We got yet another reminder of the crying need for effective and powerful civilian oversight of the police from both the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the brutal overreactions of police departments across the country to the resulting demonstrations. But Oakland has the potential to be different and to lead the way for the rest of the country. Although we have a strong community-led police commission to oversee our police department, the City Administration’s resistance has hobbled the Commission. The Commission’s powers need to be clarified in a new ballot measure that would further amend the City Charter. The Coalition for Police Accountability has partnered with the Police Commission to create a joint Charter amendment that will allow the Commission to be truly effective in ensuring that the Oakland Police Department is firmly and permanently dedicated to constitutional policing. When this Charter amendment is enacted, we will finally be able to transition from federal court oversight through the NSA to local oversight by the Commission. Those who see political advantage in opposing progressive reform have been promoting the idea that the Commission is trying to enlarge its power and interfere with the operations of the Police Department. That is simply not true. Please look carefully at the changes we are proposing and evaluate them for yourselves. The main changes from current law that the Coalition and the Police Commission are proposing are as follows: 1. The Commission can hire its own attorneys who will report to it and not the City Attorney. 2. The Commission will be able to hire an Inspector General who will audit the police department and be able to recommend policy changes to the Commission. 3. The Commission will have access to all police department records and files. 4. The Commission will be able to impose discipline in cases where the investigations have not been completed in time or when required body camera footage has not been a component of the investigation. We want the Police Commission/Coalition draft adopted–there is strong community support for it. District 1 residents are asking Councilmember Dan Kalb and Council President Rebecca Kaplan to please move forward with these important changes. We are living through unprecedented times that demand bolder action by the Oakland City Council.

To Posse National, Posse Alumni, Current Posse Scholars, and all friends/supporters of Posse, Pain. Grief. Hopelessness. Fury. Exhaustion. For many of us we are experiencing the full range of these heavy but familiar emotions, yet again. Even in the middle of a global pandemic, our Black family is being hunted down like animals. Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Justin Howell, Sean Monterrosa, Jamel Floyd, Freddie Gray, Korryn Gaines, Sandra Bland, Botham Jean, Jamar Clark, Dreasjon Reed, Ezell Ford, Michael Brown, Michelle Shirley, Redel Jones, Kenney Watkins, Stephon Clark, Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Eleanor Bumpers, Alberta Spruill, the list goes on. We Posse alumni and scholars are reaching out to rise in solidarity as “one Posse” against racial injustice. Based on the 2019 Posse Alumni Report, the Black community makes up the greatest percentage by race of our reported alumni and together with the Latinx community represents the majority. Therefore, the majority of our Posse community is facing racial injustices head-on and deserves to be supported by the organization, which quite frankly benefits from the systemic injustices that exist in this nation - specifically educational inequity. There would be no Posse without the Black community. As Debbie Bial explained in her June 2nd email, we too believe that this is precisely the time to tap into our collective capacity as an organization. But words like “leverage” and “network”, we are afraid, are performative at best, and complicit at worst. It has become evident that moral support and statements are not what drive progress. Action does. We request that The Posse Foundation publicly support, advance and adopt the three efforts below in a much needed attempt to combat racial injustice: A) NAACP’s 10 Demands We request that The Posse Foundation publicly support the NAACP’s 10 demands for all police departments. These 10 demands also align with the #wearedonedying social justice movement campaign. We believe this is a key step towards lessening police brutality nationwide and elevating the importance of Black and brown lives. B) #8toAbolition We request that The Posse Foundation publicly support the #8toAbolition campaign whose chief priorities are to “focus on concrete actions such as reducing police budgets, rather than introducing abstract procedural rules that are easily undercut by police”. Conversely, the 8cantwait campaign has already been adopted in a variety of states, yet continues to prove ineffective at curtailing the gestapo-like tactics that continually claim Black lives for sport. The #8toAbolition mission forces us to reimagine this country without police. A country that heals and nourishes communities of color rather than criminalizing and crippling them. C) Create a “Posse Peace Program” at Each Posse City Site We have seen organizations use their gifts/resources/power to put weight behind their words. Ben & Jerry’s issued a powerful statement calling for action to “Dismantle White Supremacy”. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey donated $3 million dollars to Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Campaign.” LA Mayor Eric Garcetti cut $150 million from LAPD and is planning to reinvest in communities of color. Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from its board and is asking for his seat to be filled with a Black candidate. Even beauty companies are stepping up to the plate. Everlane is donating $75,000 to the ACLU and EJI, respectively. Anastasia pledged $1 million dollars and several others followed suit. Below are the ideas and on how The Posse Foundation can go about creating a “Posse Peace Program”: 1) Similar to PNAAC representatives, Posse city sites will work with appointed peace representatives in each city to fully support our scholars who risk their safety at protests. The representative will help disseminate protest information. They will remain peaceful at protests via adhering to a set of guidelines that scholars, alumni, and the Posse Leadership Team will have agreed upon.. 2) Allocate funding to gather/provide materials for protesters: face masks, gas masks, heat resistant gloves, protective eyewear, protective headgear, earplugs, elbow/knee pads, and water. While it pains us that protection is necessary, it is necessary nonetheless. In many states across the U.S. peaceful protesters have been met with violence, so we must take a “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst” stance. If you do not fear for your life the way we do, then your privilege allows you to do so. 3) If adopted, The Posse Foundation should publicly announce the start of the Posse Peace Program initiative to scholars, alumni, donors, employees, etc. 4) The Posse Foundation should also encourage members of its sites’ staff to be present at these peaceful protests and demonstrations. To our Posse family, we are certain we are not alone in feeling the urgency of this moment. Therefore, we have created a petition to solicit signatures from Posse scholars and alumni across the national network. Click here to sign the petition. To Posse National, we expect you to take these requests to heart & we look forward to collaborating in the very near future. #WeAreDoneDying and we are done asking. Lastly, if you would like to to share thoughts and opinions on the petition, the role of Posse in ending racial injustice, etc., click here. ---> https://forms.gle/4L2no82tDiDwcSNq5 Sincerely, and with Posse Love, Shaquille Anderson (Boston Bucknell Posse 5 and NAACP 2020 Next Gen Member) Gia Ciccolo (Boston Bucknell Posse 4) Nigel Henry Robinson (Boston Bucknell Posse 4) Alvaro J. Peters (Boston Union Posse 5)

In a moment of global crisis — the racism crisis, the police violence crisis, the pandemic crisis — we must not forget that climate change looms behind all of our struggles for justice and better lives. As our existential tipping point approaches, the humble beaver could be a valuable ally in mitigating the impacts of global warming on the forests, waters, farms and cities of Oregon and the Northwest. The beaver is a keystone species that creates habitat for many other plants and animal. Beavers can sequester water at high elevations in natural structures that feed streams, rivers and reservoirs during dry seasons. Beaver wetlands slow and divert wildfires. Vegetation submerged in beaver ponds captures and stores carbon that would otherwise add to the greenhouse gas burden in our atmosphere. Before the arrival of Hudson's Bay Company trappers three centuries ago, tens of millions of beavers controlled the hydrology of North America. If beavers are allowed to repopulate our public wild lands, they will help protect our domestic and agricultural water supplies for centuries to come. All we need to do is cease our extermination campaign. Beavers will rebound and do the work for which they evolved ... at no charge to our public or private bank accounts.

This is a symbol of slavery and racism in a area that is mixed. THIS shows the lack of RESPECT and DISRESPECT towards the AFRICAN AMERICANS in the COMMUNITY..

Phoenix Section Zoning Ordinance 660 - Four Corner Overlay District restricts use for a Mortuary without obtaining a special permit; residents helped to develop this Overlay to prevent certain businesses from operating in the community. The City of Phoenix has invested over 50 million dollars in the revitalization of South Phoenix Village, which would make it irresponsible to allow a business that falls outside of the criteria of the Overlay. The Four Corner Sites need retail businesses, which are desired by the residents. Clean up of this area needed to take place before this area could attract these businesses. The diverse population of new homeowners who have invested in 30 year mortgages in a new home deserve respect and the utmost consideration through denial of this special permit request for a mortuary. I am one of hundreds of residents that are requesting that respect and consideration. We have nearly 30 churches within a couple miles radius of this location to extend chapel services, we have the Broadway Heritage Resource Center within a block of the building to hold community meetings, and most importantly we have nearly 30 funeral homes within less than 10 miles of the proposed building. Please stand with me by signing this petition of opposition. Let’s make our position as a community clear, instead of allowing individuals outside our community make decisions that benefit their endeavors. Together we have a powerful voice!

If he is not immediately removed from office (and subsequently arrested for his multiple crimes against humanity), this country, with all the immense challenges it is facing, will not survive until November. He has made it abundantly clear he will not cede control of the office of president, regardless of the outcome. He has sanctioned the murder and open violence against the majority of the electorate by his sharing the despicable vitriol of a supporter stating "the only good Democrat is a DEAD Democrat". He has openly called for the unlawful and illegal suppression of our constitutional rights to redress our grievances and lawful assembly- as he did in his phone address to our Nation's Governors on June 1st, 2020.

"The one word I have to use with respect to what he's been doing for the last several years is the word I would never have used before, never would have used with any of the four presidents I worked for: He lies. He lies about things, and he gets away with it because people will not hold him accountable." Colin Powell, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Speaking of President Trump, on June 7, 2020 Finally, we are hearing a voice from the Republican Party, acknowledging that the Republian leadership in government and congress are major contributors to the disentangling of the democratic fabric of our county. While there has never been as divisive a President as Donald Trump, every American should realize that the problem is not just with a single leader but with an entire entrenched system that has come to depend on and embrace the manipulation, intimidation, and disinformation his every word and action exemplifies. We must take action against this oppressive regime and call on all who enable it to step aside now.

If these businesses remain closed, people in already corona ravaged communities will suffer further indignities and injustices. They will have to travel further to receive much needed medicine, food, or essential goods. Or they will have to wait longer for essentials to be delivered by an already strained postal system. We are all mutually dependent on one another: businesses on people, and people on businesses. Let's repair our communities and heal this NOW!

This is to save what is left of the United States. We as Americans have to do our part in making sure we save our country.

We talk a lot about equity and fairness on our campus it is time we walked the walk and not just talked a lot of empty talk.  Tell Chancellor Johnson to do the humane thing.

Many of us are suffering economically due to the COVID crisis.Sm businesses,frontline workers, individuals don't have enough for everyday expenses.The Heroes Act would help w/that!It's tax payer money, that has been deducted from our pay specifically for times like this.You act as if it's your money out of your pocket, & yet I doubt you've contributed much to it as the wealthy don't pay their share in taxes.

South Carolina has effectively bent the COVID19 curve by following a stay-at-home order for several weeks. Knowing that asymptomatic people can spread the virus, the only way to continue to control the epidemics while safely reopening the economy is to require people to wear a mask in public places and at work, in addition to appropriate social distancing. If I am fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to work from home and choose to only shop in retails where customers and employees are required to wear face protection, I am confident that extending this rule to every business would allow a lot more people to feel safer going out. Our economy would then restart much faster!