Dream Defenders are building a powerful, deep, local, organization and movement for freedom and liberation in Florida.
We believe that nonviolent resistance is “the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom” and are fundamentally committed to nonviolence as our means of struggle against a violent oppressor.
The guiding principle of our work is that we can transform our communities through the development of our own systems of love, peace, safety and justice.
Through our work, communities will experience a shift in their understanding of justice, love, safety and their own potential as human beings. There will be a decrease in youth arrests, overall arrests, community violence, school suspensions and expulsions, and police funding as well as an increase in the number of safe spaces, uses of restorative justice and funding for community based programs.
The current projects:
- Blacked Out History
- DNAPROCESS
- FREECAMPAIGN.
- WOMYN’S FACTION
- #DDPALESTINE
- Young SQUADD: The organization has five chapters,known as “SQUADD’s” in Florida, Miami,Broward,St. Petersburg,Tallehasse,Gaineville,and Bay Area. Specially focused on Florida because: more Black people were killed by police in Florida than anywhere else in the US in 2015; Florida is home to two of the country’s largest private prison corporations; Florida spends 3x more on youth incarceration than it does on education; Florida leads the nation in school arrests and 100% of the youth prison industry is for-profit.
