Tampa, FL – On a rainy afternoon, Aug. 23, 70 people rallied in downtown here, demanding justice for Mike Brown of Ferguson, Missouri. Gathering at Lykes Gaslight Park, the people protested outside the Tampa Police Department and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida. Protesters showed solidarity with the people fighting back in Ferguson by demanding the jailing of killer cops in Tampa.

Alekos Zambrano of Tampa Dream Defenders said, “We are here today to demand justice. We demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that shot Mike Brown. The immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that killed Javon Neal. The immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that killed Arthur Greene. We believe that these demands are reasonable. We believe that these demands are just. We also demand that here in Tampa, the police wear forward facing cameras so we no longer have to take their word for it, when they tell us that our young sisters and brothers forced them to pull the trigger. And we demand the police records of arrest, detainment and questioning, not ending in conviction. This way we can prove that stop and frisk exist in Tampa, and that harassment and profiling exist in Tampa as standard practice. And in this way we can have a fighting chance at changing racist policies and demanding justice for our murdered children.”

Tampa police gunned down Javon Neal, a 16-year-old African American with no criminal record on July 22. In another deadly incident, Arthur Green, a 63-year-old African American man, suffered a medical emergency due to diabetes. The diabetic episode caused him to swerve while driving and sideswipe two cars. Police pulled Green from his car and handcuffed him. While handcuffed Green stopped breathing and though EMTs revived him, he later died at the hospital.

In the rain, people chanted, “Hands up, don't shoot!” and “No justice, no peace, no killer police!” Catherine Lim, a local activist with Raices En Tampa said, “We will never see the end of racism unless all those who are oppressed are liberated. The enemy – whether it's racist police, the National Guard in Ferguson, or the U.S. military in my home country of the Philippines, they're counting on us to stay divided. While our struggles might not be the same, we need to remember the power of staying united. From Ferguson to Palestine, to the Philippines, and to Tampa, Florida, solidarity!”

From Lykes Gaslight Park, the protesters marched to Tampa Police headquarters. They threw open the doors and marched up to the front desk. They demanded to speak with top police administrators. The protesters kept on chanting, as more police entered the lobby. The police refused to meet with the protesters and kept saying there was nobody in the multiple-story building to meet with them. After the police refused to meet and hear their demands, protesters kept chanting. As more police came downstairs, the protesters regrouped outside of the building.

Tampa Dream Defenders and the community will fight again. Their current campaign is against police brutality in Tampa. They're demanding the jailing of local killer police, release of police records on arrests of local African-Americans, external investigation into TPD, and forward facing cameras placed on all local TPD officers.

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PoliceBrutality #AntiRacism #Racism #InjusticeSystem #TampaDreamDefenders #MichaelBrown #Ferguson

Tampa, FL – On April 18, immigrant rights activists, community members and students demanded that the city of Tampa allow drivers licenses for undocumented people. In the morning, activists with Dream Defenders marched into city hall demanding that the city council pass a resolution in favor of the state of Florida passing a law granting licenses for the undocumented. The Tampa City Council attempted to shut down speakers for demanding licenses for all. After the council meeting, the activists left with council members inviting them to meet again on a personal basis.

Alekos Zambrano of Dream Defenders said, “No matter what happens, we will keep building and organizing, going to other cities in Florida and garnering support until the state can no longer ignore the undocumented immigrants in this state and the 11 million in the whole country.”

Later that night, people from around the Tampa Bay area gathered in a downtown park to demand licenses for all undocumented people. A crowd of people came together in a huge circle and listened to speakers. Dream Defenders, along with United We Dream, the ACLU, Students for a Democratic Society, Mexican American Student Association at the University of South Florida, Members Empowering True Awareness and Hondurenos Unidos En Tampa spoke at the rally. They all cited examples as to why it is important that all undocumented people in Florida have drivers licenses.

Currently, there are an estimated 1.5 million undocumented people in the state of Florida. Without papers and legal status, these undocumented people do not have the same rights as others. They live a life of fear of deportation, incarceration and separation from their families. On top of that, the undocumented are exploited by employers and others who take advantage of their status and make them work for extremely low wages and in horrible conditions. Within the past ten years, several cases of modern-day slavery have been discovered, where the enslaved have been undocumented people from Mexico and Central America. If Florida granted licenses for all undocumented, many of these abuses would not happen. Currently, most of the deportation and incarceration cases happen because of traffic violations like driving without a license. With a license, undocumented people could drive to work, school and other places without the threat of getting thrown into jail or even deported.

Paola Everett of the ACLU said, “We shouldn't push for licenses just for DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipients, but licenses for all!” Many of the proposed bills from politicians have only called for licenses for those who are eligible for Deferred Action. However, those eligible only represent a small minority of the 1.5 million undocumented in Florida and the 11 million across the country. If left up to the politicians' bills, most undocumented people would be left behind, without licenses and without equal rights. Carlos Zapata of United We Dream said, “Having a drivers license will greatly improve my everyday life. Not simply in me but my family also. Every day I fear that my mom and dad won’t return home.”

Between speakers, at the rally, people chanted, “No mas deportacion! Legalizacion!” People were fired up. As the rally came to an end, Marisol Marquez of Dream Defenders said, “I’m a Xicana activist daughter of two once undocumented, Mexican immigrants. I grew up understanding why I was terrified of the police and their routine blockades that would make my parents fearful of driving. Today, we are gathered here to propose a solution: Give all 1.5 million undocumented immigrants in Florida licenses to drive. Now. This is not a privilege. Licenses for all undocumented immigrants...is a necessity.”

People left that night ready to return to city hall. As activists pointed out, this was the first step to getting licenses for all undocumented in Florida. They plan to go back to city hall, and get their resolution passed. After that, they plan to go the state capitol with the same demands. The rally showed that different groups united for one demand: Licenses for All. People across the country and across Florida understand the benefit of licenses and how denying the undocumented licenses is a denial of equal rights.

The activists are planning another action soon.

#TampaFL #legalizationForAll #DriversLicenses #TampaDreamDefenders