Amendment 4: Paving the way for Freedom in Liberty City
Floridians have spoken: in one of the largest expansions of voting rights since women’s suffrage, Amendment 4 to Florida’s constitution passed with over 64 percent of support from voters.
Among the 64 percent is an activist group based in Miami called the Dream Defenders. The group worked for months within their community toward educating and registering voters.
Amendment 4 is one of the 13, multiple-part amendments to the Florida Constitution that were up for a “yay” or a “nay” from voters in the midterm election. Thanks to multiple citizen-led initiatives across the state, 1.4 million ex-felons will have their rights restored.
Niki Franco and her team at Power U Center for Social Change in Miami were part of this initiative and one of many groups in the state supporting Amendment 4. Franco is the Civic Engagement Organizer, and part of her work during this midterm election included door-knocking and making calls for Amendment 4.
“We’re very local,” said Franco, “and there’s some progressive PACs (Political Action Committees) that are doing statewide work. But with our size and our focus, all of our work is based in Liberty City.”
Given that Liberty City has a clear majority of black and brown people, Franco and Power U focused their work around educating this specific demographic and getting them to pledge their support.
It’s particularly important to Power U because an overwhelming majority of those affected by this voter disenfranchisement are African American — with 1 in 5 African Americans barred from voting in the state, according to 2016 data from The Sentencing Project. The Sentencing Project is a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy center working to reduce the use of incarceration in the United States and to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Franco and her team expressed their excitement as she announced they were just forty people shy of their 1,000-person pledge goal the day before the election and were expecting to exceed that.
Florida is one of four states with the strictest felon voting laws, requiring a mandatory wait period of five to seven years before ex-felons can apply for reinstatement of rights. Voting is a duty that defines the democratic process and holds a lot of political power which was being denied to millions of people.
“For us, being an organization that’s focused on building black and brown political power, the 1.4 million is not just a distant number,” said Franco when discussing the importance of Amendment 4. “If you’re door-knocking in Liberty City, every other door you’re encountering someone who was a former felon, so for us it’s personal. It’s our neighborhood.”
The hard work put in by the dedicated team of volunteers at Power U has emphasized the importance of community building and their victory shows that everyday citizens can force change in big ways.
Voters across counties certainly responded to Power U’s work and the work of other PACs around the state by voting in favor of this progressive ballot measure. One such voter was 28-year-old Gabi Dawson from Palm Beach County.
“I think it’s important when someone is coming out of serving their time, to give them that opportunity to be re-integrated into society,” said Dawson. “Second chances are important.”
Second chances are especially important to Desmond Meade, a former felon and leader in pushing forward Amendment 4. Meade’s work with the Florida Live Free campaign has inspired many other organizations in the state to continue his work.
Following in Meade’s footsteps is grassroots movement the Dream Defenders. Founded in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin, this activist group seeks to help disenfranchised members of their community of Liberty City.
Based in the Belafonte Tacolcy Center, the bulk of the Dream Defender’s work is aimed at ending private prisons and helping people of color in their community.
“The Belafonte Center was actually started by Frances Henderson and a bunch of young people who would get together instead of getting involved in gang activity for survival, and they found each other,” said Helen Peña, a member and activist working with Dream Defenders.
Peña joined the organization after Hurricane Irma in 2017. She saw so many injustices, and it was jarring for her to see how capitalism played out in the face of disaster, so it showed her the power of coming together as a community.
The power of community was at the center of the Dream Defender’s work during this midterm election. Their work included canvassing for Andrew Gillum and for Amendment 4.
Their members went door to door in liberty city and handed out pledge cards where people pledged to vote for Gillum and Amendment 4.
“I think a big thing we do for the community is listen,” said Peña “We listen to their needs, and then work to address their needs and act for them.”
For Peña, the fact that Amendment 4 passed is important because it’s a step toward reversing racist laws in Florida that date back to Jim Crowe.
“When they do come out [of prison], they’re already dehumanized in every possible way. To rebuild a life and come back into society is nearly impossible, so just the thought of being able to vote again is a huge deal for people.”
As far as future elections go, Peña believes that it’s important to vote out hatred and fascism. For her, it’s all about fighting with community in mind.
After Gillum’s loss to DeSantis, and some cases of voter suppression and claims of voter fraud in Broward County from Sen. Rick Scott, the group supported the people’s right to have every vote counted and thus have equal representation.
Peña says the group still has a lot of work to do, and will continue to do the best for their community.
“Our organizing will continue, it’s not the end-all-be-all and we’re going to continue to put in the work to strive for liberation of our communities. I do think Gillum would be a step towards that. It’s not the last step, though.”
