Every year our states celebrate the Fourth of July to honor our nation’s independence from Great Britain, in 1776. The United States continued to deny freedom to enslaved Africans for almost another 100 years. We still do not have a national holiday celebrating the official end of the brutal enslavement our Ancestors endured. Despite Abraham Lincoln’s efforts with the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation that took effect on January 1, 1863, the executive order was not enforced in Texas until June 19th when Union Gen. Gordon Granger rode in to deliver the news after the official end of the Civil War, in 1865. Even though the E.P. took place in 1863, Texas was considered a fringe state. As a young mixed Black womxn, moving through Oakland public schools did not allow me the opportunity to learn about my heritage and/or ancestors in the way that I believe we should have. Only after graduating have I come to understand our history and the importance of Juneteenth. Juneteenth marks a day of the utmost significance in American history. It represents the ways in which freedom for Black people has been delayed. It should be celebrated as the day when all Americans were liberated.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office currently has 40% of Jacksonville's budget and yet only 31.5% of homicides are solved. We demand a people's budget to create a more equitable allocation of funds. For these reasons as well as transparency, and accountability we are demanding community control of the police, complete transparency and full accountability in investigations. This means immediate release of body cam footage and jailing killer cops.

My name is Chloe Mikala (Anderson). I was born and raised in Garrett County, MD and I am a 2011 Southern Garrett High School Alum. I have been inspired by so many locals protesting in support of Black Lives Matter. Something I never thought I would see in my hometown. I was also impressed by Mayor Don Sincell’s address on racism, police brutality, and the call for everyone to practice being anti-racist. Again, something else I never thought I would see. So, let’s keep this momentum going! Join me in petitioning GCPS and the Board of Education in banning the Confederate Flag and its symbols from clothing, memorabilia, vehicles on school grounds, and at school-sponsored events It’s upsetting that the Confederate Flag removal has to even be a topic of discussion. The history and pain behind it is so obvious, that its removal should be swift and simple. This is America though, and nothing is ever swift and simple. Superintendent Barbara Baker and President Tom Woods have agreed that it is a topic of discussion at their upcoming meetings (June 23rd & July 14th), so let’s make sure that they hear our voices! The Confederate Flag’s association with the KKK, alone, should say enough about what it stands for and the pain and harm it brings to Black people. This flag is a symbol that states flew to support segregation laws during the Civil Rights era and is a symbol of white supremacy nation wide. As a Black woman myself, I hated seeing the Confederate Flag all throughout my schooling in Garrett County because it made me feel ostracized, hated, and unwanted. The Confederate Flag has a place in the history books, but not on display on school grounds. And for those that argue “heritage”: Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens said in his 1861 “Cornerstone speech,” “Our new government is founded upon … the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.” This is their “heritage.” Ask yourselves, would you allow Nazi symbols to be on school grounds? If your answer is no (which it should be because WTF?!) then you should understand why the Confederate Flag and its symbols should also not be allowed on school grounds. If Carroll County, Nascar (NASCAR?!), and the Navy can ban the Confederate flag, then so can Garrett County Public Schools.

Juneteenth (June 19th) signifies the ending of slavery and the liberation of formerly enslaved Black people in the United States. The holiday was created in remembrance of June 19, 1865, the day that some of the last set of Black enslaved people in Galveston, Texas received the news of their emancipation. Many Black Americans prefer to celebrate Juneteenth over July 4th. Juneteenth is a day for Black people to appreciate our ancestors, remember all they went through and to celebrate the resilience of Black People in America. Juneteenth also has significance beyond the Black community; it also serves as a unifier. Juneteenth symbolizes the unity of America at a time, just like now, where it appears as if there is little unity to be found. Juneteenth can serve as unifying event because it recognizes that formerly enslaved Africans who made pleas for their freedom, had allies in the fight. Allies at the time included Quakers along the Underground Railroad, abolitionists both Black and white, such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, and soldiers who gave their lives for the freedom of the formerly enslaved. Please sign our petition to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday and share with your networks as well!

JSO refused to notify Kwamae’s mother of his death. They lied on multiple occasions about the age of the victims of the shooting, stating initially that it was two 22 year old males. It was almost 2 weeks before his mother was able to see his body. JSO has a pattern of murdering young black males and not being held accountable.

Last week, Pinterest CEO, Ben Silbermann, released a statement expressing solidarity with his Black staff in light of the recent protests against the police brutality our community is facing, and committed to taking action to support them, saying that “our Black employees matter.” The problem? Under Silbermann’s watch, Pinterest has not only underpaid its Black employees, but it has retaliated against those willing to take a stand against them with racist threats, intimidation, and harassment. And when one white employee went as far as to doxx a Black co-worker for speaking up, the company failed to do enough to protect her. While it’s easy to appreciate the wave of corporations, brands, and celebrities who are seeing the importance of publicly affirming their stance against racism, Pinterest needs to do much more than issue a statement to meaningfully support Black people. Company values or statements mean nothing unless they’re backed up by the leadership, the payroll, and the operations. If he really believes his Black employees matter, Ben Silbermann owes his current and former Black staff an apology, an independent third party evaluation of employee pay by race and gender, and a commitment to giving them the back pay they are owed. Five years ago, “Black lives matter” was a controversial statement. Today, though structural white supremacy and racism persist, the leadership and political power of Black people have made the cost of failing to affirm this truth too high even for corporations like Pinterest to ignore. But we’ve seen how easily companies jump from diversity & inclusion messaging to underpaying their own Black workers, discriminating against Black customers, and harming Black users and community members. Pinterest is no exception. Ben Silbermann simply cannot claim to care about his Black staff without expecting us to examine the ways his actions contradict his words. Corporations that have anti-Blackness built into their business models need to follow up their statements against racism with concrete action. In this moment we are publicly interrogating the harms Black people face from the institutions like the police that claim to keep us safe. But the fact is that plenty of corporations also bear responsibility for violence, harm, and discrimination against Black people, whether they carry it out, enable it, or profit from it. We deserve more than lip service from the companies that rely on us as workers, creators, and cultural ambassadors. Tell Ben Silbermann to put his money where his mouth is. Tell Pinterest to issue an apology, hire an independent third party to evaluate employee pay by race and gender, and give its Black employees the back pay they are owed immediately.

The International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) covers up and promotes racist behavior. You, as a member of SAG-AFTRA, are currently associated with the police union, because both unions are members of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO). We want the leadership of SAG-AFTRA to demand that the AFL-CIO remove the IUPA from membership. The WGA-East did it. We should too. SAG-AFTRA put out a statement that essentially asked the police union to police themselves. Link to the June 11th statement: https://www.sagaftra.org/statement-police-unions-and-building-more-racially-just-and-equitable-society This is not enough. If the AFL-CIO does not disassociate from the police union, they (and we) will be implicit in future police murders of Black Americans. Share widely with your fellow SAG-AFTRA members! Full text of the letter we will be sending to SAG-AFTRA: "To the SAG-AFTRA leadership: We are writing to ask you to join in solidarity with the Writer’s Guild of America, East, in calling for the removal of the IUPA from the AFL-CIO membership, and to ask other affiliate unions who represent police unions to reconsider those relationships. We, too, believe that police unions are incompatible with the AFL-CIO’s stated goals ‘to vanquish oppression, privation and cruelty in all their forms.’ Too often, police unions serve directly against the interest of workers. The history of policing is filled with violent strikebreaking and labor movement suppression. As recently as 2018, police arrested 75 of our Unite Here members who were striking for better wages and working conditions. We appreciate the explicit clarity in SAG-AFTRA’s June 11th statement that Black Lives Matter. However, in terms of the recommendations to our affiliate unions, the statement falls short. Recent events have made it quite clear that as long as police unions exist to shield officers from accountability, police departments cannot and will not police their own. We must disassociate from these unions who work in opposition to our principles and endanger our members. We urge you to call on the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO to enact the process described in Article X, section 8(b) of the AFL-CIO Constitution to suspend the AFL-CIO’s affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA), on the constitutional grounds that ‘the policies or activities of [the IUPA] are consistently directed toward the achievement of the program or purposes of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, terrorism and other forces that suppress individual liberties and freedom of association and oppose the basic principles of free and democratic trade unionism.’ We also suggest that, like the WGAE, you call on other member unions of the AFL-CIO that represent police officers (such as AFSCME) to strongly consider whether those affiliations align with the goals of our labor movement. We urge officers, staff, and leadership within these unions to commit to contracts that do not evade accountability, to do the work of eradicating racism within their ranks, and to uphold their promise to serve and protect all people equally. Signed, Members of SAG-AFTRA"

Robert Fuller was found lynched on Monday, June 8th. A passerby noticed a man, later identified as Robert L. Fuller, hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California. Palmdale city described it as "an alleged death by suicide." Fire department personnel who responded to the scene determined he was dead on arrival. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issued a statement. “That they are fully cooperative in investigation process.” What we do know is; where Robert Fuller was hung there happened to be no surveillance cameras in the area! It is our hope his death isn’t racially driven but until then we will treat it as such! We want to bring justice to Robert Fuller and his family! Also call DA Matthew Ditzhazy at: 661-267-5108. Demanding justice!

Starbucks allows and encourages employees to wear attire that promotes LGBTQ rights. Starbucks even hands such attire out to employees. It's hypocritical for your company to explicitly forbid employees from wearing attire that proclaims that Black Lives Matter. In the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, it's important for Starbucks to be unequivocal in its support of Black Lives. That's why Starbucks must update its dress code policy. Starbucks must allow its employees to wear buttons, pins, and other attire that proclaims that Black Lives Matter.

Over the last decade, the North Carolina General Assembly leadership has consistently and brazenly manipulated election and redistricting laws to silence Black voters and reduce Black political power, all in the name, they have proudly said, of expanding and entrenching their partisan control. Courageous legislators have stood up, session after session, and spoken truth to power about the racist and cynical intent behind these actions. H1169, the Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, could have represented a break from the relentless partisanship and attacks on Black voters that have become the norm in North Carolina’s elections and redistricting bills. But rather than come together to advance necessary policy changes responding to the current COVID crisis, House and Senate leadership opted to first insert the lightning rod issue of photo voter ID and then other non-COVID-19 related provisions into the bill. These actions taken together are a clear attempt to impact their litigation position regarding the 2019 law (SB824) currently enjoined by two courts and to continue partisan efforts to give their party the upper hand in the 2020 election. We must ensure that H1169, the Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, serves only to improve access to voting for all constituents. Unrelated provisions that seek to sneakily reactivate photo voter ID are a deceitful attempt to undermine the courts who have blocked this law time and again. It is imperative that you stand up for racial justice in this moment by speaking truth to legislative leadership -- Photo Voter ID has no place in a COVID-19 elections bill. H1169 is supposed to make voting easier for North Carolina voters during this pandemic, NOT to confuse voters and seek to reactivate shameful, racist barriers designed to undermine a free and fair democracy. Call to Action: HB1169 Please visit the "My Campaign" link below to access the full H1169 Bill. To read: "PHOTO VOTER ID SECTION 10. G.S. 163-166.16(a) reads as rewritten: 45 "(a) Photo Identification Required to Vote." Please visit the "My Campaign" link below to access the full H1169 Bill.

On March 28, 2019, Javier Ambler - a resident of Austin, Texas was driving home early in the morning with his brights on and passed by a Williamson County Deputy J.J. Johnson. This resulted in a police chase where he crashed his car five times and was continually and tased by the officers that apprehended him. He got out of his car with his HANDS RAISED but could not physically put his hands behind his back due to obesity. He was outnumbered, tased and forcibly restrained. Ambler's pleas for mercy and warning of his severe heart condition were ignored and he soon passed away on a neighborhood street. Over a year has passed- footage of his untimely death (that the Williamson County Sheriff's Office withheld) has been released granting his family closure but not justice. The Williamson Country Sheriff's Office has not held Deputy J.J. Johnson and Deputy Zachary Camden accountable for their actions. By signing this petition you are urging that the deputies who wrongfully abused and murdered Javier Ambler are suspended from their positions and charged. Please sign and share. Black lives matter!!!!!!!We demand JUSTICE for Javier Ambler!!!!!!!

Students of all colors and with all hair textures should be able to do the following at school: protect their hair and proudly wear cultural hairstyles. These policies were put in place with the ignorance of African American hair care and their enforcement criminalizes Black children and interferes with their learning.