Six states, one territory, six relocations and an adolescence filled with diverse experiences have all led me here, North Carolina A&T State University. I’ve come here to major in political science in search for answers to questions I did not know how to ask as a child. Why did I walk one way to get home from school but all my black friends would walk the other way when I lived in New Jersey? Why were my white classmates and teachers in Kansas filled with such hate and anger during the 2016 election? Why did I witness two elections in which my parents' vote, along with the popular vote, was ignored? I went running for answers. While I found some of the answers I was looking for in the classroom, the root of the problem stemmed from the place I wish to soon call home. NC A&T has a rich history of political activism. On February 1st 1960, four brave young aggies fought to have a seat at the lunch counter to ensure that the voices and concerns of their community would be heard. These sit ins were not just about having a seat where others sat but having their voices heard equally along with their counterparts. They had the understanding that if you’re not at the table, you're on the menu. Today we are asking you to give us a better chance to be heard during these turbulent times in America. Being disenfranchised, silenced, and ostracized is not a new phenomenon for our majority minority students. However, simply because it has become the norm, does not mean we will allow this disenfranchisement to continue any longer. A&T has been the subject of controversial partisan gerrymandering in recent years, but shifting voting ID laws and the loss of its early voting location have made it increasingly difficult for the school’s nearly 12,000 students to participate fairly in the democratic process. To top it off, the primaries are being held during our spring break. Not allowing us to have an early voting site on campus, with election day during spring break, would discourage students from voting. This is in spite of the fact that civic engagement on campus is growing; from 2014 to 2018 A&T voter turnout increased by 51% in the midterms. This trend would continue if there were not so many efforts to suppress our vote. By allowing us to have an early voting precinct on campus you allow us to play a part in this democracy that we have historically been kept from doing. A democracy works best when everyone has a voice and can speak on issues that affect their everyday lives. By putting an early voting site on NC A&T’s campus, you are telling me and 12,000 students that our voice matters in these supposedly fair and free elections. You are telling us whether we come from in state, or out of state, that Greensboro, NC is our home for the next four or more years of our lives. This would establish that when we are in Guilford County, we are at home where we will always have a spot at the table and we will never be silenced.

Sign the petition: urge Congress to legalize medical marijuana Voters across America have agreed: making medical marijuana available is a compassionate choice for people suffering terrible illnesses and painful disabilities. While Americans in 34 states have access to this treatment option, millions or other Americans do not. Would-be patients are suffering and cannot make medical decisions for themselves. It puts the federal government between patients and their doctors. Sign the petition: urge Congress to follow the bipartisan majority of America and legalize medical marijuana.

“Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!” These are the words that the crowd at Trump’s most recent Make America Great Again rally started screaming after Trump denigrated Congresswoman Ilhan Omar yet again with racist, Islamophobic rhetoric. The President of the United States not only continues to abuse the authority of his office to brutalize Black migrants across the country, but he is intentionally targeting one of the few Black politicians of immigrant experience brave enough to take a public stance against his vicious, dehumanizing policies. And by hosting his next upcoming rally at U.S. Bank Arena, AEG is giving him the stadium he needs to do exactly that. Two years into his presidency, we know Trump’s script. When he is challenged, he responds predictably -- tweeting attacks at his opposition that rely on blatant lies and organizing rallies where he can spew the kind of racist language that has empowered his base to carry out acts of violence against Black people across the country. When Trump tweeted that the four Congresswomen of color known as “the squad” should “go back to their countries” he knew what he was doing. As some of the only public representatives willing to call Trump out for the injustices he is carrying out, organizing rallies that rely on racist and xenophobic logic is part of a larger strategy. By galvanizing his base around hate, he intends to undermine the voices of the many people who share his opposition’s values of justice, fairness, and equality for all. Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) has the ability to say no to Trump. In January 2017, Dan Beckerman told his employees that "both diversity and sustainability are two of the core values that we here at AEG live every day and are wholly committed to fostering in our workplace and throughout the world." Yet, he is willing to profit from rallies that are based on normalizing racist attacks on our neighborhoods and families. By hosting his rally, U.S. Bank has demonstrated that they are on board with Trump’s message -- and that they believe Black people have no place or home in this country. With 2020 fast approaching, the least that we should be demanding of the corporations that serve us is that they divest from hate. Join me in demanding that they do the right thing and dump Trump now.

The right to privacy and due process under the law belongs to everyone. Residents, technologists, organizers, activists, artists, educators and legislators are learning the implications of police use of facial recognition technologies. Inaccuracies in the technology for darker skin tones, women, and children place many Americans at risk of having their civil and human rights violated. This is a particularly troubling situation for Detroit, where the population is over 80% Black. This would be the largest experiment on Black people in the United States, in modern times. We don't deserve a justice system regulated by faulty algorithms. We don't deserve a justice system that relies on profiling, and we can’t trust a technology that has proven time and time again that it cannot be trusted. Facial surveillance technology does not keep us safe, in fact it does the opposite. Please support Senator (R) Peter Lucido's Senate Bill 342 (SB342), co-sponsored by Senator (D) Stephanie Gray Chang. The legislation would prohibit law enforcement officials from obtaining, accessing or using any facial recognition technology, along with any information gathered from such technology. Any information obtained in violation of the law would be inadmissible in court “as if the evidence, arrest warrant, or search warrant was obtained in violation of Amendment IV of the Constitution of the United States and section 11 of Article I of the state constitution of 1963.” In effect, the passage of SB342 would impose a total ban on the use of facial recognition technology by Michigan law enforcement. State Rep (D) Isaac Robinson's House Bill 4810, which would create a five-year moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement. HB 4810 will also prevent the use of facial recognition software to obtain warrants or otherwise enforce the law. The prohibition includes footage obtained from surveillance cameras, unmanned aircraft, body cameras, and street and traffic light cameras. The bill was co-sponsored by state Reps. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D-Detroit) and Jewell Jones(D-Inkster). Recently, the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners tabled a vote on the use of facial recognition technology to monitor city neighborhoods but approved the use of traffic cameras with the capacity to use the technology. Detroit Police Chief Craig recently admitted to using the technology under a standard operating procedure, through their Project Green Light Program for over a year. Until recently, there had been no public discourse around DPD's use of facial recognition technology. The Detroit Police Board of Commissioners is expected to approve the use of the technology despite public opposition. Serious concerns exist regarding the use of facial recognition technology as it has been shown to misidentify African-American faces, darker skin tones, women and children. It’s time for Michigan to show the world that we respect, and will protect our right to privacy and due process under the law. Urge your legislators to support SB342 and House Bill 4810 BYP100 - Detroit Chapter Black Out Green Light Coalition Detroit Community Technology Project Detroit Digital Justice Coalition Detroit Coalition for Peace

Last week, the Trump administration announced plans for its latest attack on the migrant community -- unconstitutional ICE raids that would begin on Sunday, July 14, in at least 10 major cities across the country. Since he has taken office, Trump has enacted brutal, dehumanizing policies that have separated families at the border, prosecuted and deported people en masse and without due process, and resulted in the deaths and incarceration of adults and children in facilities that can only be described as concentration camps. These raids are part of a larger plan to follow through on one of the worst human rights abuses the United States has seen in recent memory. And Enterprise Holdings is leasing him the vans to do it. Over the course of his presidency, Trump has made it crystal clear what his intentions for migrants crossing the border are. He knows that the terror, suffering and premature death that he has inflicted on the migrant community, many of whom are Black and from majority Black countries, galvanizes and empowers his base, who see migrants as less than human and have carried out horrific acts of violence against our family members, loved ones and neighbors. In a moment when they should be taking a stance against Trump’s genocidal policies, Enterprise Holdings is planning to profit from the pain that these raids will inflict by leasing vans to the Department of Homeland Security that ICE intends to use to steal people from their homes and their families. In its Suppliers Code of Ethics, Enterprise claims that it selects “suppliers and partners who share our values and our commitment to uphold the highest standards of quality, integrity, excellence, safety, legal compliance, and respect for human rights, as well as to respect the customs and culture of the communities we serve.” How can this be when the company is willing to give I.C.E. the vehicles needed to transport people to detention camps that fundamentally violate their basic rights and dignity? Let Enterprise know that enough is enough. They have a duty to stand up for what is right. Sign now to demand that Enterprise stop doing business with the Department of Homeland Security today.

In 2014, news broke that the people of Flint, Michigan faced toxic lead poisoning from a contaminated water supply. Being one of the largest scale examples of environmental racism in our country, the consequences were devastating: more than 100,000 residents were exposed to elevated lead levels, including over 10,000 children, which could lead to a lifetime of developmental and physical ailments. The 2016 presidential campaign came and went, with this issue coming up repeatedly on the campaign trail. Flint was a celebrated cause for many public figures. But that didn't bring a solution. Three years later, today, the people of Flint are still at risk. Pipe replacement hasn't been completed in all impacted homes. Charges have been dropped against public officials who were in charge with no clear timeline for a new investigation. And we're still trying to figure out how the crisis got this bad. It's time for a broader national intervention by the EPA, to get to the bottom of the Flint water crisis, and for Congress to make things right. The residents of Flint, who are majority Black and almost half live in poverty, deserve answers now. Sign the petition: Demand Congress and the EPA investigate the Flint water crisis, and then get involved to ensure every resident of Flint has access to clean, safe drinking water.

Sign now to stand with the Black and Native youth & families who are working to take down the racist "Life of Washington" mural at the SFUSD high school at 600 32nd Ave. in the “Richmond District”, which is on unceded Ramaytush Ohlone Territory. The large-scale painting at this school depicts George Washington standing over the bodies of dead Indigenous people, it depicts Black people as enslaved and docile, and it is a symbol of white supremacy that Black and Native students are forced to walk past every day. It is a, it is a constant reminder that the institution, that is supposed to care for and educate Black and Native youth, them glorifies the genocide, colonization and enslavement of their people. Over three years ago, Amy and Kai Anderson, parent and student at the school that contains the murals, reignited the “Take It Down” campaign. It first started in 1968, with the school's Black Student Union and the SF Black Panther Party demanding that the district remove the racist murals. During that time, in protest, ink was thrown upon the fresco murals and can be seen there to this day. For the past few years, the American Indian PAC listed the removal of these murals as one of their top priorities. As a result the district established a “Reflection and Action Committee” to decide how, not if, the murals were to come down. The committee met and studied the issue for months and voted to have the murals digitally archived and painted over before the first day of school in the fall of 2019. San Francisco’s diverse school board courageously listened to Black and Native students and believed them when they testified about the trauma these murals create for them. The board voted unanimously to follow the committee’s recommendations and paint down the mural (or cover it with panels if it takes more than 3 years to paint down). We are so proud that our school board centered directly impacted student’s voices and voted to “Paint It Down” & give youth a clean slate. However, the work of giving students a clean slate is just beginning. The Washington Alumni Association has vowed to file lawsuits and use ballot initiatives to try to overturn and silence the decisions of youth, families and electeds of color. White nationalist publications like Breitbart have bashed the decision, using the same logic being used to preserve Confederate statues and symbols across the nation. The opposition is hoping that by pushing the School Board to put wooden panels over the mural instead of destroying it, they can one day remove the panels altogether so that things remain exactly the way they are now. We call on the San Francisco School Board to show up for Black and Native youth, to tell them that we hear their voices, we believe them, and we’ll continue to show up for them until we get the clean slate they deserve. Sign this petition to let the board know that you pledge to work with these youth and their families, to show up online or in person as needed, and to lift up and amplify their voices until they get the clean slate they are demanding and that they deserve.

Dear Mayor Bill de Blasio, Layleen Polanco Xtravaganza, an Afro-Latina trans woman, died in solitary confinement. This PRIDE month I am saying enough. Layleen should not have been arrested by the NYPD. Even before her arrest as part of a predatory NYPD sting operation, she was struggling with homelessness. From there she was routed through every possible "progressive" criminal court and jail reform project: from a sex work "diversion" court to the Transgender Housing Unit in the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers when a warrant was issued for her arrest after she missed a "supportive" service appointment. None of these "progressive" reforms that were designed to save her life worked. Layleen died in a cage on solitary after being criminalized for being trans, for being poor, and for engaging in sex work. Jails kill people. But now you are planning on keeping Rikers open until 2026, when the next mayor can keep the jails open indefinitely, after having spent $11 billion to build four new jails! We could close Rikers now without building a single new cage in NYC if we ended the unjust and dangerous practice of pretrial detention. Then, we could devote $11 billion to communities, not incarceration. The time is now. We must Close Rikers with No New Jails. Mayor De Blasio, we call on you to stop your jail plan and commit to closing Rikers with no new jails. I want $11 billion for Black trans women and all oppressed and criminalized communities, not for jails. Art Credit: Vienna Rye (@vrye)

We need to continue to support the elected officials that are risking their livelihoods to stand up for justice.

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's comments on November 2nd, 2018, regarding her willingness to sit “on the front row” at a “public hanging” if invited are not only deeply offensive, they provide further evidence of her blatant disregard for her oath to uphold the Constitution. Senator Hyde-Smith’s failure to stand up to the injustice of hanging deaths in the past and her approval of such violence presently, should bar her from serving as a U.S. Senator or in any government position in the state of Mississippi. She has refused to acknowledge the insensitive and deeply offensive nature of her remarks. A leader who cannot thoughtfully reflect on her actions and their potential harm is unfit to lead.

The people of New Jersey need your help. In 2017, 94 Percent of Black voters cast their ballots for Governor Murphy. Without this support from the Black community, it is unlikely that Phil Murphy would be New Jersey’s governor—53 percent of white voters supported his opponent. But nine months into his administration, Governor Murphy has not focused on critical issues facing the 94 percent: 1) Transforming New Jersey’s youth justice system: New Jersey has a shameful system of youth incarceration in which a Black child is 30 times more likely to be incarcerated than a white child—the highest disparity in the nation. 2) Restoring the right to vote to people with criminal convictions: New Jersey denies the right to vote to nearly 100,000 people who are in prison, on parole, or on probation. Although Black people make up 15 percent of New Jersey's total population, Black residents represent over 60 percent of the people who lost the right to vote due to a criminal conviction. 3) Closing the racial wealth gap: In New Jersey, one of the wealthiest states in America, the median net worth for New Jersey’s white families is $271,402—the highest in the nation. But the median net worth for New Jersey’s Black families is just $5,900. We must ensure that Governor Murphy keeps his promises to the Black voters that put him in office.

The State of New York has the opportunity to correct history with Legislative Bill S8553/A1001 by renaming October 10th as Indigenous People's Day in the State of New York. This is an overdue first step towards recognizing and celebrating Indigenous culture. Indigenous people are not a relic of history, they are still an active part of New York’s culture and communities. The yearly celebration of Christopher Columbus for his "discovery of the Americas" is painful and a gross distortion of history. Columbus introduced the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas and left behind a violent legacy of the oppression, rape, enslavement, and mass murder of Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples. Columbus' legacy and colonialism still harm our communities to this day and should not be celebrated or held up as an authentic or positive representation of "Italian-American heritage". History books misrepresent the happenstance encounter as a “discovery”. But the reality is that Indigenous peoples throughout the western hemisphere had long called this land their home. Native people paid for -- and continue to pay for -- this encounter with their labor, land and lives, and the ripple effect, across continents and peoples, is reflected in the devastating history of colonization. We continue to celebrate and acknowledge the millions of Italian Americans who have contributed immensely to US culture and history. All we ask is that we celebrate the rich ancestral tradition of those Italian Americans who were not responsible for a painful legacy of genocide and slavery. Columbus is not the hero the Italian American community deserves. The great contributions to our state by the Italian American community should be represented by someone among the countless Italian Americans who fought to make life better for others. This day should be recognized as a celebration of the strength and resiliency of indigenous cultures and peoples who survived Columbus. Native peoples are still very much present in the Americas but struggle against being erased from our history then and now.