Fight Back! - News and Views from the People's Struggle

New Orleans: Franklin HS students hold walkout against Louisiana’s anti-LGBTQ bills

Fight Back — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 03:54:17 +0000

New Orleans, LA - On Friday, March 31, close to 300 students at Benjamin Franklin High School walked out of school during last period. They demanded a stop to bills in the Louisiana legislature that target LGBTQ kids. Students gathered on the school’s front lawn to hear speeches by their trans classmates. The event coincided with national Trans Day of Visibility.

Students chanted “These bills kill!” and “We say gay!”

“Conservatives are not trying to protect children, they just say that to justify what they are doing. Conservatives just want something that will distract people from how they do not better society,” said Frankie Ratowitz, an organizer of the walkout.

Even though legislators are limited to five non-fiscal bills each this year, the legislature is considering a record number of anti-LGBTQ attacks. Five bills relate to banning sex education and LGBTQ-themed books (SB 7, HB 102, HB 25, HB 360, and HB 77). One threatens to ban teachers from using correct names and pronouns (HB 81). A “Don’t Say Gay” bill attempts to prohibit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in school (HB 466). Lastly, HB 463 attempts to ban trans kids from receiving medical care.

“Even though the bills are terrifying, I think the trans community is still strong even now, and we are ready to band together to fight in protests, walkouts and phone zaps like we’ve done for so many years,” said Grayson Swearingen, an LGBTQ student leader.

Atlanta activists host community town hall around stop Cop City

Fight Back — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 01:12:04 +0000

Atlanta, GA - On Tuesday, March 28 over 100 community members and activists attended a community town hall hosted by Community Movement Builders (CMB). The purpose of the town hall was to inform the public about the ongoing struggle to stop Cop City, a proposed $90 million facility that would train law enforcement officers from around the country in new and innovative ways to oppress people and repress progressive movements. Additionally, the proposed training facility would be built on the Atlanta Forest, the largest urban forest in the United States.

The town hall began with a speech from Kamau Franklin, the founder of CMB. Franklin spoke on the nature of policing in America and pointed out that this facility would not train police to better serve the community but rather better serve the interests of corporations and their politicians. He then drew the connection from the history of police as slave catchers and strikebreakers to the role they play today as an occupying force within the African American community. Franklin also highlighted the role Israeli police play in training Georgia police and connected the struggle between the Palestinian and Black liberation struggles.

“We are opposed to Cop City because we understand that it is a further mechanism of control over our communities,” said Franklin. “We oppose Cop City because we understand that it is a further mechanism of control over our movements.”

Next to speak was Mary Hooks, an activist with Movement 4 Black Lives (M4BL). She spoke on the hypocrisy of Mayor Andre Dickens and his recent State of Atlanta address. She also spoke about the 1994 Crime Bill, the War on Drugs, and the impact mass incarceration has had on the Black community.

“Back when they could have expanded the services and alternatives to address poverty and poverty-induced violence they didn’t,” said Hooks. “And what did they do? They locked up folks like Eman Jamil Al-Amin, political prisoner who was working in the West End doing community work.”

The town hall was then opened up to community members to give comments about Cop City and their experiences with the police.

“The proposed police training facility, dubbed ‘Cop City,’ sits at the intersection of myriad issues currently plaguing not only Atlanta but our society. Gentrification, environmental racism, the issues of class and power and how we allow corporations to shape our lives. Atlanta is one of the city’s most negatively impacted by climate change. The forest provides protection from flooding and serves to cool the city. Will Cop City aid in the handling of impending climate disasters as well? In a city where only about 4% of Black people make it out of poverty, we must question why tens of millions of dollars have been allocated to the building of this facility. The building of a facility in which the surrounding community provided 17 hours of public comment in which they overwhelmingly didn’t support it,” said Easy Johnson, an organizer with CMB and emcee for the town hall.

“After all, Cop City is the corporate solution to Black people protesting our oppression. It’s $30 million of taxpayer money for a police training facility no one in the community surrounding the proposed facility asked for. The death of environmental activist, Tortuguita, serves as the parakeet in the mine to warn us of what’s to come if Cop City is built,” Johnson continued.

The town hall ended with community members and activists committing to stop Cop City and signing up for further action and information from the groups in attendance.

Denver demands justice for family of Elias Armstrong

Fight Back — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 01:04:06 +0000

Denver, CO - On Thursday March 23, over a dozen activists and members of the community gathered in the morning outside of the district attorney’s office to demand justice for Elias Armstrong and his family.

On February 5, a white vigilante tracked Elias’ stolen car from the affluent Central Park neighborhood on the eastern edge of the city to a small, working-class community on the opposite side of town. Security footage shows that 12-year-old Elias Armstrong was standing in plain view next to the vehicle when the vigilante located it. With full knowledge that his actions put children at risk, the man drew his weapon and ran at full speed toward the stolen car. Elias Armstrong jumped into the driver seat to try and drive to safety, but the vigilante fired his gun over a dozen times into the car full of kids. Two other minors in the vehicle with Elias suffered gunshot wounds but survived the attack. Armstrong died in the car two blocks from where he was shot.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has refused to press charges against the man who murdered Elias Armstrong over a car. She refuses to release 911 tapes or any audio of the encounter and she even refuses to provide the name of the vigilante so that the Armstrong family could pursue a civil lawsuit. It was announced at this event that the family believes they have learned the identity of the gunman and have officially pressed charges. Beth McCann has sent her message loud and clear: She’s not interested in justice for the Armstrong family. Like so many before her, Denver’s top law enforcement officer has announced that white property is more valuable than Black lives.

The Armstrong family has a long, multi-generational history with racist violence, often at the hands of police. Elias’ older brother, Torrence, was killed by Westminster police just a few months prior to Elias. Elias’ father, Thomas, is still seeking justice for an incident in 2005 in which Denver PD left him in a coma after a vicious beating and torture. Naturally, many members of the family believe that they have been specifically targeted for violence by Denver police and those acting on their behalf. “If you want to become a serial killer, become a Denver police officer because you’ll get away with it every time,” said Thomas Armstrong.

The Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, an organization that fights against racist and political repression in Denver and its largest suburb, have noticed a pattern of DA McCann denying justice to the victims of racist violence. This is especially true in the case of racist police violence such as the mass shooting committed by Denver PD last July which injured seven. Beth McCann was quick to press charges on one of the victims in that shooting, 21-year-old Jordan Waddy, but passed the buck to a grand jury to decide the fate of the three officers who recklessly shot into a crowd. Only one of those officers has been charged.

Belinda Wray’s son, Mark Wray Jr., was killed by an Denver Regional Transit District bus under a number of suspicious circumstances but DA McCann closed the case only 45 minutes after Mark’s death. Wray told the crowd, “My son deserves the truth! This city deserves the truth! I’m not scared and I’m gonna take this to the end!” The DA’s repeated attempts to push cases under the rug and deny justice to families of horrible crimes prompted some demonstrators to carry signs referring to her as “Cover-up McCann.”

The Armstrong family is demanding that District Attorney McCann confirm the identity of the dangerous man who killed their son, the 911 calls associated with the incident, all video footage and audio associated with the incident, and a full, independent investigation into the events of that evening. They want murder charges as well as several state and federal weapons charges pressed against the vigilante. They also want legislators to pass a law, which they would like to be called “Elias’ Law,” which forbids people from taking matters into their own hands when attempting to recover stolen vehicles. In the case of 16-year-old Torrence Armstrong, the family demands bodycam footage of the incident which has still not been released. Finally, the family demands the creation of a Civilian Police Accountability Council which would provide communities with genuine, democratic control over how they are policed.

Chicago: Bernie joins Brandon for jobs, healthcare and justice

Fight Back — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 21:47:30 +0000

Chicago, IL - On Thursday, March 30 Brandon Johnson and Bernie Sanders held a joint “Chicago for All of Us” rally at the Credit Union 1 Arena, drawing a crowd of more than 4000 supporters. The event comes after Sanders’ endorsement of Johnson for the April 4 mayoral runoff election. The event included speeches from Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa; Representatives Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez; president of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten; Martin Luther King III, and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The event brought together progressive activists, union members and students from the nearby University of Illinois Chicago. The Johnson campaign is an example of the sort of rainbow coalition Chicago hasn’t seen since the Harold Washington campaign of the 1980s, and the crowd showed it. An integral part of the rainbow politics of the 1980s, Reverend Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist and leader of the Rainbow-PUSH coalition was also present.

Senator Sanders spoke on the connection between the movement and the Johnson campaign, stating, “He understands what you and I understand: that racism and bigotry are all about the ruling class trying to divide us and what we are about is bringing our people together to fight for a city, fight for a nation that works for all of us not just the few.”

The arena was filled to the brim with whites, Blacks, Latinos and Asians united to fight the reactionary and corporate backed Paul Vallas campaign and build the people’s movements.

Representative Ramirez praised the diverse nature of the crowd and its representative strength of the people’s movement in Chicago. She shared advice from her mother: “Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien ere” (“Tell me who you are with and I’ll tell you who you are”).

On the stage, students from the Little Village Lawndale Highschool Fightback Organization stood behind the speakers. Earlier that same day the students had led a walkout of hundreds of mostly Black and Latino students to denounce Paul Vallas and his attacks on public education while he was in office as the superintendent of Chicago Public schools. These included refusing to open Little Village Lawndale High even after parents from the community went on a 19-day hunger strike to demand a high school in their community.

Representative Jackson contrasted this shameful record with Johnson’s experience as a former public school teacher and member of the Chicago Teachers Union, saying Johnson is, “A man who starts his career going into a classroom on behalf of the children will no doubt end his career working for the elevation of every human life.”

Finally, Brandon Johnson took the stage to thunderous applause. He spoke against the reactionary attacks on his campaign by stating: “They have tried to make us feel bad because we believe in collective bargaining and unionism, let me make this clear: the last time I checked Chicago is a union town. And if you are an enemy of labor, you are an enemy of the people!”

Throughout the night the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. was invoked, especially by Rev. King’s son who reminded the crowd that election day on April 4 would mark the 55th anniversary of his father’s assassination. King III highlighted the historical significance of the current mayoral election for Chicago, especially as it relates to housing, an area his father led key struggles in. King III recognized that the movement backing Johnson worked in the same spirit as his father. “Johnson is the one to make the dream real for everyone. To have a decent quality of life, a decent job, to have healthcare and to have justice.”

On April 4 Chicagoans will go to the polls with a real choice. On the one hand, of a progressive supported by a coalition of working and oppressed people, opening the door for the people’s movements to win real lasting victories. On the other a reactionary corporate-backed Republican who would put those same movements on the defensive and put forward a program for privatization and a racist police crackdown.

Students at two New Orleans universities drop banners to protest attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion

Fight Back — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:39:15 +0000

New Orleans, LA - On Tuesday March 28, dozens of students at Loyola University of New Orleans and the University of New Orleans hung banners at their respective schools displaying the slogans: “Defend diversity, equity and inclusion,” “Protect student multicultural organizations” and “Increase Black enrollment!”

The two actions protested Florida House Bill 999. If enacted into law, this bill would attack diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, staff jobs, faculty positions, and multicultural student groups. The students showed their solidarity with students in Florida and demanded that their schools take strong positions against any such legislation in Louisiana. Both groups also demanded that all charges be dropped against the Tampa 4, the four SDS activists arrested in Florida for protesting to defend DEI earlier in March.

HB 999 is set to ban multicultural studies, such as the African American and Diaspora Studies major being demanded by University of New Orleans students. It also threatens faculty tenure, multicultural and gender-based student organizations, and other types of academic freedom. The UNO group Students United issued a statement demanding that UNO guarantee that it will protect existing programs and organizations, expand its diversity programs, protect tenured faculty and increase Black enrollment.

The twin actions showed the increasing level of organization and activity being built by the student movement of New Orleans. Loyola students marched with their banner chanting “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Ron DeSantis, go away!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? stand up, fight back!” They ended their march by tying their banner up where it could be easily seen. At the same time, UNO students stood with their banner in front of the University Center and chanted “Money for schools and education, not racist legislation.” UNO students entered the University Center and fixed their banner to be in sight of those entering the building, where it remains as of the writing of this article.

Students United UNO and the Young Democratic Socialists of America of Loyola (both affiliates of Students for a Democratic Society) organized the joint protests to answer a national SDS call to action over HB 999.

Minnesota pushes for Cuba to be taken off terror list

Fight Back — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:23:18 +0000

Minneapolis, MN - On March 26 Cuba solidarity activists responded to the national call for monthly car caravans to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and to take Cuba off the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list (SSOT). The 18-car caravan flew Cuba flags and displayed pro-Cuba signs while they drove down Lake Street through a Latino neighborhood. It was welcomed with car honks and fist pumps.

In the last days of Trump in office, he added Cuba back on the SSOT. During Biden’s campaign to become president, he indicated he would take them off the list as well as revoke the 247 additional sanctions Trump had imposed, now he is breaking yet another campaign promise.

One of the organizers of the Minneapolis caravan, Marcy Shapiro, member of Women Against Military Madness Solidarity Committee on the Americas, read from a statement from organizers of the Miami caravan, “On March 23, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, testifying before the U.S. Congress, assured Miami Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar that the State Department has no plans to review Cuba’s status on the sponsors of state terrorism list. This is further motivation why our caravan is so important. We are the voice of thousands of people, Cuban and non-Cuban alike, who want to see an end to the blockade.”

She went on to read, “Almost 36,000 people, for example, packed the Loan Depot stadium on March 19 to watch Cuba play the USA in the semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic. Perhaps half the crowd, primarily Miami Cubans, were there to root for the Cuban team. These fans demonstrated how there is a Cuban family on both sides of the Florida straits that thrills to the idea of increased athletic, cultural, and economic exchanges between the two nations.”

As the caravan drove through the streets of Minneapolis, WAMM member Carol Walker spoke on Zoom to the other cars about her recent return trip from Cuba. She was in a delegation sponsored by the Vets for Peace (VFP) where she and others saw the VFP’s sailboat, Golden Rule, as it visited Cuba on its coast-to-coast tour. Walker pointed out, “Isn’t it hypocritical that Biden calls Cuba a terrorist state when what they do is send boatloads of doctors to countries in need of medical help, while the U.S. bombs countries across the world? Who is the terrorist?”

Activists vowed to continue to fight to remove Cuba from the harsh grip of sanctions made worse by the exclusion of Cuba from the global financial system because of the destructive financial restrictions of the SSOT list.

In April 2023, will mark the second-year anniversary of the Minneapolis Cuba caravan in the Twin Cities. For more details, follow Solidarity Committee on the Americas on Facebook, and SCOTA_MN on Twitter and Instagram.

Denver SDS puts pressure on administration to vote to demilitarize campus police

Fight Back — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 13:12:48 +0000

Denver, CO - On March 28, members of Denver’s Students For a Democratic Society (SDS) protested the delay of their resolution vote by the Auraria Board of Directors (ABOD). They rallied and spoke out around a banner that stated, “ABOD get back to work!” and “Don’t delay the resolution to defang 1033.” While speakers were spreading the word, members of SDS handed out flyers for a call-in. These included the numbers of the board members as well as a script that demanded that the board get back to work and vote on the resolution immediately as they had once again taken the topic off the meeting agenda.

The preliminary effects of the call-in appear to have been a massive success. Just 30 minutes after the end of the workday, ABOD gave into the demands of SDS, placing the 1033 Resolution back onto the agenda. While ABOD did not guarantee that the matter would be voted on, they did decide to allow SDS approximately 10-15 minutes to speak on the issue at the meeting.

The resolution proposes a change to the 1033 program, which the Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) participates in. The 1033 program allows ACPD access to surplus military supplies from the Department of Defense. This includes military grade weapons such as M16s, which ACPD has purchased previously through the program. The resolution SDS has proposed would allow ACPD to stay in the program, but bars them from purchasing any military grade weapons.

SDS has been attempting to pass this resolution starting at the beginning of January but has been met with significant resistance by ABOD every step of the way. ABOD was originally set to put the matter to a vote in January, however the vote was pushed back to February. Then, once the time to vote came again in February, ABOD attended a private event at a Sports Arena instead of meeting.

SDS member Paul Nelson stated in his speech, “ABOD went on vacation instead of doing their jobs and voting on the 1033 Resolution. If any other worker engaged in such a blatant refusal to do their jobs, they would be fired, but the highest-paid employees of Auraria campus are excused from engaging in the same level of commitment to their occupations.” ABOD was finally poised to vote again March 29, but again claimed that the decision was too tough to be made, pushing the vote back two months.

Considering the move to push back the issue so long, according to SDS member Tom Chaney, the students felt “a massive sense of victory by forcing the 1033 Resolution back on the agenda.” That being said, SDS remains deeply committed to passing the resolution as the organization’s highest priority, and demonstrations are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity if the matter is not voted on March 29.

Trade unionists across U.S. demand University of South Florida not fire employee for protesting

Fight Back — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 02:10:49 +0000

Tampa, FL - Almost 200 trade unionists and supporters signed an open letter to the University of South Florida demanding AFSCME member Chrisley Carpio keep her job. Carpio is one of the protesters the USF Police Department brutalized at a Students for a Democratic Society protest for diversity on March 6. She is one of four protesters arrested and facing felony charges for battery on a law enforcement officer. Carpio was placed on administrative leave on March 7.

USF human resources emailed Chrisley Carpio on Wednesday, March 22 with a notice of a Monday, March 27 hearing on a request for her termination. Carpio hadn’t had any charges filed against her when the email was sent. USF also initially denied Carpio’s request for union representation during this meeting, a violation of her Weingarten rights under federal law.

By the date of the request for termination hearing, 180 people had signed the letter of support for Carpio. Dozens of people joined USF Students for a Democratic Society’s call-in campaign to USF human resources in support of Carpio. USF moved the request for termination hearing to Thursday March 30, to allow Carpio’s union representation to attend.

A spokesperson for AFSCME, Nat Bender, gave a statement to the Tampa Bay Times in support of Carpio’s right to free speech and the protection of her job during the investigation.

“What USF is doing is not only unfair, it's criminal. Instead of defending education, multicultural programs, and Black studies and women's studies from DeSantis' attacks, they're trying to fire a worker who dared to stand with students. They need to fire the police chief and [USF President] Rhea Law. They need to take a stand against these attacks. They need to drop the charges. And they need to give me my job back,” said Carpio, a member of AFSCME Local 3342 and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

If USF fires Chrisley Carpio, AFSCME Local 3342 will fight for her job. The signatures to the letter of support show students and trade unionists alike agree protesting is not a crime and workers should not be fired for supporting diversity on campus.

Communist Party of the Philippines calls on NPA to “stir up and spread flames” of armed struggle

Fight Back — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 01:43:07 +0000

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today, March 28, issued a statement on the occasion of 54th anniversary of the New People’s Army (NPA) tomorrow, March 29. The CPP exhorted the NPA’s commanders and Red fighters to “stir up and spread the flames of the people’s war for national freedom and democracy.”

The Central Committee of the CPP cited “intensified imperialist oppression against the Filipino people” and emphasized the need to “attain freedom from US control and domination and carry out land reform and national industrialization” which it said, “are the key steps to turn (the Filipino people’s) lives around.”

It denounced the neoliberal economic measures being carried out by the Marcos regime which cause the broad masses of the Filipino toiling people to suffer from “dispossession of their livelihood by real estate companies, plantation, mining companies, infrastructure, as well as land reclamation projects.”

The Party said there is a “clear link” between “fascist suppression and the antipeople neoliberal economic policies and programs” of the Marcos regime. It lambasted the US government for being responsible for the “widespread campaign of terrorism and fascist monstrosities” under the Marcos regime.

It denounced the plan of the US to construct more military bases in the Philippines to use the country “as part of its war theater preparations against China.”

The CPP said “the broad masses of the Filipino people are suffering from increasingly intolerable forms of oppression and exploitation… they are ever determined to wage resistance in order to free the country from clutches of US imperialism and the subservient ruling classes, and attain genuine national freedom and democracy.”

The message traced the growth of the NPA over the past 54 years of waging revolutionary armed struggle saying “it has frustrated the enemy’s campaigns of encirclement and suppression one after another” from the first Marcos regime to the current second Marcos regime. The Party said the NPA has “steadily advanced and surmounted every disadvantage and setback.”

“The preservation and nationwide growth of the NPA through more than five decades of fighting clearly proves the correctness of the strategy and tactics set forth by the Party for waging protracted people’s war in the Philippines,” said the CPP Central Committee.”

“The key has always been for NPA units to constantly expand and deepen its links with the broad masses of peasants,” said the CPP.

The CPP said “there are clear prospects for a new period of revolutionary surge in the Philippines.” It said it is certain that NPA will win more achievements and victories “in the coming period of revolutionary surge.”

FRSO Spring $130,000 Fund Drive: Contribute to building revolutionary organization!

Fight Back — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 16:49:30 +0000

Times have changed and change is coming. Capitalism is a failed system. It needs to go, the sooner the better. A revolutionary solution is needed, and for that we need organization. Revolutionary organization - the kind of organization that Freedom Road Socialist Organization is all about building. To do this, we need you to step up and contribute. We have set of goal of raising $130,000 this year. Together we can make this happen.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization has grown rapidly over the past year. And the rate of growth is picking up. Every six to eight weeks, we are developing work in a new city. Our organizers have been traveling to cities across the county. We are becoming stronger with every passing day. We want to accelerate the process of building revolutionary organization and that cannot happen without additional resources. That’s where you come in.

Last year’s successful funding drive allowed us to open a national office and hire full time staff. As a result, our ability to do things in the real world has increased in a big way. Last year many supporters contributed $1000 or more. We need the same thing to happen this year. It is like Mao Zedong said, “We must crave greatness and success.”

When the attack on Roe v. Wade came down from the reactionary Supreme Court, FRSO mobilized tens of thousands of people in opposition. We had a real and meaningful role in the uprising after the murder of George Floyd, and we are fighting hard for community control of police. And we are proud of our work in building the labor movement. We successfully resisted a multiyear FBI campaign that aimed to destroy our organization. We are activists and fighters, and we will do whatever it takes to bring this system down. Your contributions will allow us to achieve so much more.

So, do what needs to be done. Dig deep and make a serious contribution to the FRSO Spring Fundraising Drive. Our future is bright!

Contribute today by going to FRSO.org and hitting donate.