Minneapolis, MN – Residents of the East Phillips neighborhood and organizers with the Climate Justice Committee rallied outside of Smith Foundry on Tuesday, June 4, after an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it had reached a settlement with Smith, with the most significant provision requiring that the heavy-polluting foundry shut down its furnace within 12 months.
Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.
And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.
Minneapolis, MN – In an action against industrial pollution, the Climate Justice Committee and its allies in the Shut Down Smith Coalition confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Thursday, February 29. The coalition also presented the MPCA with a petition demanding the closure of Smith Foundry, a symbol of environmental injustice that casts a shadow over the East Phillips neighborhood.
Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.
East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.
Minneapolis, MN – Residents of Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood and members of community organizations from across the city rallied on Saturday outside of Smith Foundry, calling for its immediate shutdown.
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, November 10, community members gathered outside Smith Foundry in the Minneapolis East Phillips neighborhood to demand accountability following the EPA’s discovery of many violations of the Clean Air Act and other pollution control standards.
Tacoma, WA – On Sunday, September 17, over 60 people filled Oakland Madrona Park to rally against the mega warehouse complex that’s approved to be built in South Tacoma. The rally had several speakers from the local organizations opposed to the warehouse, and community members, including families who were at the park, gathered around the speakers to have snacks, make art and express their opposition to the warehouse.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, August 30, the Climate Justice Committee held a rally outside the corporate offices of Wells Fargo in downtown Minneapolis to call attention to the key role that big banks and their government allies play in funding fossil fuel projects and manufacturing the conditions for what is now the planet’s hottest summer in recorded history.
Madison, WI – On August 19, more than 60 people rallied and marched during the weekly Dane County Farmers Market to demand that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) put an end to Line 5. The DNR holds the authority to approve or deny the permit that Enbridge, the Canada-based corporation that owns the pipeline, needs in order to continue its operations in the state. The actions were organized by students and youth with Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) and drew support from many organizations and community members.
Tacoma, WA – On Sunday August 20, several dozen community members, organizers, labor leaders and activists gathered in Tacoma’s South Park to protest the mega warehouse complex slated to be constructed just a few blocks away. Gemini Gnull, coordinating director of the Climate Alliance of the South Sound led the crowd, chanting “People power!” and “No to the warehouse!”
Milwaukee, WI – The people’s movements mourn the loss of veteran activist George Martin, who passed away on July 16th, 2023. Martin was a well respected leader in local, national, and international anti-war, environmental, and social justice movements who had a great impact on many people over his life-long service to the cause of peace and justice.
Minneapolis, MN – On July 9, 40 activists, organizers and community members gathered to rally for environmental justice. The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) organized this rally as a kickoff event for their new campaign to force two heavy polluters, Bituminous Roadways and Smith Foundry, out of the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, MN – On June 28, the Climate Justice Committee gathered with around 20 community members outside the former Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct building to stand in solidarity with Atlanta Forest Defenders, who called for a national week of action to stop Cop City as intense political repression continues on the frontlines of that fight. The protest also called for a local demand: no new 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, MN – On June 18, 40 activists, organizers and community members gathered to rally and march in celebration of the recent Roof Depot victory in the East Phillips community of Minneapolis. The march was initiated by the Climate Justice Committee (CJC).
Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador – On January 11, 2023, five environmental activists and community leaders from Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador were arrested on bogus charges in a clear case of political persecution. They are still detained five months later and the movement to free them is growing around the world.
Despite overall gains, capitalists killed two important bills for basic workers’ rights, and the legislature failed to advance police accountability
Saint Paul, MN – The 2023 Minnesota legislative session ended on May 22, and it’s one for the history books. A wide array of progressive measures that working class and oppressed peoples’ movements in Minnesota have demanded for years and even decades became law, as the Republicans howled from the sidelines but didn’t have the votes to stop it.
Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, April 22, 200 people marched with the MN Climate Justice Committee and the many organizations that have been fighting the Hiawatha Expansion. The Earth Day march began and ended at the Roof Depot site.
Milwaukee, WI – The Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) hosted an anti-war rally and march on April 22 to commemorate Earth Day. The rally highlighted the need to fight back against the sources of environmental destruction: namely, the capitalist war machine and the corporations that put profit over people and planet.
Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis’ Mayor Frey and seven Minneapolis city council members are talking about how they feel personally threatened after the Roof Depot struggle has become national news – after years of ignoring the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the group that has been spearheading the push to buy the building with the goal of creating a neighborhood space. As the neighborhood is mobilized and righteously angry about the pollution, Frey and his cronies in the Minneapolis city council try to demonize the neighborhood, attempting to paint activists, particularly indigenous activists, as violent.
Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, March 5, residents of the south Minneapolis neighborhood of East Phillips and supporters marched to celebrate community and fight against an environmentally racist project.
