GOVERNOR IMPROPERLY SUSPENDS FLORIDA'S ONLY BLACK FEMALE STATE ATTORNEY [View all]
It was June 2020 and protests over the murder of George Floyd were erupting across the nation when Monique Worrell climbed the City Hall steps in Orlando, Florida, during a rally against police brutality.
The former public defender, criminal justice reform advocate, law professor and prosecutor was running to be a new type of state attorney for Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit, the third most populous in the state. Taking the microphone, Worrell made a pledge: If you vote for me, you will get a prosecuting officer unafraid to denounce the disproportionate rates of incarceration of Black and Brown people, unbowed in advocacy of criminal justice reform and unafraid to support diversion programs and other alternatives to jail.
The rally became a turning point in Worrell’s campaign. She garnered endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and future Vice President Kamala Harris. Recording star John Legend supported her, and thousands of campaign donations poured in from around the country. Five months later, the daughter of immigrants from Costa Rica and Jamaica was elected overwhelmingly. Sixty-six percent of voters in Orange and Osceola counties cast their ballots for Worrell in the general election.
It took one man this summer to nullify those votes.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/10/06/florida-governor-suspends-black-female-state-attorney
= new reply since forum marked as read