Tallahassee, FL – On July 4, over 70 students protested in front of the Westcott administration building at Florida State University to demand the removal of the statue of Francis Eppes, a large Leon County slave-owner who had funded the Confederacy. The protest was called by Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), who also issued demands for the removal of Eppes from the criminology building and segregationist Doak Campbell from the stadium.
Tallahassee, FL – Tallahassee residents assembled at 12:30 p.m. at Cascades Park, June 28 to launch a march to the capitol. Organizers and volunteers with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) pre-decorated the capitol steps and breezeway with rainbow flags, banners, signs and hand-painted portraits to honor the Black and brown working-class trans women who led the Stonewall Riots in New York City 51 years ago. Organizers distributed masks, water, snacks, bumper stickers and printed copies of Fight Back! to the 150-plus people in attendance. Attendees spread out across the entire capitol lawn to abide by COVID-19 safe-distancing guidelines.
Tallahassee, FL – Tallahassee has been host to months of regular protest since the January 2020 swearing-in of killer cop Lawrence Revell as chief of police. Protests became more frequent after three murders in the last three months by the Tallahassee Police Department, and now daily protests have continued for the past ten days after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and Tony McDade by Tallahassee Police Department.
Tallahassee, FL- For the last two days hundreds of people have been gathering in Tallahassee to demand justice for police crime victims. In just the past two months, the Tallahassee Police Department murdered three people, under the watch of killer cop Chief of Police Lawrence Revell, who murdered George “Lil Nuke” Williams in 1996. On Friday afternoon, May 29, protesters gathered at the capitol in the afternoon and then joined ranks with an evening protest organized by others at the TPD headquarters.
Tallahassee, Florida – A vigil was held May 27 at the Leon Arms Apartments for Tony McDade, who was shot five times by the Tallahassee police. Officers claimed McDade was armed but haven’t provided any video evidence or even the name of the killer. The Tallahassee Community Action Committee called for a protest and vigil.
Demand justice, transparency, community control of police
Tallahassee, FL – A caravan of nearly 20 vehicles circled the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) Headquarters, April 25, to demand transparency and justice for the March 20 killing of unarmed father of four, Mychael Johnson, 31, by Tallahassee Police Department officer Zackri Jones, who is now a two-time killer cop. Officer Jones’ first killing in Tallahassee was in 2015, and he serves under recently-appointed Chief of Police and fellow killer-cop Lawrence Revell.
Tallahassee, FL – Faulkner warned us that the past is not dead; it is not even past. In 1948 Laurie Dozier Sr., with a group of white male friends, started Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH). No Blacks were allowed even though Blacks paid a utilities tax that funded the hospital. Some Blacks who were denied admission died as a consequence.
Tallahassee, FL – On March 20, Tallahassee Police Department Officer Zackri Jones killed 31-year-old Mychael Johnson. Mychael Johnson was the second person shot and killed by Jones, and the first since Lawrence Revell became chief of police in January. Revell’s nomination in November and his later appointment led to protests due to his killing of George Williams, a Black teenager, in September 1996.
Tallahassee, FL – In honor of International Women’s Day, Tallahassee residents attended a panel discussion on the origins and impacts of the socialist holiday.