Tallahassee, FL – On Friday, April 10, Tallahassee SDS, along with Freedom Road Socialist Organization and FSU YDSA brought together over 40 people on FSU’s Landis Green to protest the Israel Fair, an event sponsored by pro-Israel groups across the campus to celebrate Israel as it carries out genocide against Palestinians.

The event took place two days after Israel conducted 100 airstrikes against Lebanon in ten minutes, killing hundreds.

“It is shameful that FSU is allowing an event on our campus in the name of a state that is built on colonization and genocide,” said Maria Duarte, a member of Tallahassee SDS who spoke at the protest. “Israel is a state that has been displacing and murdering Palestinians for over 70 years. A state that believes that bombing children and innocent civilians is ‘self-defense.’ It is disgusting how our university is whitewashing genocide while Palestinians continue to be murdered and displaced.”

The fair was created by various Zionist organizations, including Students Supporting Israel, Hasbara Fellowships, Hillel at FSU, Zionist Organization of America and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

The protest began at 1 p.m. and was supposed to go until 2 p.m. but continued until around 3:45 p.m. Students chanted “Free Palestine” and made statements that showed solidarity with Palestine, condemned Israel, and ridiculed those involved with the fair.

Zionist counterprotesters responded with slurs and attempts to disrupt the rally, which the protesters ignored. As for the Israel Fair, it should have gone until 3:30 p.m., but it was closed down a little after 2:00 p.m. due to pressures from the protest – which would outnumber the attendees of the Israel Fair.

The speakers made a point to emphasize FSU’s support of Israel and, by extension, the genocide of Palestinians.

The speakers mentioned how the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering partners with Boeing. A close partner of Israel for 75 years, the company recently signed an $8.6 billion contract with the Pentagon to make 25 new F-15 Fighters for Israel. More recently, in March, Boeing signed another deal for $289 million to deliver 5000 air-launched smart bombs to Israel.

“Make no mistake, our campus is heavily complicit,” said one protester.

Before the Israel Fair, FSU power washed pro-Palestinian statements that were written in chalk on Landis Green. An anonymous affiliate of the fair’s organizers posted on YikYak, “this is what FSU thinks of your anti-fair chalk,” with a picture of the Landis Green walkways being power washed.

The “anti-fair chalk” included statements such as “72,000+ dead” (the number of Palestinians who have been killed thus far in the Gaza genocide), “One should not be killed for just being a Palestinian” and a list of names of children who were killed in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli occupation forces.

As FSU’s administration defends allowing of Zionist organizations on their campus, Israel continues to perpetuate its genocide of Palestinians. Tallahassee SDS deplores FSU’s hypocrisy in sanctioning hate groups on their campus while suppressing leftist student movements, and they remain in solidarity with Palestinians.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO

Tallahassee, FL – On March 28, over 5000 people gathered at the Florida Capitol for the third No Kings protest to stand against Trump. Under the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump banner, local organizations led the protest against Trump’s racist and reactionary agenda before taking to the streets and marching around the capitol. In addition to speaking out against Trump, those in attendance demanded an end to attacks on immigrants, police violence and the war on Iran.

Speakers connected to local issues like 287(g), an agreement allowing Florida law enforcement officers to act as immigration police and detain immigrants, while rally attendees held signs like “Immigrants are welcome here” and “ICE out now.” Four law enforcement departments signed 287(g) agreements even though they were not required to do so: Florida State University Police Department, Tallahassee State College Police Department, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Police Department and Tallahassee Police Department. The Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA) has been attending city commission meetings in recent months to demand that the city rescind its 287(g) agreement between ICE and TPD.

Speaking for TIRA on why policies like 287(g) must be eliminated, Sara Millan said, “What nation are you keeping safe? What community are you possibly keeping safe that requires you to seize innocents in their jobs, in their schools, in their homes, and eliminate them like animals?”

Regina Joseph from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “The United States uses our tax dollars to kill innocent people all around the world. Just last month, the U.S. bombed an all-girls school in Iran, killing over 180 children. So far, the United States has spent over $20 billion to wage war on Iran. We cannot stand by while lives are destroyed for profit and power.”

After the first set of speeches, organizers gathered the crowd to march around the capitol complex. Immediately, the march was disrupted by violent officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

Along Pensacola Street near the capitol, where there is no sidewalk to march on, the marchers stepped onto the street, which was already closed to cars by police for the Springtime Tallahassee festival earlier in the day. Despite the road being entirely empty, FDLE officers swooped in and arrested head marshal Sadie Carlson for “obstructing a highway” and “resisting without violence.”

March attendees swarmed FDLE, shouting “Shame!” and “Let her go!” As protesters demanded her release, FDLE officers escorted Carlson into the Florida Capitol building. The protesters were not deterred and continued to demand Carlson’s freedom. Organizers and attendees immediately sprang into action, flooding the lines of the Leon County Detention Facility. Quickly after, the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump called on attendees to mobilize outside the jail.

At the detention facility, more than 50 people began chanting “Free Sadie!” and “Protesting is not a crime!”

Speaking to the crowd, Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, said, “The officers are lying when they say they can’t release her faster! They are lying about the charges! They are lying that she can’t have a lawyer! We’re going to stay here until Sadie is released, and we’re going to fight to get these made-up charges dropped!” Her words were proven true when, after less than four hours, Carlson was released thanks to the community rallying behind her.

Speaking on the mistreatment she faced and the absurdity of her arrest, Carlson, a transgender woman, said, “They didn’t get me any food. They groped my [breasts] and put me in the men’s facility. I think it’s crazy I got arrested today and Donald Trump, with all the crimes he’s committed, where is he? He’s killed innocent people in Iran and in Palestine, immigrants here. He’s a rapist, all of his buddies are rapists, and he’s not in jail!”

Carlson and TIRA will continue the fight to get her charges dropped and to end the 287(g) agreement. Stay connected by following @tlh_ira and @tallyagainsttrump as local organizers fight back against political repression.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #NoKings #TLHIRA #ImmigrantRights

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump announced that they will be holding the next No Kings! rally on Saturday, March 28, at the Florida Historic Capitol.

Students, community organizers and supporting political organizations have made the decision to be a part of this coalition. They all have a common goal: to fight back against Trump and his war-mongering, and criminal administration.

The Trump administration has illegally delayed and redacted the Epstein files, attempted to end birthright citizenship, pardoned people who participated on January 6,cracked down on DEI, invaded other counties to serve U.S. billionaires, and kidnapped immigrants.

The attacks from the Trump administration will not stop unless we unite a broad movement across the country that forces them to concede.

It’s time to stand up and fight back! Join The Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump on Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m. at the Florida Historic Capitol to continue the fight against this racist and reactionary Trump administration.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #NoKings

Tallahassee, FL – On Sunday, March 8, over 60 community members joined the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) march to commemorate International Women’s Day.

The march was not just a commemoration of the international socialist holiday but also a march demanding an end to the system of injustice and attacks by the United States against women.

Tallahassee protesters demanded to “End ICE terror” against women like Marimar Martinez and Renee Nicole Good, to “Release political prisoners” like Cilia Flores and Leqaa Kordia, and to “Protect immigrant women!”

After an initial rally, people took to the streets, starting at Cascades Park then marching to the Florida Capitol Building. Participants marched in both lanes of Monroe Street, a major downtown road, blocking traffic and making their demands heard. FRSO marched at the front, their banner on display to the busy Tallahassee traffic.

Katy Kurzweil of FRSO told the crowd, “Capitalism is the machine that lets us believe we can take a step forward, but then actually takes us three steps back. We need to tear down this entire system! We in the FRSO believe that the path forward for women is socialism!”

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization was joined by groups like the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance, and student groups like FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tallahassee SDS, and FSU YDSA.

A member of YDSA made the demands of this historic holiday clear when she said, “We cannot have the liberation of women without the liberation of the working class, and we cannot have the liberation of the working class without the liberation of women!”

Tallahassee FRSO and organizers across the city commemorate the brave history of working women and all oppressed women abroad who have fought for their liberation! Those involved in this event will also be playing a leading role in No Kings at the Florida Capitol Building on March 28 at 3 p.m. For more information, follow @frso_tally on Instagram.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, February 28, around 40 community members gathered at the Florida Capitol Building to protest against the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran earlier that morning.

After decades of living under an oppressive and economically devastating U.S.-imposed sanctions regime, Iranians now come under yet more attacks. The attack included bombing two girls' elementary schools only a week before International Women’s Day.

“Trump and his posse are trying to frame these attacks as liberation,” said Brandon Beckett from the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance. “Liberation from who? From the 80 schoolgirls that were murdered by U.S. and Israeli bombs? There's nothing liberating about war, or sanctions that strangle an entire population. These lives are being lost in an attempt to further U.S. hegemony.”

Kaiden Rosa, the rally's leader, declared, “In the FRSO, we know that we need to resist U.S. imperialism here on the inside just as hard as the people of Palestine and Iran are!”

Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, asked, “Why is our government so interested in ‘fixing’ the problems of the world when it can’t even fix itself?”

“As an organization that fights against police brutality and for Black liberation, we will continue our fight for community control of the police, for the right to hold those accountable who commit injustice in our communities,” Pierre continued. “The people of Iran deserve the same right. That right can only be won through a democratic struggle in our country that mobilizes millions of people to upend the systems that still kill and oppress us.”

From Tallahassee to Tehran, the fight to end U.S. and Israeli aggression in the Middle East and around the globe continues. On Sunday, March 8, FRSO Tallahassee will be leading a march for International Women's Day with other community organizations to the capitol. The march will honor immigrant women impacted by ICE terror and the women and girls of Iran and Palestine killed by U.S. imperialism.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Iran

Tallahassee, FL – On February 12, over a dozen students of Florida A&M University gathered at the university’s iconic Eternal Flame to stand up against the consolidation of numerous degree programs, including the university’s Black history programs.

The rally was one of FAMU Students for a Democratic Society’s first actions on campus. FAMU, a public historically Black college (HBCU), has seen an upsurge in the student movement after constant attacks on the student body and Black history by the state’s Republican establishment.

One of these most recent attacks was aimed at the African American Studies programs, and it follows a pattern of consolidations, terminations, and removal of humanities programs in states across the country.

“Black lives matter! Black history matters!” FAMU SDS President Justin Jordan led students in chanting around the school’s Eternal Flame to oppose the consolidation of African American History programs.

In addition to rallying at the Eternal Flame, protesters also marched through the quad area where students campaigned for positions in FAMU’s student government and SGA, chanting and holding signs.

“Black studies built Black leaders,” one sign read.

“FAMU’s academic diversity matters,” read another.

Students also tried to speak during public comment at the FAMU Board of Trustees meeting, but the meeting was fast-tracked, and only one member of FAMU SDS was allowed to talk.

University leaders told students that the “decision had already been made,” regardless of the lack of public comment or a university forum for students to voice their discontent.

Despite the university’s attempts to sway public opinion, the student body has clearly voiced its discontent with the erasure not only of African American Studies but also of a whole host of other programs, including fine arts, mechanical engineering, environmental science, and many other crucial degree programs.

FAMU SDS’s post informing the student body about the situation has reached over 100,000 people, and FAMU SDS is dedicated to continuing to fight for the students of FAMU.

FAMU has a long history of activism, from Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, who refused to leave their seats on a city bus and launched the famous Tallahassee Bus Boycotts, to the students who formed the Malcolm X Liberation Front. The students are now ready to carry on that legacy of struggle, fighting against repression and an administration more concerned with lining its pockets than addressing student concerns.

FAMU finds itself in a perilous position, with an incredibly unpopular MAGA puppet in office, Marva Johnson, who not only attended a White House “Black History” event, but also proudly went on a trip to Israel with FAMU students during Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. Johnson was on the committee to help organize the ultimately cancelled 2020 Republican National Convention.

For many years, FAMU has been under the gun, from the threats of consolidation with the nearby public predominately white institution in the 1970s, to the abolition and eventual relocation of its law school, to staggering disparities in funding. Still, FAMU has persisted, through bold student struggle.

FAMU’s chapter of SDS plans to continue that legacy of struggle, fighting for bold progressive change on FAMU’s campus!

To get involved, follow @famusdsofficial on Instagram.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #FAMU #SDS #HBCU #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican

Tallahassee, FL – On February 18, the Tallahassee City Commission’s meeting marked a win for organizers, who were allowed to wield signs protesting the city’s collaboration with ICE in defiance of the commission’s attempts to repress them. At the previous meeting in January, the city commission and Tallahassee Police Department tried to illegally confiscate the signs of attendees, and conservative Mayor John Dailey ended the meeting early when they refused to comply.

Even though the city commission only gives each attendee three minutes to speak, the huge crowd that packed the January 14 meeting still managed to talk to the commission for almost three hours about the overwhelming public opposition to TPD’s 287(g) agreement with ICE and the city’s decision to sell land containing the unmarked graves of enslaved people to a notoriously racist country club. That should have taught Mayor Dailey that the city needed to listen to the people of Tallahassee, but instead he decided the problem was letting the public speak at all.

At the start of February’s meeting, the commission voted to limit public comment to 30 minutes, only hearing the first ten speakers who sign up, even though public comment comes at the end of a full day of meetings. To make sure that you can speak to the city commission, you now have to show up at 2 or 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, in the middle of the workday, and sit through hours of bureaucracy until around 6 p.m. to be allowed to talk. This effectively bans working-class people from being heard by their city government and represents a clear escalation in the struggle between the commission’s conservative majority and Tallahassee’s growing immigrant rights movement.

Organizers and community members continued to stand up to the commission’s attacks on free speech. Residents hid 8.5 x 11 signs in their pockets denouncing the 287(g) agreement, pulling them out when speakers finally came up.

Mayor Dailey, shaken by the presence of journalists in the room, was forced to back down and allow the signs rather than threaten to arrest attendees again for expressing their anger with the city’s inaction. Visibly exasperated, he tried to play this weakness off as generosity, saying that these signs were “fine, because they’re a regular sheet of paper.” Speakers wasted no time in calling out his hypocrisy, pointing out that the signs hadn’t changed at all – what had changed was the unpopularity of the city’s repressive tactics.

“We’ve seen an outpouring of civic participation in local government. In a city this small, you guys should be excited to see this level of participation if you cared about democracy,” said Joelle Nuñez, president of the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance. “But instead your response to people being upset at what you’re doing is to keep pushing more unpopular measures to restrict free speech. We’re trying to open the gates for people to participate, and you’re here actively shutting them. We want a public town hall to talk about 287(g), where we have more than 30 minutes to speak, and we want y’all to listen to us. That’s all.”

Nonprofit founder Stanley Sims, a longtime critic of the commission, pointed out that at a previous meeting a group of white suburbanites had been allowed to bring much larger signs without pushback to protest a planned gas station in their neighborhood, yet the government was silencing citizens who were concerned about issues predominantly affecting Black and Latino people.

Commissioners seemed willing to waver on the 30-minute speaking time limit, at least while the cameras were rolling. Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, a progressive and Dailey’s main competitor in the race for mayor, pressured the conservative majority into relenting and giving all of the registered speakers for this meeting their three minutes.

Commissioner Jack Porter, another progressive, proposed a resolution to revisit the time limit in a public meeting, denouncing the fact that the previous decision was made behind closed doors without public input. This time the conservatives stood their ground, and Commissioners Diane Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson joined Mayor Dailey in voting the resolution down, citing the same tired complaints about “decorum” that they used to justify shutting down the last meeting.

Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, replied, “I’m so tired of the word ‘decorum’, that word that’s just used as an excuse to repress the community. You get to be isolated from the problems that people are facing, but the people who are being murdered by ICE and the people in Tallahassee who are watching graves being built over don’t have time for ‘decorum’ in their lives.”

Pierre continued, “Banning public comment isn't a sign of strength – it’s a sign of your internal weakness. It's a sign that you know that people will show up again and again to call you out because you represent the interests of the Trump administration in Tallahassee, and it’s time that everybody knows about it.”

TIRA will join other community organizations on International Women’s Day, March 8, to march for justice for immigrant women. For more information, visit TIRA’s pages on Facebook or Instagram (@tlh_ira).

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #CityCouncil #TIRA #TCAC

Tallahassee, FL – Protesters descended on Florida’s state capitol on Sunday, February 15, joining a statewide initiative from the Legalization for All Network to support the VISIBLE Act, a bill in the Florida legislature that would make it illegal for federal agents to hide their faces while preying on immigrant communities.

Sponsored by State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando and Representative Angie Nixon of Jacksonville, who was elected with the backing of the Black liberation movement, the VISIBLE Act would require immigration agents to clearly display their names or badge numbers and prohibit them from wearing masks while on duty.

The Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), a Legalization for All Network affiliate, gathered over 40 protesters outside the capitol despite stormy weather to support the bill, calling on state legislators to protect Florida’s immigrant communities from the racist police terror that Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis have unleashed.

TIRA’s sister organizations in Jacksonville and Tampa led their own actions the same week in a united effort to rally support across the state. Florida’s Republican-dominated state government seems unlikely to let the act pass, but protesters were still optimistic about the rapidly growing strength of the state’s immigrant rights movement.

“Legislative session is really demoralizing,” said TIRA President Joelle Nuñez, “but that’s why it’s so important that we raise support around bills that we wanna see get heard. If it wasn’t for public support, this bill wouldn’t have been written, been drafted, gone through committees, and would never be heard! This bill comes out of a movement that we are building, and so we have to support it in the same way that we support our movement: We’re out in the streets building justice, because politics isn’t just about who’s in office, supposedly representing you.”

Organizers made it clear that the struggle for immigrant rights extended far beyond one bill. “The reality is that the VISIBLE act matters, and it should pass, but it is less than the minimum,” declared Kaiden Rosa of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We’re at a time when accountability isn’t enough. We need real solutions; we need legalization for all! We need revolution to overturn U.S. oppression of Latin America and end the oppression of immigrants. At this point in our struggle, the people’s mobilization against ICE is the future! Minneapolis has given us a blueprint, and we’re gonna do the same shit here: We’re gonna fight back against 287(g), we’re gonna pass the VISIBLE Act – we’re coming for ICE!”

The 287(g) agreement between ICE and the Tallahassee Police Department assigns designated TPD officers to carry out ICE’s brutal repression of immigrants, and TIRA plays the leading role in organizing the people’s widespread opposition to it.

The struggle over the agreement has been intensifying lately – at the last city commission meeting on January 14, officers tried to illegally confiscate signs from attendees, and Mayor John Dailey ended the meeting early when people refused. The city is now even trying to limit public comment to just 30 minutes per meeting because of the huge crowds that are coming to every meeting to speak out.

“They didn’t tell us that we weren’t allowed to have signs because it ‘disrupts the meeting’ – they did it because they’re scared,” said TIRA member Aedan Benett. “They’re scared of hundreds of people coming to the city commission month after month. They’re scared because we’ll come out to speak regardless of how many times they take 287(g) off the agenda, or cut the meeting short, to say that we will not stand for ICE in our city.”

TIRA will join other community organizations on International Women’s Day (March 8) to march for justice for immigrant women. For more information, visit TIRA’s pages on Facebook or Instagram (@tlh_ira).

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights

Tallahassee, FL – On February 5, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and FSU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) mobilized 90 people for a rally at the Integration Statue next to the FSU Student Union. The protesters then marched to Tanner Hall, FSUPD’s headquarters, to denounce its 287(g) agreement, which was signed behind closed doors and not shared publicly.

Nick Gonzalez, co-chair of outreach for Tallahassee SDS stated, “At a time when ICE is terrorizing communities, separating families, and murdering unarmed people in the streets, at a time when ICE is trying to acquire warehouses across the country, including in Orlando, to expand their operation and place more people in camps, FSU’s police and administration have abandoned us, the students they are meant to serve.”

Florida State University is part of a larger trend of higher education institutions signing these agreements. Universities all across Florida, including the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, and at least 11 others have had their police departments sign onto 287(g) agreements with ICE.

These agreements make it dangerous for undocumented people to report crimes, making campuses less safe. They also enable campus police to adopt ICE standards of force, make warrantless arrests, and interrogate people on the basis of suspicion of their immigration status.

This is an expansion of the unconstitutional conduct of ICE and the DHS seen across the country, and subjects immigrant students to racial profiling and baseless interrogations. Students held signs and chanted “Shame on FSUPD! No 287(g)!” in front of Tanner Hall.

Tallahassee SDS and FSU YDSA’s collaboration on this event was focused on holding FSU accountable for its endorsement and participation in ICE terror, which has been ramping up across the country and is taking place within Tallahassee itself, with over 100 people being detained in May 2025.

FSUPD is not the only police department in Tallahassee that signed onto 287(g) behind closed doors. In early 2025, the Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad and TPD Police Chief Lawrence Revell entered into the agreement without consulting the city commission, undemocratically and preemptively signing on when not legally required to do so. After the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance fought to get the agreement onto the city commission’s ballot, the commission voted 3-2 for TPD to remain under 287(g), despite overwhelming opposition.

Local Tallahassee organizations and community members have consistently fought to pressure the city commission to end TPD’s collaboration with ICE, speaking on the issue again in public comment at the January 14 city commission meeting. At that meeting, the commission responded by repressing citizens for holding 8.5x11 signs, and ending the meeting early.

FSUPD attempted to engage in repression during the February 5 rally, going up to students who weren’t marshals and threatening to make arrests and post conduct charges, all because students were standing up against ICE violence. Despite threats of arrest, students refused to comply with blatant free speech violations and continued making their voices heard.

Tallahassee SDS and FSU YDSA will continue their coalition to revoke the 287(g) agreement from FSUPD’s policies, protect immigrant students, and end hate speech on campus. They and other community organizations will also be attending the city commission meeting on Wednesday, February 18 at 4 p.m. to make their demands heard.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #SDS #YDSA

Tallahassee, FL – On February 7, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) led a second protest against the sale and privatization of the Capital City Golf Course now owned by the Capital City Country Club (CCCC). The land itself is the site of at least 17 known, unmarked graves of formerly enslaved people, has never been thoroughly surveyed, and is marked only by a small memorial.

The CCCC only opened its membership to the public in 2015, having maintained private membership for years as a loophole to remain segregated.

Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) member Regina Joseph, identifying the Black community’s struggle as one for Black liberation, said, “The city of Tallahassee does not care about Black people. It only cares about profit over people. We insist on our liberation.”

FAMU Students for a Democratic Society President Justin Jordan expressed similar frustration with the Tallahassee City Commission, saying, “these people cloak themselves in our communities when it’s convenient for them – when they need votes, And if you think these people have your best interest at heart, they voted against a motion to do further examination of these unmarked graves.”

Speeches were held at Country Club Park in the southwest corner of the property, then the group marched to the memorial site for more speeches. While speaking at the site, a group of golfers drove up, teed up, and hit shots over the heads of speakers, an act that directly endangered multiple people. With plenty of other open areas, golfers knowingly drove over grave sites the course is built upon as the protesters demanded they respect the lives of the people buried. The golfers and owners called the police, but they were unable to trespass marchers, as the memorial site is open to the public.

TCAC President Delilah Pierre described this as an illustration of the difficulties of negotiating the reversal of the sale, “I’ve heard people ask, ‘Have you tried to talk to the commissioners? Have you tried to talk to the golfers?’ In my opinion they’re all to be held accountable because they all know what they’re doing.”

Tallahassee SDS and Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA) also participated in the action, connecting the struggle for students on campus and immigrants in the community to the continual erasing and whitewashing of Black people’s history.

Participants were encouraged to attend the city commission meeting on February 18 to demand the reversal of the sale, which occurred despite widespread opposition from Tallahassee residents, as well as demand a full archaeological survey and a town hall meeting. Additionally, TCAC has been canvassing in nearby neighborhoods and circulated a petition to reverse the sale, which has currently gathered nearly 200 signatures.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #TCAC #FRSO

Tallahassee, FL- On Saturday, January 31, the Tally Coalition Against Trump rallied outside the Florida Capitol building with more than 450 people.

They were joined by groups like the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, Power Up People, and others to demand an end to the city’s 287(g) agreement and stand in solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis and around the country.

“We are fighting for something greater than us. We are fighting against the brutality of ICE,” said Justin Jordan, president of FAMU SDS.

Minneapolis has been a hotspot for ICE violence, being the crime scene of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti’s murder. ICE and Border Patrol in Minneapolis have taken children, such as five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose photo of him in a blue bunny hat while being detained by ICE went viral, as bait to detain their parents. Inspired by the bravery of the citizens of Minneapolis, the Tallahassee Coalition Against took immediate action.

Brandon Beckett, the secretary of Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance, stated, “Through these tragic events, the people of Minneapolis have not responded with silence, they have responded with strength.”

Tallahassee has been getting used to emergency actions for some time now. The Trump administration and ICE’s increasing violence have meant that there have been murders and kidnappings across the country, and not just in big cities like Minneapolis, but also here in Tallahassee. These emergency actions show no signs of slowing down as the violence against our community continues.

The large crowd chanted, “No hate! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!”

In May, an ICE raid targeting construction workers in Tallahassee detained over 100 people. Tallahassee State College and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University have signed 287(g) agreements, allowing their police departments to work with ICE. The largest college in Tallahassee, Florida State University, has done the same behind closed doors.

The city of Tallahassee has signed its own 287(g), allowing the Tallahassee Police Department to collaborate with ICE. Despite massive public backlash, the motion to rescind the agreement in October 2025 failed on a narrow vote. On January 14, city commissioners ended the meeting during public comment, and capitol police harassed members who were holding 8 x 11” signs denouncing the sale of land containing enslaved people's graves to the Capitol City Country Club, repressing their freedom of speech. The commissioners refused to hear their constituents' detestation of ICE and 287(g).

With Florida’s legislative session beginning and a slew of repressive bills on the way, organizers in Tallahassee know that the struggle is not waning but reaching its most critical point. Bills like CS/HB 17 that increase criminal charges for battery on law enforcement officers, and HB 49, which suppresses political activity on campus, aim to slow and repress the anti-ICE and legalization for all the movement.

On the other hand, bills like HB 419, which would prohibit ICE and other law enforcement from using face coverings, also being heard in the upcoming legislative session.

The Tally Coalition Against Trump will continue to advocate against ICE brutality and violence.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #TIRA #TCAC #SDS

Tallahassee, FL – On January 24, over 600 people marched and rallied at the Florida Capitol building, led by the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump. Protesters took to the streets in an act of resistance against Trump’s racist and reactionary agenda, with demands of, “ICE out now!,” “End 287(g)!,” “No more U.S. intervention!” and “Stop FBI and DOJ repression!”

Speaking on behalf of the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Brandon Beckett said, “I’m sick and tired of seeing children’s lives terrorized! I’m sick and tired of seeing chaos carried out by the state. And I’m sick and tired of having a president who claims peace but advances terror with every action he takes.”

This protest took place as ICE continues to attack immigrants across the country, and on the same day as ICE agents in Minneapolis murdered Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was brutally killed while helping a woman attacked by ICE

Connecting the struggle against ICE to the fight for community control of the police, Regina Joseph from Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) said, “The police should be working for us, not the other way around. We should be holding them accountable for what they do wrong, and right here in Tallahassee the police are working with ICE through 287(g)!”

The 287(g) program is a partnership between ICE and the police that allows officers to perform immigration enforcement and collaborate with ICE terror. Organizers in Tallahassee have been demanding that the city commission terminate the Tallahassee Police Department’s 287(g) agreement, which was signed voluntarily by Police Chief and killer cop Lawrence Revell.

After some speeches, community members began their march around the Florida State Capitol. Despite attempts by capitol police to repress the protest, the people took to the streets. As cars honked in support, the crowd chanted, “Legalization for all!” and “Who’s streets? Our streets!” In marching, the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump showed that even with oppressive state laws, the people of Tallahassee would not back down.

Addressing the crowd after the march, Katy Kurzweil from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) said, “The system is broken! We can no longer believe the lie that Trump is the sole reason for all of this repression. This goes way beyond Donald Trump! Step one will be to get rid of Donald Trump, but what do we do when he’s gone? Are we gonna twiddle our thumbs? Are we gonna wait for someone good to come along? No! We are done waiting, we are tired of waiting! We have all the power we need right here.”

Those in attendance say more actions are planned for the near future, and many of the organizations involved will be at the city commission meeting on February 18 to make their demands heard locally. For updates on upcoming events, follow @tallyagainsttrump.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TIRA #TCAC #FRSO

Tallahassee, FL – On January 14, Tallahassee locals gathered at the city commission meeting to demand accountability. Those in attendance had three main goals: the reversal of the 287(g) agreement, the reversal of the sale of the public golf course containing the graves of formerly enslaved people, and that the commission vote no on the sale of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital to Florida State University.

Instead of listening to the people, Tallahassee Police Department officers tried to illegally confiscate the signs of protesters, and Mayor John Dailey ended the meeting early when they refused to give in to the unlawful demand. Despite this attempted repression, locals continued to rally, first inside the commission chambers, then directly outside the building.

Speaking on the action, Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) said, “They choose to break the law for their own purposes but let me tell you something! If our city commission won’t enforce the law, we will!”

Over the past year, Tallahassee organizers have been fighting against a commission that continuously sides with wealthy developers and caves to the racist demands of the Trump administration. Just last month it sold public land containing the graves of at least 17 formerly enslaved people to Capital City Country Club, and in October, they refused to revoke TPD’s 287(g) agreement that allows them to collaborate with ICE. Their latest meeting continues that trend, with the commission voting 3-2 to advance the sale of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, a deal composed of shady backroom meetings and almost no community involvement.

Speaking to the crowd outside, Delaitre Hollinger, a local activist and historian, said, “What happened tonight was, as we know, completely and totally messed up. We have a mayor who at times likes to act like a petulant child and adjourn commission meetings in the middle of people speaking, but what I like about this is that ain’t none of us scared! We gotta continue to speak up, to step out, to protest, to march, to come to these meetings, to pack City Hall out! Every time that he adjourns a meeting, then we need to double and triple in size!”

Other organizations in attendance included Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), FAMU SDS, Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump (TCAT), FSU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), and Students for Progressive Victory at FSU (PVFSU).

While rallying, both veteran organizers and first time protesters were given a chance to speak and lead chants, with cries of “Shame on Dailey!” “Shame on Richardson!” and “Shame on Williams-Cox” being most prevalent.

More actions are planned soon, including a No Kings rally on January 24, at 11 a.m. at the Florida Capitol Building. Under the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump banner, over a dozen organizations will be showing up to mark a year of resistance against the Trump agenda and speak out against his racist and reactionary actions.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TCAC #TIRA #ICE

Tallahassee, FL – On January 10, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee marched and rallied with local residents to protest the sale of the city-owned golf course to the Capital City Country Club (CCCC). The land is known to include a historic cemetery containing the remains of at least 17 formerly enslaved people, with evidence of many more that have not been marked. 

The sale was pushed through despite mass public outcry, as opponents demanding the city reverse the sale, hold a town hall, conduct a full survey of the graveyard in order to protect the graves, and keep the land public in perpetuity. Speaking about the group's demands, Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) said, “We need to fight for our city to respect Black history and respect the wishes of the public!” 

Justin Jordan, a member of FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) said, “What price would you put on a human life? On the life of a person who suffered through the torture of slavery? Well, the city of Tallahassee put a price on them. The city of Tallahassee sold the unmarked remains of potentially dozens to a country club with a history of segregation.”

After rallying, the group marched towards the CCCC to make their demands heard directly. Upon nearing the course, golfers began yelling racist remarks like “All lives matter.” After marchers stepped onto the course, the Tallahassee Police Department immediately intercepted the group and attempted to trespass them off of land that should be public. 

Refusing to be silent, the group instead took to the streets, marching over two miles around the course towards the site of the graves. Upon reaching the site, the group discovered that the memorial had still not fully been constructed, and that the ground around the site had been ripped up by heavy equipment.

Other groups in attendance included Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Power Up People, Red Hills Anarchists, and the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump. Participants were encouraged to attend the next city commission meeting on January 14 to demand the reversal of the sale, with more action planned for the course itself in coming weeks.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #TCAC

Tallahassee, FL – On January 8, approximately 400 people attended a rally and vigil at the steps of the Florida Historic Capitol demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good. The protest was organized by the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance in response to the murder of Renee Good by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis.

Organizations attending the event included, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), Indivisible Tallahassee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Tallahassee Community Area Response Equipo, and Students for a Democratic Society.

Activists and community members were invited to speak. Amanda Macedo Parrish talked about the recently won the fight to free her husband from ICE custody after a large-scale immigration raid in May.

Organizers spoke on the need to get ICE out of cities through direct action and ending local agreements with ICE such as 287(g).

Thomas Speirs of TCAC said, “I don’t want any police cooperation with ICE in my city.” Trish Brown of Power Up People said, “When armed agents act with impunity, when special response teams patrol neighborhoods like war zones, when accountability disappears behind badges and bureaucracy, that is not security, it is terror.”

After the speeches and chants, attendees held candles for a moment of silence for Renee Nicole and all the victims of violence by border patrol and immigration enforcement, including those shot at a similar event in Portland only a few hours before.

Protests across the country have been held in response to these shootings by organizations in the Legalization for All network. The protest closed out with a chant led by TIRA member Katy Kurzweil quoting the late Assata Shakur: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

#TallahasseeFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ReneeGood #TCAC

Tallahassee, FL – On January 4, over 100 community members gathered at the Florida Capitol Building for a protest organized by the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump (TCAT). They rallied to denounce the U.S. bombing of Venezuela and demand the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

“We all need to do what we can to stop the Trump administration from committing more crimes against Venezuela or any other countries. All U.S. invasions and interventions have led to destabilization of the other country, endless wars, internal conflicts and such. The U.S. has never liberated other countries. These invasions have only served American private business and that seems to always be the main goal,” said Tallahassee Community Area Response Equipo (TCARE) founder Isabel Ruano.

With more than a dozen organizations, TCAT includes a wide range of views, but all worked to condemn Trump’s racist and reactionary agenda.

“Tallahassee showed up with one united message today: to stand against the illegal arrest of Nicolas Maduro and to say no to U.S. intervention in Venezuela,” said Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) President Delilah Pierre. “The people here don’t all feel and think the same, but our coalition against Trump needs to unite on one thing: the Trump administration needs to go!”

In continuing the fight, TCAT is planning a No Kings march and rally for January 24 at 11 a.m. at the Florida Capitol. Coalition members will join with the community to mark a year of resistance against the Trump agenda.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #TCAC #TCARE #TCAT

Tallahassee, FL – On December 13, members of the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump rallied at the Florida Capitol to condemn the attacks on Palestine and Venezuela by the Trump administration.

The inaugural rally of this new coalition happened on International Human Rights Day in response to the United States and Israel’s repeated attempts to undermine sovereignty and peace in Venezuela and Palestine. The Israeli occupation of Palestine continues in Gaza and the West Bank, as Israel violates a ceasefire they never planned to uphold.

Off the coast of Venezuela, the Trump administration has illegally killed over 80 people and recently seized an oil tanker headed to Cuba, more proof of the economic terror that goes hand in hand with the U.S.’s military operations in Latin America.

Students, community organizers, and even some groups more closely aligned with the Democratic Party have joined the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump. A member of FRSO stated that “coalition building is about finding a common enemy and using collective action to defeat that enemy, and that enemy is the capitalist system.”

A student organizer with the Students for a Democratic Society said that SDS’s fight against the genocide in Palestine is not over, saying that the link between institutions like Florida State University and Israel grow larger every day and “lobby groups, IDF training with local police, and surveillance technology with AI detection” must be stopped.

Activists around the country continue to speak out against the Trump administration's illegal attacks and violent repression of oppressed peoples inside and outside of the U.S.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #TCAT #HumanRightsDay #AntiWarMovement #ImmigrantRights

Tallahassee, FL – On December 7, around 35 people assembled at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee for the People’s Award Gala. Hosted by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), the event celebrated organizations and activists that have led the resistance against Trump’s agenda in Tallahassee.

Awards were handed out for categories such as Best Immigrants Rights Group, Best LGBTQ+ Activist Group, Best Mutual Aid Organization, and Best New Activist, awarded to three recipients – Juniper Curtis (TCAC), Brandon Beckett of (Tallahassee Immigrants Rights Alliance – TIRA), and Alice Bostwick (Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society – SDS).

“I’m beyond thankful to be a part of not only TIRA but the Tallahassee activist community as a whole,” Brandon said in his acceptance speech. “As I am inspired by you all to understand every injustice in the world, I grow more compassion for every person that has faced systemic injustice. As this compassion grows, I move further away from the nihilism that used to plague me in the past, and I realize every day that the purpose in life is to care. Activism has given me a reason to care, a reason to show up, and a reason to keep going.”

Special awards for Community Freedom Fighters were handed out to local victims of police brutality and ICE attacks. Recipients included Calvin and Dalfnie Riley, who fought back against a wrongful conviction and sentencing after Calvin Riley had evidence planted on him by Tallahassee Police Department; Jingles and Rodderick Johnson, who organized rallies and marches in Madison, Florida after Jingles Johnson survived being shot in the jaw by a Madison County Sheriff Deputy, and Amanda Parrish Macedo, who drove hundreds of miles to Texas to track down and free her husband, Tino, after he was abducted by ICE in a mass raid.

In his acceptance speech, Calvin Riley said, “I wouldn’t have went through this course this long just to take a plea deal or just to be silent. I did this because in the community is someone like me that’s going through the same or similar things and they don’t have no one to turn to. So if you’re listening, you have someone to turn to. It’s called TCAC.”

TCAC is also one of the organizations in the newly minted Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump and ended the night by inviting all the attendees to the coalition’s rally for International Human Rights Day. Taking place on Saturday, December 13, at 1 pm, organizers will be showing up to denounce Trump’s attacks with demands of “Hands off Palestine” and “Hands off Venezuela!”

#TallahasseeFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #TCAC

Tallahassee, FL – On November 20, organizers and community members gathered for Trans Day of Remembrance, a day of resistance and mourning for the countless lives lost to transphobia.

The event, hosted by Capital Tea Tallahassee and cosponsored by local organizations, offered a chance for reflection and resistance. As Trump’s attacks on transgender people continue to escalate, speakers like Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), highlighted the unacceptable impacts of transphobia, and the hope she sees in our movement.

“I don’t think there are any trans suicides. I think it’s all murder. I think there is an intentional effort engineered by a few people in our country, some of the most racist, reactionary, transphobic people, to make life as horrible as us as possible, but I’m glad we’re all here, because that’s not true. We’re here, we’re living! We’re together! We’re fighting together, we’re standing together,” said Pierre.

Between speakers, local drag queens performed, demonstrating that even in times of darkness the trans community will not be silenced. Dancing on stage, they honored the trans people left behind, and gave a glimpse of the future we can fight to achieve.

“On Trans Day of Remembrance, we remember those who we lost, but we also have to look forward. We have to look forward to creating a world where we no longer need to read the names of those we lost in the past year. We need to look forward to a world where we are all free,” said Alice Bostwick, speaking on behalf of Tally SDS.

Finishing the event, Janel Diaz, executive director of Capital Tea Tallahassee, led the crowd in a candle lighting ceremony. As attendees stood together, Jae Douglas, also from Capital Tea, spoke the names of the 300 transgender people lost this year. Once the list was read, the crowd blew out their candles all at once, a quiet moment of solidarity in the fight against transphobia.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #LGBTQ #Trans #TransDayOfRemembrance

Tallahassee, FL – On November 7, the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) celebrated the 108th anniversary of the October Revolution with performances from musicians and speeches from local activists at Groovy Blue Tattoos in Tallahassee’s Railroad Square district. The October Revolution created the Soviet Union and has become a holiday still celebrated globally by socialists and revolutionary-minded people.

The event featured a diverse mix of artists ranging from rap to punk and brought together activists involved in the fight for Black liberation and immigrant rights as well as student organizers and supporters of queer liberation.

Kaiden Rosa, a member of FRSO active in his local Students for a Democratic Society at Florida State University said, “I joined FRSO because we need revolutionary organization if we’re going to make a change in our time.”

The October Revolution resulted in the Bolsheviks taking power from what was formally the Russian Empire led by Tsar Nicholas II. Soviet power set the stage for worker control of the economy and advances in women’s rights, healthcare, education and international support for liberation movements. It became a public holiday in many socialist countries where it represents a triumph of the working class over their exploiters.

Regina Joseph, a long-time community organizer, closed the event by stating, “We should learn from the people that came before us who have made successful revolutions and stood against the imperialist powers of the world. We have to be united against our common enemies and tear down this rotten system once and for all.”

#TallahasseeFL #FL #RevolutionaryTheory #FRSO