Chicago, IL – Founded in 1973 as an organization that grew out of the movement to free the wrongfully imprisoned Angela Davis and other political prisoners, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is set to relaunch this November. This refounding, led by the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) and other organizations, will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois on November 22-24 at the Chicago Teachers' Union Hall.
Chicago, IL – On the afternoon of August 28, members of Students for a Democratic Society and AnakBayan Chicago, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, passed out flyers on the quad to oppose the partnership that the university has with the CIA. SDS members held a banner reading “CIA off campus,” the slogan that has been used in past decades by student activists around the country in similar campaigns. Protesters held signs each detailing a different CIA operation and the number of deaths it caused.
As the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) find itself locked in tough contract negotiations and faces the possibility of a strike, corporate and right-wing media like the Chicago Tribune, Breitbart and others have launched a bizarre attack that seems like it is straight out of the 1950s red scare. Rather than addressing the real problems impacting teachers and students in Chicago schools, these reactionary pundits have decided the rant and rave about – of all things – a delegation of teachers that traveled to Venezuela earlier this summer.
Chicago, IL – Venezuela is a country where the dreams of the conscious workers of the world are being made real. It is a nation of 30 million people where, every day, the working class is becoming more conscious of its historic role in building socialism and taking steps to achieve it in the not so distant future. And in the face of an imperialist offensive that threatens them with starvation, where the threat of military invasion hangs over their heads like a storm cloud, they continue their struggle undeterred.
Chicago, IL – On August 6, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton attended a gathering of representatives from the right-wing governments of Latin America. There, he announced the next stage in the U.S. campaign to defeat the Bolivarian Revolution: A total blockade of Venezuela. All U.S. citizens are banned from doing business with “the Maduro regime,” and any company – U.S. or international – that does business with the Venezuelan government will be subject to fines, asset seizures and sanctions. While the announcement did not include the immediate deployment of the U.S. Navy to enforce the blockade, Bolton hinted that the option remained on the table if foreign companies and governments did not comply.
Chicago, IL – About 400 people rallied marched in neighborhood of Humboldt Park, July 21, calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello. Jazmine Salas emceed the demonstration, which was called by the Chicago Boricua Resistance. Chanting “Ricky renuncia!” (Ricky resign), the crowd added their voices to the hundreds of thousands who are protesting on the island.
Chicago, IL – Dozens of U.S. workers die every year due to heat, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). UPS trucks can feel as hot as ovens and UPS warehouses are almost unbearable in the summer. One memory burned into the minds of Chicago-area UPS workers is that of Stephen Michael, who died in a UPS warehouse in 2011 after his request to go home was denied, when he reported not feeling well during a day with a 109-degree heat index.
Chicago, IL – On July 8, 150 people rallied outside of the Palos Township in the southwest suburbs of Chicago on the two-year anniversary of the #ResignBrannigan campaign, a campaign demanding the resignation of racist and white supremacist trustee Sharon Brannigan.
Chicago, IL – Frank Chapman’s new book, The Damned Don’t Cry: Pages from the Life of a Black Prisoner and Organizer, is getting a great reception. About 30 people attended a book signing at the office of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, July 2. Chapman’s autobiography is available here.
There are many 50-year anniversaries being celebrated these days, including the founding of the Young Lords on September 23, 1968, and the Rainbow Coalition in April 1969.
