Women's History Month & The Work Ahead


For years, March 31st was celebrated as César Chavez Day to honor the birthday of the farm workers' rights leader. But that has changed since The New York Times investigation revealing that Chavez groomed and molested girls whose families were involved in the movement. 96-year-old labor rights activist, Dolores Huerta, who co-led the United Farm Workers' movement with Chavez, revealed that Chavez also raped her, resulting in two pregnancies. Heartbreakingly, she stayed silent for 60+ years for fear that any accusation would endanger the labor rights movement to which she had dedicated her life. Huerta is the one who came up with the iconic farm workers' motto, "Sí, Se Puede." This story is a reminder why diversity, representation, and intersectionality are so important in every movement. Ending violence against women must go hand-in-hand with the fight for racial and economic justice and other rights to bring true equality and safety. Even though today is the last day of Women's History Month, we need to continue spotlighting the amazing women, like Dolores Huerta, who have fought so hard and endured so much, often without any recognition in their lifetimes. Follow @thelimitlessladies on Instagram for inspirational stories of their progress and achievements.

In a reminder of how unequal, unfair, and unsafe things still are, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and also Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAP 2026). A few sobering statistics from RAINN that outline the scope of the problem:

• Nearly every minute, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes, that someone is a child.
• One in five U.S. women has experienced attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
• 47% of all transgender people have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives.
• One in 38 U.S. men has experienced attempted or completed rape in his lifetime.
  

To respond to this crisis, The Women’s Center of Jacksonville (WCJ) was founded in 1995 to provide free, wrap-around care for survivors of sexual assault. A hub for mental health support, education, advocacy, and empowerment, WCJ became the first certified rape crisis center for all ages and genders in Duval, Nassau, and Baker Counties in 2004. Their trauma-informed counselors offer sensitive, gender-responsive mental health care to survivors and co-survivors age 12+, as well as general counseling for women and LGBTQ+ adults facing challenges like anxiety, grief, and life transitions. WCJ also invests in prevention and wellness through literacy programs, resiliency workshops, and support for women in active treatment for breast cancer—continuing to evolve as a trusted community resource dedicated to healing, equity, and systemic change. WCJ is hosting a number of events during April to raise awareness about sexual violence (see events here), and is also participating in the Jacksonville portion of the Walk In My Shoes 2026 event with Florida Senator Lauren Book on Saturday, April 18, to raise awareness for the prevention of child sexual abuse (more details & sign-up link in the Events calendar below).

It is clear that will still have so much work to do to stop violence and human rights abuse. We must demand accountability, and change the systems that enable harm. It is heartening - and a sign of progress - to see Chavez's name being quickly erased from holidays, celebrations and monuments and replaced with Farm Workers' Day and Dolores Huerta Day. We would remind anyone in a position of power who thinks they're untouchable that NO legacy is beyond accountability. Let's redouble our efforts to uplift awesome women and to hold abusers accountable.

🎬 ACTION: DEMAND FULL EPSTEIN FILE RELEASE & PUBLIC HEARINGS - Use 5calls.org to contact your Representative as well as Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody to urge them to demand the DOJ release all documents legally mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, to call for public hearings and investigations into the alleged abuses revealed by the documents, and to call for the resignations of Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Todd Blanche. You can also urge them to impeach Donald Trump for his illegal and immoral activities outlined in the files.

🎬 ACTION: STOP THE "SAVE" ACT - This voter suppression bill is designed to block eligible people (especially women, seniors, low-income voters, and people of color) from voting. Use 5calls.org to call Sen. Rick Scott and Sen. Ashley Moody and also email Scott and email Moody to let them know you don't appreciate their efforts to suppress the vote!

NE Florida Turned Out for No Kings! What's Next?

Despite some crazy weather, 6,000 Jacksonville area residents gathered downtown last Saturday for the No Kings 3 march and rally. We were proud to be a part of the diverse crowd protesting this cruel and corrupt regime and their attacks on our rights and freedoms. Alongside other community organizations, Jax NOW offered information on voting and engaged with both first-time and seasoned protestors hoping to get involved in local activism to protect our neighbors and our democracy.

Jacksonville's peaceful protest was one of more than 100 in Florida (including ~5,000 people in St. Augustine and 800+ people at Neptune Beach event) and more than 3,300 across the country and around the world. We joined 8 million people to demand an end to the tyranny of the Trump administration and the restoration of our democracy. Pictures from the event are here and below.

While we loved gathering in solidarity with our neighbors, we know that transformative activism is found in sustained movements, so we hope NK3 was a launch pad for you to find your place in the messy, local battles that will topple this regime. Make meaningful connections with local organizations doing the daily, unglamorous, incremental work of resisting fascism. Attend meetings, town halls and protests (see Events list below, including Jax NOW meeting next Wed. 4/8). Contact your elected officials at least a couple times each week (plenty of issues to choose from!) and remind them they work for us. Donate to a mutual aid fund - check out Jax Mutual Aid Collective. Please stay engaged and make sure you are registered to vote!

Join Us Next Wed. 4/8 for Jax NOW Meeting + to Make Repro Health Kits


We hope you will join us for the April Jax NOW meeting on Wednesday, April 8 at Southern Swells Brewery, 1312 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach. We'll have a condensed Jax NOW meeting starting at 6:00 pm, followed by a Reproductive Health Kit Making party in partnership with Reclaim Choice Florida, Planned Parenthood and Youth Action Fund, starting at 6:30 pm. We'll be assembling kits for the women served by Sulzbacher Center at the Beaches. Donations of kit supplies (tampons, pads, condoms, emergency contraceptives, and feminine wipes) are encouraged, but not required. Please RSVP below. Hope to see you there!