Educational, green spaces like The Strawberry Mansion-Blaine Elementary Environmental Center provide food, gathering, education, and social advocacy support community healing and encourage youth engagement. The environmental provides vital science, math, technology, art, and engineering education through an agricultural lens. Blaine students deserve access to environmental spaces that enhance their everyday learning and provide new avenues for study.

Segregation is happening all over again in schools across America. Segregation perpetuates the School -to-Prison-Pipeline and we must stop it in its tracks! The New Orleans Four, at 6-years old served their little black girl magic and showed the world that children can lead the way. These little emissaries were the epitome of what it means to have the audacity of hope. They broke barriers and opened hearts in 1960 and with this nationally recognized holiday they can continue to remind America and the World that we can ALL live, learn and work TOGETHER. In her speech during the New Orleans Four Day 60th Anniversary ceremony in New Orleans, Alana Odoms (Executive Director ACLU-Louisiana) stated "Since its inception, black girls and black women have shouldered the immense responsibility of perfecting our Democracy. The New Orleans Four were emissaries of justice and freedom, turning the tide of hate in this nation and calling us towards the liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution." Like Dr. Opal Lee, I believe that this national holiday can be a unifier and an inspiration to children and adults around the world. I believe it can be the bridge that brings people together to talk about the hard issues facing our country. The New Orleans Four were the light during a dark time in our country's history and their brave acts will always be a beacon of hope to show young people that they have a voice, they have a say and the wherewithal to create the CHANGE they want to see. Let them be the everlasting reminder of Freedom, Equality & Justice. Learn More: To watch the docuseries teaser and learn more about the project go to www.NewOrleansFourLegacy.com

As pastor of Bethel AME Church of Pittsburgh and representing the congregation, we implore the Pittsburgh City Council and the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority to address and restore the land stolen from Bethel AME in 1957. Known as Big Bethel to its more senior members, the church once seated 1,900 Pittsburgh residents in what was then a thriving neighborhood in the Lower Hill District. The oldest Black church and the first elementary school for Black students, it was a haven for residents and the center for organizing in the 1950s during the civil rights movement. Bethel held programs before and after school while launching the Black Nurses Association to improve the health and welfare of its congregation. That all came to a screeching halt in 1955 when the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority announced plans for the Lower Hill Project redevelopment which called for removing “blight” from the community. To church members who are still with us today, Big Bethel was not a “blight”. It was a beacon of light and home to mentor new leaders, and a place where Black people of the time could feel the love and support of the community. Despite this, in 1957 city council members declared that Big Bethel had “outlived its usefulness,” thus enabling the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority to confiscate the church using eminent domain. In its wake, the Civic arena was built and is now home to the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team. Meanwhile, the church of the Epiphany, which predominantly serves a white congregation only two blocks away, was spared and stands to this day. Pittsburgh law states it is illegal to seize a church using eminent domain. However, the members of Big Bethel didn’t have legal representation to pursue their claims. Big Bethel was thus compelled to move to a smaller location serving 900 members, never to be returned to its former glory. This same group sold 2.5 acres of land to the FNB Bank building project for development last year which is a few hundred yards from the original site of Bethel AME Church for $10.00. We are asking for the same consideration to sell us our land and development rights back for $10.00.

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.

These are the types of situations that make black women feel like our lives are less valuable in this country. The agencies that are supposed to be specifically dedicated to these issues, and keeping us safe, have either failed us, or perhaps that was never their purpose or intention. The fact that they all fall short in even properly, acknowledging or investigating these instances that are putting our lives in danger, is something we need to speak on, and bring into the forefront of the conversation. We need to put pressure on those in charge with the ability to make change. The best way to do that these days is to expose the truth, and shame them into action. There is so much concern and outrage in this country about mistreatment of specific groups. It doesn't seem like much of this is ever concerned with black women specifically. There are a number of struggles and challenges that we are statistically more likely to encounter. Though racial bias in medicine affects both men and women, studies have shown that black women are disproportionately affected by it. We are always assumed to be strong and unbreakable and capable of fixing or surviving everything on our own, and never in need of help. It is time we start helping black women and talk about all the groups affected, and not just the most camera worthy. We need to take action before our loved ones are filing a wrongful death suit. We are still dying here, in our own country, with insurance, with education; just being denied to death, and no one is even talking about it. More of us are killed by doctors than police, and we need to do something.

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.

I’ve owned my own construction company in North Carolina for the past 9 years. My family has been in the construction industry since the early 70s and I have always viewed my work as a way to build generational wealth and create economic mobility for Black people. However, I’ve suffered at the hands of huge contracting corporations like Archer Western who have a history of financially exploiting small Black-owned businesses. This has made it extremely difficult to support my livelihood and my family. I’ve lost a majority of my income from dealing with contracting giants like Archer Western and it is time for them to be held accountable! Archer Western refusing to pay its debt to Black subcontractors shows how systematic racism continues to impact our people. As a result of Archer Western’s debt to my small contracting business, I’ve been unable to pay important medical bills and have even delayed important medical operations. I’m also unable to reinvest in my community by providing employment opportunities to people of color. Enough is enough and big corporations like Archer Western should be held accountable in how they treat small, local minority contractors like me. Archer Western has a history of late payment and non-payment to over 20 of its Black and minority-led subcontractors that we know of. There are likely many more that have been put out of business. I’ve been fighting to stop this financial exploitation and my pleas are constantly ignored. Join me in telling Daniel Walsh that it’s time to do right by its Black subcontractors. We demand that Archer Western release all records of its late and non-payment of Black subcontractors, pay all of their outstanding contracts, and conduct an audit of their racial equity practices. This is the first step in ensuring that small contracting businesses like mine never go under due to corporations' prejudicial, unlawful, and dishonest business practices. Daniel Walsh is the president and co-chairman of Archer Western and has the power to begin rectifying the wrongs Archer Western has committed against small minority businesses. Sign this petition and tell Walsh to begin paying Black subcontractors what they are owed!

UPDATE: On Tuesday, April 6th, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted against issuing a public apology to the Bruce Family for the unjust taking of their land in 1924 due to them being Black and bringing together Black patrons in Manhattan Beach. During a March 16th city council meeting, Mayor Suzanne Hadley said in response to the apology, “We do not want to ignore the past but we do not want it embroidered in a scarlet ‘R’ upon our chest,” later saying “I hear all of you who want an apology... I’m not litigious, I have not contributed to decades of case law around a single word. My hands are clean. But that word is a club that we can be handing to people to beat us with.” The majority of public comments and letters sent in during the council meeting showed support for a public apology. Still, the city council voted in favor of not apologizing, passing 4-1. Despite all of the voices who showed up to support the apology, despite the importance of an apology for reparative measures and true acknowledgment of harm done, the city of Manhattan Beach and its council members decided to recommit to racism and anti-Blackness with their own votes. When something as simple as an apology cannot be given, we have to ask ourselves “why?” And “who does this benefit?” We know that communities protect one another by voting in favor of repairing relationships and histories, yet Manhattan Beach refuses to condemn racism, to apologize for its racist past, or to acknowledge the ways in which racism and white supremacy continue to show up in Manhattan Beach today. Black joy, Black pain, Black experiences deserve a place in this community who has now, for almost 100 years, made intentional efforts to silence and erase us. We will stay put until the work is done. Until there is restitution for years of civil and human rights violations against the Bruce family, and restoration and return of their land. Original message: Manhattan Beach owes the Bruce family much more than an apology. Once the owners of one of the few thriving beach resorts that Black Angelenos were allowed to patronize in the early 1900s, Willa and Charles Bruce were not only subjected to escalating racist attacks from the city’s local Klu Klux Klan, but were eventually forced off their land by Manhattan Beach’s own Board of Trustees. Although the Board of Trustees claimed at the time that they needed the land to build a park, we know the real reason the Bruces lost their land. From Tulsa to Forsyth County, Black people’s attempts to build economic security for themselves in this country have been haunted by white terrorist violence. The land that the Bruces were forced off is no different, and represents just a tiny fraction of the nearly 11 million acres of land that Black people once had, but lost, due to fraud, deception and outright violence during the Jim Crow era. Now, after a recent acknowledgment from the Manhattan Beach City Council of the injustice the Bruce family has faced at the hands of the city for generations, some residents are proposing that a boutique hotel be constructed on the land as a form of restitution. That’s not right. That’s why Justice for Bruce's Beach is partnering with Black Lives Matter to let Manhattan Beach City Council know that if they want to rectify the harms of the past, they must meet the full demands of Manhattan Beach’s Black residents for restoration, restitution and reparations today. The Bruces’ land and business should have been the foundation of their family’s ability to build wealth, and to take care of themselves and each other. Instead, it became a source of riches for others. Not only did the city of Manhattan Beach take the Bruces’ land in order to preserve the neighborhood’s whiteness, but they vastly underpaid them and other Black property owners like them for the value of the land and the businesses that were taken from them. Today, with Manhattan Beach’s inflated and unaffordable housing, Black people make up just about 0.8% of the city’s population. That’s why the proposals for the construction of a boutique hotel that will likely remain out of the reach of most of its Black residents as a form of restitution for the city’s history of violence is a slap in the face. The fact is, Manhattan Beach won't be able to make amends for its racist past without restoring the land back to the Bruces, paying the Bruces restitution and paying reparations to its Black residents for blatantly discriminating against our community and making it impossible for us to own land in the area. Now more than ever, institutions like the Manhattan Beach City Council need to make good on their commitment to Black communities, and we’re starting by demanding that they meet our residents’ full demands for restoration restitution and reparations today. As protests against police violence continue, more and more institutions are coming out with statements to denounce racism. Many of those institutions are the exact same ones who have orchestrated the erosion of Black wealth and property for decades, if not centuries. Sign now to let Manhattan Beach City Council that fighting for racial justice is so much more than an anti-racism statement. It requires dedication and action behind those words. Declaring support of Black people isn’t enough and task forces and modified street signs won’t pacify us. If the city council truly believes Black lives matter, it must meet the full demands of its Black and Indigenous constituents for restoration, restitution and reparations in Manhattan Beach immediately. Thank you, Kavon Ward Founder, Justice for Bruce's Beach Chief Duane ‘Yellow Feather’ Spokesman and Historian for The Bruce Family Patrisse Cullors Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter Ronald Clinton Co- Founder, MBUSD Community Panel for Equity (MB4E)

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.

McCulloch failed to give the grand jury proper direction and overwhelmed them with redundant and misleading information. As a result the grand jurors did not reach a majority decision that probable cause existed to charge Darren Wilson. Probable cause is a reasonable suspicion supported by circumstances that the facts are probably true. Grand juries typically indict over 90% of the cases brought before them. The grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence just probable cause to move forward with criminal charges. A lawsuit was filed against McCulloch by one of the grand jurors detailing the differences in how this case was handled compared to other cases before the grand jury and exposing their experience on the grand jury in this case. McCulloch admitted to allowing witnesses he knew were NOT telling the truth to testify before the grand jury. McCulloch thought he could avoid accountability, he was wrong. On Tuesday, August 8, 2018 the voters of St. Louis County made their power known by electing reform advocate Wesley Bell. Wesley Bell cannot ignore the voters of St. Louis County who have sent a mandate - secure justice for Michael Brown now.

Help change an offensive name and help educate people with the name of the village that use to be there. Toibingna also spelled Toybipet was the prehistoric Kizh (keech) Village that once occupied the entire area of what was historically known as Rancho San Jose . Today the cities of Pomona ,La Verne and parts of Claremont now lie within the Old Rancho . By sharing this you can help heal and unite. Why Kizh- Toibingna ? Kizh( keech) are the indigenous people who historical were later given the name Gabrieleño and that occupied and still occupy the Los Angeles Basin . By putting Kizh in front, it helps spread the awareness of how they are still alive and thriving. Toibingna helps restore our ancestors honor, by acknowledging our past we can allow old wounds to heal. Toibingna Blvd