‘BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE & PALESTINE!’ TO FEATURE INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS

MADISON, WISCONSIN – An educational forum discussing the historical relationships between the Black Freedom Struggle, Palestine and other people’s liberation struggles internationally, will take place at 2222 S Park Street, Madison, WI from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. The event is free and open to the public. 

Speakers Include: 

Heba Mohammad is an experienced community & political organizer based in Milwaukee, WI. Her campaign experience includes running for office in 2016 and working on both partisan & non-partisan campaigns at the local and national levels. Heba now organizes with Milwaukee4Palestine, a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting for, & uplifting the voices of Palestinians and oppressed peoples across the world until total liberation for all. Instagram – To contact: milwaukee4palestine@gmail.com. 

Karissa Red Bear 

Karissa is a member of the Lakota Sioux Tribe of Pine Ridge, SD and a member of WiBOPM. Her Lakota heritage influenced her pursuit of justice early on. She attended her first political action in middle school during the Act 10 protests. In high school, she and her peers led a struggle against a transphobic book ban in their school district’s curriculum. Since then she has supported the Black liberation movement, reproductive justice efforts, antifascist demonstrations, among other movements. 

Kai Rasmussen is a WiBOPM member and grassroots organizer in Madison, Wisconsin.  He first became political in high school after Act 10 and has been active ever since.  Kai has been out in the Wisconsin streets for protests for Black Lives Matter, public education, reproductive justice, Palestine, anti-fascism and many more.  He most recently served as communications director for the Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America from 2022-2023 and served on the executive committee of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine from 2023-2024. As a Japanese-American, Kai wants an end to U.S. imperialism. Get rid of all U.S. military bases in Japan! To contact: 608-512-0510 or wibailoutpeople@gmail.com.@wibopm – wibopm.org

Abayomi Azikiwe is a Detroit-based people’s leader, scholar and organizer. Mr. Azikiwe is a frequent correspondent for many international publications including News Ghana. Mr. Azikiwe has appeared on numerous television and radio networks internationally. The Detroit-based Moratorium Now Coalition was formed in 2007 by Mr. Azikiwe and fellow organizers. The coalition organizes a variety of labor and community work including the annual Detroit MLK Day march and rally, fighting evictions and foreclosures, supports unions, protests police brutality, opposes the attacks on public education, supports political prisoners, immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community and more. Mr. Azikiwe is also a past President and Chairperson of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR). To contact: 313-671-3715 or panafnewswire@gmail.com. Mr. Azikiwe’s Full Biography: https://bit.ly/3EN6VpP

Ric Urrutia 

Ric Urrutia, Co-Host of We Rise Fighting! Labor Podcast, was born in El Salvador, is a union and community researcher, organizer and artist. His topic for Feb. 22: “Labor and Palestine.” To contact: 720-207-8313. werisefighting@gmail.com