A coalition of civil rights groups will hold rallies across Florida over the next week to protest controversial state legislation on education, voting, abortion and LGBTQ+ issues.
"A bunch of us will be speaking about some legislation that has really been harmful, particularly to our disadvantaged communities," said Trish Neely, president of the Tallahassee Chapter of the League of Women Voters.
Some of those issues include book bans happening in districts across the state, laws restricting how sexual orientation and gender identity are taught at school and stricter election laws, Neely explained.
In Tallahassee, a rally will take place outside the Old State Capitol building on Monday from 12:30 - 4 p.m. Before that, protestors will march to the Capitol from Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, located at 224 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., at 11:30 a.m.
The Transformative Justice Coalition, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that organizes voter engagement events across the U.S., is sending volunteers to the state, with stops planned in 15 cities, as part of its "Stay Woke Florida Rolling Protest."
The tour will kick off in Jacksonville before the buses head to Tallahassee for the rally at the Capitol.
"They'll be holding reading circles and playing games with some of the kids that may be there."
Neely says the League will be busy engaging voters.
“We will, of course, be registering voters," said Trish Neely, president of the Tallahassee League. "We will have information available for returning citizens, as well as information about the proposed citizen initiative to try to keep government out of the lives of women who would like to have an abortion.”
