Over 20 people spoke in the public comment period, many of whom also spoke at the February 24 city council meeting. Tampa residents voiced their frustration at the lack of action in the past three months while the rent crisis hurts senior citizens and disabled people. Residents of Madison Heights Apartments in particular spoke of rent increases in the middle of their leases and three-day eviction notices. The message was clear: What was the city council going to do about it?

“This housing crisis has devastated people’s lives. It’s good to see people using that anger to push for real, concrete demands,” said Simon Rowe, member of Tampa Bay Community Action Committee.

The Tampa city council filed a motion to investigate establishing a Tenant Advocacy Office in Tampa mirroring the one recently created in Miami. Councilmember Lynn Hurtak proposed an amendment to investigate the creation of a landlord registry, which would make it easier to document landlord interactions for complaints. The motion and its amendment passed unanimously. The city council will meet June 16 to discuss implementing the Tenant Advocacy Office and the landlord registry. The Tampa community will attend once again to make sure the city council follows through with meeting the community’s demands.

#TampaFL #HousingStruggles #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Tampa, FL – On September 5, about 25 protesters from Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), community members and other activists rallied to demand an extension to the eviction moratorium that was abruptly ended by the United States Supreme Court. In Tampa alone, 5000 units are due to be evicted in the near future. The protesters also demanded the cancelation of late rent payments over the course of the pandemic and for the city to invest in the community, not the police.

In addition to the looming evictions, many studies have shown that Tampa is the city with the fastest growing rent costs in the country. With such a huge housing crisis, the city of Tampa has neglected to offer tenants any sort of relief, including the tens of millions of dollars that the federal government granted to Tampa for this very issue.

“It was great to see so many people come out determined not to let the landlords and the city use this crisis as an opportunity to evict so many folks, who are mostly from the working class and communities of color,” said Joe Nohava, an activist with Tampa Bay Community Action Committee.

In the midst of this crisis, the city has instead voted to spend $100 million dollars on a new Tampa police headquarters and a “City Center” of offices in East Tampa, a historically African American area of Tampa.

“It is no coincidence that many of the evictions as well as the new police headquarters will be in East Tampa,” said another member of TBCAC, David Jones. “This is a clear example of the city and real estate developers to gentrify this side of town.”

The protesters ended the event with a call to action for more rallies against the city’s lack of housing relief and an end to the planning of the new police headquarters.

#TampaFL #HousingStruggles #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Since the 2020 fall semester, students and groups at USF who’ve advocated for demands such as defunding campus police, keeping the college of education open after budget cuts, and increasing the enrollment of Black students have been met with threats made by USF administration in the form of arrests, suspensions and threats of expulsion. SDS invited other groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who have also been threatened by USF administration when they attempted to host a protest of their own in August.

The speaker panel for the webinar included members of Tampa Bay SDS and Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) who spoke about the arrests made at USF on February 9th and SDS’s ongoing struggles with their suspension.

Gia Davila, a member of Tampa Bay SDS stated, “The webinar gave us as students a space to advocate for the right to free speech without the school threatening us with expulsions or arrests. The school has selectively chosen to silence students who challenge their beliefs and lean further to the left.”

Davila spoke about President Steve Currall and Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Danielle McDonald declining the invitation to the webinar: “The president and dean of students couldn’t even take the time out of their day to listen to us speak.”

On a statewide level, TBCAC member Elizabeth Kramer discussed how Governor DeSantis is working to stifle the people’s right to protest with House Bill 1 after the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement this past summer. If passed, this bill would make activist and organizing work more difficult and dangerous.

Kramer states, “By denying our right to assembly on our terms and for our reasons, HB 1 denies the validity and ability for the people's movements to address political issues directly.”

Tampa Bay SDS will continue to organize, even with threats of arrests, suspensions and sanctions.

“It’s important to keep working and speaking out about social issues because change is needed at every level in the university and students experience all of these issues firsthand,” Davila remarked.

#TampaFL #TampaSDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

William Blake, a member of TBCAC, said, “This bill is a huge attack on those fighting for police accountability in Florida. It would legalize running over a protester, something we’ve seen many times in Tampa, as well as giving felonies to those exercising basic constitutional rights.” The bill, which was proposed during the uprisings of the summer, is a clear attack on the fight for justice for Black lives. It aims to silence protesters with six-month sentences on misdemeanors and not allowing bail until first appearances in court.

Activists at the rally spoke out how this bill would affect their ability to continue organizing. Blake stated, “The time is now to fight against this bill, because if it passes, we won’t be able to speak out against anything.”

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

The anti-protest bill would also allow police and prosecutors to impose RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges on organizers of protests that become ‘disorderly’ and it would cut state grants and aid to any local government that reduces its police budget.

“DeSantis' proposed bill is just another installment in the war on protesters,” said Will Blake, a member of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBAC). “It's important that we stand together and fight back while we still can.”

Governor DeSantis is urging Florida lawmakers to hold a special session to fast-track the anti-protest bill into law on November 17. Community organizations and activists from across the state of Florida plan to mobilize to the state capitol building during the special session to demand that they kill the anti-protest bill.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Tampa, FL – On August 28, around 70 protesters demanded justice for Jacob Blake at an event by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC). Blake was a Black man shot seven times in the back by Officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His murder sparked a massive rebellion in Kenosha and protests in other cities across the country.

In addition to demanding justice Jacob Blake, demonstrators also demanded justice for victims of police brutality in Tampa, including justice for Jonas Joseph, Josiah Pinner and Andrew Joseph III.

David Jones, member of TBCAC stated, “It’s important to stand together in solidarity with the people at the front of the fight with Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Their fight is the same as ours here in Tampa, and we must keep fighting for the victims at home like Jonas Joseph, Josiah Pinner and Andrew Joseph III.” Jonas Joseph was shot over 125 times by Tampa Police Department officers this past April, and Josiah Pinner was a 15-year-old boy killed by a speeding Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office officer in a hit and run. Andrew Joseph III was 14 when HCSO officers removed him from the Florida State Fair and dropped him off two miles away where he was then hit by a car while trying to cross a major interstate.

Protesters were also demanding community control of the police in the form of a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC). A CPAC would be a democratically elected board of community members with no relation to the police, and it would be able to control the hiring and firing of police forces, subpoena evidence and investigate cases, and control the police department’s budget.

Eithne Silva, a member of SDS, spoke about CPACs saying, “If we want to see long term change in policing in this country then a CPAC is the best option because it empowers the community rather than allowing the white supremacist system to remain unchanged.”

The protest continued with speeches and chants while many passing cars showed their support for the protesters. While the pandemic has greatly impacted life, the protest was proof that the power of the people and the demands for justice don’t stop. Tampa Bay SDS plans to continue protests demanding justice for victims of police brutality, while fighting to increase Black faculty and counselors at the University of South Florida.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TampaSDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Tampa, FL – On the evening of July 3, 50 members of the community marched through downtown Tampa to demand that local State Attorney Andrew Warren drop charges on protesters arrested during the Justice for George Floyd movement. Many protesters from events over the past several weeks in Tampa face charges like unlawful assembly and inciting a riot, both of which have been commonly used by police across the country to repress activists. The organizers of the march and protest Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), Intersections of Tampa Advocates (ITA), and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The groups had previously held a similar event after which 67 protesters had their cases dismissed. They say Warren should drop many more of the charges against protesters.

“Warren has only dismissed the cases from the night of June 2, where peaceful demonstrators were corralled, tear gassed, pepper sprayed, shot by rubber bullets, and finally arrested,” said David Jones, a member of TBCAC. “While it is definitely a win that those charges were dropped, we have to fight for the numerous other protesters whose cases have not been dismissed.”

TBCAC was also demanding the creation of a civilian police accountability council, a locally elected board of citizens who would have the power to subpoena evidence from departments, hire and fire officers, negotiate the police union contract, approve or deny the department’s budget, and investigate cases of police misconduct. Much of these functions are currently done internally in police departments.

The march through downtown stopped at a Tampa Police Department building and the Hillsborough County Courthouse, where protesters were chanting, “Protesting is not a crime, drop the charges now!” and “TPD kills while on patrol, what do we want? Community control!”

Further arrests and charges have recently been brought forth by the local state attorney's office from protests as far back as a month.

“This movement will not stop until change happens,” another member of TBCAC stated. “We will do sit-ins at town hall, marches in downtown and protests all over until the charges are dropped and justice is won.”

At another protest over the weekend, ten more protesters were arrested by the Tampa Police Department and had their bail posted by Dream Defenders and Tampa Bay SDS using funds from their community bail funds.

#TampaFL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #CommunityControlOfThePolice #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

The agenda was stacked with community members and organizers speaking out for greater police accountability, defunding the police, among other demands. Towards the end of the meeting Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan was slated to have a discussion with community members in attendance. Upon taking the stand he announced he wouldn’t be discussing anything at the meeting and that community members should join his Citizens Advisory Group which is controlled by the Tampa Police Department. Afterwards, he ran out of the room into an area closed off from attendees as attendees tried to approach him to ask questions.

“The Tampa Citizens Review Board has neither the interest nor the ability to properly protect the community, and Chief Dugan’s Citizens Advisory Group will almost certainly be even more toothless and compromised by police influence. We need a Civilian Police Accountability Council, only that will make the streets of Tampa safer for the African American community,” said David Jones of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee

The Tampa Citizens Review Board was founded in 2016 in response to outcry over lack of police accountability. It has been heavily criticized in the community for the lack of power it has to hold police to account, as well as the influence the police department has in its staffing.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #civilianPoliceAccountabilityCouncilCPAC #GeorgeFloyd #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Tampa, FL – On June 20, Tampa Bay community members gathered at the Joe Chillura Courthouse Square to honor the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, who was sexually assaulted, abducted and murdered. Salau was a known Black Lives Matter activist in Tallahassee, Florida. Her death follows a recent wave of violence against, and murder of, Black people in the United States committed by the police, white vigilantes and others.

The vigil began at 7 p.m. and was co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Intersections of Tampa Advocates (ITA).

These organizations followed the lead of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and demanded that the, “Tallahassee police department release all details regarding the disappearance and murder of Oluwatoyin Salau.” TCAC member Regina Joseph added, “The Tallahassee Police Department spent more time posting about a missing dog on Instagram than spreading awareness of Toyin’s disappearance.”

The event included speeches, songs and poems given by community members, and chants such as, “Say it once, say it again, no excuse for violent men,” and “Old Jim Crow, new Jim Crow, white supremacy has got to go!”

“Toyin’s death means moving forward in life and never backing down, keeping my head held high like Toyin did,” said community member Nebula Jackson.

“The police failed Toyin by turning a blind eye during her greatest time of need. The word ‘failing’ even seems inappropriate, she was ‘forsaken’ by this injustice,” said ITA member Kay Klark

“The death of Oluwatoyin Salau highlights the reasons we continue the struggle for a Civilian Police Accountability Council. We see cops exhausting their resources to find and punish protesters but refusing to put forth the same effort in assisting the community. Tallahassee PD failed Toyin and continues to fail oppressed people. The only way we can ensure the safety of our community is through community control now,” said TBCAC member, David Jones.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee #OluwatoyinToyinSalau

Tampa, FL – On Monday, June 15, State Attorney Andrew Warren announced he would be dropping criminal cases against 67 protesters arrested in downtown Tampa on June 2.

On the previous day, June 14, over 200 protesters gathered at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square in downtown Tampa and demanded State Attorney Warren drop the charges against protesters arrested at Justice for George Floyd rallies in recent weeks. The protest also joined with the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repressions call for a day of action against police crimes. The protest raised demands for community control of the police, defunding the police, and the arrests of police officers involved in other cases of police violence.

The Joe Chillura Courthouse Square sits across Pierce street from the Hillsborough County Courthouse that holds State Attorney Warren’s office. The protest was organized by Tampa Bay Community Action Committee, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Bay Coalition for Cohabitation and Diversity, and the Rainbow Coalition.

The protesters started chanting, “Andrew Warren, drop the charges” and “No justice, no peace” and delivering speeches. After a few speeches the protest marched down Kennedy Boulevard to Lykes Gaslight Park while blocking traffic. Protesters kept up the chanting and speeches in front of the Tampa Police Department before marching up Madison Street to the steps of the courthouse where the rally continued.

“This event is important because it’s causing more people to be open to having difficult conversations about police brutality that have been put off for so long,” said Simone Brown from Tampa Bay Coalition for Cohabitation and Diversity.

“This was a great, successful event but there is still a long struggle ahead. We need justice for the over 200 protesters who have been given trumped-up charges,” said protester Greg Hampston.

The protest made its way across the street again to finish in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square.

Although State Attorney Warren dropped the charges on the 67 protesters arrested on June 2, there are still many more who’ve been charged on other nights of protest. Bill Aiman of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) commented, “While this is a great partial victory, there are still more protesters who have been unfairly charged. There’s not enough focus on the ways in which police escalated tensions with protesters. TBCAC and other community groups will continue to fight until all the charges are dropped and justice has been served.”

The protesters vowed to continue the struggle to end police violence and harassment against protesters.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee

Tampa, FL – On Monday, June 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) led a crowd of around 500 on a march through the historic neighborhood of Ybor City to demand community control of the police in the Tampa Bay Area. The march ended at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) building, where protesters demanded charges be dropped for the hundreds of protesters arrested by HCSO over recent weeks.

Elizabeth Kramer, an organizer with TBCAC, stated, “The vast majority of arrested protesters have been completely peaceful, and the manner in which HCSO and TPD have cracked down on these protests show that they are not interested in allowing peaceful protests. So, we have to demand that the charges for the many arrested protesters be dropped!”

This event comes during the huge movement around the country to demand justice for African American victims of police violence like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Various cities around the country have also demanded entirely new police accountability structures, such as Civilian Police Accountability Councils – a central demand of the protest. While most cities have police review boards, they are not democratically-elected and do not have disciplinary nor funding negotiating powers.

“Derek Chauvin, the police officer who murdered George Floyd, had 18 official complaints on his record,” said Eithne Silva of Tampa Bay SDS. “The fact that he did not receive any real consequences for previous instances of violence against the community shows that the police department is incapable of policing itself. This is why we need community control of the police.”

The hundreds-strong march is an indication of the continuing fight for police accountability and people’s need for justice for police crimes in Tampa Bay and across the country.

#TampaBayFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TampaBaySDS #CommunityControlOfThePolice #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee