Segregation is happening all over again in schools across America. Segregation perpetuates the School -to-Prison-Pipeline and we must stop it in its tracks! The New Orleans Four, at 6-years old served their little black girl magic and showed the world that children can lead the way. These little emissaries were the epitome of what it means to have the audacity of hope. They broke barriers and opened hearts in 1960 and with this nationally recognized holiday they can continue to remind America and the World that we can ALL live, learn and work TOGETHER. In her speech during the New Orleans Four Day 60th Anniversary ceremony in New Orleans, Alana Odoms (Executive Director ACLU-Louisiana) stated "Since its inception, black girls and black women have shouldered the immense responsibility of perfecting our Democracy. The New Orleans Four were emissaries of justice and freedom, turning the tide of hate in this nation and calling us towards the liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution." Like Dr. Opal Lee, I believe that this national holiday can be a unifier and an inspiration to children and adults around the world. I believe it can be the bridge that brings people together to talk about the hard issues facing our country. The New Orleans Four were the light during a dark time in our country's history and their brave acts will always be a beacon of hope to show young people that they have a voice, they have a say and the wherewithal to create the CHANGE they want to see. Let them be the everlasting reminder of Freedom, Equality & Justice. Learn More: To watch the docuseries teaser and learn more about the project go to www.NewOrleansFourLegacy.com

Facial recognition technology (FRT) is too dangerous to be unleashed on our communities. If this inherently-biased technology is deployed, the impact––intended or not––will be that anyone who is not white-presenting and male-presenting (i.e. darker-skinned people, women, Muslims, LGBTQ people and people who exist at any or all of these intersections) will have more frequent and brutal contact with police. Baltimore City has a temporary ban on facial recognition technology now, and with your help we can make it permanent.

Oakland and San Francisco California are the most gentrified cities in the entire nation. The Black population in both cities has been reduced over the years by more than 50%. The best way for Black people to have a place to live is to become homeowners. Black homeownership is in crisis. Black people have not recovered (unlike other racial groups) from the 2008 housing crisis when they were targeted by the banks with subprime loans. Black homeownership has continued to decline since then. Redlining, bad appraisals , discrimination in buying, selling and renting have all been devastating hurdles. Real Estate is the best way to pass on generational wealth. It is crucial for Black people to have a legacy. Gentrifying Black rental housing providers will reduce the number of Black tenants in Oakland. No one should lose their property because they have been starved of resources to stay afloat. The focus should be on helping small mom and pop rental housing providers, home owners and tenants. The picture above is located in Oakland, Ca.

Violence can happen anywhere, anytime. We cannot wait for government or policy makers to do anything about this. We have to personally get involved in our own capacity. Peace is our human nature. Love is our nature. Only when we find peace within, can we help spread it around. We can do it together!

Black people in Los Angeles have been forced to bear the brunt of discriminatory, racist policies for far too long. In leaked audio recording, Council President Nury Martinez says of LA's District Attorney George Gascón, “F**k that guy, he’s with the Blacks". With full knowledge that 76% of Black migrants in LA are deported due to contact with the criminal punishment system, these Council members blocked community-led efforts to create a City LA Justice Fund with universal representation. Instead they decided on a program that disproportionately harms Black immigrants with its racist criminal carveouts and refusal to include deportation defense services. And, this is only one example of the impact of these Councilmembers' anti-Black racism. Recent studies show that Black Angelenos are more than twice as likely to be stopped and searched by law enforcement as their white counterparts. Our representative in government are supposed to hold systems accountable and ensure equity and fairness. That’s why we can’t allow this incident to go unchecked. Anti-Blackness must not be tolerated by any LA City or County official. We need leaders who challenge racism and champion our communities, not those who push dangerous narratives and anti-Black stereotypes about our families and loved ones. Until we ensure that elected officials like Martinez, Cedillo, and de Leon are held to account for their anti-Black beliefs and removed from office, they will continue to make decisions that place our communities directly in harm’s way.

Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez joined by council members Gil Cedillo, and Kevin de León were recorded making openly racist remarks that were recently leaked to the public. The conversation included describing another councilman's Black son as though he were an "accessory" and that he was "like a monkey". The audio goes on to reveal that she also mocked Oaxacan immigrants and amongst other callous remarks. A day after the audio was leaked, Martinez stepped down from her post as president of the Los Angeles City Council but not from her council seat. Several of their council colleagues and mayoral candidates have also called for this resignation. These remarks reveal the anti-Black motivations at the center of LACity redistricting that have been present the whole time. We must demand the resignations of these Council Members and force tangible commitments from LA City government that makes sure this never happens again. Only with people power, can we ensure these resignations and the implementation of policies that hold racist government actors accountable.

Washington County Public Schools are ignoring a FEDERAL STATUTE (FERPA) request to view full-length video of what happened to my daughter. All parents should feel that their childs school cares about their well-being while at school. Please sign this petition to urge WCPS to release unedited video and find out how a 5-year-old sustains a concussion on school grounds and NO ONE CARES!!! My daughter came home severely injured and no one cared enough to contact me or help her medically, and then made extreme efforts to prevent me from viewing video of what happened to her. On December 22, 2021, my daughter got off her school bus with an injured and bloody face. No one contacted us or provided her with medical treatment. The bus driver said that he did not see what happened and that she got on his bus with her injuries. I contacted her teacher and sent her a picture of my daughter's face. Her teacher stated that my daughter did not look like that when she left her classroom that evening and she would contact the principal to see if she knows what happened. No one reached out to us so we called the Washington County Sheriff's Office because we do not know what happened to our baby. The responding officer transferred the case to the School Resource Officer because he would be able to view school videos to find out what happened to her. The responding Officer documented his police report as a possible assault of a minor. Later that night, the Principal sent me an email apologizing and stated that she received a picture of my daughter's face and would investigate what happened in the morning. The next day, I received a phone call from the school Principal (Dana Peake) and School Resource Officer (Corey McCarthy). They both stated that they watched the video and were not able to see my daughter fall but were able to see an Asst Principal go over and help her after she fell. The Officer said that he was closing the case because after watching the video, she was not assaulted. Wanting a copy of the Officer's police report, I called his police station a few hours later and he happened to be there. He came to the phone and I asked him about getting a copy of his police report from the video that he viewed at my daughter's school this morning. He stated that he DID NOT watch a video and did not give a reason for changing his reason for closing the case. The officer's police report does not mention him viewing a video or that a video existed. The officer closed the case after a simple conversation with the Principal. During an initial meeting at the school to view school and bus videos on January 19, 2022, I learned that the school had edited all videos into short clips, preventing me from gaining any knowledge of what happened to my daughter, even though they had already protected the privacy of all children by blurring their faces. I have filed complaints against the principal as well as the officer and after an internal investigation of both, no wrongdoing was found although I have raised concerns of: · the school’s negligence to provide medical treatment after my daughter hit her head on the cement while on school grounds. · the school’s negligence to notify us that our child was injured. · the principal conspiring with the SRO to lie about the results of his investigation at the school. · the officer closing his case of a possible assault of a minor under false pretenses, although he was assigned by his police department to investigate a possible assault of a minor. · the school editing my daughter’s education records, preventing me from gaining any knowledge of what happened to her, even though all other children’s faces were blurred, protecting their privacy. · the principal falsifying her original incident report and later amending the report after she learned that there was evidence to prove that she was aware of the incident and my daughter’s initial injuries. The principal canceled our scheduled meeting at the school for February 2, 2022, stating that the videos needed to be sent back to their legal department to blur the faces of all other children and she will let me know when they are available. I have not heard from them again and the Superintendent and Board of Education have not intervened although they are aware that my daughter is not able to return to school until we see video of what happened to her.

At Red Balloon, we strive to serve any and every family that wants to join our community. We do not turn children away based on factors such as disability status or neurotypical development. We serve an economically and ethnically diverse community; we serve the families of immigrants and those new to New York or the United States. Among our community, Polish, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Italian, Hebrew and Hindi are some of the languages spoken at home. We serve the families of graduate students, adjunct professors, essential workers, rank-and-file Columbia staff and members of the Harlem and Morningside Heights communities. We are urging Columbia to extend our lease and let Red Balloon continue its mission to educate children and support working families.

In response to the recent tragedies in our community, the Youth Justice Action Council would like to first offer our sincere condolences to the victims, their families, and others in our community who have been impacted as they navigate this time of loss, grief, trauma, and uncertainty. Our YJAC family joins hands with Memphis & Shelby County, and offers support as we try to find peace and solutions in the coming days. YJAC is committed to designing solutions that get to the root causes of violence in our community by centering the voices of those who are directly impacted - youth who have experienced the justice system firsthand. In light of the recent tragedies in our city, many elected officials and community members have responded by claiming that more and harsher punishment would have prevented future acts of violence. However, we believe that the punitive and inhumane measures that are currently in place in our juvenile injustice system not only fail to stop the cycle of violence but also create more harm by traumatizing our youth who need support, not isolation. Our current system isolates youth away from their loved ones, community, and support systems that would actually allow them to change and grow. To truly address the cycles of violence in our community, we need to get to the root. Youth are not the problem. Our quick fixes, based on retribution and revenge, will never solve long-term problems - which are embedded in institutional and systemic oppressions like racism and poverty. Memphis ranks second in the nation for overall poverty, with 24.5% of our community members living below the poverty line and 39.6% of our youth living below the poverty line. For Black youth in Memphis, nearly half live below the poverty line. What we need are solutions that include the voices of those who are directly affected. Our 10 “Break the Chains” Demands were created by justice impacted youth in our community to offer truly transformative solutions that would allow young people to feel safe, supported, and empowered. Our public officials and local media’s responses to these events have pushed an existing narrative that Black and Brown youth should be feared and controlled. Now, more than ever, the voices of these youth need to be heard. This is what the Youth Justice Action Council embodies. As justice impacted & connected young people, we have already begun to create solutions & design alternatives to our current system. Over the past year, we have: -Released a research report on what justice impacted youth in Shelby County are experiencing and asking to be changed in our current system. -Provided Diversion Program Recommendations for the new Youth & Family Resource Center -Visited the Shelby County Youth Detention Center currently in development and sent key decision makers a memo on our experience with our questions, concerns, and recommendations -Submitted Public Comments on Proposed Changes to the Minimum Standards for Youth Detention Centers in Tennessee -Engaged and supported the Youth Law Center and Disability Rights Tennessee on the release of their Designed to Fail report. In the coming months, we will release recommendations on a continuum of care that should replace our current youth justice system. But, we cannot change this system alone. We are calling on youth and adults to join YJAC in our youth-led advocacy to transform our youth justice system and build a safer and more just community for us all. Join the YJAC movement by signing up as a “Break the Chains” Supporter and following us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Tiktok @YJAC901. We will need to combine our voices and advocacy to make sure leaders hear our demands and are held accountable to make them happen. Together, we can create solutions that center the voices of justice impacted youth in our community.

As pastor of Bethel AME Church of Pittsburgh and representing the congregation, we implore the Pittsburgh City Council and the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority to address and restore the land stolen from Bethel AME in 1957. Known as Big Bethel to its more senior members, the church once seated 1,900 Pittsburgh residents in what was then a thriving neighborhood in the Lower Hill District. The oldest Black church and the first elementary school for Black students, it was a haven for residents and the center for organizing in the 1950s during the civil rights movement. Bethel held programs before and after school while launching the Black Nurses Association to improve the health and welfare of its congregation. That all came to a screeching halt in 1955 when the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority announced plans for the Lower Hill Project redevelopment which called for removing “blight” from the community. To church members who are still with us today, Big Bethel was not a “blight”. It was a beacon of light and home to mentor new leaders, and a place where Black people of the time could feel the love and support of the community. Despite this, in 1957 city council members declared that Big Bethel had “outlived its usefulness,” thus enabling the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority to confiscate the church using eminent domain. In its wake, the Civic arena was built and is now home to the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team. Meanwhile, the church of the Epiphany, which predominantly serves a white congregation only two blocks away, was spared and stands to this day. Pittsburgh law states it is illegal to seize a church using eminent domain. However, the members of Big Bethel didn’t have legal representation to pursue their claims. Big Bethel was thus compelled to move to a smaller location serving 900 members, never to be returned to its former glory. This same group sold 2.5 acres of land to the FNB Bank building project for development last year which is a few hundred yards from the original site of Bethel AME Church for $10.00. We are asking for the same consideration to sell us our land and development rights back for $10.00.

For over a week, more than 150,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi did not have access to clean water. Our public schools were shut down. Our hospitals had to move patients, many of whom were in critical condition, out of the city to get care. And many of us had to wait outside in mile-long lines for water we could use safely, while many people were turned away because there wasn’t enough clean water to go around. This is an inhumane situation, but the people who live here know that the water crisis in Jackson is not new. In a city that is over 80% Black, the warning signs were there. For years, our state government has refused to do anything about our broken infrastructure and sewer system, which isn’t an invisible problem; our water pipes routinely collapse under us, causing our streets to cave in. And now, during a moment that is life and death for so many of us, Governor Tate Reeves and the Mississippi State Legislature are holding up the funding we need to fix the problem. They’re demanding that the City of Jackson match any state funding with money we do not have and should not be forced to give. Poor people have suffered enough, and we don’t have the means to solve this on our own without our elected officials stepping up to the plate. They asked for us to vote for them and they got the job. Now, they need to deliver for the people. We are demanding that Governor Reeves, the Mississippi State Legislature, and Mayor Lumumba work together to: - Call a special session of the Mississippi State Legislature to address this crisis immediately; - Release a joint comprehensive plan for addressing the water crisis in Jackson immediately; - Release the designated infrastructure funding to address the water crisis in Jackson immediately; - Drop the condition and requirement that the City of Jackson put up matching funds in order to sufficiently address the water crisis; and - Issue a moratorium on water bills and shut-offs for all Jackson residents affected by the water crisis until reliable access to clean water is restored. Something must be done now. According to Mayor Lumumba, it is going to take at least one billion dollars to comprehensively replace the water system, and will likely require years of construction to fully complete. But that investment is the bare minimum we should expect from the people we elected to lead. We don’t want excuses. We want action. Jackson, Mississippi needs reliable access to clean water.

Seeing an innocent Black Man railroaded by this crooked justice system has darkened my spirit since a small child, when the same was done to my uncle. I'm writing because all too often, Black people are too afraid to speak up for their rights, or to speak up for those who are brave enough to fight back. I'm writing this because I am a mother of 3 Black humans (ages: 24, 21 and 15) and believe that Grand Master Jay's teachings and guidance would/can make an enormous impact on the lives of my children, as well as the lives of All Black People (any age). As history has shown, every strong, motivational, inspirational, spiritual and intellectually intelligent Black male figure, who has spoken up against this crooked justice system, and who talks only of Black pride and power, is either dead, in jail, or silenced. This is an undeniable fact.