While the thousands of protesters (estimates varied widely to be anywhere between 2,000 to as high as 10,000 people) assembled in Chicago this past weekend to protest the NATO Summit, the global formation known as the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) convened a US Country Chapter in the midst of this protest.

The League, comprised of more than 350 member organizations from over 40 countries worldwide, is united by 17 concerns; fighting for the rights of workers, women, indigenous people, migrants, farmers, LGBT people, youth, housing, education, medical care and the environment.

The founding assembly of the US Chapter of the ILPS (ILPS-US) took place on Saturday, May 19^th at Centro Autonomo in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago

According to Kuusela Hilo of Los Angeles, a member of ILPS' International Coordinating Committee:

We must join hands and raise fists with people all over the world who are fighting against imperialism. Wall Street gets its wealth and power by plundering people all over the world. Our peoples’ power depends on international solidarity, linking and raising our struggles to fight imperialism, the common enemy of the global 99%. That's why it's so important we are launching a US Country Chapter of the League at this time.

That said, the weekend was not without a party, as the assembly was followed by a cultural show called the “Road to Resistance: Art + Culture + Solidarity vs. NATO.”

Among the performances of the evening is “3 Basic Problems” by Power Struggle feat. Kiwi Illafonte, Andrea,  Valerie Francisco, and Rhapsodista's SHO SHOCK:

About ILPS

Founded in the Netherlands in 2001, the ILPS is a global alliance of organizations, groups, and individuals from around the world actively engaged in peoples’ struggles along democratic, progressive, pro-people, and anti-imperialist lines. Since its founding, the ILPS has grown into one of the largest global alliances that actively serve as a campaign coordinating and cooperation center against US imperialist war, aggression, and intervention, with membership spanning across 6 continents. 

The Chairperson of the ILPS is Prof. Jose Maria Sison, 73, a hero of the people's struggle in the Philippines. Prof. Sison, recognized political refugee in the Netherlands and founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines and chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, was former political prisoner and torture survivor under the US-Marcos dictatorship before his release in 1986.

For more information about the ILPS or the ILPS-US assembly in Chicago, please send an email to the chapter organizing committee at ilps.us.icc@gmail.com.