Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On March 6, Students for a Democratic Society at the University of South Florida held a protest near their University President’s office to demand that their university take a stand against House Bill 999, which is the latest in Governor DeSantis’ attacks against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and to demand that the USF Administration take immediate action to Increase Black Enrollment and restore the Diversity department at their College of Arts and Sciences. In response, the University of South Florida Police Department attacked protesters, utilizing chokeholds and other cruel methods, brutalizing and arresting 4 protesters, including members of USF SDS, without even making clear what they were being charged with and where they would be taken. One protestor who was complying with officers was dragged to the ground and kicked in the head.

After the police held our members all day in the county jail, a mass call-in campaign successfully led to their release. But the fight to defend the Tampa 4 is not over. After releasing the Tampa 4, the police announced a series of completely bogus charges, including felony counts. This is nothing less than a blatant attack on the right to protest, and an attempt to criminalize protesters fighting back against DeSantis’ reactionary attacks in the face of University Administration’s compliance with those attacks.

Chrisley Carpio – a member of Students for a Democratic Society, and one of the Tampa 4 who was brutalized and arrested by USFPD – had this to say: “What happened was a nightmare. Students and workers fighting to oppose House Bill 999 and increase Black Enrollment at USF, were put in chokeholds, and groped and beat for daring to say something. Governor DeSantis and President Rhea Law are bear responsibly for this. We won't leave campus; we won't stop protesting. USF and the county need to drop the charges on the Tampa 4; they need to condemn DeSantis' attacks on diversity; and Rhea Law needs to step down as president. We won't back down until DeSantis' racist attacks and USF's cowardly compliance come to an end.”

As these attacks on diversity programs on campuses continue to expand across Florida and the rest of the country, and as DeSantis bans AP African American Studies and any discussion of racism from K-12 schools, we continue to demand the protection and expansion of multicultural studies and DEI programs, the increasing of Black enrollment – as our Tampa chapter has raised – and the teaching of Black history in all schools. We demand that Florida universities refuse to comply with DeSantis’ attacks on DEI.

Students for a Democratic Society condemns this blatant display of brutality by USF PD at this action. Protesting is and will remain – as long as we continue to fight for it – a right.

In the face of this police brutality and repression, we will not back down from the fight to defend our fellow student organizers and to protect diversity programs and cultural studies on our campuses across the country. On March 7th we called an emergency day of action to drop the charges against the Tampa 4, and SDS chapters and students and youth organizations across the country have already responded and taken to the streets, and we will not give in until every last charge against the Tampa 4 is dismissed. When the right to protest is under attack; when our members and student organizers are under attack, we have no choice but to fight back. An injury to one is an injury to all!

Justice for the Tampa 4!

Drop the Charges!

Defending Diversity is Not a Crime!

#TampaFlorida #TampaFL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #PoliticalRepression #Tampa4

Tampa, FL – Hurricanes are a common experience to most Floridians, especially to residents of the Tampa Bay area, where hurricanes and tropical storms hit or brush by about every two years. However, Category 4 Hurricane Irma, which is now projected to move up the center of the state, is making some of the most seasoned Floridians panic.

Hurricane Irma, which at its peak reached wind speeds of up to 185 miles per hour, could cause four to eight inches of rainfall. For residents on Florida’s west coast this could mean flooding and road closures. This risk is especially high for the poorest areas of Tampa, where drainage is inadequate and most homes are only five to 20 feet above sea level.

A few residents were able to prepare beforehand and are in a better position to face Irma.

“My family started getting things like water, food, flashlights, batteries and stuff like that early. We didn’t have to struggle that much,” said Brandon resident, Genesis De Gracia.

Many Tampa residents do not share this position though. On its own Irma could be catastrophic for central Florida but the threat Irma poses grows far greater as the local, state and federal governments fail to address proper preparation for the rest of its residents.

While helping on a Hurricane hotline yesterday, Jenna Ferreira, a pharmacy technician who works at a critical care hospital in Pasco County, commented, “Hillsborough County’s information on preparedness was much more readily available online than Pasco or Pinellas. People from those counties were calling us to get information. But one of biggest problems in Florida, especially Tampa, is that there's no infrastructure. We don't have much besides the HART buses, which are limited, for public transportation.”

While volunteers have been called upon, there are still a lack of resources available for these volunteers.

“I wish there was more information and training on how to volunteer. For example, the USF Sundome is the largest special needs shelter in Tampa. Its physical capacity is 10,000 but they have a limit of 1000 sheltered people. I assume this is because of a lack of trained staff. You need people who know ventilators and oxygen tanks.” Ferreira continued, “I’ve talked to a lot of elderly and disabled people who were scared. Several hadn't been to the store yet. I wish there was a way they could register and either government employees or volunteers could help them prepare. It breaks my heart, it’s not a fair playing field for them.”

The police of central Florida have proven to be equally unhelpful, and even more harmful. One of the communities that is the most heavily affected by the local government is that of undocumented immigrants.

When emergency centers began opening to dispense sandbags, a precondition was created that demanded residents prove their citizenship before being able to attain the sandbags. Likewise, only U.S. citizens will be allowed to take refuge in the shelters around Tampa.

Nearby Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated on his public Twitter account, “If you go to a shelter for Irma, be advised: sworn LEOs will be at every shelter, checking IDs. Sex offenders/predators will not be allowed.” In another tweet he said, “If you go to a shelter for Irma and you have a warrant, we'll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail.”

While claiming these identification checks pertain to sex offenders and sexual predators, the recent dissolution of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and increased attacks on undocumented people all over the country point to these checks being concerned with finding and expelling undocumented people, not protecting other residents. These tweets also indicate a carefree attitude on the part of the police towards the lives of residents, as a sheriff jokes about the Polk County Jail being a shelter.

This is the nature of disaster under our current system. The state and federal governments have proven this by their relative inaction and their priority of arresting people instead of protecting them. After the devastation in Houston by Hurricane Harvey, a lack of preparation is inexcusable on the part of the government.

Unlike the wealthy of Tampa, many people in poor communities have had no choice but to sit and wait as the highways fill, and gas and airline prices are gouged. Due to material shortages, these same people often do not have access to the materials necessary to fortify their homes or stock up before the hurricane. This situation serves as a reminder that under the current system groups like undocumented, low-income, African-American, elderly and disabled people, will never be safe. Rather, the people united can end that system and create a new one that ensures the safety and protection of all.

#TampaFlorida #CapitalismAndEconomy #PoorPeoplesMovements #OppressedNationalities #hurricane #EnvironmentalJustice #Florida #TampaBay #HurricaneIrma #Irma

Fight Back!: What are the Coalition’s plans for the rally against the RNC?

Fernando Figueroa: Well, in a few short days, on the first day of the Republican convention, we will be hosting the largest single march against the RNC here in Tampa, Florida. Thousands of protesters will be converging at Perry Harvey Sr. Park at 10:00 a.m. for a rally with dozens of speakers, including prominent speakers such as Joe Iosbaker of the United National Anti War Coalition and Carlos Montes, a longtime Chicano rights organizer in Los Angeles. From there we will be holding a permitted march through downtown Tampa to Protest RNC Square, an area only a few blocks from the site of the convention. What we have been trying to do is unite all progressive groups in opposition to the agenda of hatred and austerity being pushed by the 1% and their Republican tools. In its place we are uniting around a People’s Agenda including the five demands for “Good Jobs, Affordable Education, Healthcare, Equality, and Peace.”

Fight Back!: Can you give us some of the details of the day-to-day organizing?

Figueroa: For those of us here in Tampa and around the state of Florida, the organizing has been a non- stop process for the past few months. We began by building the Coalition with the plan for one big march on the first day of the convention. We talked to a diverse array of progressive groups, gathered endorsements and eventually held an organizers’ meeting in Tampa back in June. Simultaneously, we were securing permits for the march and we felt this was important because we want to provide as safe of an event as possible, especially for the undocumented as well as families with children. From there, it has been a daily process of gathering donations to pay for our stage, PA system, porta-potties, and other materials necessary for a successful rally. Now that we’re a few days away, we are making the final preparations including making signs and training for event staff.

Fight Back!: How do you feel about the mobilization to bring people here for the event?

Figueroa: We are expecting thousands of protesters to come to Tampa for the March from the Tampa Bay Area, the state of Florida, and even across the U.S. Fortunately, our mobilization efforts have been extremely successful due to the help of the our Coalition partners. Labor unions have been among the most giving with central labor councils providing speakers, donations and in some cases, even several busloads of trade unionists for the event. We have seen great examples of dedication from groups including Students for a Democratic Society who have been working tirelessly on bringing out their fellow students, even though for many universities, the protest is on the first day of classes.

Fight Back!: Do you have anything else to add?

Figueroa: I’d like to add that a lot of the day-to-day work for this event has been carried out largely by the youth and for me this is very promising. I think we young people are rising up to our moment in history to stand with all who oppose the 1% and their political parties. On Sept. 2, many of us will join the march on Wall Street South in North Carolina. People in this country and especially the youth are fed up with wars, unemployment, low-paying jobs, inequality and racist hatred we suffer from every day. It’s time for all of us who oppose the 1% to unite and that’s what we see happening with this rally in Tampa. We are well-prepared for this march and I think all of us will be sending a powerful message both to the 1% and the rest of the world that the people of the U.S. are choosing to fight back against austerity, hatred and war.

#TampaFlorida #TampaFL #2012RepublicanNationalConvention #RNC #Florida #RepublicanNationalConvention2012