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.

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.

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. This specific monument, The Eternal Flame of Confederacy (a gaslight lamp which survived the Civil War and multiple relocations throughout downtown in the ensuing years) has recently been relocated to the Buckhead area after most recently standing in Underground Atlanta. One of 50 lamps installed in the city in 1855, the black gaslight stood in what would ultimately become Underground. During the bombardment of Atlanta by Union troops in 1864, a shell fragment ricocheted off the lamp, striking Solomon Luckie—a free African-American barber in the city. Luckie had the unlucky distinction of being one of the first casualties of the siege on Atlanta. His leg was amputated in hopes of saving his life, but he died hours later. [1] Despite the real events that inspired the placement of this confederate monument, most would say that this lamp celebrates the ways of the south during the civil war, which is an unacceptable occasion to celebrate. 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. [1]: https://atlanta.curbed.com/2017/6/8/15760828/antebellum-lamppost-atlanta-underground-history-center

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.

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.

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.

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.

The National Anthem was written during a time when white Americans could have slaves and no women were unable to vote. I want a national anthem that empowers women and talks about economic prosperity for all. And that anthem is Bodak Yellow.

The song "Lift Every Voice" is a much more appropriate song to claim as the National Anthem. While many people love the "Star Spangled Banner", little do they know that the third verse of the song contains racist lyrics that celebrate slavery: "And where is that band who so vauntingly That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave." Not only does the third verse celebrate slavery, but the person who wrote the song (Francis Scott Key) was a racist lawyer who owned slaves. This may be mind-boggling, but these are facts. The National Anthem should be a non-controversal song that everyone can enjoy.

The Occupant of the Oval doesn't seem to know that his current occupation is a privilege, not a right. He's using that office to enrich himself. Maybe if he did some honest work, he wouldn't demean other Americans.

We understand that this is a conversation about Power, and recognize that our Constitutional rights of free speech should not be granted to some and strategically limited for others. Twice in as many weeks, Donald Trump has come for the livelihood of Black athletes and journalists who continue to speak out against injustice at great risk to their safety, employment and their ability to pursue passions to which they’ve dedicated their lives. First, he called for the firing of Jemele Hill for tweeting her opinion on her social media platform. This week, at a rally in Alabama, Trump used coded language calling for NFL owners to “fire” athletes who are expressing their freedom of speech, to speak out in protest of police brutality and systemic racism and inequality. Athletes like Michael Bennett, Eric Reid, Colin Kaepernick and so many others. Perhaps he was feeling emboldened by NFL buddies like Dan Snyder (Washington), Shad Khan (Jaguars), Bob McNair (Texans), Robert Kraft (Patriots), Woody Johnson (Jets) and Stan Kroenke (Rams), all of whom each contributed $1 Million to his inauguration. He's also seen the league's owners refuse to sign Colin Kaepernick and has even taken credit in the past for getting him blackballed. This time Trump felt emboldened enough to call for NFL owners to instruct personnel that if players do not stand for the flag they should “get that son of a b---- off the field right now…” This is yet again another example of Trump’s long history of intimidating and silencing dissent. Trump has continued to suggest that "great American values" are limited to those who go along with business as usual, and don't speak out against systemic racism and oppression. Everyone in the NFL, especially NFL Leadership, must understand that the 'respect for players' stated in their press release after Trump's disturbing remarks should also mean respecting the rights of players to exercise their freedom of speech however they choose. It is time the league acts by supporting their players right to speak out. We’re in a pivotal moment when everyday Americans and athletes with shared values of justice and equity are using their powerful voices to say enough is enough--no more racism, no more anti-Muslim bigotry, no more misogyny, and no more Trump! We must continue to support the athletes and everyday men and women that are risking their livelihoods to kneel for justice. Dissent in part of America's culture and history. To quote the late author James Baldwin, 'I love America more than any country in the world and, exactly for that reason, I Insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.'

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 , making it the 4th most devastating storm to strike on U.S. territory in history. This island territory is facing months and months of rebuilding for basic infrastructure. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and must be extended equal aid and support as mainland citizens in the face of catastrophe. Just prior to Maria, the island declared bankruptcy and faces the largest municipal debt crisis in US history since Detroit, but because of its Commonwealth status, unlike Detroit, or other US municipalities, was denied debt absolution. Specifically, Puerto Rico's government owes $74 billion to bondholders, and an additional $50 billion in pension obligations to teachers and almost all other government employees. Since Puerto Rico is not sovereign and cannot restructure with the World Bank/IMF this small island has no chance at correcting the generational economic crisis it is in. Our legislators to reprioritize the needs of this island territory, home to 3.5 million Americans and absolve the debt. This pre-Maria economic situation will complicate rebuilding and needs to be considered as a pre-requisite for effective rebuilding of infrastructure. Otherwise, we are just kicking the can down the road. As in the example of Detroit, having an appointed Board, or manager does not create an opportunity to trim cost or debt, and creates situations like the Flint water crisis. The FEMA cost-sharing requirements currently in place will INCREASE the current debt and economic difficulty that Puerto Rico carries, and is an unreasonable ask for a Commonwealth whose economy and financial present and future is at this point bankrupt. While the White House has approved federal expenditures to help Puerto Rico (HQ-17-125) during this critical emergency, the aid is in the form of cost-sharing. It is a morally and ethically bankrupt Congress that would allow this type of requirement to be issued from the White House. A minimum one year waiver of the Jones Act is necessary as it would enable foreign-flagged vessels to move fuel and aid to Puerto Rico, adding to transport options. A waiver will ensure that all options are available to distribute aid to Puerto Rico and keep supplies moving to people in need. The Jones Act is unduly burdensome and ultimately needs to be eliminated. In addition, many residents are moving from the island for the mainland United States, leaving it with fewer skilled workers to handle the rebuilding and development process. Restructuring debt, and eliminating the PROMESA act and oversight board will allow the Puerto Rican people their right to rebuild with dignity and justice, for the long-haul.