Communities on the South and West sides of Chicago are suffering from economic oppression. The lack of investment has increased the level of violence, drug activities and property crimes. During election season candidates come into our communities making promises they never keep. Candidates ask for our support in their candidacy, through volunteer work. Once elected the results of their Platform and campaign promises are nil. The time has come for our communities to make a real statement, for the present and future growth of our communities. The People's Platform will be our way of holding candidates accountable. All candidates will be asked to sign on to the People's Platform. The People's Platform consist of candidates presenting a full economic development plan (with timeline for implementation), including a guaranteed four year investment budget line item, incentives for business development in low income communities, community benefit agreements in all low income communities, funding for developing and supporting After-School and Sports programs, Bank accountability for foreclosed properties (boarded up properties bring the property value down. Banks should maintain the property and put it back on the market in a timely manner), and quarterly meetings/calls with the People's Platform advisory committee. No candidate will receive our support without signing a binding agreement.

When I joined with other Mississippi leaders for the "Take It Down America" rally last year, I had high hopes for Mississippi. Perhaps I was blinded by idealism; but I honestly and truly believed that our state would do the right thing, if we brought attention to this issue. I believed then, and I still believe now, that Mississippi is capable of great and wondrous things. I often speak on where we were just fifty years ago, and the progress that we have made in that relatively short time. Mississippi is a great state, that I believe will one day come to the forefront nationally, leading our country forward on many issues. But we can't do that if we don't come out from under the specter of this Confederate flag issue. Mississippi is the only state in America that officially flies the Confederate flag. Every other state has taken it down, and renounced it. They've accepted it for what it is. The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. It is the American equivalent of the Nazi swastika in Germany. Many won't agree with that statement on its face; but let's examine this. It has been well-documented how the Confederate emblem gives rise to hate crimes against people of color. Two of the most well-known examples are Dylann Roof, the white man responsible for the horrible massacre at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the three killers who drug James Byrd, an African American man, behind their truck until his body was torn apart in Jasper, Texas. What do these two horrible crimes have in common? Dylann Roof posed with the Confederate flag alongside the Nazi code for "Heil Hitler." One of the murderers of James Byrd, John William King, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and he had several tattoos, which included the Confederate flag, the Nazi swastika and the words "Aryan Pride." The Confederate symbol is forever attached to bigotry, hatred and murder. If you look at the Confederate flag and all you see is "heritage," then I'm afraid that you are looking through a terrible rose-colored lens that is blinding you to the reality of the horrible atrocities that have been committed under that flag. When a person declares that they are proud of their Confederate heritage, this means that they are proud of the murder that has been committed under that symbol. Last week, Mississippi Representative William Shirley proposed an amendment in the Mississippi legislature to withhold federal funds from the courageous universities that made history last year with their refusal to fly the state flag as long as it contains the Confederate emblem. That amendment was a slap in the face to every family that has suffered under the Confederate flag; and I'm publicly asking Rep. Shirley for an apology. This was a horrible attempt to set us back. I'm happy that this attempt wasn't successful, but we still have to make the decision to remove this symbol from our flag. The Mississippi Confederate Flag https://youtu.be/Qxw0JehE7_A What will it take for Mississippi to join the rest of the country in denouncing this symbol of hate? Will our state have to experience a crime as terrible as what happened in South Carolina before we decide to finally move forward and let go of the racist vestiges of the past? This is no longer a Mississippi fight. This is a battle for the soul of America. "I come from Mississippi" Duvalier Malone Statement on the Confederate Flag https://youtu.be/yAAfZdjY6ro

This petition is to give voice to the people of Berkeley and to everyone supporting us--demanding an end to all hate speech and violence by out of town groups targeting our city's public spaces and commons for their platform. We object to Berkeley being used and labeled as intolerant due to the violent public actions of a few, most of whom do not live in our city.

**UPDATE** 05.02.2017 - Roy Oliver, the officer who shot and killed Jordan Edwards, has been fired from Balch Springs Police Department--citing several policy violations. But the road ahead is still long for Jordan Edwards' family--whose lives are forever changed by this tragedy--and for justice. Demand the DA bring criminal charges NOW. 15-year-old honor roll high school freshmen, Jordan Edwards was shot and killed by police in Balch Springs, Texas. He and his friends were simply leaving a party when police responded to a call about unruly teenagers. One of the officers fired a rifle at the car Jordan was a passenger in, striking and killing him. His brother, who was in the car with him, watched Jordan die right before his eyes. The police chief, Jonathan Haber, tried to justify the killing and claimed the car was backing down the road "in an aggressive manner” towards the officers. But that was a lie. After reviewing police dash-cam footage, the police chief revealed the car was actually driving away from officers. Police officers repeatedly see Black people as a threat for simply being Black and it has to stop. The officer who shot and killed Jordan is still employed, on paid administrative leave, and Balch Springs PD is protecting the officers' identity and keeping it secret. The family of Jordan Edwards is demanding that the officer be fired AND criminally charged. Will you join their call for justice and sign the petition?

President Trump is set to sign an executive order tomorrow that could be a charter for widespread and divisive discrimination, potentially against LGBTQ people, women, Muslim communities, and other marginalized communities. If the leaks earlier this year about the content of the executive order are even half accurate, it will be a truly devastating day for American freedoms. It will have an immediate and chilling impact on every aspect of people's lives, disproportionately impacting those who are low-income or otherwise marginalized. Our collective outcry against this EO helped stop it once when it was rumored in February. And when Vice President Pence signed a similar version into law in Indiana in 2015, the public backlash cost the state $60 million and forced him to add in language to protect LGBTQ individuals. We must continue to show that we stand for equal rights for all people, and we'll hold accountable anyone who promotes discrimination. Tell Donald Trump and his closest advisors to protect all people and abandon any measure that provides a license to discriminate.

I'm starting this petition because I am Black and not offended by the name. It's awesome and although I was surprised when I first saw it in 2009, it sparked me to learn more about the history of the name. And to hear that it was to celebrate a man that was fine. What's sad is that they want to recognize that this Black man killed an enemy and then to use the name NEMESIS of all things. That may be the man's name, but who named him that? Nemesis is defined as "a long-standing rival; an archenemy." He was not an enemy to America and NEGRO MOUNTAIN is more significant and sparks discussion. Drive past NEMESIS MOUNTAIN and no one will even think to bat an eye at it. Leave the name as it is!

My family doesn't own a car. When I, along with my wife and three-year-old twins, went to vote in November 2016, we had to travel a mile and a half and wait more than an hour and a half to vote. That's too far and too long. Opening more polling places will shorten lines, make voting more convenient for more voters, and reduce stress on poll workers. And research shows that moving polling places closer to where voters live increases the likelihood they will vote (especially if they don't have a car). The Detroit City Clerk is the elected official ultimately responsible for managing the voting and elections process. That means that the City Clerk must do everything it their power to make voting as easy and accessible as possible.

We're working for a fair, honest and inclusive America. We're calling on the Democratic Party to become the kind of fair, honest and inclusive organization that we'd like to work with.

As a voter in East Marlborough Township, Pennsylvania, my votes are dissolved by the partisan committees who draw voting district maps. This means that our politicians get to choose their voters, rather than the voter choosing their politician. This affects all political parties and the committees drawing the district maps must be independent, nonpartisan, and fair to all voters.

H.R. 620 and similar ADA notification bills are gaining more steam in Congress than ever before. As a person with a disability and one who advocates for the rights of others with disabilities, I see businesses conveniently ignoring their legal obligations to undertake readily achievable barrier removal at facilities existing before passage of the 1990 ADA. This bill and others similar will force a person with a disability to write a complaint letter to the business with detailed analyses of the issues, which section of the code is violated and the correct citations, wait 30 days for a response and give a business 60 days to correct an issue before a suit can be filed. A person with a disability can also be countersued for enforcing their civil rights if they don't follow the prescribed protocols. Businesses and public accommodations have had 27 years to come in to compliance with federal law. The ADA has provided for free public education and technical assistance through the U.S. Dept of Justice Office of Civil Rights and 10 federally funded regional ADA centers since its passage. There is nothing in the proposed legislation that recognizes what is currently available to help businesses. Nor is more funding being allocated for such outreach to be improved upon. As such, the "Education" part of this bill's title is totally bogus. Please counter the business lobby, which wants to make it much more difficult to attain accessibility when businesses such as stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. disregard their ADA responsibilities. Highlights of H.R. 620: Removes any incentive for voluntary compliance. Requires a person with a disability who encounters an access barrier to send a letter detailing the exact ADA provisions that are being violated. Rewards non-compliance by allowing businesses generous additional timelines, even though the ADA's reasonable requirements are already over 25 years old! Perpetuates the myth that the ADA benefits unscrupulous lawyers rather than the truth: that the ADA is the most important civil rights law for people with disabilities. Ignores the extensive, free educational resources already available today to any business on how to comply with the law. Tell your Congressional Representative to OPPOSE H.R. 620, and any other bill to weaken the ADA! Express the concerns listed above. See the Additional Resources for more information. Congress Members are on recess this week, but many of their staff are still in D.C. to get your messages. Let's all contact them this week, so when the Members return, their staff will tell them they've heard from hundreds of people! Also, the House Judiciary Committee could consider this bill as soon as the last week of April. If it passes, it may go very quickly to the full House for a vote—so the entire House needs to hear from us, starting immediately and for the next few weeks! What to do: Go to contactingcongress.org and insert your zip code to find many simple methods for contacting your House representative: via e-mail, phone, Facebook, Twitter, fax, etc. Call your House of Representatives Member using the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. They will help you find your Representative's name if you don't know it, and switch you to your Representative's office. If you know your Representative's name, here is the House of Representatives phone list. Extra urgent, if your Representative is on the Judiciary Committee: If your Congressional representative, or any Representative from your state, serves on the House Judiciary Committee, it is especially important to contact them ASAP, because this Committee will vote on the bill first. See a full list of Committee members. Town Halls this week: Members of Congress are in their home districts this week. Many will be at Town Halls or other public events where you can ask them to oppose H.R. 620, and say why. To find local events, try townhallproject.com. Or, check your Representative's website or call their local district office; see contactingcongress.org. Additional Resources: Overview of concerns with H.R. 620 H.R. 620 website with summary, bill text, etc. Save the ADA web page, National Disability Rights Network Additional questions? E-mail [email protected]

Freedom of speech is becoming even more of a crime under Trump’s reign. This weekend during an anti-Syrian war protest, a Trump supporter antagonized peaceful protesters, storming the speakers’ platform and physically assaulting them to start a fight. Instead of helping, four police officers, tackled and brutalized Connell Crooms, one of the only Black protesters, and hit him so hard they knocked out his hearing aid. Bystander video footage shows officers beating him while he flailed helplessly and handcuffed on the ground. One officer punched Connell five times while other officers pinned him down.

If you are concerned about one, then I call on you to be concerned about all. Give us a great "MEMORY" . Keep your promise.