FL Rep. Angie Nixon Visits Gainesville for “Awake the State” Tour
Florida State Representative Angie Nixon (D - Duvall) hosted a listening session for Gainesville residents at Vecinos bar on Tuesday as part of her “Awake the State” tour.
Nixon, who called herself the “biggest pain” in “Ron DeSantis’ ass,” emphasized that she wants to spend time listening to her constituents so she can get an idea of where people want her to go next politically.
Angie Nixon introduces herself (GnvInfo)
The first topic attendees discussed is what keeps them up at night. A member of the Dream Defenders activist group said Florida has become a “modern-day Mississippi” and is “ground zero for all the extreme right is trying to do.”
Host Chanae Jackson asked the crowd if they’re “familiar with things that actually happened in Mississippi… how serious Mississippi was.”
One woman said, “In Natchez, Mississippi, at the end of the Civil War… there were over 4 or 5,000 slaves that were buried in a peach grove cavern. To this day, you have to look deep to find it, but all the people that live there—nobody will eat the peaches even though they’re delicious because they’re grown on the graves of starved slaves.”
Nixon and the audience went on to talk about boycotting and mutual aid networks.
Nixon said, “There are a lot of folks that oftentimes go into business because they have no other way to make ends meet. Particularly if they did something when they were younger and paid their debt to society, it’s really hard for people to get another job, and so they start their own business. It would be great if they have our same values, we patronize them… Maybe map out some places that are supportive of our values and morals.”
Nixon went on to hear from Florida House candidate Malik Moore. Moore said it’s important to go into rural areas as a Democrat and not avoid them because it’s foreseeable to lose in Republican areas.
Angie Nixon hears from FL House candidate Malik Moore (GnvInfo)
Minister Alonzo Young talked about the division in American politics and said, “We need to come together and have the same agenda, the same purpose. The purpose is to advance our people and advance our children, advance our jobs… People are scared to communicate about what’s happening at their jobs. That’s sad.”
Nixon said, “It’s important for us to realize there is division. There is an attack on us. There is division, but when you work together, you’re stronger than that division… There are folks in power right now that want to keep us fighting because they don’t want us to point to them and say, ‘Wait a minute, you’re attacking my social security.’ The fact my mama worked over 30 years, retired with a pension, and then had to go back to work somewhere else for ten more years, retired again, and now still has to take a part-time job. That’s a problem.”
Nixon pointed out that the U.S. is at a point economically where many people have to live with roommates into their late adulthood and said CEOs of corporations want to keep people working so they can make higher salaries. “Floridians don’t deserve that. Americans don’t deserve that,” she said.
Angie Nixon closes out the listening session (GnvInfo)
Nixon said she will visit all Florida counties for her “Awake the State” tour. She posts information about the tour on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
