Though Florida’s reputation as a conservative state may deter many progressive advocates, Florida Rising senior political advisor Dwight Bullard labels the state by its people, not politics.
“We view Florida as a blue state with red leadership,” Bullard said. “This isn't a question of, ‘Who did you vote for in the last election?’ It is us recognizing that you have a particular need, and we might have a policy proposal or solution that might help fix that.”
Florida Rising is the state’s largest independent political organization that advocates for economic and racial justice through legislative action and community organizing. It was formed in 2021 as a combination of two pre-existing organizations: New Florida Majority and Organize Florida, Bullard said.
Bullard and Florida Rising’s people-based approach doesn’t mean it ignores politics in the state, however. Bullard said because Florida isn’t the swing state it was considered to be in the past few election cycles, there’s a lack of once-guaranteed resources being poured into the state in order for either party to sway voters.
But this lack of attention has opened an unusual bright spot for Florida Rising: better accessibility.
“The luxury of not having that spotlight gives us a chance to kind of really dig in, self organize … and figure out some of the longer standing issues that we probably didn’t face because we had so much attention from outside folks,” he said.
Bullard views the work being done this election cycle similar to Georgia in 2020. He said it took years of hard work for organizers to flip Georgia blue, which was made possible by connecting with underserved communities.
“Building bridges between Black and Latino communities is critical to winning back Florida,” Bullard said.
Florida Rising isn’t just focused on presidential elections. Sheena Rolle, Florida Rising chief strategy officer, said the organization works to bring change on both big and small levels.
The group has supported raising the state’s minimum wage, fighting for rent stabilization in counties of need, and connecting with communities through voter registration outreach.
Florida Rising sends teams out to communities to help register and inform people about upcoming local and statewide elections. Though the pandemic forced them to shift to mobile and online support temporarily, Bullard said it was encouraging to see that the organization could accomplish its goals no matter the setback.
Rolle said prime election year months, August through November, is typically a time the group focuses on voter protection initiatives and local school district races. During slower months, Florida Rising emphasizes voter registration outreach, community education and building up its member base.
“It's a time where we can put more focus into issue campaigning and win issues across different counties in the state of Florida,” Rolle said. “We follow the civic engagement cycle really closely, and we organize ourselves to have the most impact in the political arena as possible.”
Rolle added LGBTQ community outreach is important to Florida Rising, both externally and internally.
The organization partners with outside groups like Equality Florida, while also doing inside work to “cut through the noise” on hateful messaging and figure out what policies will best help the community.
“Frankly, when it's time to pay rent, your landlord doesn't ask you kind of what your orientation is,” Rolle said. “People are struggling, period.”
Rolle said Florida Rising is fighting back against a state legislature that tries to “vilify our queer family,” not just through messaging, but also by understanding the policies being introduced to find the best ways to combat them.
Florida Rising does this work with one goal in mind: achieving co-governance. Rolle said it’s best to have a government that’s in partnership with the people, as opposed to electing a candidate and “hope for the best.”
Despite its accomplishments, Rolle said there’s always room for improvement. To start, she hopes the organization can do better at creating conversational spaces before an issue arises, instead of as a response to it.
“I would like to see us build more consistency, and not just [serve as] an emergency rapid response support role,” she said.
Looking ahead, Florida Rising is going to focus its resources on areas that community members tell them needs more attention. Based on their data, the cost of living is what people are most concerned about.
“Expect to see more fire, more fuel for our housing work all across the state,” she said. “And expect to get the invitation to join us in the fight to really reshape the economy, both in Florida and across the country.”
