At Red Balloon, we strive to serve any and every family that wants to join our community. We do not turn children away based on factors such as disability status or neurotypical development. We serve an economically and ethnically diverse community; we serve the families of immigrants and those new to New York or the United States. Among our community, Polish, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Italian, Hebrew and Hindi are some of the languages spoken at home. We serve the families of graduate students, adjunct professors, essential workers, rank-and-file Columbia staff and members of the Harlem and Morningside Heights communities. We are urging Columbia to extend our lease and let Red Balloon continue its mission to educate children and support working families.

Seeing an innocent Black Man railroaded by this crooked justice system has darkened my spirit since a small child, when the same was done to my uncle. I'm writing because all too often, Black people are too afraid to speak up for their rights, or to speak up for those who are brave enough to fight back. I'm writing this because I am a mother of 3 Black humans (ages: 24, 21 and 15) and believe that Grand Master Jay's teachings and guidance would/can make an enormous impact on the lives of my children, as well as the lives of All Black People (any age). As history has shown, every strong, motivational, inspirational, spiritual and intellectually intelligent Black male figure, who has spoken up against this crooked justice system, and who talks only of Black pride and power, is either dead, in jail, or silenced. This is an undeniable fact.

The Alameda County Free Our Kids Youth Justice 10 Point Plan was written by young people themselves! For the past year, youth leaders from 67 Sueños, Young Women's Freedom Center, Urban Peace Movement, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, and Genesis have gathered to create a Youth Justice 10 Point plan. Its purpose is to empower and center youth voices, and it gives the youth an opportunity to demand the justice they deserve and want to see in their communities. The Youth Justice 10 Point plan was completely youth-led, and draws from the inspiration of youth led movements from the past - and especially from the legacy of the Black Panther Party. We hope this platform will empower other youth to create similar 10 point plans that can help them create the change they want to see in their communities!! Alameda County spends nearly $500,000 per youth per year on incarceration and $23,000 on average per year to place a young person on probation. Nearly one in three youth incarcerated in Alameda County are later reconvicted. On the other hand, evidence-based restorative justice practices have a one-time cost of $4,500 and the County’s restorative justice alternatives produce recidivism rates of 5% when working with youth charged with specifically violent and serious offenses. We are safer and get a better return on our investment when we invest in the well-being of young people instead of locking them in cages and putting them under surveillance.

Around March 1860, 52 years after the abolishment of the transatlantic slave trade and 40 years after amending the Piracy Act of 1819, Captain William Foster, funded by his co-conspirator, Timothy Meaher, set sail for Africa. Foster would set sail with 110 of the Africans he had purchased aboard the Clotilda. Upon his return to Mobile, he avoided customs agents, towed the Clotilda up the river, and put the enslaved Africans on the Steamboat Czar, owned by Timothy’s brother, Byrnes (aka Burns) Meaher. The enslaved Africans would then be transported to John Dabney’s Mount Vernon plantation and hidden in the swamp. Timothy Meaher, his brothers Byrnes and James, John Dabney and Foster were all given enslaved people from the Clotilda. Timothy Meaher and his co-conspirators used a sophisticated plan to hide the Africans who were on board, moving them from plantation to plantation while burning the Clotilda. Within two weeks of their arrival in America and over the next several months, court cases were opened (e.g., U.S. vs. William Foster and Richard Sheridan, U.S. vs William Foster, U.S. vs. Burns (Byrnes) Meaher, U.S. vs. John Dabney, etc.). In her book, Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Last Africans Brought to America, Diouf details the events leading up to these cases including the sophisticated plot to hide these illegal actions. We know that Timothy Meaher was arrested and accused of having “illegally imported negroes.” However, the presiding Judge over the case, William G. Jones was a friend of Timothy Meaher. Diouf writes, “Judge William G. Jones was such a friend that Meaher had given his name to one of his steamers. Everyone knew that when it came to importers of Africans Judge Jones was as lenient as he possibly could be.” This leniency is evident in other related rulings during the same time period. Also, the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Alabama, Augustus Julian “A.J.” would become an attorney of the Confederate states and a confederate poet. Despite the evidence, Jones cleared Timothy Meaher of all charges. In addition, the courts were after Foster, not because he was a pirate, but because he avoided customs officials upon arrival from his voyage. Judge William G. Jones also issued orders to have Byrnes Meaher and Dabney appear at the next regular term of his court. On January 10, 1861, the U.S. vs. Burns Meaher and the U.S vs. John Dabney were dismissed by Judge Jones. Since the 110 Africans could not be found, no crime could be proven. On January 12, 1861, only two days after his ruling, Judge Jones resigned. Alabama broke away from the Union, and Judge Jones would eventually serve as a judge of the confederate district court for the district of Alabama from 1861 to 1865. Finally, Foster’s case would eventually be thrown out too. Records for several of the cases mentioned above reside at the National Archives in Atlanta and provide an account of the times. In May of 2019, Search Inc. prepared a report entitled “Archaeological Investigations of 1Ba704” for the Alabama Historical Commission summarizing their findings from the discovery of Clotilda. They confirm they have located the Clotilda and provide an investigative report that lays out the case for how the U.S. government turned a blind eye to the Meahers, Foster and all parties involved. It also draws the conclusion that “US government officials were perhaps less than diligent in seeking to find the Clotilda or the people brought aboard it against their will...” Just this month, the National Geographic released an article entitled “America’s Last Slave Ship is More Intact Than Anyone Thought.” In that article, Vice President of Search Inc., Jim Delgado, stated “this is the most intact slave ship known to exist in the archeological record anywhere. There’s actual direct physical evidence not just of the ship and its use, but also of the changes done by Foster and his crew to make it a slave ship.” Over 160 years later, evidence of the crime has now been uncovered. The cover-up of illegal activity is as bad as the smuggling crime. The finding of Clotilda should initiate an investigation into previous court cases and new cases should be opened where warranted. In the words of William Goldstone, “justice delayed is justice denied, “and we deserve justice. Crimes were committed and all involved should be held accountable.

On 09/20/21, I looked at the Wake County Public Schools website to find information about the number of COVID Clusters in Wake County Public Schools. The site was down and read as follows: We are updating based on the State of Emergency declared by Governor Cooper. This means there is a continuous rise of cases in the state and it is showing up in the schools and hospitals. Our schools are not safe places for our children. It is a known fact, there are not enough teachers, lunchroom staff, maintenance workers, or bus drivers to keep them safe. Our front-line workers are constantly put at risk without the basic protection of unmasking in Wake County. Since this pandemic started 1 in 9 people in Wake County have been affected by COVID, we’ve had 121,290 reported cases in our community alone. We already see that sending students into schools without masks will lead to even more people getting sick. We the parents from Black and brown communities can not attend Board meetings due to the many barriers that prevent us from attending. We are showing our concern through the signing of this petition. We never want it said that we don't care about our children and all children’s safety. We must adhere to the CDC’s guidelines to socially distance and implement a mask mandate to protect everyone in Wake County. We should not be listening to the ignorance of anti-maskers who bully and threaten board members to intimidate them from supporting mask mandates. It's our right to be safe and keep our children safe without intimidation. We the members of the Wake County Community Equity Leadership Team and the community ask that the Wake County School Board consider the cost when making your decision. We must put the safety and needs of our community at the center of our decision-making when it comes to the health and our students and families. WE WANT A MASK MANDATE

I have been working as an athletic trainer in Atlanta for six years now. For those six years, I have rarely seen athletic trainers on the sidelines for sporting events in a majority of DeKalb County high schools. Just last week, a Black student died from heat illness and there was no athletic trainer at the school. A Dekalb County high school dancer died from heat illness in June 2019, and there was also NO athletic trainer available at her school. Black students have been injured during basketball and football practices without the proper professional there to help and prevent a death. As students begin sports training , hiring more athletic trainers should be a priority to keep them safe! Our Black student athletes deserve better and hiring athletic trainers can save Black lives. It upsets me to see a lack of sports medicine care in a predominantly Black school district. Only 5 schools in the district have athletic trainers and they house the majority of white students in the district and 12% of the student population receives the benefits of sports medicine care. Black students are being left without. To create a better world for Black children in Dekalb County Schools we must see an effort for more athletic trainers hired in the school district. Having a trained and qualified healthcare professional to provide appropriate medical care onsite, especially in emergencies, is crucial to student-athlete safety. Coaches and athletic directors in our schools are not enough. They are unable to act as health-care decision makers in emergencies. Athletic trainers can act in dangerous situations and possibly prevent death. They can protect Black students and save their lives! We demand DeKalb County Schools to hire full time athletic athletic trainers by allocating district funding that would protect the general welfare of Black children. We also demand that athletic training consultants train school staff on the right ways to act in emergency situations. Game day coverage is not enough. Antwyn Brown is the Chief of Staff to the DeKalb County Superintendent and is pivotal in supporting and advising the superintendent on decisions for the school district. Mr. Brown can help begin the processes needed to getting more athletic trainers in Dekalb County Schools. Sign this petition and ask the Chief of Staff to the DeKalb County Superintendent to protect our Black student athletes and protect the general welfare of Black children now! References: Suzuki-Yamanaka M, Huggins RA, Armstrong KJ, Coleman KA, Casa DJ, Kaneoka K. Athletic training employment in secondary schools by geographic setting and school size within the United States. J Athl Train. 2021 Jan 22. Post E, Winterstein AP, Hetzel SJ, Lutes B, McGuine TA. School and Community Socioeconomic Status and Access to Athletic Trainer Services in Wisconsin Secondary Schools. J Athl Train. 2019 Feb;54(2):177-181. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/index.asp DCSD Demographics (2018-2019 School Year) https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/documents/planning/2018/demographics-2018.pdf

Tulare County is a prime region for Asian Hate Crimes, especially blatant racism shown at Tulare County Supreme Court. Yerin's biological father requested to move to Alabama, where he will find a community of pedophiles, where he will objectify his own daughter with his Asian fetishization and well-noticeable pedophilia. The Court will let this happen, as the judge never held the father accountable for breaking court orders or letting him make his own court orders with his attorney. Yerin needs her mother, her Asian heritage, and her sister. Her father was not there when she was born when she was named when she was fed. He popped in the middle when he needed her for his reputation, to gain credibility around young children. He has a serious mental issue and with his records of sexually abusing and molesting his 3 sisters throughout his adolescence, and others throughout his life, he should not have been awarded custody. Yerin is in serious danger and she does not deserve this. Please help the Lim family. The next hearing is May 10th, which will likely allow Yerin's father to move to Alabama with Yerin and his deranged and racist wife. They will raise Yerin to be a white nationalist, racist (1% Asian in AB), abuse her in many ways, find solidarity with other pedophiliacs and incests in Alabama, and make sure she despises her mother. Yerin's mother is a US citizen, same as her father and stepmother. She deserves equal treatment in court, which was not granted due to her race and gender. This is not acceptable.

Elementary educators are charged with enriching the minds of those at their most impressionable juncture, adolescence. Students and parents invest their trust in the school system, believing in the best outcomes for their children. One teacher betrayed such trust and used her platform to belittle, harass, and directly discriminate against a black male student, Latrell. Latrell was repeatedly berated for wearing his “Black King” shirt by Ms. Brainard who called him racist and insisted that there should be a “white history month”. Latrell’s classroom of peers soon joined his teacher in labeling him a racist and echoing the sentiment of “white history month”.

in the past, BLACKS could NOT own Property. Then, when the laws appeared to change, the BANKS RED-LINED Ownership. Now - the City Governments are Creating FALSE CASES to take BLACK PROPERTY OWNERS and ILLEGALLY TAKING their Properties. In the case of Ms. Kihagi, the smear campaign that represented her as Black Slumlord is so far from the truth. Yet - knowing most people would NOT get past that PR Machine - the City derailed the Truth. The San Francisco City Attorney made more than 20 misrepresentations to the Court with full knowledge of the actual facts. This is total abuse of power - and should be stopped! In fact, the TRUE MOTIVE for such conduct was to RACIAL DERAIL a successful, black landlord. More than $25million is at stake. It is clear that the 2 major cases in San Francisco have been against successful, BLACK Landlords - is this a Coincidence? They spent over 70% of their resources fighting one lone, black landlord and lied to the public that she was a slumlord. Yet the BUILDINGS are in better condition than 90% of S.F. Condo. EYES DON'T LIE. STOP DIRTY CITY ATTORNEYS - see more articles at annekihagisf.com

On September 25th, I, Ashanti Scott, along with my mother, Representative Attica Scott, Shameka Parrish-Wright, and other protestors and students were wrongfully arrested. We were arrested while seeking refuge in a nearby church after protesting the immense injustice served in Breonna Taylor’s case. Not only were we grossly overcharged, but we were inexcusably and wrongfully arrested. My mother, a fierce advocate who so believed in justice for Breonna Taylor that she wrote and introduced Breonna’s Law to curb unlawful entry and criminalization. As a result, she was targeted by the Louisville Police Department and so was I in a retributive attempt for justice. As a result, we have been facing a Class D felony among other misdemeanors - charges that have threatened my scholarship and financial aid. As a University of Louisville student, I am so appreciative of fellow students and the student government association standing by me, my family, and the other advocates. Because of their support, yesterday, we received news that the Class D felony charges were dropped -- but the misdemeanor charges were not. More still needs to be done and I need your support in ensuring I don’t lose my ability to continue my studies. Therefore, I not only demand all charges against my fellow students, elected representatives, and other protestors are dropped immediately; but that the University of Louisville understands the bogus nature of these charges and allows me to retain my higher education funding. As you stand with me in this fight to honor Breonna Taylor’s life and achieve racial equity in our community, please know that I appreciate not having to carry this burden of wrongful felony charges alone. Please let the University of Louisville know that it has the opportunity to stand on the right side of this moment by allowing me to continue my studies.

Greek life is beyond repair. Abolition is the only option for a system that was designed to exclude. As students, it is our responsibility to dismantle systemic injustice as it presents itself on the campus we call home. - Racism Greek life is inextricably tied to racism. Through a lack of diversity, exclusion, tokenism, and performative allyship, Greek life amplifies privilege and perpetuates disadvantages for marginalized people. As an institution with a history of racial exclusion, it is the epicenter of segregation and institutionalized racism on campus. - Exclusion Greek life is exclusionary. In the recruitment process in most chapters, legacies are asked back after the first day no matter what, giving them an upper hand. Legacies being boosted each cycle creates an environment that excludes everyone else. Historically, fraternities and sororities have been very white spaces, so most legacies tend to be white. Greek life lacks diversity. The exclusivity of greek life combined with the high retention rates of legacies create an environment that excludes new types of members. This is a problem because there has been a lack of support when issues are brought up by BIPOC members. - Tokenism Many WPA and IFC chapters tokenize BIPOCs. Using them on their promotional materials and social media, expecting them to speak for all marginalized people. Yet letting their expression of negative personal experiences fall on deaf ears. Placing the onus on a few marginalized members to speak for the group is especially problematic when they are used as tokens. - Performative Allyship Many efforts to reform Greek life have been performative. The recent activity surrounding Black Lives Matter is a good example. Part of the reason why reform is not possible is that most efforts will be used for optics instead of real systemic change. - Patriarchy Greek life is an institution that, by design, perpetuates the patriarchy and hinders our institution and society from being liberated from patriarchal ideals. Sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and rape culture are all facilitated and promoted within these social structures. - Sexism and Misogyny Greek life is sexist and misogynistic. Houses are only awarded to fraternities on campus and create an unbalanced social dynamic favoring cis-gendered men. Their space is dictated by their rules. The rules are not the same between fraternities and sororities, and they are reinforced by binary gender norms on both sides. In the past, sororities have tried to mix with each other, but because there aren’t houses for sororities, sorority members have had to depend on the spaces fraternities provide. - Heteronormativity and Transphobia Greek life is heteronormative and transphobic. Greek life isn’t always accepting of LGBTQIA+ people. Public displays of affection, whether at a mixer or a formal, that aren’t between heterosexual couples aren’t made to feel comfortable by many peers. Students often don’t feel like they are safe to simply show their affection when it is “normal” and accepted for heterosexual couples to do so. Transphobia is perpetuated through cissexism leading to harmful gender norms with the inherent exclusion of non-binary people. There isn’t a welcoming environment for trans folx to begin with. - Rape Culture Greek life promotes rape culture. Greek life is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence (against women) is normalized. Many efforts to prevent sexual violence haven’t led to any significant changes. The burden has been heavily placed on sororities to address this problem. For example, requiring sororities to have sober contacts to hold frat brothers accountable. Women have to monitor and keep track of which fraternities to avoid due to higher incidences of assault and/or violence. These issues are not new. These issues have been “addressed” time and time again. The problem has not changed because the existence of Greek life is the problem. No amount of reform or education can fix a system that was designed to benefit from these forms of discrimination. - Socioeconomic Exclusion Dues are how students maintain membership in their chapters. They are incredibly expensive (ranging from $400-$800 a semester). There aren’t nearly enough scholarships, opportunities, or payment plans put in place by fraternity and sorority chapters for students who can't afford dues to feel welcome. Having economic barriers for entry like this contributes to upholding classism within greek life. Part of sororities dues finances their chapters suites in the Women's building, which makes that building exclusionary. In addition to dues, many chapters require students to pay for miscellaneous items in large volumes that impact their experience in the chapter. Abolition isn’t about tearing something down. It’s about building something better to take its place. We want to see a new social system for our campus, one that reflects all of the students that are a part of our community. We want to assemble a team of students to reimagine social life after abolition. We want more funding and focus on clubs and other organizations that already struggle to get the support they need and deserve. We want to protect multicultural organizations due to marginalized groups being historically excluded. We want the university to stop encouraging student leaders to promote Greek life. There are other social systems in place that can be encouraged: ResColleges, other clubs/organizations, etc. We need statements of accountability from individual chapters after they disband or disaffiliate. If they are not able to disband or disaffiliate, they should mass deactivate to stand in solidarity with the Abolition movement. Washington University must hold the demands and wishes of students above the charters of individual chapters. Abolition is an example of the change we want to see in our larger society.

In Hawthorne, California the police department takes 52% of the city budget. This means that the officers who do not live in our city take their average salary of $111,000/year, buy property in a whiter and wealthier neighboring city, and subsequently add more funding to the schools that already have the most resources. It is our personal responsibility to refuse enabling Hawthorne Police Department's violence through most of our city's funding. We must demand our city officials to invest in Hawthorne residents by defunding the police. Example(s): It was June 7th 2019 that a viral video brought disgrace- once again- to Hawthorne Police Department. On Prairie and El Segundo, across from Memorial Park where families gather and children play- almost a dozen officers draw their weapons on a young Black 24 year old. The brave woman livestreaming the traumatizing arrest sobs as she begs them not to shoot- and the nation, and our community, felt her pain and fear. That he could be anyone’s father, son, brother or friend, but as a Black man in America, he was a target of the oppressive forces of policing. We will never know what would have happened if she was not there, but one thing is certain. This type of escalation for someone Hawthorne Police admitted, “loosely matched” the description of an individual, was definitively not an isolated occurrence- but a product of a city, and country, that enables and militarizes first responders and rarely holds them accountable for the terror they wreak on BIPOC living in the communities they police. We encourage residents of Hawthorne to dig into the 2007 beating, and HPD’s fascination with shooting dogs. It is our personal responsibility to refuse to enable any more sociopathic behavior from the heavily funded HPD and demand our city leaders to a clear and understanding decision to invest in Hawthorne residents.