Protest

Classrooms in the Boston Public Schools system were a little quieter on Monday as over 1,000 students ditched school for a raucous protest against education budget cuts. The mostly peaceful march through downtown was eventually dispersed by police.

Despite the all-day snow, protesters gathered in the hundreds outside the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan several hours prior to the Republican debate to make their voices heard on the minimum wage, the Flint water crisis, and other issues.

Madison police estimate that up to 20,000 protesters marched to the Wisconsin State Capitol Thursday, 1,500 of whom made it inside, including workers and students staging a walkout for a rally called “A Day Without Latinos” against two immigration bills.

After five nights and four days of occupying a federal facility in Oregon, both critics and supporters of the armed protesters are calling for the demonstration to end. How to de-escalate remains a debate, however, as time seems to be running out.

The street failed to bring down any governments in 2015, but it was still an impressive year of collective action. Protesters – be they in Japan, Turkey, Yemen, the US or EU – embraced their causes and harnessed the power of the internet and media to spread their message.

The largest mall in the United States has not only asked for a restraining order against eight Black Lives Matter activists, but also called on them to announce via social media that a planned protest on a busy shopping day would be canceled.

Thousands continued to protest throughout Chicago Thursday evening, calling for the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Cook County State Attorney with chants like “Anita Alvarez gotta go.” New demands also emerged, as did new styles of protest.

Thousands have taken to the streets of Chicago, dismissing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 40 minute-long apology at City Hall. Amid calls for Emanuel and the Cook County State’s Attorney to resign, protesters clarified that police brutality isn’t their only concern.

Marking their 10th day outside the Minneapolis 4th Precinct Police Station on Tuesday, activists said their “occupation” would last until demands regarding the Jamar Clark police shooting death were met, despite Clark family pleas to halt the protest.