National

A nightmare for progressives leading up to the Nov. 7 elections was that Maryland voters would go against the grain and elect Republican Michael Steele, an African American, to the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes.

NEW YORK — “No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!” protesters chanted Dec. 6 as they rallied in Manhattan’s Foley Square. The event was planned months in advance to bring attention to the issue of police brutality in New York City. But following the shooting death of groom-to-be 23-year-old Sean Bell, the event took on new meaning and urgency.

Labor steps up for ‘young men of color’
Two court wins for Katrina survivors
Government to raze public housing

MINNEAPOLIS — The success of the Keith Ellison congressional campaign here was noteworthy from several perspectives.

The symposium “James and Esther Jackson, the American Left and the Origins of the Modern Civil Rights Movement” at the Tamiment Library of New York University on Oct. 28 was an event of singular enlightenment and emotional impact.

The United Steelworkers union has announced a massive solidarity campaign to support the 15,000 striking Goodyear workers and their families. The campaign begins with a National Day of Action Dec. 16, with 100 demonstrations in 100 cities at Goodyear facilities across the nation.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Legislature wasted no time heeding the national voters’ mandate, overwhelmingly passing a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage from $6.50 an hour to $7.50 effective next July. The bill, which Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he looks forward to signing, will make the Illinois minimum wage one of the nation’s highest.

Veterans and military families are planning dramatic actions in the nation’s capital in late January to appeal to ordinary Americans to speak out for an end to the Iraq war.

WASHINGTON — “Union power’s on the rise, now’s the time to organize!”
More than 1,000 union members took up that chant as they marched to Capitol Hill, Dec. 8, still riding high from labor’s huge victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections.

NUEVA YORK — “El control estrangulador de la derecha sobre el Congreso ha sido roto”, dijo Joelle Fishman, presidente del la Comisión de Acción Política del Partido Comunista de Estados Unidos (PC), en una reunión de su Comité Nacional aquí el 18-19 de noviembre.