Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society
Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society is a Florida affiliate of Students for a Democratic Society.
'Trans day of visibility'
According to JJ Glueck, Tallahassee, FL – On March 31 2024, activists rallied at Cascades Park for Transgender Day of Visibility and demanded justice for Nex Benedict.
“Despite all of the wins we’ve made this legislative session, we cannot stop fighting until trans people are truly free from the systemic hate and violence that killed Nex Benedict,” said Joelle Nunez, president of the Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society.
Tavish Bryan, representing Food not Bombs, stated, “Their death is no more tragic than it was avoidable and those responsible deserve the utmost justice in return for their negligence, abuse and cruelty.”
Kingsley Early, speaker for Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society reminded everyone, “It’s time that as a community we fight for trans rights and liberation not just today but every day.”
“The fight for trans liberation isn’t just about visibility. Although our progress should be noted, we have to understand that trans people deserve real equity when it comes to housing, employment, healthcare and legal justice,” said Delilah Pierre, president of Tallahassee Community Action Committee.[1]
SDS Panel: Community Control of FSUPD
SDS Panel: Disarmament of & Community Control of FSUPD - Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society October 7, 2020.
With Jonce Marshall Palmer, Anthony Suarez, Anna Sandstrum, Freddie Turnbull, Valentina Beron, Katherine Draken, Zeke Greenwood.[2]
Iran protest
Armed with a megaphone and signs, the Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) marched along the Integration Statue on Tuesday, Jan. 14 2020. In an effort to raise awareness about the Trump administration’s recent armed conflicts in Iran, members passed out fliers that specified the National SDS’s statement on the US’s actions in the middle east.
“Right now, it's most likely not going to lead to war, and that is what we're hoping for, at least on our part,” SDS member Valentina Beron said. “I think that it was strategic, I think it was possibly for Trump getting reelected, [and] to build another big nationalist rally around the flag movement.”
“I think we've seen stuff like this happen before and places like Afghanistan and Iraq, and other countries that just so happened to have large quantities of raw materials that the US is interested in,” SDS Vice President Isabela Casanova said.
“There was no reason for us to engage in a military conflict that is just going to end up hurting every one of us,” member Delilah Pierre said. “I think that Trump also is doing this because he knows that a country under war is more beneficial for him. It'll give him more votes, give him more attention, give him more media. I think very much that Trump is using this war for his own personal ascendance.”[3]
Comrades
Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society February 18, 2019 ·
With Jamila Lorde and Jonce Marshall Palmer.
Syria protest
Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society April 18, 2018 ·
With Maddie Hendrick, Jamila Lorde, Audrey Pandolfi Katherine Draken. .
SDS Francis Eppes meeting
On Thursday, April 12 2018 at 8:00 PM in Union Room 320, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society will be holding a presentation and discussion about Francis Eppes, the history of racism at FSU, and the current movement to remove the statue and names honoring Eppes on campus. SDS members Maddie Hendrick, Katherine Draken and Jake Alvarez will present and a time for questions and discussion will follow.
Others indicating their intention to attend on Wherevent included Jon Powell, Zachary Schultz, May Annabel Beck, Kitt Cornellas, Nikki Mendez. [4]
Tallahassee comrades
Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society April 5, 2015 ·
With Zachary Schultz, Katherine Draken, Vani Vijayalakshmi and Regina Joseph.
Noor Elashi, Holy Land 5 and FBI repression
More than 30 student activists from Florida State University (FSU) packed into a room in the Oglesby Student Union to hear Noor Elashi and other organizers speak about government repression, March 25 2013 . Holy Land 5 attorney John Cline joined Elashi on the panel, along with Mick Kelly, who was one of the 23 anti-war activists raided by the FBI in September, 2010.
The event was organized by the newly-formed Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Cecelia O'Brien, one of the founders of the chapter, introduced the speakers and contextualized this new wave of government repression for students. "Student groups in Florida recently faced repression from their university administration, which is part of a larger attack on the rights of activists," said O'Brien. She continued, "The way we fight back against this repression is by supporting each other and sharing our stories at events like this one."
Noor Elashi spoke as the daughter of Ghassan Elashi, a founder of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development who was raided by the FBI in 2001 and imprisoned by the U.S. government in 2008. As the largest Muslim charity in the U.S., the Holy Land Foundation provided housing and scholarships for poor students in Palestine and around the world. The Bush administration shut down the Foundation in 2001 and later indicted its founders on bogus charges of material support for terrorist groups. Ghassan Elashi remains imprisoned, along with four other Foundation members, for providing charity to the Palestinian people.
John Cline, who was Ghassan's attorney, spoke about the outrageous case that the U.S. government brought against the Holy Land Foundation. He talked about the government's use of anonymous witnesses.
Finally, Mick Kelly spoke about his experience with government repression when he was raided by the FBI on Sept. 24, 2010. Kelly talked about receiving a call from his spouse while at work, who told him ominously, "They're here." After returning home, he found his home had been raided by a machine gun-wielding FBI SWAT Team, who had used a battering ram to break down the door to his apartment. The agents carrying out the raid came heavily armed with two extra clips, as if expecting a confrontation. Kelly reiterated that he was raided because of his anti-war and solidarity work, particularly with regards to Colombia and Palestine.[5]