We, the undersigned, together with Don’t Shoot Portland, the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs, SURJ Portland, and members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem's Social Justice Team, call upon Governor Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney, House Speaker Tina Kotek, and every other state legislator to acknowledge that Black Lives Matter and to acknowledge the following: The Problem—The Mississippi state flag, prominently displaying the Confederate battle flag in its design, flies in “Walk of Flags” Park. The Confederate battle flag is problematic in the following ways: —As a symbol of terror, hate and racist ideology, now and in the past. The symbols on the Confederate battle flag have always been used in conjunction with white supremacy. —As a symbol of the fight to maintain institutional human slavery. Flying the flag conveys the message that “The South will rise again” which, to people of color, means a return to exploitation and the enacted belief that some people are inherently worth less than others. —As a symbol used recently in Oregon, for example, to protest President Obama’s visit supporting the families affected by the terrorist shooting in Roseburg. Racism has no place in Oregon. The symbology of hate and terror are not acceptable. The Impact—The impact of the State of Oregon flying the flag of the State of Mississippi is that Oregon symbolically supports the legacy of racism. People who live in Oregon both expect and deserve more, specifically expressions of government that aspire to equality and justice for all, rather than lifting up and affirming white supremacy, which does real harm in our state every day. Flying this flag says that Oregon is home for some, but not all, which is the wrong message for our state. The Solution—For too long, Oregonians have remained silent in the face of state-supported racism. This time, Oregonians will not remain silent and will begin to loosen the stranglehold that racism has on the state. The time to face this facet of the problem is now. The removal of Confederate flag symbol is a significant step towards racial equity and sends a clear signal to Mississippi and the rest of the nation that everyone must begin the real work needed to dismantle racism. As Oregon confronts the legacy of this flag, it must confront its own legacy of forming redlines, sundown towns, and other ways it continues to systematically marginalize and hurt people of color. The Action—Therefore, we call upon Oregon state lawmakers to take immediate action to remove the Mississippi flag from the “Walk of Flags” Park until such time as the citizens of Mississippi remove all racist symbology from their banner. January is not soon enough; the time to act is now.

In 2014, Alabama became one of a handful of states requiring voters to show government ID in order to vote. The rule was only allowed as a result of the 2013 Supreme Court decision removing Alabama and a handful of other states, from jurisdiction under the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, passed after the famous "March on Washington," to prevent voter suppression. During a September 2015 special session, the Alabama state legislature voted to immediately close 31 driver license bureaus in the state, making it harder to get the ID required to vote. The closed bureaus are disproportionately located in counties with high Black voter registration rolls. Today, eight of the 10 counties with majority Black voters have no driver license bureaus at all. Mercedes-Benz opened its only U.S. manufacturing plant in 1993 just south of Birmingham. The plant sits on 1,000 acres of land given by the state of Alabama for free to Mercedes. The luxury car company has publicly touted its responsible corporate citizenship in the state. In 2012 governor Bentley visited Germany to personally thank the Mercedes corporation for opening the plant in Alabama.

I have been collecting data for those killed in southern California in preparation for the national march to stop police terror and murder in NYC on Oct. 22-24. The brief summaries submitted by the police are heart-rending (and collected by The Guardian US). Something must be done so that these murders are not forgotten as the inexorable news cycle moves on to the next atrocity.

The students of the American Indian Association at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) would like to call attention to the Christopher Columbus statue on the campus of UAB. In school, we are taught that he was the brave hero who discovered the Americas, but the legacy of Columbus is not one to be celebrated. In reality, the effects of Columbus's colonization severely harmed the Native American population and led to the genocide of millions. This led to historical discrimination and mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples that still remains today. Columbus is not a representative of diversity, but he is instead a representative of white-washed American history. The Columbus statue is located on the terrace of the UAB Smolian International House. UAB is one of the top ranking universities in the United States of America for diversity and this statue represents neither UAB nor our current diversity. We suggest that the UAB administrators, faculty, students, and staff remove this statue and replace it with a statue that better represents the diversity of our campus! Please sign your name and list your zip code on our petition, which we will present to the UAB administrators, faculty, students, and staff.

Children should not be hit. Women cannot legally be hit, animals cannot legally be hit, if an adult strikes another adult they will be arrested, yet it's legal to hit a child in the name of discipline without question. Why are the most fragile and vulnerable allowed to be hurt? This needs to stop.

This is a change that is long overdue. Many indigenous people have already made the holiday their own. Changing consciousness requires changes in syntax.

To convince the opponents of this Act that it is a civil right to have the CHOICE to end suffering if given a terminal diagnosis of less than six months to live.

This is about getting what the descendants of slaves are owed. Every race, except Africans, have received and continue to receive reparations for what was wrongfully done to their ancestors.

Alabama just closed 31 drivers license bureaus in counties with the highest percentage of non-white voters. Every county with over 75% of registered voters that are African-American will have their DMV office closed. Alabama requires voters to have photo ID to vote, so this will disenfranchise the voters in those counties. The Justice Department can put a stop to this, they are the best hope for upholding the rights of all Alabama voters. Reference: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/alabama_sends_message_we_are_t.html UPDATE 12-9-15: Great news! The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into the closure or reduction in services at 34 drivers' license office in Alabama, "as part of the agency's responsibilities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make sure federal dollars going to state and local governments are used in a non-discriminatory fashion". http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/12/us_dot_launches_investigation.html UPDATE 10-16-15: Alabama Governor Bentley says drivers license tests will be offered 1 day a month in those counties that formerly had an office. It's a start, but as Rep. Sewell put it, it provides "only bare minimum access". Please keep contacting the DOJ to make this right. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/gov_robert_bentley_says_licens.html UPDATE 10-13-15: Alabama Governor Bentley is considering a plan to open the 31 drivers license bureaus back up, but nothing is decided yet. Please keep the pressure on. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/bentley_plan_would_reopen_clos.html UPDATE 10-5-15: The Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund have asked the DOJ to investigate, as has Rep. Terri Sewell (who represents the Selma area of Alabama). "Dena Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, confirmed that the department had received Sewell’s letter, declining to comment further." Please keep contacting the DOJ. http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/alabama-dmv-closings-draw-call-federal-voting-rights-probe

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. As noted, the text of the petition should be modified to "Amelia Boynton Robinson" Bridge, who passed away in August 2015. "Amelia" is a much nicer sounding name than "Edmund." That she was beaten on this bridge by racists renders this an act of poetic justice.

Following their private meeting in Washington the Pope defended Kim Davis' right to conscientious objection. She has this right, but not the right to break Federal law and deny the Civil Liberties of others.

TDCJ is currently violating the U.S. Constitution and international human rights standards by the cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of exposing people to temperature extremes of heat indexes of up to and over 149 degrees. Despite several deaths, a plethora of media reports, wrongful death lawsuits filed, and complaints from family members and union officials for well over 15 years, TDCJ is still refusing to provide humane temperature control conditions for the people in their care.