On Tuesday the group Students for a Democratic Society at the University of South Florida is hosting a rally on campus to draw attention to immigrants’ rights and to ask the school not to cooperate with federal agencies cracking down on undocumented students. Their “Immigrants are here to stay: rally!” is next Tuesday at 1:35… Read more »
About ten people set up camp Thursday evening outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office near the Tampa International Airport; they’re upset about how ICE has detained migrants crossing the US border and has separated children from their parents. WMNF News interviewed Syd Eastman. She is with the Sex Worker Solidarity Network, one of the… Read more »
WMNF’s Yvonne Gougelet contributed to this report. On Saturday more than 700 marches and rallies were organized across the country to protest the separation of families at the border; WMNF’s Rob Lorei reports that more than 3,000 people rallied at the Families Belong Together rally in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square in downtown Tampa. on MidPoint… Read more »
The emotional scars from separating children from parents seeking asylum at the U.S. – Mexico border is just one type of violence migrants face; another is being shot by armed Border Patrol agents. This Friday afternoon, immigration activists will hold a vigil in front of the U.S. Border Control office in Ybor City. Ana Maria… Read more »
Dolores Huerta won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her life of organizing workers, especially migrant farmworkers. With Cesar Chavez she co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Huerta will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg in Fox Hall. WMNF began our interview by asking… Read more »
On MidPoint we asked listeners their thoughts about the latest U.S. / allied missile strikes on Syria. We also spoke about some upcoming actions by Students for a Democratic Society – a May Day rally in Ybor City and a sanctuary campus event at USF. SDS rallies: at USF for sanctuary campus and in Ybor… Read more »
In January, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a news conference in Largo, where it was announced that Pinellas and 16 other law enforcement agencies in Florida would now have “housing agreements’ with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would allow federal agents more time to pick up arrested undocumented immigrants from local jails. The… Read more »
Radioactivity 3 22 18 Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up— We’ll meet veteran community organizer Heather Booth— who took part in the Civil Rights movement, she was an early a feminist leader and is considered to be one of the country’s most effective progressive organizers. She’s the subject of a new… Read more »
Journalist and author John B. Judis was our guest for the first part of this edition of MidPoint. Judis is an editor at large at Talking Points Memo and the author of The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics. His piece, “The Two Sides of Immigration Policy,” was published in last… Read more »
Radioactivity 1 30 18 Fear of immigrants. It’s been at the center of President Trump’s call to build a wall across the US border with Mexico. And at the center of his attacks on so called Sanctuary cities. And it’s entered into the debate over the future of the so called Dreamers—young who were brought… Read more »
When members of Congress attend the State of the Union they bring a guest; often it’s a symbolic way to advocate for a cause. Here is who Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor told WMNF News her guest will be and why. “My guest to the State of the Union (address) tonight is Brenda Irizarry. You may… Read more »
There’s been a lot of focus on Donald Trump voters, especially in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan – bellwether states that in recent times have been Democratic strongholds during presidential elections, but which stunningly flipped in 2016 to give Trump the Electoral College victory for president over Hillary Clinton. No one has… Read more »
On a bright Florida winter day, over 5,000 people came to downtown St. Petersburg to send messages to political leaders, community leaders, and each other. Messages were funny, heartfelt, empowering, topical, optimistic, and inspiring. Here we have a sample, in no particular order. Clicking on the pictures makes them easier to scroll through.
Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is one of four major Democrats running for the party’s gubernatorial nomination this August. During his appearance on MidPoint on Thursday, he doubled down on what the Gwen Graham campaign believed was an attack on their candidate when he said this week that “I’ve actually done something with my life… Read more »
A Tampa activist is helping refugees in Europe; Dezeray Lyn works with several activist groups including Food Not Bombs Tampa and Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. She’s assisting refugees now in Western Europe through her group Love Has No Borders, documenting the crisis and providing medical and other assistance. WMNF interviewed her in early January. On… Read more »
On the program today we spoke with Joan C. Williams, professor and director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings in San Francisco, and the author of “White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.” We also spoke with St. Petersburg City Council District 6 City Council candidates Justin Bean and Gina Driscoll,… Read more »
August 15 2017 Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity…..I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up— after the terrorist attack on peaceful demonstrators last weekend in Charlottesville—- what’s next? We’ll talk with a futurist and historian about the efforts by far right groups to build a movement. Our first guest is Sara Robinson a Seattle-based futurist and veteran blogger… Read more »
What it’s like to be an undocumented immigrant President Trump is vowing a crackdown on illegal immigration. After some very tough talk about undocumented immigrants during the campaign, President Trump’s administration has issued some new guidelines for treating undocumented immigrants. Host Rob Lorei spoke with Juan Escalante, who is with a group called America’s Voice,… Read more »
Monday is May Day or International Workers Day; on MidPoint we speak with people helping to organize May Day rallies in the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa May Day march and rally is sponsored by 15 groups and is this evening from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. beginning at the Sociedad La Union Marti Maceo Cuban Club,… Read more »
May Day Rally Planned in Tampa This coming Monday is May Day, which around the world is a day to celebrate workers. There will be a May Day event in Tampa on Monday, May 1 starting at 5:00 PM. Host Rob Lorei spoke about it with local labor, immigration, socialist and racial justice activists Christian… Read more »
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