- Robert Azmitia
- Marchers at the FCAN voter suppression rally.
On Tuesday afternoon, the first official day of the Republican National Convention, familiar faces gathered at the Rally Against Voter Suppression in Ybor's Centennial Park.
Protesters from groups such as Occupy Tampa, the Socialist Alternative, U.S. Action and FCAN (Florida Consumer Action Network) came together to raise awareness of voter suppression issues in the country.
Many of the protests this week have turned into sounding boards for a variety of issues. Monday's March of Our Lives, hosted by the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, was meant to raise awareness of the plight of the poor, but anti-war, economic and other social topics were also raised.
FCAN’s rally, organized around voter suppression, stayed more on topic, though some protesters believe that most issues are connected.
This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2012.