Tampa Councilperson Lynn Hurtak visits to discuss city issues such as water quality issues, code enforcement, law enforcement and education. Laura Rodriguez introduced Frank Chapman, an anti-repression activist and leader theoritician who will be a keynote speaker at a Black History Month celebration and rally. The Fourth Estate and the Sunday Forum says ‘good-bye’ to… Read more »
MidPoint: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys
Read MoreTampa targeted with anti-Semitic propaganda
Read MoreWaveMakers: Uncovering Tampa's Black History with Fred Hearns
Read MoreJimmie B. Keel, social worker and pastor, has died.
Read MoreSurly Voices: Civil Rights are still our fight
Read MoreSurly Voices: Global scares and silenced discussions
Read MoreWaveMakers: Yvette Lewis, president of Hillsborough NAACP
Read MoreActivists call for release after Leonard Peltier positive for COVID-19
Read MoreReport on St. Pete's policing shows disproportionate impact for Black residents
Read MoreDesmond Meade: Next up for Rights Restoration group is "Ban the Box"
Read MoreUpdate: felony charges dropped against BLM activists accused of striking officer during protest
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BLM protestor accused of striking officer during protest rejects plea deal
A Black Lives Matter protestor accused of striking an officer during a 2020 protest rejected a plea deal that would drop the felony charge levied against her and keep her out of jail. Jamie Bullock turned down the offer as protestors chanted outside for charges to be dropped. LISTEN: Nearly 50 people gathered outside the… Read more »

Florida state and federal legislators call on U.S. Senate to pass John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act
Congress has passed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and local leaders are now calling on the Senate to do the same. Congress member Kathy Castor and State Representative Fentrice Driskell today asked the Senate to not waste time getting the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. LISTEN: The two Democratic lawmakers were joined… Read more »

Florida’s HB1 protest law gets date set for first legal test
Florida’s controversial HB1 will get its first major legal test next month. A coalition of organizations including the NAACP, Dream Defenders, ACLU and more filed to immediately strike section 15 from the bill. LISTEN: The date is set for August 30. Chief Judge Mark Walker will hear from the coalition of organizations suing Gov. Ron… Read more »

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Bipartisan bills address environment, education, robocalls and more
Florida lawmakers introduced more than 3,000 bills in the 2021 legislative sessions, with about 8 percent of them being signed into law. Among them were bills with robust support from both Republican and Democrats. These include everything from making improvements to early education to protecting the environment and putting restrictions on telephone solicitations. State Rep…. Read more »

DeSantis signs trans girls sports ban on first day of LGBTQ Pride month, protests and legal challenges swiftly follow
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill banning transgender girls from Florida school sports into law Tuesday, the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month. Protests and promises of legal challenges swiftly followed the signing. LISTEN: The section of SB 1028 banning trans girls from sports was added to the bill at the last possible moment… Read more »

St. Pete activists honor George Floyd with calls for more police reform on anniversary of his murder
Activists in St. Petersburg took to the streets on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Floyd’s killer might’ve been convicted, but calls for an end to systemic racism and other social justice reforms continue. LISTEN: It’s been one year since cities across the country and around the world began to protest police… Read more »

More than 100 Florida elected officials sign letter opposing trans youth sports ban
More than 100 Florida elected officials have signed onto a letter opposing the recently passed bill banning trans girls and women from school sports. Members of Congress, the state House and Senate, local officials and Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse course and “let kids play.” LISTEN: Orlando area… Read more »

Nikki Fried: Florida is no longer a free state under DeSantis
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis’s private signing of a controversial new election law Thursday. LISTEN: She said Florida is no longer a free state under the Governor and likened his use of Fox News to that of authoritarian regimes. Fried’s criticism comes after DeSantis barred the general public and local media from… Read more »

Legislature revives, passes trans girl sports ban prompting fierce backlash
Florida’s ban on transgender girls participating on girl’s teams died in the senate two weeks ago, but was revived and passed by both chambers late Wednesday as an amendment to a different bill. Members of the trans community now say Florida’s posturing to corporations and catering to a shrinking base is gambling with children’s lives…. Read more »