Nearly 300 people from all walks of life gathered at the Mount Olive A.M.E. Church in Fort Myers, Saturday, at the Rally for Hope, hosted by the group Floridians for Democracy.
Lawmakers, spiritual leaders, and community advocates from around the state appeared in person and by video to encourage Southwest Floridians to get involved in the civics process: Register to vote, help neighbors get to the polls, and support civil rights in their community where they can.
Pillars of the Fort Myers community were there, including Mattie Shoemaker Young. Her mother, Veronica S. Shoemaker, was the first black member of the Fort Myers City Council. Mount Olive sits on Veronica S. Shoemaker Boulevard.
“One of the things that my mom wanted the Boulevard to do was to bring us together, and here it is in real life. It's uniting us from the north to the south as this road flows, as well as it's bringing us east and west. We're all here together, united as one. We're ready to focus on ensuring that we get the vote out, and it's not so much about what our forefathers did, but now it's about what are we going to do,” Young said.
The date for the event was significant—a day after the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, which fostered the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
Organizers say they were inspired by how ordinary citizens came together on that day to shape their country. And they hope to do the same in 2026 as, they say, these rights are being eroded.
Reform can begin with candidates running for office, according to the first and only black Lee County Commissioner Melvin Morgan.
“And I just feel if you're going to run for an officer, I don't care who it is, from the president on down, treat people right. If you're not going in there to work for the people, you don't need to be there. People need help. People need help,” said Morgan.
Representatives from the League of Women Voters and the Lee County Board of Elections were on hand to help people register to vote.
Raymond Simon of Fort Myers left the event inspired to work for his community.
"Yes, I want to say to this community to continue to fight in order to remove themselves from the situation in which they are in. We want to restore our democracy," Simon said.
Floridians for Democracy is a financial supporter of WGCU.
