JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens are spending Juneteenth on the road encouraging supporters to “Stay Woke” and pushing back against laws affecting diversity, equity and inclusion, LGBTQ+ issues and gun laws.
The “Stay Woke Florida” protest rolled through the River City on Monday at the IBEW Union Hall.
The mobile bus tour is traveling to 15 cities across Florida to protest laws that it believes target people of color and the LGBTQ+ community and push back against recent bills signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
After a news conference Monday, the tour headed to Tallahassee to march from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Among the people riding the bus was Ahmaud Arbery’s father, Marcus, who said his work didn’t stop after the men responsible for murdering his son in Brunswick three years ago were sent to prison.
“African American people have been done wrong for so long, and our rights have been violated for so long. It took me losing my son to realize how deep voting is to get the right people in these offices. Treat everybody equally,” Marcus Arbery said.
The tour is hosted by three advocacy groups: the Florida NAACAP, the Transformative Justice Coalition, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Organizers of “Stay Woke Florida’s” rolling protest believe that the state has become “ground zero for suppressing democratic principles, ideas and academic freedom.” They say the state’s new laws are harming minority communities.
A series of travel advisories were put in place by civil rights groups in response to legislation restricting AP African American Studies and banding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at state universities, restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender adults and children, and a recent anti-immigration bill.
“We say that Florida right now is a nightmare because all of their First Amendment freedoms have been stolen,” said Barbara Arnwine, Transformative Justice Coalition.
The participating groups are passing out banned books, registering voters and pushing for stronger gun laws.
They stress that they are non-partisan, educating people on the importance of being politically engaged. More than two dozen people boarded the bus to address the issues, and they say they want their message to be loud and clear.
“We have to wake the country up and make sure that the people in Florida who understand what is at stake have a voice,” said Randi Weingarten with the American Federation of Teachers.
Weingarten commended the young people who are part of the statewide effort.
“It’s really important that on Juneteenth, our young adults are actually being the Freedom Riders of this generation of trying to ensure that everyone has opportunity, everyone has justice, everyone has freedom,” Weingarten said.
Organizers said that the protest will grow as they make stops throughout the state. They want to make clear that legislation passed by DeSantis and the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature does not represent all Florida voters.
“You see the people here today, well wait until you see the crowds keep coming out. Because they want people to know that they don’t agree with what he’s doing. That we got to stop this hate,” Arnwine said.
The rolling protest returns to Jacksonville this weekend.
News4JAX reached out to DeSantis’ office for a response on the protest and for a statement on the Juneteenth holiday. We have not heard back yet.