Jasmine Shepard should have become the first Black valedictorian in 110 years at Cleveland High School in Mississippi. An amazing achievement considering that Cleveland, MS still has not fully complied with federal desegregation orders from Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. But Jasmine was denied this honor when she was forced to share it with a white student who did not qualify for it. Since filing a lawsuit against the school district a few weeks ago, Jasmine and her family have been the target of a torrent of racist and hateful messages. Messages that are too sickening and hateful to be shared here. This whole incident exemplifies the barriers that Black girls and women face - when we work twice as hard we get half the credit, and when we speak out about that unfairness we get flooded with hateful messages. Black girls know all too well that they must often navigate through a landscape that reinforces multidimensional stereotypes, discrimination, and debilitating narratives about their Black femininity. Recognizing Jasmine as the sole valedictorian is a small but crucial step to changing these harmful narratives about Black girls. Jasmine Shepard should be recognized for the incredible work she’s done to become the first Black student to ever earn valedictorian honors in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Many fathers in the State of Missouri are becoming homeless, and are not able to afford the necessities of daily living, due to the "Child Support" laws that are currently in place. Some fathers are even forced into poverty. These laws must be revised immediately to be fair for the fathers.

I met my husband two years ago in an FB singles group. I had no intention of ever dating again as I had been through a terrible divorce. We talked and became friends and then decided to meet. He told me he had a 6-year-old daughter and then dropped a bombshell. He couldn't see her regularly because his ex-wife accused him of molesting her. I was stunned and of course thought there's no way I can continue even a friendship with this man. Then, I thought, first of all, a pedophile doesn't announce he's a pedophile. I decided I wanted to meet his daughter and see them interact. One time seeing this little girl do everything she could to get away from her mom and run to her dad and jump in his arms was all I needed to see. Shortly after, there was a court date for him to try and get more time and I decided to put his paperwork together. I was appalled at the things I read. His daughter had NEVER been taken to a doctor, DCFS didn't do an investigation - they turned it over to law enforcement - and he was interrogated until they found out that the day he supposedly "molested" his daughter he was with numerous people, none that were spoken to about the incident. He sold everything he had to fight for this little girl and to this day he still does. He agreed to go to counseling, his daughter and ex also agreed so that they could work towards a 50/50 schedule. He committed his end; his daughter hasn't been to counseling for 6 months and I doubt his ex has gone once. A person doesn't become a pedophile once and then stop. I have three older children, all who love my husband, all who are comfortable with him and support him. We now have a granddaughter with whom he is amazing. For two years I've watched this woman do everything she can to keep this little girl from her dad. I watched her work the system, and I've watched the system enable her. This little girl loves her dad and should be allowed to be with him, he should not have to live with the stigma of being a predator, of having to sell everything he owns in order to see her. He shouldn't have letters written to his employer telling them he's a pedophile when the case against him has been closed for over 3 years now. Today is the 4th of July; if the court petition had been followed we would have been able to have his daughter on the 3rd at 6 pm until the 5th at 7 pm; instead, we get her from 12-6 and are unable to do anything because that's how her mom dictates it. This is wrong and it needs to be stopped. She should be charged and any woman who does these kinds of things should be charged.

The 13th Amendment of the US Constitution still allows slavery, creating increasing populations of caged people who provide free or near-free labor to the stockholders of the Prison Industrial Complex, the builders and profiteers of mass incarceration. As a result, American jobs are lost and job-seekers are victimized because private industry cannot compete with low-cost and unpaid labor.

When President Trump claimed without evidence that "millions voted illegally" in last year's election, he was roundly criticized by experts and election officials from both parties for falsely undermining faith in our democracy. But rather than back down on his outlandish assertion, Trump doubled down -- ordering Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to "investigate" the integrity of our elections -- both of whom have backed Trump's irresponsible and incorrect claim. Kobach is a particularly worrying pick given his history of voter suppression -- from leading the charge to demand documentary proof of citizenship from already legitimately registered voters, which courts later struck down as unconstitutional, to pushing a shady "cross-check" program that purges thousands of legitimate voters for no reason. We don't buy it -- the Pence-Kobach commission’s real purpose is to justify the President's false claims about illegal voting, and to push policies that will put up barriers to participation for eligible Americans. If they were really interested in dealing with voting problems, they would show how tactics like the ones Kobach has pushed in the past suppress eligible voters -- or cyber-security threats to our election infrastructure. Now, they've sent letters to election officials across the states, asking them to turn over private voter information -- requesting the full name, address, party affiliation, voting history, and partial social security number of every registered voter in the country. Many states’ laws protect how this information is used and shared. Turning everything over to the Pence-Kobach commission would permit Kobach to conduct a nationwide "cross-check" program -- a dubious tactic he says is to find illegal voters, but has flagged false positives in the past, and disenfranchised legitimate, eligible voters. Officials in some states, like California, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Virginia have already done the right thing and refused to turn over private data -- and every state should follow their example. Because the best way to truly uphold the integrity of our elections is by making sure every eligible voter can vote and have their vote counted-- not using false claims about illegal voting to suppress votes. That's why we're calling on state election officials to put their duty to voters in their state before this partisan attack on voting rights -- and refuse to turn over voters' private information to this sham commission.

I am the Secretary of State for California, and I am refusing to hand over ANY data to Trump's "voter fraud commission". You should urge your state officials to do the same. For months now, President Trump has dangerously attacked the legitimacy of our free and fair elections. He continues to repeat false and unsubstantiated voter fraud allegations, all in an attempt to explain away his stunning loss in the popular vote last November. Now, he’s created a so-called “voter fraud commission” that is run by Kris Kobach, a man with a long history of sponsoring discriminatory, anti-immigrant policies including voter suppression and racial profiling laws. It sends a clear and ominous message -- and we have to be prepared to do all we can to save our democracy from Trump and Kobach. This fight is only beginning, but let's pledge through this action to do everything in our power to defend the right of all eligible voters to cast their ballots free from discrimination, intimidation or unnecessary roadblocks. It’s going to be series of tough fights, but I’m certain that if we work together over the next several months and years, we can protect our democracy and resist Trump’s radical voter suppression agenda.

When the Supreme Court issued its ruling last week, allowing Trump's Muslim Ban to go into effect, it included an exemption for individuals with "bona fide" ties to U.S. persons or entities, such as having family members here. But this morning, the State Department—headed by Trump appointee Rex Tillerson—issued guidelines that redefine family in the narrowest and cruelest way possible, limiting the exceptions to just immediate family members and sons- and daughters-in-law. This means that persons with other ties to the U.S.—grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews—are banned due to the racist and anti-Muslim executive orders. This narrow re-definition of family is unacceptable and is clearly intended to break up Muslim and refugee families. We call on elected officials to demand that the State Department reverse these guidelines immediately and let all of our families in. According to Tillerson's State Department: grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancees, and any other relatives do not fit the definition of family members. Yes, you read that right—the Trump administration doesn't think grandmas and grandpas count as family members, and is banning them from the country based on nothing other than where they come from. The executive orders and these State Department guidelines are clearly built on a foundation of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-refugee hate. And it's clear that the administration is still bent on implementing as much of its Muslim Ban as it can get away with. It's up to us to stop them from getting away with it. Tell your elected officials to let Tillerson and the State Department know that it's not up to them to tell us what our families look like—and to call on them to reverse their bizarre and inhumane guidelines.

In recent years, the NYPD has increasingly relied on “Glomar responses”—the CIA tactic of neither confirming nor denying information’s existence—when questioned about its unlawful surveillance of the Muslim community and other activists. Talib Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi have been fighting the NYPD’s responses in a case that is now going to New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. Recently published comments about the case by the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters led to a strong letter from Talib and Samir’s lawyer to Mayor de Blasio calling on him to retract the comments and to “follow through on your promises to support FOIL’s policy of open government.” http://otmlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/OTMLAW-Ltr-to-Mayor-de-Blasio-Retraction-of-Statement-by-NYPD-Deputy-C....pdf. Talib and Samir are not alone. The NYPD threatens Glomar responses to slam the door shut in the faces of countless New Yorkers, making it harder than ever to hold NYPD officials accountable. Activists, journalists, and civil libertarians all depend daily on FOIL to investigate police abuses and to act as citizen watchdogs. The NYPD’s efforts are a flagrant attempt to place itself above our laws and to put the police beyond the reach of the people. Winning in court isn’t the only way to stop Glomar abuse. As a public advocate and candidate, Mayor de Blasio committed to reform the NYPD’s long pattern of surveillance abuses, and we ask him to keep his word. Mayor de Blasio is ultimately responsible for overseeing the legal arguments put forth by the NYPD and the New York City Law Department, and we will treat his silence on Glomar responses as a tacit endorsement of the tactic. With a single phone call, Mayor de Blasio could order the NYPD to comply with its FOIL obligations and cease its obstructionist tactics. We implore Mayor de Blasio to make that call. Frequently Asked Questions What is FOIL? The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) empowers the public to request government documents, providing a vital oversight tool for every aspect of government, and casting sunlight into the darkest corners of our bureaucracy. FOIL is used by journalists, civil rights advocates, and everyday New Yorkers to empower citizen watchdogs. Modeled on the federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), the laws were part of a post-Watergate movement to secure greater transparency and accountability. Are there any limitations on FOIL requests? State lawmakers specified several narrow reasons why a FOIL request might be rejected. For example, an agency can withhold documents which would impede a police investigation or compromise confidential employee records. What is a Glomar response? A Glomar response is the familiar phrase we’ve heard in countless spy movies: “we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the requested information.” In practice, Glomar responses are highly restricted and can only be used by the CIA and other intelligence agencies in the most sensitive cases. Glomar is utterly inconsistent with the FOIL obligations of a municipal police force like the NYPD, which have a much narrower mission and much more limited legal authorities to engage in surveillance and national security investigations. How has the NYPD utilized the Glomar response? Even as the CIA and other intelligence agencies started using Glomar responses in the 1970s, the NYPD never followed suit. For decades, as the NYPD fiercely fought off FOIL requests with every tool available, they never once used Glomar, tacitly acknowledging that New York law didn’t give them that option. In recent years, that changed, as the NYPD made Glomar responses for the first time in FOIL requests relating to information on Imam Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi The NYPD has sought to stonewall these two Muslims because it seems they wanted to avoid embarrassment. The two men are good law-abiding citizens and should not be subjected to surveillance in the first place. The Glomar response does not even give the Court the ability to ascertain the validity of the NYPD’s objection by stating “we cannot confirm or deny” the existence of documents. It does not give the requester the ability to challenge the NYPD when there is an abuse of power. This is in contradiction of the Freedom of Information Law, which requires state and city agencies to search and certify if documents exist or not. The Glomar theory defeats the existence of FOIL and “Open Government” under the New York Constitution, denies people’s procedural rights and prevents the courts from performing their judicial tasks.

This is an issue of consistency, as noted by Fr. James Martin, S.J. on his Facebook page: If bishops ban members of same-sex marriages from receiving a Catholic funeral, they also have to be consistent... Moreover, they must ban anyone who does not care for the poor, or care for the environment, and anyone who supports torture, for those are church teachings too. More basically, they must ban people who are not loving, not forgiving and not merciful, for these represent the teachings of Jesus Christ, the most fundamental of all church teachings. To focus only on LGBT people, without a similar focus on the moral and sexual behavior of straight people is, in the words of the Catechism, a "sign of unjust discrimination" (2358) (https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/posts/10154522014756496).

As Senator Flake and Senator Leahy have said - now is the time for easing restrictions on U.S. dealings with Cuba. On Friday, the Senators called on congressional leaders to allow a vote on bipartisan legislation lifting restrictions on American travel there. America should be leading.

Donald Trump has declared war on people with disabilities in America! Trump wants to take away health care for people with disabilities! Trump has appointed ablest people to his cabinet like Jeff Sessions and Betsy DeVos! Trump wants to cut social security (both SSDI and SSI) by 72 billion dollars! Trump wants to cut public housing, food stamps, and other human services for disabilities by billions of dollars! Trump wants to take away education support for disabled children. Trumps wants to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Rights Act. Trump is an ablest and prejudice against people with disabilities. Don’t forget Trump made fun of that disabled reporter. Trump is creating a holocaust for people with disabilities, but we will not stand for it. Tell Trump and the GOP that we will not stand for this for one second and to stop declaring war on people with disabilities!

Our goal is to make the Stone Mountain Confederate Carving more inclusive and to change its designation. Who should be included in the carving on Stone Mountain? Native Americans, African Americans, women, Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, McCallum, etc. The carving should be removed If it cannot be made more representative of the Civil War history. In 1915, Samuel Venable the principal owner of Stone Mountain was a member of the Klan and hosted KKK events on his mountain for decades afterwards. Both Venable and the carving sculptor Gutzon Borglum were associated with the KKK. The KKK was a terrorist group who believed in white supremacy and race separation. The Venable Brothers deeded the north face of the mountain to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916 to create the carving. The UDC established the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association (SMCMA) for fundraising and on-site supervision of the project. The Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association was packed with KKK members. In 1958, the State of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain. However, the Confederate Carving was not completed until 1972. The story of Stone Mountain actually predates both the first white settlers and the Creek Indians before them. At least 12 Archaic Indian sites have been identified in the vicinity of Stone Mountain. Crystal Mountain was the name given it in 1567 when Spanish explorer Juan Pardo visited it, in search of the Moundbuilder civilization discovered by deSoto on an earlier trip. The Moundbuilders were gone, replaced by Creek Indians who called the peak Lone Mountain and used the easily spotted mountain as a meeting place. In the early 19th century, the area was known as Rock Mountain. Woodland Indians built a rock wall, encircling the top of the mountain. By the beginning of the 20th century the wall had disappeared. At the beginning of the Civil War, 22 million people lived in the North and 9 million people (4 million of whom were slaves) lived in the South. About 2.75 million soldiers fought in the Civil War 2 million for the North and 750,000 for the South. Over ninety-five percent of African Americans lived in the South. Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War. By the end of the Civil War, roughly179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Even though a majority of African Americans lived in the South, the racism was so deep that African Americans were not allowed to join the Confederate army or have weapons. They served only in support roles. 28,693 Native Americans served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. 250 documented cases of women serving as soldiers in the Civil War but it is suspected there were many more than that.