Tallahassee Community Action Committee
Tallahassee Community Action Committee is controlled by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization/FightBack!.
Leadership, 2023
- Regina Joseph Communications Director
- Delilah Pierre President
- Jules Bailey Secretary
- Ben Grant Treasurer
- Tito Leadon Communications Co Chair
- Dawn Orocio[1]
Stop anti-Asian hate rally
Tallahassee, FL - On March 27, around 100 activists from across the Tallahassee community gathered in front of the State Capitol building to commemorate the eight victims from the recent Atlanta shooting, and to speak out against Asian American oppression.
The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), along with various local organizations such as Asian Coalition of Tallahassee, FSU’s Filipino Student Association, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Dream Defenders and other community members took a stand for the victims of the shooting in grief and healing.
The event started off with Daisy Sim, a Korean American member of TCAC, stating that she hopes the big takeaway for today is how U.S. imperialism functions with the use of the military, ICE and the police. Sim stated, “I hope to call out the true enemy of our community, which is white supremacy and encourage people to further educate, organize and mobilize.”
Regina Joseph, president of TCAC and one of the Tally19, spoke in solidarity with the Asian community.
Sharry Solis, president of FSU’s Filipino Student Association, continued this theme, noting, “My home country in Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in Asia - aid that led to widespread human rights violations.” She also states that “bombings against environmental activists and indigenous people has contributed to them being displaced all over the country.”
Dr. Portia Campos of the Asian Coalition of Tallahassee wanted to share her earliest experience of racism when she was six years old. She ended her speech by chanting “Raise your voice and scream. Raise your voice and shout. Say no to Asian hate.”
Delilah Pierre, vice president of TCAC and member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, pointed out “We have to talk about the extreme devastation the U.S. has brought onto Asian people all around the world.
Activist Roman Le, the communication lead with Dream Defenders, touched on the emotional weight of the loss of the eight victims.
Isabel Ruano, a member for the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, sang a song dedicated to the Asian community out of a place of solidarity as a Latina.
Aurora Hansen, founder of Asian Coalition of Tallahassee also spoke.
Speaking next, Dawn Orocio, TCAC Communication Director and FRSO member, wondered about the costs of assimilation for the American Dream.
The event closed with Trish Brown, co-founder of TCAC, singing ``If I don’t lift them up, I’ll fall down! and shouting “We have nothing to lose but our chains!”[2]
Tallahassee’s BLM Stonewall March
July 2020. A riot is the language of the unheard and Stonewall was a riot!” emphasized event volunteer Laura McTighe, Tallahassee Community Action Committee member, Queer Tallahassee co-founder, and assistant professor of religion at FSU. “These words are more than a slogan. They are a strategy and a call to action. When Delilah Pierre was on the mic, she drew us into the litany of everyday abuses that Black trans and queer people are facing here in Tallahassee, into the great and unimaginable ones. And she opened a portal to us to feel with her the cumulative impact of these abuses. Because the point when our transcestors picked up a brick at Stonewall, it wasn’t in response to a first abuse. It wasn’t even the hundredth. It was the millionth abuse. Enough was enough! And here today, enough is enough. We’ve got our backs, because we really are all we got. That is the revolutionary promise we made at BLM Pride, and we’ll be working to make it reality for all our Black trans siblings going forward.”
Hannah Schwadron, TCAC member, Sunday Collective member, and associate professor of dance at FSU stated. “Yes, Pride, indeed! Pride for this town’s real talk and soul prowess, Pride for Stonewall as a living practice and no small slogan, Pride for the radical care of our Black and trans leaders and the orgs they lead, and pride in amplifying the voices, needs, and demands of the unheard.”[3]
Remembering Mychael Johnson
On March 20 2021 , activists from across the Tallahassee community gathered in front of City Hall to remember and to honor the life of Mychael Johnson, a Black man murdered by the Tallahassee Police Department one year ago.
The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and other community members stood alongside the family of Mychael Johnson in grief and healing.
“Somebody’s hurting my people, and it’s gone on far too long,” sang Trish Brown, outreach coordinator for the Tallahassee Community Action Committee at the angelversary that evening.
Regina Joseph, president of TCAC, and a member of the #Tally19 - a group of activists arrested on September 5, 2020 protesting the non-indictment of police who killed Mychael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Tony McDade.
Delilah Pierre, vice president of TCAC, pointed to how Johnson’s death was not the result of one officer’s decision, but a product of the larger, corrupt system of white supremacy.
Tesia Lisbon, an activist with More Than a Name and a member of the #Tally19, continued this theme, noting, “Not a single city official has properly addressed the family of Mychael Johnson since his death
Timothy White, an activist with TCAC a member of the #Tally19 , told the crowd, “We cannot win if we do not get to heal."
Pierre closed out the vigil by reminding everyone that “We will not lose.” She said, “What pushes us forward is the love we have shown for each other. And I want you to know that’s not something they can ever steal or take away from us.”[4]