As parent advocates we are pushing back on rumored Education Secretary nominee Lily Eskelsen García, who's a fierce opponent of school choice. As Jeanne Allen, president and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, notes in Forbes, "She has compared choice for poor kids to 'snake oil,' and has argued that 'everything about ‘school choice’ leaves students out in the cold.'"

The nearly 8% or $3 million + increase in the Elgin Police Department budget is excessive. This money should be reallocated to support community based services such as the creation of an Elgin Health and Human Services Department that would include mental health, addiction treatment, housing, food distribution, nutrition, education, recreation, job development, public transportation, accessibility to resources, infrastructure, etc. The Elgin Police Department’s proposed budget for 2021 is well over $51 million. This is absurd. Crime statistics are trending down. The community needs expanded social services not weaponized control. Over policing is a clear manifestation of systemic and structural racism. The community needs to hold the City Council, City Manager and Mayor accountable to prioritize community well being with investment in basic human dignity and the expansion of systems of social justice. El aumento de casi 8% o más de $ 3 millones en el presupuesto para el Departamento de Policía de Elgin es excesivo. Este dinero debe reasignarse para apoyar servicios comunitarios como la creación de un Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Elgin que incluiría salud mental, tratamiento de adicciones, vivienda, distribución de alimentos, nutrición, educación, recreación, desarrollo laboral, transporte público, accesibilidad a recursos, infraestructura, etc. El presupuesto propuesto por el Departamento de Policía de Elgin para el 2021 supera con creces los $ 51 millones. Esto es absurdo. Las estadísticas sobre delitos están a la baja. La comunidad necesita servicios sociales ampliados, no un control armado sobre la población. La vigilancia excesiva es una clara manifestación de racismo sistémico y estructural. La comunidad debe responsabilizar al Concejo Municipal, al Administrador de la ciudad y al Alcalde de priorizar el bienestar de la comunidad con la inversión en nuestra dignidad humana básica y la expansión de los sistemas de justicia social.

Oscar Cain Jr was a passionate leader and even traveled to Ferguson to support the Black Lives Matter community during protests for Mike Brown. He was well loved in the community and was a part of many different organizations that dealt with issues such as voting rights and housing equality. He was a strong advocate for police use of body cameras and spent much of his time educating and speaking about this issue. Ironically, Cain, a father of two small children, was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer that did not have his body camera on. Marquee Kelley, the Atlanta Police Officer who shot and killed Cain, claims someone told him they saw a man with a gun, and that when Kelley spotted Cain and tried to arrest him, Cain fled into a dark wooded area. According to Kelley’s story, he saw Cain with a gun in his hand so he shot Cain. Cain was shot in the back. He became the 7th activist who marched on the frontlines in Ferguson to die under suspicious circumstances. APD officer Kelley’s entire written report regarding the incident was three sentences and because Kelley’s body camera and dash camera were turned off when he shot Cain, there is no audio or video evidence of the shooting. Oscar Cain Jr was known to lead marches saying, “I am somebody and I deserve full equality. Right here. Right now.”

Right now, the US government is dynamiting our borderlands, destroying ecosystems, violating sacred native territories, and carving a path of destruction through our US border cities. Joe Biden can stop all of this immediately, fulfilling his campaign promise that "There will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration." (8/5/2020) Despite being defeated, Trump ignored the election results and has continued building the wall at at warp speed, setting the stage for wall construction to continue well into the Biden administration. It can only be stopped if Biden issues an Executive Order. Your signature will be delivered to members of the Biden/Harris team, and help save countless communities under attack. Your signatures will... HALT THE DESTRUCTION: The wall is not a fence. It is 3-story-tall prison-style barrier (more than twice the height of the Berlin Wall) surrounded by a militarized security zone the width of a football field. It has lasting, devastating impacts on every US community in which it is built. It destroys nature ecosystems and sacred native sites. For example, in just a single US city that the wall would impact, Laredo, TX the wall will carve a path of destruction through over 1000 people's homes, public parks, and even an orphanage run by nuns. https://bit.ly/3hJq3sN SAVE BILLIONS, SAVE LIVES: Halting wall construction and tearing it down would save the US government billions of dollars that can be devoted to the real emergency needs of our country, like Covid relief. The wall costs between $20-30 million for every single mile, which we can instead use to fund housing, education, health care and other real needs. For example, just a single mile of wall can fund over 300,000 Covid vaccine doses. https://bit.ly/2WtkHrX STOP FUELING VIOLENT RACISM: For Trump's most violent supporters, the wall is their single greatest symbol of inspiration, one that fuels violent racist attacks across the country. "Build The Wall!" has become a chant at MAGA rallies in Washington DC, and a slur shouted during assaults on people of color in states as far away from the border as Michigan and Pennsylvania. The wall is a national issue. Stopping the wall helps shut down this engine of racism. https://bit.ly/2WtkHrX END THE FAKE "EMERGENCY": There is no "national emergency" happening on the border. FBI statistics show border cities are among the safest in the United States. The wall is based on a lie, and serves no actual security purpose on the border. Data: https://bit.ly/37ytD5u RESTORE EQUAL RIGHTS: To build the wall, Trump has been seizing public and private lands of thousands of US citizens, and tossing aside over 40 federal laws like the Clean Water Act. As a result, people who live on the border have fewer constitutional rights than those who live in the rest of the US. Help restore the rights of border citizens. STOP THE CORRUPTION: The wall is a feeding frenzy for corrupt contractors, putting billions of dollars of taxpayer handouts directly in the hands of Trump cronies, some of whom are right now under federal investigation for fraud. You can help end this corrupt spending spree. https://bit.ly/34v8es4 Tell Biden to immediately halt all construction and cancel all funding for this harmful and wasteful wall.

Crowell & Moring represents Crosley Green in his fight to prove his innocence in the 1989 murder of Charles “Chip” Flynn Jr. Mr. Green has served more than 30 years in prison, including 19 years on Florida’s death row, while maintaining his innocence. Crowell & Moring has represented Mr. Green pro bono since 2008 on referral from the ABA Death Penalty Project. On September 5, 1990, an all-white jury convicted Mr. Green of first-degree murder of Mr. Flynn, a 22-year-old man in Titusville, Fla., and sentenced him to death. In 2009, Crowell & Moring won Mr. Green’s release from death row. He is currently serving a life sentence. On July 20, 2018, the firm secured a critical victory in the case when a federal court in Orlando, Fla., granted Mr. Green’s petition for habeas corpus. The court found that Mr. Green’s constitutional rights were violated when Brevard County, Fla., prosecutors withheld key exculpatory evidence of Mr. Green’s innocence in his 1990 trial for the murder of Mr. Flynn. The state of Florida is appealing the ruling, arguing that Mr. Green should not be granted a new trial. The case is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. As Mr. Green’s case awaits a ruling from the appellate court, Crowell & Moring filed an emergency motion at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to request Mr. Green’s immediate release due to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Calhoun Correctional Institution in Blountstown, Fla. The motion was denied.

Rahm Emanuel‘s decisions and policies as mayor had a disproportionate and racist impact on Black communities, and his agenda aided corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Chicagoans. To aid his re-election campaign in 2015, he suppressed video footage of the 2014 murder of a 17-year-old Black child, Laquan McDonald, by Chicago police. He made history by closing 50 public schools across Chicago, primarily in the majority-Black South and West Side communities of the city—the most school closures at one time in any school districts in the nation. During his first year in office, his administration shut down half of the public mental health clinics across Chicago. Soon after taking office, he eliminated the city’s Department of Environment, and as a result, environmental regulation dropped considerably. Communities of color throughout Chicago have borne the brunt of this decision, and thousands of people (primarily Black families) have been exposed to chemical hazards and irritants as a result. And while his administration was consistently slashing public services and utilities, the city funded the construction of a brand-new, $95-million police academy on Chicago’s West Side. The Department of Transportation has unions representing over 38,000 employees at the federal and national level. As mayor of Chicago, in addition to closing 50 schools, Emanuel repeatedly attacked public unions by supporting legislation that would make it harder for teachers to strike, laid off hundreds of school staff, and threatened to lay off hundreds of city employees in order to privatize some city services. Emanuel served big business and corporate interests throughout his time as mayor, and his decisions disproportionately harmed working families and communities of color. We have no reason to believe that he’d act any differently as a member of President-elect Biden’s Cabinet. President-elect Biden is taking office during a time of deep, overlapping crises. His administration will need to be bold, ambitious, and transformative and will need to speak to the needs of everyday people, and he needs to stand up for Black communities, as he said he would last month. His appointees must reflect that vision. Rahm Emanuel's track record is an affront to everything we voted for—especially to Black Americans—and he should have no place in the new administration.

This is a letter from his mother- My name is Montye Benjamin I am the mother of Jayvis LeDell Benjamin. Jayvis was UNARMED and killed by officer Lynn Thomas of the Avondale Estates Police Department in Dekalb county Georgia. I would like the opportunity to share with you my experience seeking justice for my son. As his mother I will continue to be his Advocate and voice that was silence by officer Thomas who sentencing Jayvis to a roadside execution, being the judge and jury on the street. My journey includes many barriers that was put in place attempting to force me to quit or having no hope for justice with limited resources, legal counseling and mainly with little to no support from my community. On the night that my son was killed, a false narrative was given that he stole a car and assaulted officer who commanded him to get back in a wrecked car. I did not find out the truth until I appeared before the Grand Jury that my son only ran a red light. On January 18, 2013, Jayvis ran a red-light losing control of the car he was driving running into a telephone pole head on. Officer Thomas witness Jayvis running the light then calling into dispatch stating, “that guy is going 120 miles an hour, I am going to go look for him”. Upon arriving officer Thomas exits his patrol car approaches Jayvis and begin to pat both his left and right side appearing to decide either to use his tazer or gun. Officer Thomas then release from the holster his gun pointing it directly at Jayvis, before Jayvis exit the car. Jayvis then proceed to exit the car brushing away the broken window on the driver side, once he exits he then raised his hand up stating “Do ya’ll see this $h1#. Do see ya’ll see what he trying to do to me” repeatedly and then officer Thomas shouting, “get back into the car”. At no time did officer Thomas access for injuries from the impact of the car hitting the telephone pole. You can see that Jayvis was engaging with the people in the community that began to come out of their home because the power was knock out and the loud noise of the impact hitting the telephone pole. On April 30, 2015 a Grand Jury hearing “Strongly Advised Indictment” of Officer Thomas. On May 1, 2015 DA James announced during a press conference that a warrant would be issued for Officer Thomas and he would appear before a criminal grand jury. Almost a year later the Former DA presented an altered clip of the dash cam video, only showing Jayvis and not officer Thomas exiting the patrol car. Former DA Robert James ruled the shooting justified stating that he did not agree with the jury decision and they needed to be trained to evaluate a police involve shooting. The case was in the appellate court process because the judge dismissed the case. This decision was made on the altered video that was entered to the court and not the same one that was shown during the grand jury hearing. Five months after DA James rule the shooting justified Officer Thomas was promoted to chief of his department. Several request by me and my attorney’s to get the original dash cam video and we are yet to received it or our request has ever been honored. Jayvis and I have been “Denied Due Process”. I am so glad that I was able to view the dash cam video during the grand jury hearing, had I not seen it I would have never known the TRUTH. Jayvis should’ve received a traffic citation and a day in court, not a death sentence. There was no police chase, stolen car report or fitting any description. It wasn’t until after Jayvis was DEAD, that thomas came up with the stolen car report. Also, a background check was done on Jayvis after he was murdered and conducted by the GBI and the DA office showing he did not have any altercations or a criminal record with the justice system. It was the GBI investigator that actually motivated me to look deeper into Jayvis case. When I spoke with him he said that he could not discuss Jayvis case because of the open investigation by the DA office, but that I needed to request all copies of each investigation. The GBI completed their investigation March 2013, and the DA did not completed his until April 2015. For the justice system to function the way it does today I know I may not see justice in my life time but at least I do know the truth and he was murdered by lynn thomas. The only purpose of his badge, gun and uniform is to protect himself with the support of the court system that expect the average citizen to respect the very laws they are paid to enforce. I am presently requesting that Jayvis case be reopened with a special prosecutor and investigator with true transparency. I have been fighting Justice for Jayvis, for the last 7 years. I will continue to do so with my last breathe. My son was racially profiled and murdered with no accountability or remorse for life lost due to thomas incompetence and negligence. Thomas holding the position of chief has really taunted the respect, integrity and honor of the title chief.

On May 16, 2016, Jabril Robinson and his gf were having an altercation outside his gf’s mothers house. The gf’s mother called police wanting police to help de-escalate the fight, but she was quoted as saying, “If I knew they was gonna kill that young man I would have never got them police involved. Never. I love that boy like a son. God! God this is crazy!” She just wanted their help. Both Robinson’s gf and gf’s mother kept being questioned if Robinson had a gun multiple times even though they kept saying that he didn’t. Officers told the mother and gf that they would look for him, talk to him, and bring him back. When Clayton County Police Officer Charlie McDaniel and Dwayne Parkin spotted Robinson, he ran and they chased him behind the house where they shot him multiple times in the back. When he struggled to get up, they shot him in the back of the head. They were called to de-escalate, so why did Jabril Robinson end up dead? Sounds like Charlie McDaniel and Dwayne Parkin, who are civil officers, decided to take the law into their own hands over an argument between two civilians that they are meant to protect.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been named Ambassador to Japan, but he hasn't yet been confirmed for the position. Emanuel had an absolutely disastrous record as mayor between 2011 and 2019. His decisions and policies had a disproportionate and racist impact on Black communities, and his agenda aided corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Chicagoans. To aid his re-election campaign in 2015, he suppressed video footage of the 2014 murder of a 17-year-old Black child, Laquan McDonald, by Chicago police. He made history by closing 50 public schools across Chicago, primarily in the majority-Black South Side and West Side communities of the city—the most school closures at one time in any school districts in the nation. During his first year in office, his administration shut down half of the public mental health clinics across Chicago. Soon after taking office, he eliminated the city’s Department of Environment, and as a result, environmental regulation dropped considerably. Communities of color throughout Chicago have borne the brunt of this decision, and thousands of people (primarily Black and Latinx families) have been exposed to chemical hazards and irritants as a result. And while his administration was consistently slashing public services and utilities, the city funded the construction of a brand-new, $95-million police academy on Chicago’s West Side. As mayor of Chicago, in addition to closing 50 schools, Emanuel repeatedly attacked public unions by supporting legislation that would make it harder for teachers to strike, laid off hundreds of school staff, and threatened to lay off hundreds of city employees in order to privatize some city services. Emanuel served big business and corporate interests throughout his time as mayor, and his decisions disproportionately harmed working families and communities of color. There's no reason why he should be rewarded with a public office, especially one in which he is representing the United States on a global stage. We are asking that President Biden withdraws Emanuel's nomination—and we're also calling on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote to oppose it.

We need people who represent the hard working, ethical people of North Dakota. Civil rights should be important to the people who represent us. The constitution was written for all!

At this formative moment for racial justice in our society, CUNY must use its naming rights to elevate someone who reflects the multiply diverse backgrounds--in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, immigrant origins--of the student population. Otherwise, there will never be a building named after someone who reflects the backgrounds of CUNY students and who can therefore truly inspire them.

These long-suffering Elders have already been forced to survive four, five and nearly six decades of torturous confinement. Many were victims and survivors of the U.S. government's admittedly repressive "counter-intelligence programs" to discredit and destroy African American leadership and our Black organizations. They deserve immediate release and return to their families and our communities. Thank you.