WI AFL-CIO: Working People’s Day of Action: Feb 24, 2018 Madison

On Saturday, February 24, in cities across the country, thousands will unite to demand an end to an economy that’s rigged in favor of the wealthy and most powerful.

Learn more and join us here.

The Working People’s Day of Action is about demanding an end to the rigged economy and defending our freedoms. On February 24, we will stand up for the freedom of working people to come together and fight for decent and equitable pay for our work, affordable health care, quality schools, vibrant communities and a secure future for all of us.

Join us in Madison!

Working People’s Day of Action

Saturday, February 24 at 1 PM – 3 PM

Capitol Square, Madison

Wealthy special interests, backed by the Trump Administration, want the Supreme Court to rig the economy even more in their favor with a case called Janus v. AFSCME Council 31. The forces behind this case simply do not believe that working people should have the same freedoms and opportunities as they do. The case will be heard two days after the Day of Action on February 26.

If the Supreme Court sides with the corporate interests, it would make it easier to divide working people and limit their power in numbers because unions give workers – particularly women and people of color – a powerful voice in speaking up for themselves, their families and their communities.

Thousands of people will gather in cities across the country, including Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA, Washington, DC, Miami, FL, Detroit, MI, St. Paul, MN, New York City, NY, Columbus, OH, Philadelphia, PA, Memphis, TN, and Chicago, IL.

Join us in Madison!

Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee as they fought for the freedom to join together in a strong union and be treated with dignity and respect at work. They carried signs that boldly proclaimed: “I AM A MAN.”

Fifty years later, as a handful of corporate elites, divisive extremists and corrupt politicians continue to rig the economy against us, working people and allies nationwide are rising up.

On the Working People’s Day of Action, we will stand up for the freedom of working people to join together in strong unions and fight for decent and equitable pay for our work, affordable health care, quality schools, vibrant communities, and a secure future for all of us.

In Solidarity,

Phil Neuenfeldt, President

Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer

Chicago: ‘Do It Like Durham’ / Takiyah Thompson says topple white supremacy, uplift the community

https://www.workers.org/2018/02/08/chicago-do-it-like-durham/

By Kaitlyn Griffith posted on February 8, 2018

Takiyah Thompson, a member of Workers World Party in Durham, N.C., and a student at North Carolina Central University, spoke to over 70 people on Feb. 3 at the United Electrical Workers hall in Chicago about resistance to white supremacy and toppling its monuments. The event was sponsored by WWP, Black Youth Project 100 and Black Lives Matter Chicago.

Thompson participated on a panel with Inez White from BYP 100 (second from right), Maria from BLM (far right) and Dani Boachie from WWP (far left). All the speakers focused on the need to build a movement to fight white supremacy and the system that fosters it.

Thompson noted the necessity of a “sustained effort to build a movement and protect those who were arrested” as a result of the people’s Aug. 14 removal of the Confederate statue in Durham. Thompson was the first person arrested. Several hundred people turned themselves in at the sheriff’s office the day after the arrests, saying they too opposed white supremacy. They showed up again to fight back against the Ku Klux Klan, who tried but failed to march through Durham a couple days later.

While felony charges against the Durham arrestees have been dropped, they still face misdemeanor charges and need solidarity. “I don’t need more allies. I need comrades,” Thompson told the crowd.

When asked what should be done with the torn-down statues, Thompson replied: “Melt them down into urinals. That’s an important first step. Then replace them with something that uplifts the community [the racist statues] were meant to oppress.”

Thompson further explained: “Racism and capitalism washed up on this country’s shores together. No one can have a more pointed criti­que of capitalism in this country than its first exploited workers.”

The program ended with Takiyah’s mother, Mikisa Thompson, reciting a poem she had written for her daughter.

WW photo: Kaitlyn Griffith

Madison, Wis.: Takiyah Thompson on removing white supremacy from the U.S. landscape

https://www.workers.org/2018/02/08/madison-wis-takiyah-thompson-on-removing-white-supremacy-from-the-u-s-landscape/

By Workers World Madison, Wis., bureau posted on February 8, 2018

The Madison, Wis., branch of Workers World Party hosted Takiyah Thompson on Feb. 4 as part of their national speaking tour for Black Liberation Month. Thompson is one of the freedom fighters who led the people’s removal of a Confederate statue in Durham, N.C., on Aug. 14.

Thompson spoke about the connection between the symbolic dimensions of white supremacy, exemplified by the Durham statue and other Confederate statues which dotted the landscape until recently. The speaker referred to “institutional, political and economic legacies,” such as mass incarceration and severe income disparities between different racial groups in the U.S. Attendees included community residents, supporters of the broad-based Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement (WIBOPM) and Workers World Party members from Madison, Chicago and Milwaukee.

(Photo: Allen Ruff)

Support Take Em Down NOLA

Take ‘Em Down NOLA

DONATE HERE: You all are a part of the Take Em Down NOLA efforts, successes and future victories! We welcome your donations to keep this going! No donation is too big or too small. Everybody can make a difference. #TakeEmDownNOLA

We the people of New Orleans demand that the Mayor and City Council take immediate action to remove all monuments, school names and street signs dedicated to White Supremacists. These structures litter our city with visual reminders of the horrid legacy of slavery that terrorized so many of this city’s ancestors. They misrepresent our community. We demand the freedom to live in a city where we are not forced to pay taxes for the maintenance of public symbols that demean us and psychologically terrorize us.

End White Supremacy in New Orleans NOW!

Chicago, Feb. 21: Marxist-Leninist Study Group

Hosted by Chicago Workers World Party

ML STUDY GROUP: LENIN EDITION!
**Invite Friends and Comrades**

Marxist-Leninist Study Group is a discussion series for people hoping to learn more about socialism.

It is held the first Monday and third Wednesday of every month, light snacks and beverages provided.

If you are not available in person, tune in using Facebook Live to participate!

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NEW NOTE: If you are uncomfortable being filmed on the live stream, please let us know! You do not have to be filmed if you come to the event in person. Also, do not feel like you have to come to the event knowing everything – it is okay to sit, listen, and learn. ♥
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“Socialists cannot achieve their great aim without fighting against all oppression of nations.” Lenin, Socialism and War (1915)
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For the 11th Marxist-Leninist Study Group, we will be reading The Right of Nations to Self-Determination:
– Chapters 1-5, & Conclusion
~Total: approx. 35 pages

All readings can be found for free at this link below:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1914/self-det/index.htm

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Durham, Feb. 8: Pack the Courts! Defend Anti-Racist Freedom Fighters!

Hosted by Defend Durham

510 S Dillard Street, Durham, NC, 9 A.M. 

This Thursday four anti-racist freedom fighters return to court with the expectation of trial proceedings. They need your support!

The courts prosecuting our brave comrades for fighting against white supremacy are trying to wear us all down with delays and continuances. But we won’t stop fighting. We hope you won’t either!

Join us at the Durham County Courthouse at 8:45 for the 9:00 session. If a continuance is granted these appearances usually last about an hour. The more support from you the more pressure on the state. Bring friends!

Text DEFENDDURHAM to 64336 for updates.

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Remembering Trayvon Martin

“The Hampton Roads Light Brigade is a chapter of the Overpass Light Brigade, which has similar groups across the United States and around the world. The syndicate is known for promoting grassroots and progressive views, such as those shared by the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements.”

On February 5, over top a busy Norfolk thoroughfare, a local group illuminated a message of remembrance on what would have been Trayvon Martin’s 23rd birthday.

#FightWithLight

 

Milwaukee: Rufus King Students Kick-Off The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools

A group of Rufus King students constructed this #BlackLivesMatter display on the fence line of their school to kick-off The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools.

All photos Joe Brusky

#BlackLivesMatterAtSchool

Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association

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Rufus King Feb. 5, 2018

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Rufus King Feb. 5, 2018

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Powerful morning at King Elementary Feb. 5 for the The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools Kick-Off. Thanks to MTEA member and King teacher Angela Harris for organizing this! — Text and photo Joe Brusky

#BlackLivesMatter