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Civic and faith leaders gather to denounce ‘anti-protest’ bill, HB1, ahead of judiciary committee hearing
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A group of mostly Black civic and faith leaders gathered in Tallahassee’s Captiol Courtyard Wednesday to denounce the controversial HB1 bill. Many fear the Republican-backed bill being fast-tracked through the legislative process would silence minority voices while attacking home rule and the First Amendment.
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State Representative Kevin Chambliss, a Democrat who represents parts of Miami-Dade, said he stopped viewing HB1 through the eyes of a lawmaker. Instead, he started looking at it through the eyes of a father. More importantly, a father to four young Black children. And even more so, a father who himself practiced civil disobedience, protested and made sure his voice was heard when he saw injustice.
On Wednesday, community organizer Keirten Nivol traveled to the Florida Capitol to speak out against a bill that critics say would censor the freedom of speech of protesters. But after using the word fuck during an impassioned plea to lawmakers, he was escorted out by security, issued a trespass warning, and barred from returning to the Capitol until the end of the legislative session.
Nivol, a member of the social-justice organization Dream Defenders, criticized the legislation, saying it seems to target people of color who protest on behalf of their communities. The goals of this bill, as is, is to make organizing and our freedom of speech a crime, when y all could have just told Black folks to fuck off. Like, if y all didn t want us to have a livelihood., Nivol said before he was cut off. He was then escorted out of the room.
Dream Defenders Member Barred From Florida Capitol After Opposing Anti-Protest Bill miaminewtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miaminewtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
St. Petersburg Mayor
Kriseman held onto his
No. 5 spot on the list of Tampa Bay’s most powerful politicians after dropping one spot from No. 4 in 2019.
Kriseman’s place in the Top 5 is earned as he faces his final year in office before facing term limits.
Under Kriseman’s seven-year tenure, St. Pete shed its image as Tampa’s redheaded stepchild and emerged as a regional powerhouse in its own rite.
Sure, its sports teams still don the “Tampa Bay” in their names, but St. Pete is a city all its own, and on the rise. Kriseman has celebrated what makes St. Pete special throughout his tenure its quaint downtown, a booming craft beer scene and its picturesque subtropical views.
, a series of reflections on the meaning and legacy of the Trump years.
“We condemn the violence that took place here in the strongest possible terms,” Vice President Mike Pence intoned in the House chamber the night of Jan. 6, after his boss’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and laid waste to it in a siege that left five people dead. “We grieve the loss of life in these hallowed halls, as well as the injuries suffered by those who defended our Capitol today,” Pence continued. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins, and this is still the people’s house.”