Orlando, FL – On Saturday, August 19, a panel of progressive organizations organized by Las Semillas was held at the Orange County Public Library. The purpose of this panel was for progressive organizations to network, present the work they are doing in their communities, and have a discussion about pressing political issues. All of these activities contribute to the goal of building a united front against the DeSantis administration and the deterioration of material conditions, especially for the working class of Central Florida. “Florida’s on fire in more ways than one, so we’re glad to be in concert with anyone trying to put the pieces together,” stated the social media post promoting the event.

The topics discussed at the panel ranged from economic and food justice to combating the assault on trans rights and how to move beyond 2024. One of the highlights of the panel involved a discussion on the current anti-trans legislation in the U.S. and contrasting it to the recently passed Family Code in Cuba. From the content of the laws, expanding the legal protections in Cuba, to the process of the actual drafting of the legislation, where thousands of meetings were held to discuss the thoughts of the Cuban people, Cuba is showing what a true democracy means for the people.

The organizations present were Las Semillas, March for Our Lives Pine Hills, Freedom Road Socialist Organization Orlando, The Umbrella Brigade, The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, Black Men Build Orlando, FL Student Power, Orlando DSA, and Ladies In Full Effect (L.I.F.E.).

The next panel hosted by Las Semillas will be in October. As part of this panel series, the location changes neighborhoods for each event, allowing different voices and organizations to be highlighted. Seven Charlestin, an organizer with Las Semillas, stated, We’re in a political moment across the globe right now, and if we don’t fight back we risk incorrigible damage to our planet and our civil liberties.”

Follow Las Semillas at @las_semillas_20 on Instagram for more information.

#OrlandoFL #ImmigrantRights #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #Antiracism #Antifascism #GovernorRonDesantis #AbortionRights

Orlando, FL – On August 10, an emergency rally was held in Orlando to address Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent dismissal of State Attorney Monique Worrell.

The attacks came as an affirmation by the DeSantis camp that they are an enemy of oppressed nationalities, the working class, women and LGBTQ people.

At the rally, the charges against the Tampa 5 were discussed by Anna Eskamani as a part of DeSantis’s attacks on education and African Americans. Progressive forces attending the rally understand the need to develop a strong united front against DeSantis and his clique of reactionaries. When democratic rights are under attack, the people are becoming ready to organize and fight back.

#OrlandoFL #ImmigrantRights #LGBTQ #Antiracism #Antifascism #GovernorRonDesantis #AbortionRights

Baton Rouge, LA – On July 24, protesters from across Louisiana gathered outside Jones Creek Library in East Baton Rouge Parish. They chanted and waved signs, voicing their opposition to Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley’s meeting with Moms for Liberty, a far-right national organization identified as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The demonstrators marched around the library and received supportive honking from passing highway traffic. They chanted “Ban hate, not books!” and “Defend trans youth!”

Moms for Liberty was founded in Florida and was initially focused on supporting Governor Ron DeSantis’ in efforts against COVID 19 regulations. They have since spread across the country, taking advantage of pre-existing wealthy Republican funding infrastructure. They have shifted their goals to promoting censorship in schools, advocating for “Don’t say gay” bills and against “critical race theory.”

Moms for Liberty faced national condemnation earlier this summer, when one of its chapters used a quote from Adolph Hitler in its inaugural statement.

The protesters denounced Superintendent Brumley for meeting with the reactionary group. “When we look at the power, the control and the influence this individual has on our education system, even sharing beliefs with a group like this becomes very dangerous for the people who live here. My hope is that groups that spout and spew and condone hateful rhetoric in their speech don’t have an ear when it comes to our education system,” said Pearl Ricks of the Reproductive Justice Action Collective.

The demonstrators then sat in the meeting, which Moms for Liberty hosted. Protesters held signs and submitted questions for the superintendent, but the hosts discarded their questions.

After answering a series of preselected questions, the chair attempted to close the meeting. One demonstrator tried to ask the superintendent if he would field more questions from his concerned constituents. Brumley then abruptly rushed out of the room to get to his car.

Some protesters attempted to engage him as he walked to his car. They told him how disappointed they were with his conduct in the meeting. Activists said they will continue to pressure him to represent all Louisiana students, regardless of the “culture war” politics sweeping the country.

#BatonRougeLA #Antiracism #Antifascism #GovernorRonDesantis

Tampa, FL – On April 6, students at the University of South Florida rallied around protecting diversity in the face of recent attacks on legislation on diversity, equality, inclusion (DEI) and multicultural programs. The event was hosted by Students for a Democratic Society.

Students gathered outside their student center on their campus. The protest amassed about 20 students, holding signs promoting diversity while chanting for Ron DeSantis to go away.

Tampa Bay SDS member Vaidehi Persad said, “We’re in the struggle to make this campus a more equitable, more diverse, more inclusive campus for everyone.” Students gave speeches addressing the inaction of USF towards diversity in the face of continued attacks from DeSantis.

The protest also centered around the demand to drop the charges on the Tampa 4. The Tampa 4 recently became the Tampa 5, as another student and SDS member, Lauren Piniero, has been charged by the university.

Speakers at the protest detailed how USF administration has stood by and complied with attacks on DEI from DeSantis. Students from SDS also presented their demands for the university administration, including a meeting with USF President Rhea Law to discuss the future of DEI programs at the university.

Despite prolonged silence and continued repression from their university, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society plans to keep up their efforts to save diversity on their campus. SDS member Joseph Charry says, “We need to keep organizing. We need to continue to protest against USF’s compliance with these attacks on our education.”

#TampaFL #GovernorRonDesantis

“With people power, we can always win,” said Angie Nixon, longtime community organizer and newly elected representative of the 14th District.

HB1 and SB484 threaten protesters like the ones who came out on March 2. The legislation, if passed, would:

• Withhold state funding from local governments that redirect tax-payer funds from the police to social programs.
• Eliminate bail until trial for anyone arrested at a protest.
• Make it a felony to obstruct the roads, and not hold drivers accountable for intentionally hitting, injuring, and even killing [people perceived to be] protesters on streets.
• Prohibit “specified assemblies” from partaking in “disorderly” and “violent” conduct or “encouraging and inciting” a riot.
• Up the minimum penalty for actions that are already illegal, i.e. vandalism, battery, and theft, when those actions are done in the context of a protest.
• Bar from state and education employment people arrested at protests, and bar them from receiving unemployment benefits, and take away their right to vote.

Governor DeSantis and his supporters claim that HB1/SB494 was inspired by events at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, but a version of that legislation was already drafted and released in September, 2020, right on the heels of brutal mass arrests of anti-police brutality demonstrators in Tallahassee and across Florida.

“This bill is a direct response to the progress we made this summer,” asserted Christina Kittle of Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “This is not going to keep protesters off the streets; this is going to put community members in our already overcrowded jails!”

Tallahassee Community Action Committee member Daisy Sim said that HB1/SB484 would make the already difficult job of organizing no-arrest protests nearly impossible. By vocally resisting the passing of the bill, she hopes, “To encourage people – and to show that there are more supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement than some might think.”

Representative Michelle Raynor-Goolsby spoke to the broad and dangerous scope of the bill: “This is an anti-Black bill, this is an anti-brown bill, this is an anti-woman bill... Anti- any American who finds their rights to be not human rights but privileges to be voted on. And this brings not only marginalized folks’ rights into question. This bill threatens our First Amendment right as Americans, and anyone has the right to resist that.” Later on Raynor-Goolsby reflected on the diversity of opposition to the legislation, “We could see it in the crowd. Folks of many races, ethnicities, sexualities and genders were out protesting with us. We all have to come together to fight for our rights. Fight for everyone or fight for no one.”

Michael Sampson, of Jacksonville Community Action Committee, told the crowd that as long as HB1 was being voted on, people would still continue to fight against it, and that if it passed in the House, people would continue to fight it in the Senate.

Assata Shakur’s famous declaration of resistance and solidarity resonated throughout the protest – on handmade signs and giant banners held aloft; in the voices of speakers wrenching chants from their chests; and in the voices of attendees chanting back.

The protest concluded in unison, and in defiance of legislation that seeks to imprison and disenfranchise all in attendance, “We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #HB1SB484 #GovernorRonDesantis