The Gainesville Iguana

by Carol Mosley

Despite having only two days’ notice, more than 40 speakers packed the Bradford County Commission meeting on April 16 to comment on the proposal to lease the Douglas warehouse to the sheriff’s department for an immigrant detention center. That would  take it out of the hands of the county commission and allow the sheriff to make his own deal with ICE/DHS and the consulting company, Sabot. The item was a last-minute agenda addition.

In an astounding act of solidarity, folks came to Bradford from surrounding counties: Alachua, Clay, Gilchrist, Baker and as far as St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

This interview, which took place on April 13, 1992, is from a continuing series of transcript excerpts from the collection of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida.

Lisa Heard [H] interviewed Dr. Phyllis Meek [M], the now retired UF associate dean for Student Services and assistant professor of Education, on April 13, 1992. Transcript edited by Beth Grobman. A full transcript of this interview is available at tinyurl.com/iguana9761

H: How did you start your career at UF?

M: As I was doing my dissertation [in the mid 1960s], the dean of women at the University of Florida and her staff retired. I was offered the job of assistant dean of women and decided to take it because I thought if I stayed here I would be more likely to finish my dissertation. I was afraid if I left I would not do that. That was an extremely exciting time because there was a lot of activism.

by Ethan Maia de Needell, Immigrant Programs Manager, Rural Women’s Health Project

The landscape of immigration enforcement in Florida (and the country) has shifted dramatically in just a little over a year. These changes have culminated in the Sunshine State becoming the national leader in immigration arrests. 

Unfortunately, our city, county, and region are in no way immune from this new reality, despite the lack of visibility and media which prevents many Floridians from noticing. 

Contributed by the North Central Florida Central Labor Council

From the high-profile flops to replace University of Florida President Fuchs, to the blatantly political appointments and installations, to top-down decisions deeply out of step with the UF workforce, it’s increasingly apparent that, even off the football field, our state’s flagship university has lost its bearings.

It’s clear to anyone who’s been watching that UF is the ultimate target in Ron DeSantis’s aggressive campaign to remake Florida higher ed in his own image (see: tinyurl.com/Iguana2475).

by Mary Savage

The Social Security Trust Fund is predicted to begin shortfall payouts as early as 2032. This means payments will continue to be disbursed to beneficiaries, but at a lower amount. This is just 6 years away. 

Congress and the American people should not, and must not, allow this to happen. It bears repeating over and over that Social Security is the retirement cornerstone for most of America’s workforce, and provides at least 90 percent of income to more than one-in-five seniors today. 

While Juneteenth is recognized as the national celebration of freedom, Florida marks its own liberation on May 20 from 9am to 4pm. It was on this day in 1865 that General McCook read the Emancipation Proclamation, officially freeing enslaved individuals across the state.

by Joe Courter

Primary elections will take place in mid August and will include several races to be aware of. We will try to help in the upcoming two issues of the Iguana. 

Two things to be aware of now:

One: Make sure your voter registration is up to date (have you moved?  gotten a new driver’s license?  desire to change party affiliation from no party to Democrat so you can vote in the primary?)

by Donna Waller, President, League of Women Voters of Alachua County

I started writing this on April 28th, the opening day of the Legislative special session on midterm redistricting, AI, and vaccines. That was a lot to do in four days, unless the legislature ceded all authority to the governor. The Legislature declined to deal with anything but redistricting and gave the Governor what he wanted. 

The League of Women Voters has focused on redistricting the whole legislative session. Our national, state, and local levels all oppose it. No matter which party does it, it is rigging the game. The midterm redistricting in Texas unleashed a cascade of what I now call retaliatory redistricting. Maybe it will end with us, maybe it won’t. 

by Joe Courter

Dwelling on the dark side is not healthy, but so easy to slip into. Voting Rights Act negated, attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ+ rights, war on Iran, White Christian Nationalism on the rise, all the way to the absurdity of James Comey indicted for sea shells reading 86 47. It seems overwhelming and hopeless.

I will break the pattern here this time and celebrate the good that we need to sustain ourselves. It will take a lot to overcome the damages done by the folks in charge now, but we will need be resilient, join with existing movements and address new needs that may arise. It will take work organizing our resistance and responses, but it is what we have to do.  

by Jan Zumbrun and Dex Lewis

After more than two decades of movement, resilience, and community-building, the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida has taken a defining step forward by voting to purchase a permanent home.

At a special meeting on April 19, the Center’s Board of Directors made the long-anticipated decision to acquire a 4,500 square foot commercial property at 1204 NW 10th Ave. The vote, passed by a strong majority, marks a turning point for an organization that has spent 22 years operating out of temporary spaces, adapting time and again to changing circumstances, including the recent loss of its most recent lease on April 30.

The May issue of the Iguana is now available, and you can access it here! If you want to get your hands on a hard copy, check out our distro locations here.