This issue strikes home and is of utmost importance because I am an American citizen of Latino descent that cares about the welfare of my people and humanity in all regards; regardless of color, religion, or background. My brother in-law Edgar Antonio Guerra has been detained for over a year; enough is enough. I implore to ask yourself, What would Jesus do?...

Dear Sir, It goes on to say that “Columbus Day is a painful symbol of traumatic past.” It’s time we do something about it. We are suggesting, instead of celebrating Columbus Day, we need to honor The Indigenous people by dedicating a Day of Solidarity and Mourning with the Indigenous Peoples. Fact of the matter is, Columbus’ atrocities against humanity are as follow. Raping, pillaging, murders lynching, stealing, just to name a few. Nonetheless, he’s glorified and immortalized by a national holiday in his name because he is credited with "discovering" America. The ancestors of living Native Americans arrived in what is now the United States at least 15,000 years ago, possibly much earlier, from Asia via Beringia. A vast variety of peoples, societies and cultures subsequently developed. Native Americans were greatly affected by the European colonization of the Americas, which began in 1492, and their population declined precipitously mainly due to introduced diseases as well as warfare including biological warfare, the territorial confiscation and slavery. History proves, The Native Americans were already here, of course; and his arrival on the shores of North America began the centuries-old campaign of theft, murder, and dehumanization that has robbed native nations of their lands, their health, and their dignity. By his own account, Columbus enslaved people, destroyed cultures, and terrorized those who challenged his rule. It is time government did something about it. Wistfully, and regretfully, there is little we can do to restore the tribes that were decimated by Europeans' greed, but we can begin to rectify this horrific injustice by refusing to glorify Columbus. Instead recognizing our shared humanity with the natives whose lives and land are continue to be destroyed. It is time to stop celebrating the crimes of Columbus. We must stand in solidarity with the Indigenous people. We demand an end to Columbus Day. Instead of glorifying a person who enslaved and murdered people, destroyed cultures, and terrorized those who challenged his rule, we seek to honor these communities hereby demanding sovereignty, recognition, and rights. We encourage our government to introduce legislation to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day

The eyes of the rest of America will be on you and your state. Failing to fully correct this gap runs the risk of an indeterminate election outcome for which you will be held accountable. The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". Governor Kemp, this is YOUR purview and YOUR responsibility to insure that the residents of Georgia are represented and the residents of the other 49 states, the District of Columbia and the 16 territories are not impacted or held hostage to any disputable election outcome because of your negligence. Should you fail to insure a smooth and flawless election without incident you can expect consequences which may range from calling for your resignation, state-wide protests and/or boycotts. You are highly encourage to insure that you fulfill the responsibility of the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Symbols of racism propagate racism. Symbols of hope propagate hope. Let's put Tennessee on the right side of history.

Because city has not met with the community and was never approved by the residents of Little Village.We are the tax payers and will not allow this company to make profit of our land.

In a protest situation, even though peaceful, crowds can become unpredictable placing the horse in harm's way. This was witnessed last week when a brick was thrown at a horse's face in Dallas, TX, causing injury. There are other ways to gauge crowd size that are less expensive and do not put these animals in danger (i.e., drone).

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.

The murders of George Floyd, Sean Monterrosa, Stephon Clark, Oscar Grant and many, many other instances of racism, brutality and murder by police, highlight the need for major reforms in law enforcement, including enhanced training, transparency, and accountability. We can no longer allow police departments to self-regulate. Too often, police misconduct gets swept under the rug, and officers are able to continue working or transfer to another department after documented instances of misconduct. Police are granted extraordinary power and authority over the rest of us and carry around dangerous weapons, yet they have less training, experience, or oversight than many others who perform valuable services to our community.

View full letter here for more details on the policies we are demanding: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r46kOyh3c27hz0412kWD9eeMHCO7TW0CXt9ucVad2r4/edit?usp=sharing We need a new normal and that requires a new strategy. It is not enough to say you’ll do better. It is time that Philadelphia acknowledges its past and actively engages and commits to change. In light of recent police brutality throughout the country, American citizens are protesting racist police departments, and the generations of pain and suffering they have inflicted on Black Americans. Please do not be mistaken, this is an issue in the city of Philadelphia, as well. There is a long history of police terror and murder of Black Philadelphians. Police have brutalized Black Philadelphians and displaced Black neighborhoods since the institution began. The protests will not stop until Philadelphia accounts for its racist and unjust history and commits to real change. In 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department (the “PPD”) dropped a bomb, one typically used in war combat, on its West Philadelphia residents in an attempt to rid the city of a Black liberation group called MOVE. Eleven people, including five children, died and a Philadelphia neighborhood burned down. The actions of the PPD destroyed more than 60 homes — leaving 250 Philly residents homeless. To this day, many of those homes remain vacant and the PPD’s insidious racism and overt violence continues to loom over the city of Philadelphia. Last summer, the PPD was involved in yet another racist incident when it was revealed that several officers made racist posts on Facebook. The PPD responded by: (1) suspending 15 officers with an intent to dismiss and (2) removing 72 officers from the streets. An additional seven officers resigned. Shortly thereafter, in September of 2019, a Philadelphia police officer shot a man who was holding a box cutter. This racism and injustice only continues as Philadelphians raise their voices to promote change. On June 1, 2020, the PPD allowed a group of protestors to gather and protest onto the I-676 highway. Then, the PPD tear gassed the protestors from above via helicopters and from the ground by throwing gas canisters, to the point that bodies were rolling down the hill adjacent to the highway on live television. Tear-gas is a chemical compound so dangerous that it is not even allowed as a war tactic, yet it was used to thwart unarmed protestors. Philly sanctioned the use of this chemical against its own residents, knowing that this tactic could further exacerbate symptoms of COVID-19 and put Philadelphians at risk for asphyxiation. In response to protests against police brutality, as of June 1, 2020, military tanks were seen riding through the neighborhoods of Philadelphia—the biggest show of force yet. Where reasonable force, impartiality, health and safety is a concern, the PPD has failed in serving its citizens. The entire law enforcement system needs to be reformed to better suit the needs of citizens. Officers are public servants and police departments are funded by the tax dollars of all Philadelphia residents, yet, the PPD continuously fails to serve all members of the Philadelphia community. Police are supposed to be trained to handle difficult and intense situations without resorting to deadly force, yet time and again, deadly force is used. Philadelphia police officers are six times more likely to kill suspects than NYPD police officers. Furthermore, Philadelphia police officers used deadly force nearly 400 times between 2007 and 2013. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, including the use of unreasonable force by police officers. However, the Philadelphia Police Department has continuously used unreasonable force, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Nationwide protesting has occurred for the unjust death of George Floyd, police brutality, and Black Lives Matter movement. There have been numerous occurrences where peaceful protesters advocating for the victims of fatal unjustified racial bias have been shot with these lethal weapons by officers. Citizens protesting police brutality are becoming victims of the cause they are fighting to end. These bullets cause serious injuries including blindness, permanent disability, broken bones, and death. Rubber bullets kill 3% of people they injure, and cause serious complications in far more victims. These weapons are not non-lethal. To say so is false. It is the use of these weapons that turned the protests violent. As seen in Austin, Texas recently in a protest against racism and police brutality was turned violent because of officers at the protest, presumably defending the safety of those present. Rubber bullets are banned in wartime use due to serious injuries. There's no justification for using these lethal weapons on civilians. We will continue to advocate for the ban of rubber bullets and calling for peaceful crowd control measures on the peaceful protesters.

“More than 1,000 people are killed by police every year in America, and Black people are three times more likely to be killed than White people. We can take steps and make reforms to combat police violence and systemic racism within law enforcement. Together, we can work to redefine public safety so that it recognizes the humanity and dignity of every person. Mayors and other City Council officials“ (county executives) “are uniquely positioned to introduce common-sense limits on police use of force.” As it states on this webpage, https://www.obama.org/mayor-pledge/ This is the link to the 8 things that need to change!!: https://8cantwait.org/

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields police from legal liability for murder, violence, and other misconduct. Qualified immunity must end now, for the memory of George Floyd--and countless others who've suffered and died at the hand of lawless police brutality. The police should be accountable to, not immune from, the same laws they enforce. They should be accountable to, not immune from, their violation of our constitutional rights. Federal law ending qualified immunity will deter police violence by making law-breaking police officers accountable for their actions. It will give the public--who both fund the police, and whom the police are supposed to protect and serve--legal recourse for police violence. Please take action to end qualified immunity for police now.