Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

JacksonvilleFl

By Ryan McClure

Students who responded with racist Snapchat face consequences

UNF SDS takes a knee for Black lives.

Jacksonville, FL – On Oct. 11, University of North Florida Students for a Democratic Society (UNF SDS) held a rally for Black Lives Matter and in solidarity with the protest going on in the NFL across the country. The event was called “Take a Knee UNF.” The event drew a crowd of over 150 students in support.

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By staff

Hoffa leadership prepares to sell-short

Jacksonville, FL – United Parcel Service (UPS) has less than one year before its contract with over 250,000 Teamsters expires. UPS Teamsters have reason to be in a fighting mood. In 2013, when Teamster President Hoffa encouraged the union’s membership to vote to accept a concessionary contract, it barely passed the 50% threshold needed for approval. Regional supplements in 18 locations were voted down. The “Vote No” movement that grew out of these fights united Teamster activists from around the country who wanted to see better leadership.

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By Michael Sampson

Jacksonville, FL – This past Sunday and Monday, Sept. 24 and 25, NFL football players numbering in the hundreds took a knee during the national anthem at different NFL games. This comes just days after Donald Trump, at stump speech in Alabama, called for owners to fire any NFL player who took a knee during the national anthem.

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By staff

Jacksonville, FL protest demands justice for Vernell Bing and Keegan Roberts

Jacksonville, FL – Over 75 people gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse, Sept. 20, to demand community control of the police, and to get justice for justice for Vernell Bing and Keagan Roberts. Called by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), just days after Jacksonville State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced no charges against Jacksonville Sheriff's Office cop Tyler Landreville for the murder of Bing in May of 2016, protesters connected the police crimes of the JSO with why a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC) is needed.

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By staff

Press conference demands the Jacksonville City Council vote no on 100 new cops.

Jacksonville, FL – On Sept. 4, Labor Day, a few dozen members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee as well as family members of Keegan Roberts gathered on the steps of City Hall for a press conference to demand the Jacksonville City Council vote no on a new city budget that would add 100 new cops to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO). They also demanded police accountability and community control of the police.

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By staff

Jacksonville rally demands justice for of Keegan Robert.

Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, Sept. 2, the family of Keegan Roberts called for a protest outside State Attorney Melissa Nelson's office as well as a candlelight vigil at the home where Keegan was murdered by George Zimmerman wannabe Michael Centanni.

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By Mike Todd

Jacksonville, FL – Around 200 people gathered for six hours at the August 22 city council meeting to speak about removing Confederate monuments and names from public spaces. The week before, in response to the white supremacist terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jacksonville City Council President Brosche said she wanted to inventory all Confederate monuments, markers, and memorials so they can be moved off public property and into museums or other settings, where they can be “historically contextualized.” When her press release went public, death threats started flooding into her email from Confederate sympathizers.

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By Monique Williamson

Ben Frazier of the Northside Coalition speaks to the crowd.

Jacksonville, FL — 200 people gathered at Memorial Park on August 13 in support of the victims of the right-wing attack in Charlottesville, Virginia. The call for an emergency rally came after reports from major news outlets about Nazis marching at the University of Virginia. The Nazi march the next day left Heather Heyer dead, and many others wounded.

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By Fern

Protesters at a Jacksonville rally for Palestine.

Jacksonville, FL — Three dozen gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse on August 11 in support of Palestine. The call for a protest came after reports began circulating on social media that Israel had bombed neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip on August 8. Israeli bombs targeted areas filled with Palestinian civilians and four were injured, one very seriously.

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By Christina Kittle

Jacksonville, FL – In Jacksonville, Florida, the first Wednesday of every month is a time for art and community celebration. The city’s monthly Artwalk is a hub for artists, activists, families and residents to gather and share plans for the future of Jacksonville. While there are multiple campaigns currently taking place in the city, there are two that have gathered a mass following in just about a month since launching – the Jacksonville Community Action Committee(JCAC) and their push for police accountability, and TakeEmDownJax, the movement to remove Confederate statues and rename schools, streets, and parks honoring such figures.

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