Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Regina Joseph

By Regina Joseph

More than 80 community members gathered to defend local LGBTQ business Common Ground Books against potential protest from a far-right religious group.  | Ben Grant/Fight Back! News

Tallahassee, FL – On August 25, over 80 local community members showed up at Common Grounds Books, a local LGBTQ-friendly bookstore, to support their “Drag Story Hour” event which was threatened with protest by a religious organization, America Needs Fatima.

According to Alex Spencer, the owner of Common Grounds Bookstore, her shop received a threat of protest. In an email, America Needs Fatima reads, “We must peacefully and legally say NO to the homosexual plan to expose young children to indecency, impurity, and unnatural vice.” Drag Story Hour is a monthly event held at Common Ground in which a local drag artist reads storybooks to children.

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By Regina Joseph

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee community has been demanding that the Tallahassee City Commission take a stance on Palestine and sever ties with Israel. The call for action started with a gathering of 40 individuals at City Hall on October 25, where civilians insisted that the city should condemn the United States aid to Israel and cut all partnerships with the country, including their Sister City Program.

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By Regina Joseph

_The silent epidemic of African American maternal and infant mortality _

African American women across the county are in shock about the recent case of Jessica Ross and the decapitation of her baby, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., during childbirth. This case illustrates the deeply troubling maternal and infant mortality crisis affecting African American communities. The heart-wrenching incident is a painful reminder of the urgent inequalities within the United States healthcare system that unevenly impact Black women and their infants. It is an unfortunate representation of a broader crisis that can only be addressed through the struggle for Black liberation and socialism.

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By Regina Joseph

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, August 5, several racist white patrons fucked around found out when they attempted to publicly lynch an African American dock worker who asked the groups of whites to move their tugboat. The tugboat was in the way of a riverboat, the Harriott II, trying to dock. The thugs began raining down blows on the African American dock worker, who fought back but was outnumbered. Then, over a dozen African Americans rushed towards the pier and handed down one of the most viral asswhoppings of all time. The event, now dubbed by many on social media as Alabama Sweet Tea Party, Augustteenth, and Bloody Saturday (reminiscent of Blood Sunday), is inspiring hope, laughs and memes.

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By Regina Joseph

Alexandra Kollontai.

Tallahassee, FL – International Women's Day is an ideal occasion to recognize and honor the accomplishments of women across the globe. Let us use this opportunity to recognize the importance of Alexandra Kollontai, an ardent supporter of gender equality and a pioneering fighter for the rights of women.

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By Regina Joseph

Tallahassee, FL – Due to a recent cyber-attack, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital is forcing its employees to use their PTO, take unpaid leave, or to come to job site where bosses will tell them what they will work on. Considering Tallahassee Memorial Hospital is a multi-million dollar organization, this is a major problem for the nonunion, low-wage workers.

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By Regina Joseph

Regina Joseph.

Tallahassee, FL – For the last couple of months, I have binge-watched hundreds of hours of YouTube content related to RuPaul's Drag Race. I find myself emotional watching drag queens lip sync to Demi Lovato’s, Sorry Not Sorry. It is excellent television. Seeing talented queer people, especially those of color, grace the screen moves one. Even Shangela's epic read of Mimi Imfurst brings me to tears. That read is absolute poetry.

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By Regina Joseph

Mourners laid flowers and lit candles for Manny Paez in front of their art.

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee community convened a somber vigil, January 19, to pay tribute to the life of Manuel “Manny” “Tortuguita” “Teran” Paez, who was taken from us too soon when Georgia state troopers killed them as they were defending Atlanta Forest from the proposed construction of “Cop City.” The gathering was a poignant demonstration of collective grief and solidarity in the face of such a terrible loss.

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By Regina Joseph

Celebration of October revolution in Tallahassee, FL.

Tallahassee, FL – On November 6, the Tallahassee District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization held a celebratory meeting at Florida State University to honor the 105th anniversary of the October Revolution.

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By Regina Joseph

Delilah Pierre, Field Organizer for Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC

Tallahassee, FL – Hours after the leak from U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito, hundreds of Tallahassee residents gathered at the Florida Supreme Court building, May 4, to rally for abortion rights and reproductive freedom.

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