Activists and community members gathered to commemorate those lost and work to prevent police killings in the future. Speakers included Delilah Pierre, field director of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Regina Joseph, president of TCAC and the district organizer for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Lee Robertson, communications chair of Graduates Assistant United and a member of TCAC and Timothy White, a long-standing member of TCAC and organizer with the Police Crimes Committee.

Organizers talked about their fears of police persecution and the continuing struggle against police violence in Tallahassee, citing how direct police abuse or police negligence contributed to these issues. White spoke about their experience visiting the family of Raheem Reeder and his mother, Latanya Walkins, as well as his respect for her work in the face of adversity.

“Raheem Reeder got 30-plus people to show out for him with real love. Not every victim gets to have support that strong, or love that sustains their name even in death. So we'll provide support where others can't, in keeping a name more than just a still picture. And I genuinely am pushed, and held steady, by the love Ms. Watkins and her family continue to wield for Raheem's sake,” stated White

After the speakers finished, videos of the Watkins family pledging their support for TCAC and the continued struggle for Raheem Reeder’s life were shown to the audience. Candles and flowers were passed out to the attendees and a moment of silence was held for all victims of police brutality in Tallahassee. The event ended with Joseph and Pierre reciting the famous Assata Shakur chant.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee

“We have to fight every day and mourn every day. I don’t get a day when I can just mourn and not fight,” said Lakey Love, co-founder of the Florida Coalition for Trans Liberation (FC4TL)

Marching from the drum circle at Railroad Square to the Florida Historic Capitol Museum, members of the march eventually reached the Florida Capitol building, where people spoke about the importance of Transgender Day of Remembrance and their own personal history with coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Cas Casanova from Students for a Democratic Society spoke about their personal experience dealing with transphobia and homophobia in their own home, stating, “It makes me cry because I know what they’re feeling. Because I went through the same thing when I was in high school. I was the only gay person I knew who didn’t have accepting parents.” Their feelings echoed the experiences of trans and queer children who face systemic discrimination and alienation even from their own parents. “Waiting till you can escape a toxic situation to finally be who you are is not right.”

Delilah Pierre, field director for Tallahassee Community Action Committee, shared her story of beginning to understand her gender identity and the process of becoming a part of the LGBTQ+ community in Tallahassee. “When I met everyone in the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and Lakey, and people in the Pride Student Union, and my friends from college, I finally started to not feel alone. I finally started to feel like I had a community. Like I could actually tell people how I felt. And actually, tell people what I faced. I would do anything, to make sure every single trans person in the world has that.”

Members ended the protest with a reading of 41 names of trans people murdered in the year 2021, as well as a moment of silence with candles. Love said: “I wanna remind everyone that we're here to mourn, but we're also here to fight.”

#Tallahassee #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee #TransgenderDayOfRemembrance

Tallahassee, FL – On April 20, in less than two hours after the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee gathered at Cascades Park to celebrate this win but also to reiterate the fight for Black liberation is not over. They chanted, “Indict convict, send that killer cop to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell.”

The group played music and passed out pizza to rally attendees.

Trish Brown, stated “History has been made today. With so much wrongdoing and killings by the police throughout history with no Indictments, no convictions, no accountability – officers getting away with murder. It was hard for many of us across the nation to believe that Chauvin would be convicted on all three counts and that George Floyd and his beloved family would get justice. Tears of joy fell down my eyes as I heard the final conviction.”

Brown continued, “But, still what about Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Mychael Johnson, Jamie Johnson, Lil’ Nuke and so many others? Our fight is still not over! Not until we get Justice for all victims and families impacted by brutal and fatal police crimes.”

Protesters also denounced HB1, the Anti-Protest Bill that has been passed and signed by the Governor, and vowed they would continue to fight.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee

Tallahassee, FL – Despite cold weather, concerns about police and vigilante violence, and results of the election still unknown, several Tallahassee organizations came together for the November 4 national day of protest to push for a people’s agenda, community control of police, and to speak out against Trump’s attempts to steal the election. Concurrently with many events across the country, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and SDS gathered a crowd of about 50 people in Cascades Park.

Speaker Trish Brown, one of the Tally 19 and a member of Tallahassee Community Action Committee led the crowd in a chant against Trump and his attempts to steal the election. “Robbed! Deprived! Genocide! President Trump has got to fry!”

Although the polls seem to be in Biden’s favor, the importance of counting all the ballots and defeating Trump’s attempts to stop counting and steal the election cannot be understated. Even when Trump is defeated, the fight will be far from over. Regina Joseph, a Tally 19’er, president of Tallahassee Community Action Committee and district organizer for FRSO, said, “Voting is not the end all be all! The fight for CPAC and police accountability will be far from over.”

Backed by signs reading “CPAC now” and “Black lives matter,” Delilah Pierre, vice president of Tallahassee Community Action Committee and FRSO member led the crowd in another chant, calling for community control of the Tallahassee police department. “TPD kills while on patrol! What do we want? Community control!” the crowd chanted.

“Fighting against police violence and political repression are far more extensive issues than just defeating Donald Trump. We have to make sure people have their right to protest and elect the representative they choose to uphold. But we have to work beyond that to ensure real democracy – and especially accountability —from the Democratic Party and all our politicians,” said Pierre.

Even facing political repression, jail time, and violence from police and white supremacists, Tallahassee continues to fight for CPAC and stand up against Trump and his administration. Activists and organizers are preparing for the continued fight against racist and political repression under either a Trump or Biden presidency in 2021.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee

Tallahassee, FL – Community activists gathered in front of city hall September 19 for a protest calling for the formation of an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), and demanding that State Attorney Jack Campbell drop the charges against the #Tally19 – arrested for participating in a protest on September 5 to condemn a grand jury decision that condoned three recent police murders of civilians.

Saturday’s action was organized locally by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) with the support of Tallahassee Dream Defenders, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, More Than A Name, and Florida Planned Parenthood PAC. The action aligned with a national day of protest initiated by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) in response to escalating repression of protest in Tallahassee and elsewhere.

Giant banners that read: “Black lives matter,” “Community control of police,” “CPAC now” and “Drop the charges” offered a visually striking backdrop for, and reflected the messaging of, speakers, chant leaders and singers at the midday action.

This year Tallahassee has seen the appointment of killer cop Lawrence Revell to chief of police; the killing of three civilians by Tallahassee Police Department in the span of two months; subsequent grand jury decisions to hold none of those officers accountable; and brutality and repression put on full display by at least five local law enforcement agencies and used against protesters on September 5, and since.

TCAC member Satya Stark-Bejnar said on Saturday, “We need CPAC and not a toothless review board. We need community control of the police because communities are people, and people deserve a meaningful say in how they are policed!”

Speaking on the need for community control of the police, longtime community organizer and recent city commission candidate Trish Brown declared, “I’m tired of the police policing the police, because all it’s doing is killing us! I’m tired of my Black city officials and my Black religious leaders turning a blind eye to what’s going on in the Black community, which is constant racial profiling and now repression for protesting it!”

Tesia Lisbon, an organizer with More Than a Name, called for “CPAC now!” and, citing the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., implored city officials, local clergy, and people watching at home to, “Come sit at the table, come hear what we have to say, because the few are fighting for the many.”

Organizers and attendees drew encouragement from one another locally, and in the knowledge that people in dozens of cities were united in simultaneous protest against police aggression, even in the face of escalating political repression.

Local media may have downplayed attacks by law enforcement against local BLM protests, but this local repression is gaining national attention. At a September 19 protest in Chicago, a huge crowd could be heard chanting in solidarity, “Tallahassee 19, drop all charges!”

Ben Grant (he/him) is a Tallahassee, FL activist.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee