ORLANDO | This week marked another triumph for FiftyFiftyOne, the volunteer-based organization that had taken the nation by storm after successfully organizing two days of nationwide protests.
Orlando was one out of dozens of cities all over the country to hold protests March 4 in response to President Donald Trump’s “anti-democratic and illegal actions” and the administration’s “plutocratic allies.” The city saw hundreds of protestors lining the corner of S. Orange Ave. and W. South St. right outside of City Hall with signs like, “Empathy is free,” “We the People say No Kings” and “Make Treason Illegal Again.”
Jacob Muldoon, a community organizer and activist, says that even though the 50501 protests are national, it’s essential to funnel the momentum into local issues and missions so that the people of our community get justice. Muldoon is part of an organization demanding justice for Luis Lopez, a 24-year-old man who was shot and killed by police after he called them saying he was being robbed.
“Bill 601 specifically tamped down on any sort of police accountability boards that can be across the entire state, and in compliance with that, the city of Orlando chose to bend the knee and completely got rid of their civilian police Review Board, which I view as something that is very anti-democratic,” Muldoon says. “This is one of the biggest LGBTQ cities in the nation, and they’re actively trying to disenfranchise trans people on a day-to-day basis. I hope we can turn this into making this city the progressive beacon that once was.”
In between the protestors yelling, “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” various speakers met on the stairs of City Hall to discuss their stories, missions and goals for the nation and Central Florida. The event was emceed by Obsidian Tiburòn, who is Two-Spirit Taino, Indigenous to the Caribbean and uses they/them pronouns, and featured as speakers Jude Speegle (he/they), a transgender advocate and parent who works for Equality Florida and Peer Support Space; Marilyn Baldwin (she/her), an African American disability rights activist board member of League of Women’s Voters of Orange County; Amelia Burgos (she/her), a Latina transgender veteran advocate and parent, who works for Equality Florida; Evelyn DeJesus (she/her), a Latina Executive VP of American Teachers Federation and LCLAA President; Lamia Moukaddam (they/them), a Lebanese queer trans harm reductionist/organizer; and Corey Hill (he/him), a human rights activist, journalist and poet.
Burgos spoke at the protest on behalf of Equality Florida, the largest LGBTQ+ activism organization. From the steps of City Hall, Burgos defined herself as a “trans woman, a Puerto Rican, a mother, a veteran, an LGBTQ advocate, but most importantly, human.”
Burgos asked that the protestors share the same passion towards protecting the trans community as she does as a trans woman, because banning transgender service members from the military is everyone’s loss.
“He [Trump] thinks he can deem himself a monarch and that we will all bow to him, but tyranny is not what I serve for,” Burgos said during her speech. “When you’re a soldier away from home, you have a mission, and you complete that mission; that’s what we’re all focused on. No one’s worried about what’s in your pants. I promise you.”
The injustices and dangers facing the transgender community were also emphasized by Speegle. They referenced Bill 1233, a bill that would’ve forced recognition based solely on someone’s biological sex, but died in the Health & Human Services Committee.
Speegle shared a poem they wrote in response to the bill.
“…You can’t have pride beside this divide, not with a government that would rather see you dead than ahead. Bureaucracy, mob, supplemental synonyms on the tip of our tongue, command, control, domination, deploring us as abominations,” they said during their speech. “They take away our bathrooms, our identities, strip us to our grassroots, muddy down our colors like toxic lovers. The Nazis burned flags and tried to bury us in ashes. Our history can be erased, but it can’t be lost, not at this cost, not at this cost.”
Baldwin, who identified herself as legally blind with hearing loss and osteoporosis, advocated for people with disabilities. She spoke of the importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility programs and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, “a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability.” Baldwin says these services help individuals like herself remain independent, so please use your vote to ensure that independence is safe.
FiftyFiftyOne was founded in January after a Reddit post went viral. The group held its first protest on Feb. 4, calling the mission “50 protests, 50 states, 1 day.” The successful turnout led to the group organizing “No Kings Day” protests all over the country on Presidents Day, Feb. 17.
You can see photos from the protest below.
Photos by Jeremy Williams.
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