News

After years of advocacy, compensation for the families of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Ernest Thomas was added to the state budget at the last minute this session. These were four Black men whose lives were destroyed by a racist legal system after being falsely accused of raping a white woman in 1949 in Lake County. The Florida Senate had already passed a standalone bill SB 694 unanimously; however, the bill was never heard in the House. As a last-minu

Florida's budget is more than a spending plan, it is a reflection of our values and the priorities we choose to invest in. While Governor DeSantis has now signed the state's budget after vetoing more than $1.5 billion in bipartisan legislative appropriations, the final product represents another missed opportunity to address the challenges facing everyday Floridians. Communities across our state advocated for investments that would strengthen public education, expand workforc

Pettiness over policy. That is what Governor DeSantis displayed by vetoing HB 461. Rather than embracing a bipartisan effort to strengthen civic engagement, the Governor rejected an opportunity to inspire the next generation of Floridians to participate in our democracy. Equal Ground proudly supported this legislation and testified in favor of it because we believe every young person should have the opportunity to experience democracy firsthand.. The Governor's justification

Statement from Equal Ground Executive Director Genesis Robinson Let’s be clear, the Florida Supreme Court's failure to stop this brazen partisan power grab is not only an assault on democracy, but an abdication of its duty to the people of Florida. Courts are meant to serve as a check on government overreach and a safeguard against constitutional violations, but, once again, when Floridians needed that protection most, the Court declined to intervene. The Florida Constitution

In a last effort to control local government funding, outgoing Florida lawmakers passed a property tax cut proposal that will appear on the November 2026 ballot. While many Floridians are struggling with the rising cost of living, slashing property taxes could do more harm than good for Floridians. Expansion of homestead exemptions would only go to existing homeowners, while many working-class families may see little direct relief. At the same time, reducing local property t

Florida lawmakers have one constitutional responsibility: pass a state budget. For the second consecutive year, they failed to do so during the regular legislative session, forcing taxpayers to fund repeated returns to Tallahassee for special sessions because of political dysfunction and gridlock. Instead of addressing Florida’s affordability crisis, lawmakers spent the session advancing anti-voter and anti-DEI legislation while families struggled with rising housing costs, s

Statement from Equal Ground Executive Director Genesis Robinson Today’s ruling is deeply disappointing for Black voters and all Floridians who believe in fair representation and accountable democracy. While the Court declined to block Florida’s newly enacted congressional map before the 2026 elections, the Court also made clear that this was not a ruling on the ultimate constitutionality of the map itself. What this means in practice is that voters may once again be forced to

Statement from Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground Education Fund – the preeminent Black-led, non-partisan, non-profit working to build Black political power in Florida that has been fighting back in the legislature and in the courts since 2022 to protect fair maps and Black representation: “Black representation in Florida has diminished by 50% through redistricting decisions that dismantled Black access districts and weakened the political voice of Black communiti

House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula were unable to reach a budget deal during the regular session that ended March 13. Lawmakers reconvened for a special session to resolve a $1.4 billion difference between the preferred spending plans of the House and Senate. The special session is scheduled for May 12th through May 29th. If lawmakers don't get the budget done by the end of June, the government would enter into a partial shutd

The new congressional map was proposed and driven by Governor Ron DeSantis and passed by a Legislature that chose to go along with a partisan process that clearly violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments. Rather than uphold their constitutional obligation, state leaders worked in concert to advance a map designed to benefit those in power at the expense of Florida voters. Here are the core legal claims: 1. Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymandering (Primary Claim) The lawsu

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Feldman Strategies, team@feldmanstrategies.com Equal Ground & Dozens of Floridians Challenge New Congressional Maps Enacted by FL Legislature & Governor DeSantis The just-filed lawsuit directly challenges the congressional maps unlawfully passed by FL lawmakers and just signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. TALLAHASSEE – Today, Equal Ground Education Fund – the preeminent Black-led, non-partisan, non-profit working to build Bl

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE Contact: Feldman Strategies, team@feldmanstrategies.com Black-Led FL Voting Rights Org Equal Ground Launches Statewide Tour to Empower Floridians to Defend Their Representation After Unlawful Redistricting Power Grab Equal Ground is equipping Floridians with the tools and knowledge to fight back against lawmakers' attacks on fair representation and voting rights FLORIDA — Equal Ground – the preeminent Black-led, non-partisan, non-profit w

The Legislature’s decision to pass these rigged congressional maps is a direct slap in the face to millions of Floridians who were counting on their elected leaders to follow the law and uphold the Constitution. Instead, they chose politics over people. This brazen power grab makes one thing clear, the loyalty of the legislators who voted for this gerrymandered map lies not with the voters they were elected to serve, but with Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Just yesterday, hun

Today’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais marks a deeply troubling moment in the history of American democracy. Once again, the United States Supreme Court has sent a chilling message that they believe the political power of Black voters can be treated as expendable, even after decades of struggle, sacrifice, and hard-won progress. No matter how determined some may be to weaken civil rights protections, they cannot erase the lived reality of racial discrimination in voting and

Here's how they voted: Florida House of Representatives N - Antone(D) Y - Baker(R) Y - Berfield(R) N - Chambliss(D) Y - Cobb(R) N - López, J.(D) Y - Maney(R) Y - Oliver(R) Y - Persons-Mulicka(R) Y - Redondo(R) Y - Robinson, W.(R) Florida Senate Y - Avila (R) N - Berman (D) Y - Boyd (R) N - Bradley (R)* Y - Brodeur (R) Y - Burgess (R) Y - Burton (R) N - Davis (D) Y - DiCeglie (R) Y - Gaetz (R) N - Garcia (R)* N - Grall (R)* Y - Harrell (R) Y - Hooper (R) N - Jones (D) Y - Mart

The release of this congressional map on Fox & Friends by Ron DeSantis, and the makeup of the map itself, confirms what Floridians have known all along: this unprecedented mid-decade redistricting push is nothing more than a political power grab designed to curry favor with Donald Trump in direct violation of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments. The numbers make the intent clear. In a state where Republicans make up just 41% of registered voters, Democrats over 30%, and nearl

PASSED BY LEGISLATURE For generations, Black Floridians have fought to gain fair access to opportunity and HB 1001 and SB 1134 is an attack on that hard-won progress. Across Florida, local governments have used diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to address real challenges facing their communities. Cities and counties have created minority business contracting programs to ensure small businesses have access to public contracts, funded initiatives to address public

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR PLANNING PURPOSES Contact: Feldman Strategies, team@feldmanstrategies.com Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder & NAACP National General Counsel to Sound Alarm on FL Redistricting on Major Mobilizing Call w/ Black Floridians FLORIDA – On Monday, April 20, Equal Ground – the preeminent Black-led, non-partisan, non-profit working to build Black political power in Florida – will host a virtual Florida Black Political Empowerment Call headlined by former U

The Florida Legislature’s decision to postpone the special session on mid-decade redistricting is yet another example of a process driven by politics, not the people. Lawmakers need to read the room and abandon this reckless effort altogether. This proposal threatens to violate our state constitution, undermine the voting rights of Floridians, and create unnecessary chaos in the administration of critical elections just months away. Floridians are not asking for delay, they a

Florida lawmakers are set to return to Tallahassee for a special session on congressional redistricting from April 20–24. During this time they are expected to take on an unprecedented mid-decade effort to redraw maps outside of the normal redistricting cycle. Redistricting is typically done once every ten years following the census. Attempting to revisit maps in the middle of the decade raises serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and whether this process is being d