Category Archives: July-August 2017

The Repurpose Project is excited to announce its …so not wasted fundraiser at First Magnitude Brewery at 1220 SE Vietch St., Gainesville, on July 22, 2017 from 6-10pm.  Join us for a fun evening of trash carnival games, waste stream education, a serious and not-so-serious auction starring our very own fast talkin’ auctioneer, live music, the Trash Princess, raffle, silent auction, local beer, pizza and pretzels. Learn about our mission and ways to tread lightly on the planet.

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Linda Lee [L], activist with the National Farmworkers’ Association, was interviewed by Brittany Nelson [N] in July, 2013.

This is the 41st in a series of transcript excerpts from the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program collection at the University of Florida.

Transcript edited by Pierce Butler.

L: My name is Linda Deloris Lee at Apopka, Florida. I was born and raised [here]. We grew all kind of animals, ducks, geese, guinea pigs, chicken, hogs, cows—my dad and grandfather—both of them grew animals. Both had vegetables— corn, greens, peas, okra, tomatoes, a lot of different stuff, so we didn’t go hungry. There was eight of us, seven girls and one boy. My brother used to hang around with my daddy, doing farm work and a little hunting and stuff in the summer time. And also working on the farm.

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The Friends of Susan B. Anthony will celebrate Women’s Equality Day with their annual festive luncheon on Saturday, Aug. 26.

This event, which began as an informal birthday party for Susan B. Anthony over forty years ago, is now held in conjunction with the anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment giving women the right to vote.

Each year a local woman is recognized who exemplifies the spirit of Susan B. Anthony. This year, Kathy Kidder will be honored for her contribution to civic education and role as president and membership chair of the League of Women Voters.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Rebecca Nagy, Director of the Harn Museum of Art. She will be talking about “Commanding Center Stage: Women in American Art Museums Today “ and will explore the progress women have made in being represented in museum collections and assuming directorial positions.

The luncheon will be held at the Best Western Gateway Grand at 11:30 a.m., and will cost $25 for an adult.

For further information and reservations, please contact June Littler at fosba@fosba.com or at 352-374-8158; or go to www.fosba.com. Reservation deadline is August 22, and no tickets will be sold at the door. Last year’s luncheon was sold out, so please make your reservation early. 

By GUT Fest organizers

This summer, Gainesville will host an underground performance art festival.

Gainesville Underground Theatre Festival will assemble 32 performances and a community panel over the weekend of July 21-23.

Performances will be held at The Civic Media Center, M.A.M.A.’s Club, Black C Art Gallery, The Atlantic, High Dive and the Boxcar at Depot Park.

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By Fred Sowder , WGOT Financial Director

Perhaps you listen weekday mornings to the latest news of the day from Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! Or maybe you catch the jazz selections Sunday mornings on Jazzville, or the darkwave industrial sounds of Shadows at midnight on Saturdays. Or, it could be another of the dozens of locally produced and nationally syndicated Pacifica Radio Network shows we air each week.

100.1 FM WGOT-LP is your community radio station, and we can continue to thrive with your help and that of local businesses.  Our studio crowdfunding campaign is ongoing; details can be found on the WGOT Facebook page. A donation of any size will get us that much closer to providing you live programming originating from the Civic Media Center studios under construction.

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By Joe Courter

I grew up with radio and it still is a huge part of my life. Fred Sowder is a real hero to me for his commitment to WGOT.

WGOT.org has a grid of their programming, which we have printed in prior issues. As I live on the Eastside, and frankly like most people, unless you live near the transmitter out near Santa Fe College NW, my car radio is my link. In years to come, streaming and a bigger range will be available. My top seven:

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By Gainesville IWW and Fight Toxic Prisons

Last year prisoners from around the country participated in the Sept. 9 National Prisoner Strike, the first of its size and scope in U.S. history. The wave of prisoner labor strikes and other resistance actions on and around that day were led by organized groups of prisoners such as the Free Alabama Movement, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, or IWOC, of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union (IWW), as well as a large number of unaffiliated prisoners.

The strike was supported on the outside by the IWW, Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP), Anarchist Black Cross chapters and other grassroots groups. Numerous rallies and demonstrations were held at prisons around the country. In Florida, the Gainesville branch of the IWW, FTP, the Green Party and others held a demonstration at the gates of the Coleman Federal Corrections Complex near Wildwood in support.

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The Alachua County Labor Coalition is spear-heading an effort that might get the Congressman’s attention better. This is, namely, a series of demonstrations against his largest local donors. We will have our first on Saturday morning on July 29. The groups Indivisible and Women’s March will be supporting this effort as well. More details to follow. Save the date! Make your signs!

In addition, we are celebrating Medicare’s Birthday Party this year on the evening of Saturday, July 22. How much do you value Medicare? Come celebrate your present coverage (which is under attack in our present government), your parents’ coverage, and what is, or should be, coverage coming up for you. We can no longer take our Medicare or Medicaid for granted.

Come join us in this evening, to learn how it might be possible to expand Medicare to all of us by hearing fiery and articulate Congressional candidate, Tim Canova from South Florida, who will help us host this event. If Ted Yoho agrees to join us, we will have a rousing debate you will not want to miss.

Again, save the date and keep your eyes peeled for more details. Bring your stories and your outrage. If you want to help us organize or get more details, call the Alachua County Labor Coalition at 375-2832 or email us at info@laborcoalition.org.

For those of us here for the hot Gainesville summer, the summer has just gotten a little hotter. Let’s get a mob at both events! Show that you care.

by Faith C. Carr

First gather a few people around a table, get them a pitcher of beer. Then ask the question, “How can we get more people growing their own food?”  Meet up with a small local “prepper” group.  Toss in a random bunch of social activists who want to eat clean healthy food – and a local food movement is begun.

Create a list of things required for community resilience: give it a catchy name. Build a website, create a Facebook group, and collaborate with that MeetUp group.

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by Madison Rubert

Hundreds of LGBTQ supporters adorned in rainbow face paint and flags paraded the streets of Downtown Gainesville to march in solidarity with the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington D.C.

At 1:30 p.m. on June 11, local LGBTQ supporters gathered at Depot Park before the Gainesville Area Equality March for Unity and Pride, a 10-minute walk through South Main St. towards Bo Diddley Plaza hosted by the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida.

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1. Alachua County residents may install roof-top solar power now, at much lower rates and with the assistance of professional staff, by joining the Alachua County Solar Cooperative (www.flsun.org/alachua).

2. This Cooperative is being hosted by the League of Women Voters, Alachua County (LWVAC). The Cooperative is organized and administered by Florida Solar United Neighborhoods (FL SUN), a partnership of the Florida League of Women Voters and the non-profit, 501(c)(3) Community Power Network.

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by Central Florida DSA

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the US. It is an educational organization, not a political party, with more than 22,000 members nationwide and over 120 local groups, one in nearly every state in the U.S.  

Members are activists committed to democracy as not simply one of our political values but as a means of restructuring our society to make it more free, participatory, and humane.

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There have been big changes in the world of media since the CMC opened its doors in 1993. The internet was brand new then, and people needed places (i.e., the CMC) to access it. Now it is pervasive, and devices to use it are common. The internet also has a vast, VAST storehouse of documentary and regular film, music and spoken word recordings. In fact, the CMC’s VHS and audio cassette collections are now in storage, whereas they were central to the collection before.

Books they’ve got, yes; thousands lining the walls; a stunning collection augmented by the large donation of his personal library by Florida author and folklorist Stetson Kennedy.

So here in 2017, what is the CMC’s role in the community? This has not changed: a vital community space for meetings, discussions, and organizing. A place for music and art that is not a bar or museum. A counter-cultural place where marginalized people can find acceptance and thrive.  And WGOT is in the process of moving their studios into the CMC building.

BIG NEWS: The CMC has been taken under the wing of another local 501(c)3 non-profit while reapplying for theirs. Those of you who can donate, may send tax deductible checks to the CMC at 433 S. Main St. Gainesville, FL 32601. Make checks out to NUBA, earmarked for the CMC. (NUBA is Neighborhoods United for a Better Alachua, a 501(c)3 organization which shares similar goals to the CMC.)

Community support is another vital constant, especially true in the summer. Visit www.civicmediacenter.org to learn more.

by Heidi Harris

The Say YES to Second Chances initiative has entered the home stretch for inclusion on the 2018 ballot, and Floridians from all walks of life are mobilizing in support. Almost 800,000 signed petitions are required, proportionately represented statewide. The 3^rd Congressional District, which includes Alachua County, must submit a total of 28,808 petitions. We have a good start, and the momentum is building as residents of Gainesville, Hawthorne, Palatka, Interlachen, Alachua and other communities are joining together to gather signatures.

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The 2017 July-August issue of the Iguana is now available! If you want to get your hands on a hard copy, check out our distro locations here.