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This weekend will mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police.
Tampa activists plan to rally against an April executive order by President Trump they say emboldens racist and repressive policing.
Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is rallying against Trump’s Executive order signed in April, titled Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.
The order calls for major federal support for state and local law enforcement to “aggressively” police communities, expand legal protections for law enforcement, and double down on diversity initiatives they say “endanger citizens.”
Gareth Dawkins is a member of the organization.
“It basically is a sign of sort of like an expansion of the police and prison state, which, as you know, many of us know, is already quite large in the United States, it’s one of the largest, if not the largest in the world,” Dawkins said.
The group said the order is an attempt to undo restraints put on police after 2020 protests.
“Everyone has a story, you know, with the police, or everybody knows someone who has had a really negative interaction with the police. I really have to ask myself the question ‘who hasn’t’?” Dawkins said.
They’re rallying 5 years later in Downtown Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park. That’s the site of the first local protests after George Floyd’s death in 2020.
“True justice would have been that George Floyd is still alive today,” Dawkins said.
Who: Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR)
When: Sunday, May 25th, 2025
Tabling and Art Build – 4:45
Protest – 5:30
Where: Curtis Hixon Park (600 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602)
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