We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional.This must end.It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.#HonorThem

Children should not have to attend schools named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage. They are not heroes! Naming schools after Confederate Generals contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and works to harm children by masking the reality of the Civil War - which was to preserve slavery and white supremacy.

Return Dallas' Public art to the citizens of Dallas reflective of the diversity of Texas Culture and Dallas Contemporary Culture. The statue, the park name (Lee Park), and the naming of a children's school, Robert E. Lee Elementary, insults the dignity and intelligence of 21st century Dallasites. The statue is in bad taste, given that Lee was not Texan, and furthermore a traitor to the United States of America. The statue is representative of white supremacy, and represents a heritage of hatred and the belief that even in defeat, Lee and the Confederacy held noble and just beliefs. The time has come to take Lee and all Confederate "heroes" off their pedestals.

On Wednesday evening, a 21-year-old white South Carolina man murdered 9 black people at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This was an act of violence reminiscent of the September 15, 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. For generations, the confederate flag has represented the terror and violence perpetrated on Black communities. Unfortunately, the confederate flag is still flying on the South Carolina Capitol Grounds today. The killer, Dylann Storm Roof, grew up in a South Carolina that still embraced the confederate flag — a flag that was born out of a government defending the enslavement of Black people and resurrected as an emblem for whites violently opposing racial integration. He attended high school in Columbia, just a few minutes from the state capitol grounds where that flag is waving. That flag sends a message that South Carolina still cherishes a legacy of racial violence. Even more disturbing, the flag allows those who decide to act out this history to justify their actions. Roof is one of those. While committing his act of terror he said, “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over the country." He did not have to murder innocent churchgoers, but the racial culture that exists led him to believe that he could. But, he was mistaken - black people cannot take over a country that they have been a part of since the very beginning. The United States is our home. And, South Carolina is my home. In fact, my family has lived in the state for four generations now. We have witnessed racism, oppression and economic depression in our community for decades. We deserve better. And, we are demanding better. It’s time now for South Carolina to take down this terrible symbol of racial violence once and for all.

This is important because this incident is one in a long line of incidents that continue to demonstrate that Black youth are routinely dehumanized in our society. Implicit bias and perceptions of Black youth directly impact they way that they are engaged. Because these youth were seen to not belong in the area, the officers did even attempt to engage them as residents or even guests but rather as intruders. This is evidenced by the fact that the teenager who filmed the incident was white and therefore was not engaged by the police at all - despite capturing the entire event on camera. We have seen in past, how these interactions can quickly turn deadly. The community can not begin to heal until these issues are exposed and confronted in a honest and transparent fashion.