Valerie Seeley is a survivor of domestic violence and in 1988 she was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for killing her abusive partner while defending herself from a violent attack. In 2017, Valerie was granted clemency and released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County, New York. Her release came after spending 17 years in prison for protecting herself. Governor Cuomo, like all state governors, has the power to grant clemency to people who have been convicted under state law. Valerie is the ONLY domestic violence survivor that has been granted clemency by Gov. Cuomo. In the last eight years Gov. Cuomo has ONLY commuted 12 sentences in total. Survived & Punished, has joined forces with Color Of Change to demand that Gov. Cuomo free all criminalized survivors of gender violence. In New York state history only three survivors have been granted clemency. Gov. Cuomo has the power to change that immediately. Today, there are many people behind bars in NY state prisons simply for fighting to survive. We must protect, not criminalize survivors of domestic and gender based violence. Women and gender nonconforming (GNC) folks have historically been incarcerated for domestic violence and Black women and GNC survivors of abuse are rarely granted the right to protect and defend themselves against their abuser, even less than other people. Throughout the country millions of women, girls and GNC people who are incarcerated are also survivors of domestic/ gender based violence. We must end the criminalization of survivors, we must protect Black women and we must free all people incarcerated for simply surviving. Demand Gov. Cuomo #FreeThemNY. Learn more about #FreeThemNY--http://freethemny.com/

Florida Secretary of State Kent Detzner is playing politics while the people of Florida need to make sure they are safe. No one in the state of Florida should be forced between preparing for the storm and being able to vote in November. Instead of announcing confusing policies and half-measures demand that Secretary of State Detzner extends the voter registration deadline for everyone in Florida. Hurricane Michael is the strongest storm to make landfall in Florida in 13 years. But, a hurricane shouldn't also wipe us out of the democratic process. Folks in Florida already navigate an election system deliberately designed to discourage their participation. Now, the state of Florida is forcing Black folks and other potential voters to choose between their personal safety and their right to vote. By choosing to not extend the voter registration deadline for all Floridians, the Secretary of State excludes eligible residents from the normal number of days they should have had to register if it weren't for the unusual and unpredictable hurricane weather. This means the state of Florida is forcing Black folks and other potential voters to choose between their personal safety and our right to vote. Don’t let voter disenfranchisement be yet another hurdle faced by Florida residents post-Hurricane Michael. By signing our petition you are going to tell Florida Secretary of State Kent Detzner that the state of Florida and the rest of the nation are watching and will not allow him to play politics with people's lives. Officials like Detzner depend on anonymity, and bluster from people like Trump to hide their role in keeping Black voters away from the polls. Tell Detzner that this storm shouldn't deny Black people their freedom to vote. Demand Secretary of State Detzner to extend voter registration until October 16th so that Floridians hit by the storm aren’t also wiped out of the democratic process. The time Floridians had to register to vote was cut short by this hurricane. Sign now and demand voters be given a fair amount of time to register.

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.

Flint is being poisoned with lead and community members are still being disparaged and dismissed by the state of Michigan. Gov. Snyder promised the people of Flint that the state would conduct home inspections to assure their safety from further lead poisoning. Instead of following through people in the city of Flint are reporting the state inspectors simply looking at houses from the outside and assuming they’re safe. A report from the University of Michigan has determined what we’ve known since the beginning of this lead crisis-- Gov. Snyder is responsible for the lead poisoning of thousands of Flint’s children. Instead of acting when the people of Flint first reported lead poisoning the Governor and state agencies he controls insulted residents while poisoning their children. Now the same agencies under Gov. Snyder are doing the bare minimum to address the pain and damage they caused. Black people in Flint deserve genuine efforts to prevent their children from being poisoned by lead. Lead poisoning in young children leads to issues in learning and behavior. Gov. Snyder and the state of Michigan has already irreparably damaged the lives of thousands of Black children. By neglecting to carry out lead inspections in earnest Gov. Snyder and the state are continuing to attack our families and our future. Real inspections of homes in Flint would give Black parents the best chance of making sure their children can have the best possible future for themselves. Flint, Michigan is ground zero in showing the ways environmental racism is used to attack the Black community. Gov. Snyder and the state of Michigan knew they were poisoning Black children and did not care. Only once people in Flint organized and advocated their way into the national conversation did the state pretend to show concern. Now, Gov. Snyder and Michigan have decided to do the bare minimum and punish the people of Flint, again.

Black women deserve to experience a workplace free of racial discrimination and racialized microaggressions.

Donald Trump has already attempted to use the lie of voter fraud to intimidate voters with his now-defunct commission. Now his administration is using United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert Higdon, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to issue subpoenas on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), requesting massive troves of voter data from state election officials and 44 North Carolina counties. ICE has no role in election administration and this request is clearly designed to intimidate Black and Brown folks in the state, and bury North Carolina’s election officials in paperwork. This massive request would require our elections officials to produce millions of documents, including sensitive voter information — all with weeks to go before elections begin. As State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement attorney Josh Lawson told the assistant U.S. Attorney handling the case, complying with these requests will make it difficult for county officials to prepare for the approaching general election. This request also continues in the tradition of intimidation and bad faith bureaucracy that has become increasingly common in North Carolina. In response, the N.C. State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement has voted to fight back — giving the N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein the green light to challenge this excessive federal overreach designed to interfere with our state's elections and intimidate voters. It's our turn to fight back — add your name to the growing list of North Carolinians demanding United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert Higdon drop these outrageous requests altogether.

Despite community demands to make cuts at the top and keep cuts away from students, OUSD made cuts closest to the kids. Now 3,000 low-income kids will lose daily meals and 500 kids will lose sports programs. When studies clearly show that: kids who are hungry struggle to learn, kids need safe places to go after-school, and sports can provide pathways to academic success for underserved kids. To protect our most vulnerable children, we demand the Board and the Superintendent: 1. Immediately Reinstate Funding to bring back the Free Supper program and the ten Oakland Athletic League sports programs 2. Adopt the following Student Equity Criteria: ● No cuts to direct services to kids in classrooms or on campus that are core to kids’ ability to learn and succeed in school. ● No cuts that disproportionately harm students with highest-need by conducting an impact assessment for any proposed cuts. Moving forward, in order to resolve our budget crisis AND protect our students, we need a new public budget process and stronger community oversight to ensure the hard decisions required (to shift significant resources out of Central Office to schools) can be made. What the first round of budget cuts has shown is, that without greater community control over resources in the district and a collective vision for equity - the students most in need will have their supports cut first. HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW! ● SIGN and SHARE this petition tinyurl.com/reversecutstokids ● EMAIL Board members to Bring Back Supper and Sports for all Oakland Kids! tinyurl.com/emailousdboard ● ATTEND the Board Fiscal Vitality Ctte meetings from now through December to protect the highest need students in any future cuts (the board will make up to $60M in cuts over the next two years)! The Justice for Oakland Students Coalition (J4OS) is a group of deeply concerned students, parents/families, teacher allies, and community organizations who came together around four pillars that center students with highest need – so all kids can learn and succeed! 1) Shift money from Central Office directly to schools; 2) Stop the proliferation of charter schools and re-invest in making all in-district schools excellent; 3) Divest from school police and reinvest in a culture of restorative justice, real school safety and inclusion; and 3) Honor the principles of equity, meaningful engagement of students and parents, democratic decision-making and shared governance.

WHAT IS NET NEUTRALITY? The beautiful (and daunting) thing about the internet, is that, especially as Black women and survivors, we are able to tell write and control our own narratives, develop content that is for us and by us, network, organize, speak out against white supremacist heteronormative patriarchy and build community. Under current Title II protections of net neutrality, companies cannot block access to content. Without this protection all of us are subject to a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech and a continuation of the systematic silencing and invisibilization of our voices, our voices that are challenging the status quo and most of the time interferes with any capitalistic bottom line. In 2015, the FCC passed net neutrality regulations classifying Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T as common carriers. Common carriers are similar to utility companies or water companies; the internet is a public good. Carriers were prohibited from speeding up, slowing down or blocking content, applications or websites of consumers. Ajit Pai, a former FCC Commissioner, was appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January 2017 and Net Neutrality was repealed on June 11, 2018. How The Loss of Net Neutrality Impacts Black Women and Those at the Margins? 1. ISPs are no longer classified as common carriers. Without this classification, they are free to block content that competes or interferes with the company's bottom line. For example, from 2011 - 2013 AT&T, Sprint and Verizon blocked the usage of Google Wallet because the cohort was developing their own payment app and wanted to stifle competition. 2. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the only Black voice on the five-member FCC, said, “Net neutrality is the First Amendment for the internet.” A few large companies will now be able to control the market, effectively barring smaller companies (especially those led by Black folks) and innovative disruptive technologies from the internet. 4. Fast and slow lanes can be created. Want to Netflix and chill using Verizon without interruption? There's an extra fee for that. Want to Skype your family in Haiti? Can't do it from the Comcast slow lane, you have to upgrade. Need to do research for a school paper? You can only use certain sites because the fast unlimited lane is too expensive. We know that any gains that the State and current Administration stand to accomplish from the dissolution of Net Neutrality is going to come at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and Brown folks, especially women - and this is exactly why it is imperative that we fight back.

This is important because this will help show that Safeway loves their customers and they do not support racism.

California Bail Reform has been hijacked and we must stop a dangerous bill. Last year, thousands of people stood up to demand real bail reform in California by supporting Senate Bill 10, a bill that Senator Bob Hertzberg championed. But this week, Senator Hertzberg is rushing a completely gutted version of SB 10 to a vote on the CA assembly floor, and it's bad. After nearly 2 years of advocacy and grassroots groups fighting for real bail reform, Senator Hertzberg has yielded to pressure from California’s Judicial Council introducing new language that will lead to more people locked up and entrenched racial bias in CA’s pretrial system. Yes, that Judicial Council. The very same council that had that horrific Black-face, incarceration-themed office party last year. This new bill places all the power in their hands. In a bait and switch, the CA Judicial Council and Probation Department urged Senator Hertzberg to gut the bill and introduce a new scheme. SB 10 now replaces money bail with a system that makes it easier to incarcerate legally innocent people. This is not at all the bail reform our communities deserve and have long fought for. We want to end the predatory money bail industry, but not like this. This new SB 10 will completely derail any progress in the fight to truly end pretrial injustice in the state of California and will have national ramifications. We don’t need legislation that uses a different mechanism to keep communities of color incarcerated -- we need real reform. Our fight must grow louder and stronger.

A broad-based coalition of well- respected Detroit organizations hereby express concern for the future direction of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History following the abrupt departure of beloved CEO Juanita Moore. We, the community groups and individuals who cherish the Museum for its dedication to serving our cultural and educational interests and aspirations, demand for representation on the governing board and in the search for the CEO successor. CAMPAIGN ORGANIZERS: Detroit Organizations Supporting Black Legacy and Community Involvement of Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Alkebu-lan Village Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Detroit Chapter Blackness Unlimited Broadside Lotus Press City of Detroit Council of Elders Conant Gardens Property Owners Association Detroit Black Community Food Security Network Detroit Independent Freedom Schools Movement Detroit MLK Day Committee Eastern Michigan Environmental Action Council In the Tradition Jazz Band Inner City Sub Center James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership Keep the Vote NO Takeover Malcolm X Grassroots Movement Million Man Alumni Association National Conference of Black Lawyers, Michigan Chapter NCobra Reparations Operation Get Down Pan-African Newswire Petty Propolis Pitch Black Poetry Timbuktu Academy We the People of Detroit West Side Unity Church

According to NBC Washington: "Metro is considering providing separate trains for opposing groups when demonstrators come to Washington, D.C., for a 'Unite the Right' rally Aug. 12, the chairman of the transit agency's board said." I can't believe we need to state this, but DC residents REFUSE to accommodate the violent and repugnant white nationalists who want to bring their hate from Charlottesville (and around the country) to DC. White supremacists are not welcome here. Most importantly: We stand in solidarity with WMATA workers -- especially people of color -- in opposing this concept. The ATU Local 689's president said: "Local 689 is proud to provide transit to everyone for the many events we have in D.C... We draw the line at giving special accommodation to hate groups and hate speech, especially considering that the courts granted Metro the ability to deny ads on buses and trains that are ‘issue-oriented,’ we find it hypocritical for Mr. Wiedefeld to make these unprecedented special accommodations for a hate group."