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/

We're the parents of Crystle Galloway. Help us get justice for our daughter, Crystle. The paramedics have their disciplinary hearing this upcoming Tuesday, July 31st. Let Fire Rescue and Hillsborough County know that they should be fired. We also hope they take steps to make sure this doesn't ever happen again to anyone. Our daughter's life is worth more than them being suspended -- Crystle might have been with us and with her two daughters and her baby son now if they had treated her like any other person. She died leaving behind a newborn after paramedics failed to give her standard care and take her in an ambulance. She was suffering complications after just giving birth. But after calling 911, she didn't get the medical help she should have had. The paramedics failed to check her vital signs. Later, they even falsified what happened by logging the call using a code meaning "Non-transport/no patient found". They should be fired, not just suspended. Our daughter had just given birth and was having complications just days after. My 7 year old granddaughter found her unconscious, slumped over. When we called 911, the paramedics didn't want to take her because they "thought we couldn't afford it". They didn't even ask if we had insurance (which we do). This is racism. When the paramedics came, they took one look at our skin color and decided they didn't want to touch her. We had to rush her ourselves but it was too late. They didn't think she looked "critical". What color do we have to be to get help? https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/Hillsborough-suspends-four-paramedics-in-treatment-of-stroke-victim-30-who-later-died_170253710

A mother who is a veteran had to return home from Iraq and fight the battle for her children. The children were taken from her safe and sustainable home, and 50/50 custody order. The mother was falsely arrested. The charges where dismissed but the ramification lingered. Nine years later the mother and her children have no relationship. The children were forced to live full-time with their abusive father leaving them vulnerable to mental, physical and emotional abuse at critical developmental stages in there lives. The court's decision has traumatized the mother and placed the children in danger. As of September 24, 2018, at least 657 children have been murdered by a parent involved in a divorce, separation, custody, visitation, or child support situation in the U.S. since 2008. Abusive parents are often granted custody or unprotected parenting time by family courts—placing our nation’s children at ongoing risk. Researchers who interviewed judges and court administrators following some of these tragedies found that most believed these were isolated incidents. Needed reforms have not been implemented. Many court-related child homicides occurred after family courts granted dangerous parents access to children over the objections of a protective parent. We recognize that the women's right's movement is still a work in progress. Marginalized women face multiple oppressions, and we can only win freedom by bringing awareness on how they impact one another. The women of color need a national movement to uplift the needs of the most marginalized women and children. As women of color we need to stand for our human rights to parent the children we have in a safe and sustainable community.

This is an important cause because the death of Black mothers cripples the family unit and harms the child's quality of life. Mothers are essential to the nurturing and raising of the next generation and without them there's a void that will be hard to fill. Life matters and if we have the means and resources then these deaths are truly in vain. If you have a mom or lost a mom your voice needs to be heard concerning this matter.