Won't Back Down

Welcome to your weekly alert from the Jacksonville Chapter of National Organization for Women.

Happy PRIDE Month Y'all

Northeast Florida is proud to joyfully celebrate with our LGBTQ+ family, friends, and neighbors this Pride Month.

We hope you will join us at the many parades, festivals, events and celebrations happening all around town this month. We are excited to enjoy these unique events, showing our support for Northeast Florida's LGBTQ+ community, who are under continuous attack from bigots like Gov. DeSantis and local politicians Rep. Dean Black and Sen. Clay Yarborough, who co-sponsored the hateful HB-1001/SB-1134 'Anti-diversity in local government.' 👎🏽

But Floridians won't back down and we stand united to demand equal rights for ALL. We hope you'll help us send a loud, clear message by coming out to the events happening all month long. Please check the calendar section below for details and show support for the amazing organizations fighting hate and bigotry in Northeast Florida, including Equality Florida, JASMYN, House of Prism, and Jax River City Pride, to name a few. 🩷🤍🩵🤎🖤❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Speak Out Against DeSantis' Property Tax Proposal

🚨🚨 Gov. DeSantis has called another $pecial $ession of the Legislature to try to force property tax changes onto the ballot this November. The proposed plan, according to the Florida Policy Institute, would kneecap local governments, further defund school districts and municipalities, and make it harder to fund vital services families, seniors, and businesses rely on and need. The Institute estimates the proposal would cost local governments about $18.5 billion, which breaks down to $7.8 billion for counties, $3 billion for cities, and $7.7 billion for school districts. Using the most recent state tax rolls and public safety expenditure data available, an analysis of a $250,000 homestead exemption found that 85 Florida cities could not fund public safety at current levels, even if they cut every other service! Smaller communities would face the steepest impact. 😬

The proposal includes a state trust fund to backfill local budgets. That alone is a warning sign: if cities need state grants to keep the lights on, the proposal is admitting that local resources won't be enough. It also reroutes local funding decisions through Tallahassee, a fundamental change that deserves more careful study than a three-day special session can provide.

If passed by the legislature, the proposed constitutional amendment would require approval by 60% of voters in the November general election. It is clear that DeSantis and his Each day in special session is costing FL taxpayers ~$50,000 -- we don't want to spend even more to put

🎬 URGENT ACTION: Urge your state legislators to reject the property tax constitutional amendment proposal and keep funding for critical services and public safety. Send this automated email drafted by Local Voices United to tell lawmakers to:

Reject any property tax proposal that defunds local public safety.
Protect the Florida Formula that's worked for decades.
Keep local services funded by local voices, not state grant programs.

Applications Open for Frieda Saraga Scholarship 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

PFLAG Jacksonville's Frieda Saraga Scholarship Program is accepting applications from now until June 13, 2026. Launched in 1996, the Frieda Saraga Scholarship Program provides 12 Northeast Florida students with up to $2,000 in unencumbered college scholarships. Since its inception, PFLAG Jacksonville has provided more than 390 scholarships totaling more than $530,000.

Applicants must have recently lived in or are going to school in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam or St. Johns counties, have been admitted to a post-secondary school, and have participated in activities to benefit the LGBTQ+ community. For more details and to apply, please visit pflagjax.org/scholarship.

Upcoming Local Events
* Also check out Jax Mutual Aid RadiCalendar & Mobilize for even more *

🌈 JUNE IS PRIDE MONTH 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Tuesday, June 2 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm - Duval School Board PRIDE Rally. Join Families for Strong Public Schools to kick off Pride Month and stand together in support of safe, welcoming, and inclusive schools for every student. Stay for the School Board meeting after if you're able. DCPS, 1701 Prudential Dr., Jacksonville. More info/RSVP here.

Wednesday, June 3 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm - Beaches Watch monthly meeting, where the city managers of Atlantic, Jax, and Neptune Beach will be discussing "The Good and Bad of the 2026 FL Legislative Session" at Beaches Branch Library, 600 3rd St., Neptune Beach.

Thursday, June 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm - Virtual Voter Outreach Workshop hosted by Equality Florida. Learn about the most impactful forms of voter outreach: door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and relational outreach and how to use canvass tools like mini VAN and open VPB. More info & Sign up here.

Thursday, June 4 from 8:00 to 8:30 pm - Join supporters from across the country for National Wear Orange virtual kick-off call, hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety. RSVP here.

Friday, June 5 at 11:00 am - Floridians for Reproductive Freedom Coalition Meeting, featuring a presentation from the Medicaid Expansion Campaign. Contact Cheyenne Drews to register.

Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7 - Wear Orange Weekend. Community partners, survivors, and gun safety advocates are turning their communities orange to honor the countless lives touched by gun violence every day. Find an event here. For more information, contact wearorange@everytown.org.

Saturday, June 6 from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm - Fernandina Beach PRIDE Festival and Parade at Central Park, 1200 Atlantic Ave. More info here and sign up here to volunteer for a shift with Equality Florida.

Saturday, June 6 at 7:00 pm - U.S. Hands Off Cuba Emergency Webinar. Join to discuss how Jacksonville can mobilize in defense of Cuba ahead of imminent attack by the U.S. More info/sign up here.

Thursday, June 11 from 7:00 pm - Join Beaches Activists Movement for their June meeting and to write postcards to remind voters about key dates, critical races (School Board!), and the importance of turning out for the August primary election. Adele Grage Community Center, 716 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach. RSVP here.

Friday, June 12 from 6:00 pm - 10th Anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting, a community gathering to remember the 49 beautiful lives lost, honor the survivors, and stand together in love. Willow Branch Park, 2870 Sydney St., Jacksonville. More info here. 💜

Friday, June 12 & Saturday, June 13 - Join the Florida For All Assembly 2026 in Orlando. Build power together as part of the Florida for All coalition in Orlando, meeting Friday, 6/12 from 1:00 to 6:00 pm and Saturday, 6/13 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Travel and accommodation costs covered. More information and sign up here.

Saturday, June 13 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm - St. Augustine PRIDE - The Parade begins at the Lightner Museum (75 King St.) and marches through historic Lincolnville and ending at the Gallimore Center and Eddie Vickers Park (399 Riberia St.), where the Festival will take place until 3:30 pm, featuring local artists, food trucks and community speakers. More info here and sign up here to volunteer for a shift with Equality Florida.

Saturday, June 13 from 5:00 pm - JUNETEENTH Celebration. This year’s theme, How We Love, invites us to reflect on the power of love in shaping justice and hope. Music by the Jacksonville Gospel Chorale. St. John's Cathedral, 256 E. Church St., Jacksonville. More info here.

Sunday, June 14 - Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment, an uplifting evening of song, solidarity, and action, with support from the No Kings Coalition. More details on local Indivisible groups' activities to come. 🇺🇸

Wednesday, June 17 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm - JUNETEENTH Concert featuring the Ritz Chamber Players. Cummer Museum, 829 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville. Buy tickets here.

Friday, June 19 - JUNETEENTH

Saturday, June 20 from 3:00 to 9:00 pm - JUNETEENTH Celebration hosted by Melanin Market Collaborative Group. 822 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville. More info here.

Wednesday, June 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm - Jacksonville Voter Outreach Workshop, hosted by Northside Coalition of Jacksonville and Equality Florida. Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd., Jacksonville. More info & Sign up here.

Thursday, June 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm - Equal Ground hosts 2026 Legislative Debrief for Duval County. First Church of Oakland, 1025 Jessie St., Jacksonville. More info & RSVP here.

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Upcoming Local Events ﻿﻿* Also check out Jax Mutual Aid RadiCalendar & Mobilize for even more *

Upcoming Local Events
* Also check out Jax Mutual Aid RadiCalendar & Mobilize for even more *