Demand 'Free Marissa now!' and 'Justice for Jordan Davis'
Jacksonville, FL – 40 progressive activists marched together in the city's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade on Jan. 20. These activists commemorated King's legacy by demanding freedom for Marissa Alexander, the 33-year-old African American mother whose conviction for resisting domestic abuse was recently overturned, and justice for Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old African American youth murdered in 2012 by a white vigilante in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville, FL – On Jan. 3, UPS abruptly discontinued its seasonal golf cart delivery program in Florida, after a worker filed a grievance on management for breaking state statutes. UPS management continued assigning normal golf cart delivery assignments to workers after Dec. 31, which violated state regulations on golf carts and placed its workforce at risk.
Jacksonville, FL – Many UPS customers woke up on Christmas morning with a few packages missing under the tree. On Dec. 25, UPS management admitted that they failed to deliver many packages to expectant customers due to a surge of late holiday orders. FedEx customers reported similar delays in package delivery.
Jacksonville, FL – With more than 50 activists and community members present, the Duval County School Board voted unanimously, Dec. 16, to change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The historic vote by the school board comes at the end of a six-month campaign by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) and other forces to drop the local high school's racist namesake.
Jacksonville, FL – By Florida standards, the 30-degree morning on Black Friday, Nov. 29 was a chilly day, but that could not stop 15 local workers from protesting at a Walmart Supercenter.
Jacksonville, FL – About 30 residents of Jacksonville rallied and spoke out at a Duval County School Board meeting on Nov. 5 in favor of changing the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first Imperial Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and members of the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) have been gathering community support to change the name of the local high school named after this monster for some time.
Jacksonville, FL – Protesters from across Florida gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse on October 31 for the first status hearing in the retrial of Marissa Alexander, the 33 year old African American mother who fired a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband.
Jacksonville, FL – More than 20 war veterans and community allies from the North Florida area gathered outside of Jacksonville's Naval Air Station (NAS) to protest a new drone operations base run by the Pentagon. The protest, organized by Occupy Jacksonville and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), drew supporters from as far away as Gainesville and Pensacola.
Jacksonville, FL – The Civil War may have ended in 1865, but people in Jacksonville continue to struggle against the remains of the racist Confederate States of America in 2013. With more than 157,000 petitions signed and growing mass pressure on the Duval County School Board, community activists are waging a campaign to rename Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.
Jacksonville, FL – On Oct. 13, 40 people held a “Rally for Peace in Syria” at Saint Ephrem Syriac Catholic Church in Jacksonville. The peace rally drew members of the church congregation, anti-war activists and members of Jacksonville's large Syrian-American and Arab-American community. Friends of the Syrian American Forum organized the rally.
