Indivisible FL-13 stands in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter in condemning the brutal killing of George Floyd in police custody and the unequal and unfair treatment of black and brown Americans in all the ways it manifests. It’s not new, it’s just being filmed.
NEWS & UPDATES
World Refugee Day 2020
June 19, 10:30am – Noon
Advance Registration Required! https://tinyurl.com/wrd2020
A Time For Action for Florida’s Farmworkers
There are so many needs but let’s start in our home state. Florida’s farmworkers are the backbone of our agriculture industry. By demanding critical health care protections for them, we have a chance to offset a major health care crisis in Immokalee — but they need our voices to make it happen.
Contact Governor Ron DeSantis 850) 717-9337 or mail to governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com
and tell him to take immediate action for the 25,000 farmworkers in Immokalee, starting with:
- A field hospital or alternative care site & self-quarantine option
- Personal protective gear, provided by employers
- Comprehensive, free, accessible testing as soon as possible
- Public funds for economic relief for farmworkers and their families
In response to an earlier CIW* led campaign of calls and emails to Gov DeSantis — 1,000 COVID tests were allocated to the farmworkers in Immokalee. My thanks to those of you who participated.
Now is the time to act again because the number of positive tests reported in this farmworker town has risen from 20-30 in April to currently 249 cases.
*CIW (Coaliiton of Immokalee Workers)
Here is the link to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers website: https://ciw-online.org. so you can have the latest message from them. Towards the top of the homepage there is a notice: Take Action. This will take you to their current campaign.
Below is the text of the message I sent out to League members, and I plan to do the same at my Church. Hope this helps.
Elections Matter: Anna and Ida Eskamani Discuss Voting and What’s at Stake
Online, Wednesday, June 17, 2020, 7:00 PM
Florida Indivisibles and other Resistance Groups will have the opportunity to hear from two sisters, Ida and Anna Eskamani, both powerhouses in Florida politics. Join us to hear from Anna and Ida as they discuss voting in Florida and what’s at stake.
Ida V. Eskamani is a first generation Iranian-American and the daughter of working people. She earned dual degrees in Political Science and Sociology as well as a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She has spent the last decade working in Florida politics for campaigns, advocacy groups, and lawmakers. She currently works with several progressive organizations in the state including Florida Immigrant Coalition, facilitating legislative efforts and coalition building on behalf of marginalized communities.
Representative Anna V. Eskamani is an Orlando native and daughter of working-class immigrants, elected to serve District 47 in the Florida House. Anna previously served as the Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida and is a PhD student studying Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. Authentic, vocal, and effective, she is a champion for LGBTQ equality, the environment, affordable housing, increased access to healthcare, and public education.
Elections Matter: Amy Siskind Discusses Voting and What’s at Stake
Online: Thursday, July 09, 2020, 8:00 PM
Florida Indivisibles and other Resistance Groups will have the opportunity to hear from American activist, writer, and national spokeswoman Amy Siskind. She is the author of The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump’s First Year (2018) and organizer of the We the People March.
Siskind’s national radio and television appearances include CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS and NPR. Writers from The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, POLITICO, and The Hill frequently reach out to Siskind.
Amy is also an expert on helping women and girls advance and succeed. A former Wall Street executive, she is the president and co-founder of The New Agenda, a national organization working on issues including economic independence and advancement, gender representation and bias, and campus sexual assault.
Amy’s advocacy for equality now occurs alongside her mission as one of the most thorough and vocal observers of our failing-but-not-yet-failed democracy.
RSVP here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/elections-matter-amy-siskind-discusses-voting-and-whats-at-stake
St. Pete Peaceful Protest
There is a daily peaceful protest every day starting at 2pm in front of St. Pete City Hall.
If you plan to attend Indivisible FL-13 advised participants to take measures to avoid the spread of Covid-19 including wearing masks and social distancing. This is a trying time in the midst of a trying time. Be careful with your health and the health of others.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/993647354388758/
Pay it Florida- Pinellas COVID-19 Emergency Response Efforts
From an email to Pay It Florida Donors
Pay it Florida- Pinellas coalition members: The Common Ground Project, Indivisible FL-13, Fired Up Pinellas, Temple Beth El, Allendale UMC
Summary: At the beginning of April 2020, as the COVID-19 crisis began to hit our nation, Pay it Florida- Pinellas partnered with the South St Pete COVID-19 Emergency Response efforts to support and protect our families and community members who were identified to be the most vulnerable to the economic and health impacts of the crisis. As a community, we were successful at supporting our neighbors through the following contributions:
Raising a net amount of $7661. Pay it Florida was able to provide PPE kits, hot food, non-perishables, and toiletries to the South St Pete COVID-19 Emergency Response efforts as well as 250+ veterans and seniors in Pinellas county. The monetary contributions were allocated as follows:
- $500 to Joyner Farms: bringing in one truckload of greens that were used to prepare hot meals for community members, distributed to families in care packages throughout South St Pete, and additional greens were donated to Daystar.
- $4,000 to Atwater’s Cafe: t his was enough to cover 4 weeks of food costs for hot meals being served by the South St Pete coalition and assisted in feeding nearly 100 people per day or 700 people in a week. The contribution to cover 4 weeks was enough to feed approximately 2,800 families and community members.
- $2,425 to collect supplies needed for Personal Protection Kits. This contribution allowed Pay it Florida to purchase:
- 11 gallons of hand sanitizer (each gallon fills approximately 50 jars for protection kits)
- 400 hand sewn masks
- 340 one-use masks
- In-Kind donations of gloves, bottles, bags, protection bags fo masks
From these resources, Pay it Florida- Pinellas was able create 622 Personal Protection Kits that each included the following:
- 1 hand sewn reusable mask or 2 one-use masks
- 1 bottle of hand sanitizer (4oz)
- 1 set of gloves
- 1 brown lunch bag for mask storage or
- 1 personal cosmetic bag to store the hand sewn reusable masks.
The Pay it Florida- Pinellas coalition is grateful to have been able to serve our community and we couldn’t have done it without all of the incredible support from our donors and volunteers! We are truly so grateful for this opportunity to give back and remain dedicated to our mission to advocate for equitable policies, structural change, and fighting to keep our most vulnerable neighbors safe.
Lisa Perry
Executive Director
Common Ground FL
Weekly Demonstrations Go Virtual During Pandemic
Contact John Stewart at sjstew@gte.net for information on the weekly virtual demonstration. Every Monday or Tuesday he is sending out the current week’s topic and virtual protest signs to his direct contacts.
Or just contact your Senators every Tuesday with your current concerns:
Below is contact information for the Senators’ offices in the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa where we protest every Tuesday. Once a week you help stage a virtual demonstration by contacting the offices by phone and/or e-mail to let them know your concerns. You can let them know this is part of the Tuesday morning virtual demonstration.
We can keep a regular presence on line, even if we don’t in the flesh.
One request: the staff in the two offices have always been professional and courteous to us. No matter what you think of their bosses’ morals and policies, please be polite to the staff when you communicate. We have nothing to gain by being hostile or rude.
Here is the contact information:
Senator Rubio’s office: (813) 853-1099
Taylor_Sanchez@rubio.senate.gov
Senator Scott’s office: (813) 225-7040
luis_laracuente@rickscott.senate.gov
This will be a great way to keep active and, once the crisis has passed, to amplify the voices of those demonstrating. Not everyone has the ability or inclination to demonstrate, so we can let the senators know that there are countless people who agree with those who are in front of their offices every week.
Stay safe.
via John Stewart
sjstew@gte.net
Indivisible FL-13 Contact Information:
Indivisible FL-13 Contact Information:
👉Indivisible FL-13 ohttps://www.facebook.com/IndivisibleFL13/n Facebook
👉Indivisible FL-13 on Twitter
👉Email Indivisible FL-13 at info@indivisiblefl13.com
Useful Tools:
Pinellas County Progressive Calendar
Resist Bot, fax your representatives via text message. Text RESIST to 50409
Fax your congressperson for free at FaxZero.com
Get action alerts from Countable.us
Register to vote, vote by mail!
Florida 13 Congressperson Phone Numbers:
Senator Marco Rubio (R): DC (202)224-3041 Local (813)287-5035
Senator Rick Scott (R): DC (202) 224-5274
Representative Charlie Crist (D): DC (202) 225-5961 Local (888)205-5569
