. The protest was organized by the LVLHS FightBack student group, which called for “Black and Brown Unity.”

Chicago, IL – Teaching artists and school office staff at Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) have voted to join the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), June 3. Three office staff voted to join the union, and later in the day, part-time arts teachers – who make up the backbone of the school’s programs in the visual arts, music, theater, dance and creative writing conservatories voted 75% (41 yes to 14 no ) to join the union.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following May 20 statement from Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Chicago, IL – Kobi Guillory will be the first feature guest on our new podcast Fight Back! Radio. Guillory is the co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and an executive board member of the National Alliance. Guillory was amongst the most visible leaders in the streets of Chicago in the aftermath of the police murder of Laquan McDonald by Jason Van Dyke.

Chicago, Illinois – The New Era Young Lords are hosting a “Celebration of Jose ‘Cha-Cha’ Jimenez,” the founder of the Young Lords in Chicago. On June 4, family and friends will join the Young Lords to honor Jose “Cha-Cha” Jimenez, who is currently in elder care.

Chicago, IL – Since 2018, Anthony Gay has become a symbol of the struggle against wrongful convictions in Illinois.

Chicago, IL – 40 people gathered in the office of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) to celebrate International Workers Day with Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Speakers included Maria Moreno, financial secretary of the CTU; Bassem Kawar, political director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Frank Chapman of CAARPR, and Roni Thrailkill, the mother of Chaz Thrailkill, a prisoner in Menard Prison who is suffering abuse at the hands of the guards in addition to having been wrongfully convicted.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine led a crowd of close to 1000 people, mostly youth from the Palestinian community in the Chicago area, to protest the attacks on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, April 18. The Coalition includes the American Muslims for Palestine, United States Palestinian Community Network (UCPSN), Students for Justice in Palestine- Chicago (SJP), Al-Nahda, Palestinian American Community Center, and Palestinian American Council.

Chicago, IL – I just returned from eight days in Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, where the capital, Manila, is located. For many years, the movement for national democracy in the Philippines has asked for international solidarity, including human rights defenders to aid them in their struggle for economic and political rights. The presence of people from other countries can help diminish the violence of the Philippine military and national police against the movement. In addition, as national elections approach on May 9 there has been a rise in human rights abuses, and so the need for international solidarity is more pressing.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Transit Justice Coalition is a rank-and-file caucus of Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) workers in Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 and 308.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Transit Justice Coalition is a rank-and-file caucus of Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) workers in Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 and 308.

Chicago, IL – Almost two years after the rebellion that swept the country after the murder of George Floyd, people continue to come forward demanding an end to racist policing and mass incarceration. Despite the law-and-order backlash occurring in Illinois, a group of families from the Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side are fighting for justice for their loved ones in Menard Penitentiary and other prisons in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

What we are experiencing in this moment of history is not only the potential of World War III, but the unconcealed struggle of U.S. monopoly capitalism to establish its dictatorship internationally. While accusing Russia of threatening the world with nuclear war, it is U.S. imperialism which continues to buttress the most reactionary forces in all capitalist countries; it is our country which consistently steers a course supporting fascist dictatorships the world over.

Chicago, IL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Chicago held an annual International Women’s Day celebration at the Grand Ballroom in the Woodlawn community on the South Side of Chicago. 40 people attended, some from Woodlawn, and others from around the city, including a delegation of Brown Berets, Chicano and Chicana activists, from Little Village. The venue is in the same building as the offices of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Chicago, IL – A delegation of activists demanding Justice for Laquan McDonald met with an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago’s Federal Building. They presented a letter signed by 38 organizations and unions, as well as five elected officials, demanding federal charges against killer cop Jason Van Dyke.

Chicago, IL – On the afternoon of January 22, organizers shut down the city block in front of Governor Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion for 15 minutes, demanding immediate action to address the surging COVID cases in Illinois prisons and jails. Organizers dropped a letter on Pritzker’s doorstep calling for a mass release of those incarcerated, beginning with the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions who are especially at risk.

Chicago, IL – On Martin Luther King Jr Day, January 17, the family of Dr. King led a march for voting rights across Frederick Douglass bridge in Washington DC. At the same time, a coalition of over a dozen community organizations and labor unions organized a caravan of over 100 cars up King Drive in Chicago for the same purpose. Activists in both cities and across the country have voiced their support of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement (JLVRA) Act.

Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates voted to end a four-day remote learning action and return to school. The union announced today that by a vote of 55.5% in favor that the union would accept an agreement with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked school board.