Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Tallahassee, FL –– Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), will call out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ relentless campaign to undermine civil rights for Black residents of the state during a sermon this Sunday at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
“Florida has become the laboratory for the far right’s campaign to against Black America,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of NAN. “In the last year alone, we have seen a governor try to erase Black history, an effort to water down our right to vote, and a racially driven mass shooting. We’ll be in Tallahassee this Sunday to show our history matters, our voice matters, and our lives matter here in Florida and throughout the United States.”
In a service led by Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr., Rev. Sharpton will address DeSantis’ destructive policies, which have only become sharper as he ramped up his presidential campaign. The governor came under fire earlier this year when he pushed the College Board to drop certain curriculum, including several Black history courses. Rev. Sharpton led a rally in Tallahassee in February against DeSantis’ highly criticized decision.
DeSantis’ administration has also sought to redraw several predominantly Black congressional districts in the state as well. In March, he vetoed a proposed map that kept the predominantly Black District 5, which stretched from west of Tallahassee to Jacksonville. At the time, DeSantis said it was “unconstitutional” to keep the district when “race is the only factor.” Yet a Florida judge sided with two voting rights groups last month who sued the DeSantis administration over the lines. The judge found the map led to the “diminishment of Black voters’ ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida Constitution.”
The GOP firebrand’s attacks comes as Black Floridians continue to grapple with the fallout of the racially motivated shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General this August. Three Black people were killed when a body armor-clad gunman stormed into the store – firing from weapons emblazoned with racist symbols including a swastika. Rev. Sharpton delivered the eulogy for victim Angela Carr, a mother of three, who was dropping off an Uber passenger when the gunfire broke out.
Sunday’s demonstration represents the beginning of a greater effort to push back against the systematic campaign to peel back Black rights. Rev. Sharpton warned that, after the Supreme Court gutted affirmative action in higher education this summer, far-right activists would next target economic opportunities. Within weeks, a group of GOP attorneys general warned Fortune 100 companies that they viewed any diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as a form of discrimination. Around the same time, legal activist Edward Blum targeted the Fearless Fund because it empowered Black women who wanted to start their own business. Blum, who led the effort to undo affirmative action, claimed the co-founders violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866 over a grant program that helped Black women, which has been strongly rebuked by their legal team. In a show of strength, Rev. Sharpton honored Fearless Fund co-founders Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons at the NAN Triumph Awards last week, vowing to fight Blum’s campaign.
Where:
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
224 N Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
When:
Sunday Service: 11 a.m.
Livestream: https://betheltally.org/live
Who:
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of NAN
Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr., Pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
About National Action Network (NAN)
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender.
For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net
(http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/).
