http://youtu.be/YBCfIs3YoGg On December 9th, 2014 our two plus year fight for civilian oversight erupted in an enormous victory for the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence, a project of Dignity and Power Now. On that day the supervisors voted 3-2 in support a civilian oversight commission. That was the first step. The next step is making sure that this commission is effective and not simply another department rubber stamp. Your support is necessary if we are going to push the county to create the most powerful model of oversight possible for Los Angeles. Spread across Los Angeles County are 8 facilities that make up the largest jail system in the world, run by the largest sheriff's department in the country. That very system has been the site of a long history of brutality against our loved ones being held in these facilities. In a county that is 9% Black, Black prisoners make up 30% of the county jail population, and almost 50% of the county jail population with a "serious mental health condition." The history has come to a head in Los Angeles where in the past three years the county has been shaped by three significant events. 1) Deep reaching exposure of patterns of "hyper violence" against our loved ones and a corrupt culture inside the department that has covered up these abuses. Story after story has revealed patterns of prisoners being beaten while restrained, physical attacks that continue after prisoners have lost consciousness, fractured bones, denial of medical care, and retaliation for filing complaints. Exposure of these widespread abuses took the form an ACLU class action lawsuit, a thorough and scathing year long investigation initiated by the county's Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence, a Department of Justice civil rights probe into the jails, an FBI investigation that has resulted in 18 indictments for corruption and abuse, and the courage of countless survivors of sheriff violence who have continued to come forward with their stories and have become leaders in this growing movement. This movement includes the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence which has brought together over 20 organizations across Los Angeles County with the leadership of formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones at the forefront. At the height of the exposure, it was found that 57% of use of force incidents in the jails were initiated be sheriff's deputies. The persistent exposure of the departments "force first" approach and the corruption that kept it hidden resulted in the formal resignation of Sheriff Baca. His resignation paved the way for a highly contested election where Jim McDonnell, one of the commissioners on the Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence, claimed the position as sheriff. While he has publicly stated that he is invested in reform, our communities cannot lay our faith, nor the fate, of our families solely in the hands of the department that for decades built a culture of unchecked abuse in the jails. 2) A groundswell of organizations and community members has built a movement to hold law enforcement in Los Angeles accountable. This heightened momentum comes at a time where communities around the country are pushing back against law enforcement misconduct, excessive and lethal force, and national trends in anti-Black state violence are being challenged. 3) The countywide demand for civilian oversight is a demand to break from the long history of unchecked law enforcement brutality hidden behind the walls of the county jails and taking place in our communities. For years, the sheriff's department denied the need for civilian oversight and even went so far as to claim that effective independent oversight "already existed." While the last few years have produced important reforms in the sheriff's department, including a new sheriff, the community has endured violence long enough. Without independent civilian oversight, there is no effective county body that is rooted in the voices of our families inside the jails. That voice, given the legal authority that independent oversight provides, is the only thing that will ensure that recent reforms become lasting deterrence against one of the most brutal jail operations in the country. Nationwide, from St. Louis and Newark to Salinas and Los Angeles, communities are moving their local governments to create independent civilian oversight bodies. Los Angeles is one of many county's where Black people are targets of law enforcement violence at alarming rates. Winning civilian oversight alone won't stop these abuses. However, a legally empowered oversight commission is a powerful means of securing the power and dignity of Black people across Los Angeles.

On April 30, 2014, my brother Dontre Hamilton was shot 14 times and killed by Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney. Six months have passed and my family is still waiting for the investigation into his murder to be done and for legal action to be taken. The police department and District Attorney's office have failed to release any evidence supporting the officer’s claims that my brother was a threat. We the family, along with our attorneys, have seen pictures of Christopher Manney that show no indication of injury. It only proves to us that Dontre’s death was unjustified and totally preventable. This unbearable situation has led me to fight for justice for Dontre, who deserves to rest in peace with the truth being revealed. No officer should be above the law, especially when he violates policy and procedures over and over again. Christopher Manney had a history of complaints against him for excessive force before he killed Dontre Hamilton. [1] We cannot stand for injustice. The time for unity has come. Police violence doesn't just hurt one individual or family. When the community lives in fear of the police, good police work is impossible. The Coalition for Justice is organized to end this pattern of injustice in Milwaukee. Our mission is to inspire courage and build a movement to transform the city of Milwaukee. We support the empowerment of marginalized communities and dismantling of systems of oppression that erode community trust, dignity, and agency. By focusing on racial and social justice we hope to create innovative and sustained solutions that make our communities safer and equitable places to live. It is our goal to build alliances among community organizations and mobilize people dedicated toward the fight for justice. Join us in changing Milwaukee. Let's empower ourselves by having a voice. Help support the cause against police brutality and laws that protect the Police when they take a life unjustly. We seek donations in any form to move ahead in getting justice for Dontre and other families that lost someone to an unlawful hand and creating change throughout our community. One Love in One Nation is the goal. Lets reach this together. References 1. "Officer Manney: Six citizen complaints filed against him in his 13 years," Fox6 News, 10-22-14, http://fox6now.com/2014/10/22/officer-manney-six-citizen-complaints-filed-against-him-in-his-13-years/ Stay in Touch with the Coalition for Justice! Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/justicefordontre Follow us on Twitter @justice4dontre and Instagram @thecoalition4justicemke

Black people are continuously seen and treated as subhuman and second-class citizens around the world, sometimes just visually because our skin is darker, no matter our mannerisms. By many we are assumed to be less or lower, and to some seen as dumb as a race, only athletic, especially if we are not in line with what is considered to be mainstream America thought. Start at 12 minutes in. https://youtu.be/DReL722fzHo?t=720 To reach people who are insulted & appalled by Rachel’s bold comments and respect education and the brilliance of Black people. In addition, the issue of white supremacy Rachel was disputing was backed by facts! Her opinion was false, flawed & incorrect! (That’s why Fox calls itself Entertainment Only and not News when their backs are against the wall in court for false reporting. ) The timing of her comments are also particularly an insult to the 4 children & 4 adults killed directly because of admitted White Supremacy last week!

Fascism and Nazism has to be stopped. Breitbart is the original "fake news" that promotes hate, lies, and divisiveness

Imagine you have worked tirelessly for the creation of a Mississippi Civil Rights Museum for decades and it's finally opening. Imagine you are being honored for your decades of civil rights work, an honor that is long overdue. Imagine that the governor has the audacity to suggest you sit onstage with a President who believes Nazi protesters are "very fine people." Imagine being forced to sit through his bungled speech full of lies and racist language. Close your eyes and picture Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer or Dr. Martin Luther King sitting on stage with Donald Trump. Can you imagine their innermost thoughts? Their level of gut twisting anguish? We can not allow this to happen. Inviting the President to the opening of Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is an insult and affront to those being honored. These heroes fought against hate and for justice and equity in our state. Their families and friends gave their lives in dedication to their belief in equality. Within the walls of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the heroes of a generation are being honored. Heroes who gave their all to further racial progress in Mississippi and our country at large. Fannie Lou Hamer, Hollis Watkins, Jimmie Travis, and many more were beaten and jailed. Many more, men like Vernon Dahmer, Medgar Evers, and Wharlest Jackson lost their lives. Hundreds of everyday people were a part of the historic work that lives on today. They deserve to be honored. The next generation must have a place to preserve this history. To invite a man like Donald Trump to speak, when these icons and forgotten everyday heroes are being honored can only be seen as a classic white supremacy power move akin to raising confederate statues in the city square after reconstruction. Allowing this President to overshadow those who fight for equity and justice screams "Yes, you can have this museum but men like us will always control things." Time and time again, Donald Trump has failed to respect and honor people of color, exhibiting a special disrespect for black people. His political career was built on disrespecting and insulting our first African American President, Barack Obama. From his tone deaf visit to the National African American History Museum to engaging in racist rhetoric while honoring Native American veterans he has repeatedly proven he can not be trusted in people of color centered spaces. Donald Trump demands the attention be on him, distracting from the sacred spaces he has the privilege of occupying. He is supported by many racist groups including the KKK, neo-nazis and white nationalists. All of which show up to support him when he makes appearances. They have no place here. Why would Mississippians want to encourage this bigotry by inviting this man to such a momentous occasion? President Trump's record on human rights, racial justice and equity should, most definitely, exclude him from being included in this opening. Donald Trump should not be who Mississippi wants to be. His ideas are vestiges of the past. He isn't representative of where those of us united for a better Mississippi want to go. Governor Phil Bryant needs to make this right and rescind the invitation he made to President Trump immediately.

On Saturday, August 12th, white nationalists marched through Charlottesville, communities and the University of Virginia campus, rallying around a statue of the Confederacy and carrying torches evoking a history of violent racial terrorism. The next day in Charlottesville they killed in the name of their white supremacist symbols. Protesters were rammed by a car killing someone in a terrorist attack. These symbols were not chosen randomly. Confederate monuments have been erected and remain as a direct rebuke to the recognition of the full humanity of Black people. Confederate monuments were built and given places of honor in public space as gains in this recognition have been made and it is the commitment to the reversal of this recognition of humanity that draws white nationalists to these symbols. These symbols of white supremacy have always been memorials to the cause of slavery and the denial of humanity to Black people. Now they are being weaponized to rally white supremacists. We have the power to diffuse these modern-day lynch mobs by removing these statues altogether, instead of giving white supremacists a rally point. Confederate statues and named institutions are more than mere symbols of a heritage but instead, they are an assertion of the continued imposition of white supremacy and its current political power. Terrorists in Charlottesville understood this and were willing to kill in the name of this, we must be determined to persist in the face of this white supremacist terror. Removing all Confederate statues would be one step among many in sending the message that we are no longer honoring white supremacy at a societal level. We've already many communities take the step to address these monuments in cities like Tampa and New Orleans. Join with me today and pledge to work to remove all Confederate statues or names from our community.

No one should be subjected to intimidation on an American airliner while the staff of the plane remains mute and afraid. At some point a brawl on a plane will occur and someone is going to get hurt. Additionally no one should have to consider what airline they use based on the carrier willingness to allow intimidation of passengers to occur. No one should experience this aggressive form of intimidation: https://youtu.be/AoFvqWbYd_k

SB 13 is problematic for several reasons: 1) It further criminalizes Black youth by targeting what they wear 2) It intensifies a culture of hostility between law enforcement and Black communities, whereby Black folks are disproportionately targeted, harmed, and killed by police violence 3) It curtails constitutionally-protected free expression rights 4) Lastly, it doesn't include political protest as one of its exceptions At Million Hoodies, we use hoodies strategically for protest around the country. This #HoodieBanBill would not only make it more difficult for us to carry out such protests in the future, but it also reinforces a culture of hostility and discrimination by unjustly targeting harmless fashions associated with Black folks. Join us in demanding that the Oklahoma Senate reject this harmful and unjust #HoodieBanBill!