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

Chicago, IL – In Chicago, people had good reason to celebrate on Feb. 24. Rahm Emanuel was denied reelection in the mayoral primary. He needed 50% plus one vote, but he received less than 46%. His main opponent, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, received 34%, and will face Emanuel on April 7 in a runoff. In addition, 19 city council seats will have runoff elections, an all-time high.

Chicago, IL – Defense attorneys for Rasmea Odeh, Chicago’s 68-year-old Palestinian community leader, filed a ‘sentencing memorandum’ in a Detroit federal court, Feb. 25, arguing that Odeh “should not be sentenced to further imprisonment” following her conviction in November 2014 on a single charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization.

Ex-Chicago police officer was shot 28 times by white cops and imprisoned

Chicago, Il – A Valentine’s Day event was held at the Church of the Living God on Chicago’s South Side to welcome home Howard Morgan. Presided over by his wife, Rosalind and the Howard Morgan Defense Committee, there were over 100 people in attendance. 20 organizations sent messages of solidarity, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, the group fighting for reparations for the torture victims of Chicago police officer, Jon Burge.

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.

Chicago, IL – Organizers of the nationwide effort to get justice for longtime Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh are urging an all-out mobilization for Odeh’s sentencing in Detroit Federal Court on the morning of March 12. Odeh is facing deportation and up to ten years in jail on a trumped-up immigration charge.

Chicago, IL – The movie Selma is a dramatic portrayal of how history was made by African American men, women and children and their white allies in Alabama, the cradle of the confederacy. It’s about people who decided to take a stand and make the ultimate sacrifice. The opening scene is in Birmingham where the KKK blew up more Black churches than anywhere in the U.S. Thus right away we are thrust into the thick of things, the real dirt and blood of battle of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960s with all the emotional and physical pain one can bear. Through the eye of the camera we are immediately swept into the graphically violent acts of KKK terror.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Antiwar Committee – Chicago.

Chicago, IL – Over 100 people rallied and marched here to demand justice for Eric Garner, Michael Brown and all police crime victims. The demonstration was called by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Chicago, IL – Over 600 people marched here, Dec. 4, to protest the failure of a grand jury in New York to indict the cop who killed Eric Garner. Many signs at the march noted that Dec. 4, 1969, was the day the Chicago police assassinated Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression states, “To stop police crimes, we have to end police control of Black and Latino communities.”

Chicago, IL – The 23rd annual People’s Thanksgiving, a celebration of the past year of struggle in Chicago, was held here Nov. 22. While honoring important organizations in the movement, the gathering of over 100 people also was a major fundraiser for the beloved Palestinian activist, Rasmea Odeh. Over $7500 was raised for her defense fund.

Chicago, IL – Over 200 people gathered in front of Chicago Police headquarters, Nov. 24, awaiting the verdict from the grand jury in the Michael Brown murder case. Frank Chapman, an organizer with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, who spent some 14 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, addressed the crowd.

Chicago, IL – 250 people came together here, Nov. 12, in the Federal Plaza to express their grief and anger at the injustice that took place on Monday, Nov. 10, at the trial of beloved community leader Rasmea Odeh.

Chicago, IL- Rasmea Odeh, la muy conocida activista en la comunidad palestina de Chicago, y víctima de persecución por parte del gobierno de EE.UU, se dirige a juicio el 4 de Noviembre

Chicago, IL – Chicago supporters of Rasmea Odeh, are going all out for a major mobilization to pack the courtroom Odeh’s Nov. 4 trial in Detroit.

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh, the well-known activist in the Palestinian community of Chicago and target of persecution by the U.S. government, goes on trial Nov. 4.

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression held a public forum on the campaign for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) on Oct. 16 at Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side. Over 50 activists attended this meeting, including families of victims of police crimes, prominent attorney Stan Willis, and labor and community activists.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Sept. 3 statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

Chicago – A coalition of anti-war groups came together today, Sept. 10, outside the Federal Building here to take a stand against U.S. plans to bomb Syria and intensify its intervention in Iraq. The press conference was timed to take place before President Obama speaks tonight to push the plan for air strikes and another $500 million for the U.S. proxy army trying to overthrow the government of Syria. The groups in Chicago included Voices for Creative Non-Violence, Gay Liberation Network, 8th Day Center for Justice and the Anti-War Committee (AWC) – Chicago.

Chicago, IL – On, Aug. 25, 250 people gathered in the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) campus quad to commemorate Michael Brown. UIC was one the colleges across the U.S. to hold demonstrations and student walk-outs on the day of Brown's funeral. At UIC, speakers read a list of Black lives lost as a result of police brutality. The UIC action was called by the Black Student Union (BSU). The national call for protests said Aug. 25 should have been Mike Brown's first day of college had he not been the victim of a racist police murder.