The sit-in might be over, but the work is just beginning.
The Dream Defenders, a group of students determined to help repeal the controversial Stand Your Ground law, have ended their month-long protest at the Florida Capitol.
Executive Director Phillip Angew made the announcement that the movement had grown too powerful for the halls of the capitol as the Defenders stood by his side, holding signs that said, “We’ve only just begun.”
Many of you have been keeping up with the hard work of many students and young professionals within State of Florida to address Trayvon’s Law – ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Repeal of the Stand Your Ground, and banning Racial Profiling. It hasn’t been easy but it has been for a greater purpose to ensure that black and brown children will be able to walk peacefully in their neighborhoods and not be profiled, not be stereotyped, and not feel threatened.
We know this work just isn’t about policy but about a commitment to change the human heart, and for that purpose we have remained resolute and stayed in the Capitol.
Today marks Day 31 — That’s 30 days and 30 nights of individuals from young people that have decided to take a stand!
If you recall, the Defenders began occupying the capitol on July 16, just three days after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
And though they were not able to get Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session on the law, they did get a promise from House Speaker Will Weatherford to hold a hearing on the Stand Your Ground law this fall. The group also secured meetings with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to discuss racial profiling, and with the departments of education and juvenile justice to discuss the school-to-prison pipeline, according to the Miami Herald.
We stand beside the Defenders as they move into their next phase of justice.
SOURCE: Dream Defenders | Miami Herald
