Ready to get off the sidelines and into action to support campaigns to close detention centers and jails, push for police accountability, pass progressive legislation and more? Join us.
Monthly Racial Justice Action Hours Read More »
SURJ Deputy Director, Julia Daniel, joined SURJ Florida Rachel Bass and immigrant youth activists with the Dream Defenders in blockading Governor Ron DeSantis’s office to protest anti-immigrant legislation moving through the Florida legislature and the stream of anti-democratic, xenophobic legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis has passed in recent months.
“Protesters were associated with the student activists known as the Dream Defenders as well as the groups Florida Rising and Showing Up for Racial Justice. They lined the hallway that features the portraits of former governors, wielding different signs. One read “Black Lives Matter,” another read “Community Keeps Us Safe.” One protester brought a pink guitar with “Stand Up” and “Be Braver” scribbled on it.”
SURJ Deputy Director, Julia Daniel, joined SURJ Florida’s Rachel Bass, and immigrant youth activists with the Dream Defenders in blockading Governor Ron DeSantis’s office to protest anti-immigrant legislation moving through the Florida legislature and the stream of anti-democratic, xenophobic legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis has passed in recent months.
“Showing Up for Racial Justice associate director Julia Daniel said that DeSantis “stokes division to try and make white people afraid, and I’m here to say that we will not be divided or tricked because we know that we are stronger when we stand together.”
“More than a dozen activists were arrested late Wednesday after occupying part of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office to protest his “fascist agenda,” especially his support for a new anti-immigrant bill.
Protest organizers said 14 people were placed under arrest Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day, dozens of members of the Florida-based and youth-led Dream Defenders and allied groups including Florida Rising and Showing Up for Racial Justice had entered the lobby of DeSantis’ office in Tallahassee, where around a dozen people sat and locked hands in front of the reception desk.”
“White people are the single largest base of support for the far right’s heinous agenda. Right now, they’re coming for trans people, queer people like me, Black voters, immigrants, and children. Their long-term agenda is clearly set on destroying abortion access, Medicaid, Social Security, and what democratic institutions we have that work. I’m an alumni of New College of Florida, where I learned about Black liberation and how my life as a white person was better off fighting racism alongside communities of color. That’s why Ron DeSantis engineered a hostile takeover of the college.”
I Was Arrested for Blockading Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’s Office Read More »
ATLANTA (AP) — When police stormed an Atlanta-area music festival two days after a rainstorm, they were looking for suspects wearing muddy clothing.
Authorities moved in on the South River Music Festival on the evening of March 5, over an hour after more than 150 masked activists attacked a construction site about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) away, bashing equipment, torching a bulldozer and a police ATV, while throwing rocks and fireworks at retreating law enforcement officers, according to police surveillance footage.
Muddy clothes? ‘Cop City’ activists question police evidence Read More »
The exhaustive report from the United States Department of Justice names a pattern of abuse from Louisville Metro Police Department, who disproportionately target and terrorize Black communities in Louisville. The report further documents LMPD’s abuse in its responses to behavioral health crises, sexual assault and intimate partner violence.
The results of the DOJ’s investigation echo what Black, disabled, poor and unhoused Louisvillians have been saying for years. If we had an administration committed to change, this report would land on fertile ground and we could reimagine public safety, divest from an inherently unjust and violent policing system and invest in what people in Louisville need in order to thrive.
Kentucky People’s Union Member, Elliot Frederick, talks about how the Kentucky Legislature’s anti-trans bills impacts him and his community.
I felt like I was drowning: Local groups host LGBTQ+ rally Read More »
Stop Cop City is a campaign to block the construction of a new militarized police training center in Atlanta and preserve the Weelaunee Forest. If built, Cop City would have a devastating effect on the people of Atlanta – most directly on Black communities.
After several years of work around housing rights an advocacy group for affordable and safe housing in Shelbyville, Tennessee, is celebrating a victory.
TN Renters Organize for Better Living Conditions Read More »
Read about how Louisville SURJ’s year-round organizing with working-class white people to end cash bail resulted in electing 7 new judges who are more aligned with their goals.
“Our goals are to grow a base of support, predominately in majority white poor and working-class neighborhoods where people are impacted by the inequity of wealth-based release from jail and have the deepest shared interest in the change we need,” said Carla Wallace, a SURJ co-founder and member of Louisville SURJ. “This also becomes the base for fights on other issues at the intersection of race and class,” she said.
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Louisville voters supported a majority of the SURJ-endorsed candidates. In the highest-profile contest, Black progressive lawyer Tracy Davis edged out incumbent Judge Mary Shaw, who signed the no-knock warrant that led to Breonna Taylor’s death.”
Election Wins Fuel Long Push to End Cash Bail Read More »
