We are in the middle of a pandemic. It's not just the people signing consent forms acknowledging the risk of COVID-19 via the Trump website who will be impacted by a massive convention. Those traveling to the convention will be interacting with locals who work at hotels, bars, restaurants, gas stations, and stores. Those attending the convention and working at the convention could potentially bring COVID-19 back to their communities. The COVID-19 confirmed cases in Florida have jumped drastically since the beginning of May. We in Jacksonville shouldn't have our health and safety threatened for politics. It is the job of the Florida governor and the Jacksonville mayor to protect the citizens, both those who did and who did not vote for them.

We put our lives and our families lives at risk with minimal protection. When were asked to wear N95 masks we get dirty ones and have to use same one for a week. Instead of quitting we showed up. We did not have to risk our lives and we do. We could of walked away anytime and gotten another job and we STAYED.

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.

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)

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.

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!

R1 zoning is for single-family residences. It was never intended to house 20 plus inmates next to families with children or near seniors and pre-schools. In a community that is already overburdened with homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing, gang violence, and several other transitional housing during a time of a pandemic and civil unrest our elected leaders should have considered those who live in the area and notified the community as they are obligated to do so and obtain feedback. Although, transitional housing may have some benefits the disadvantages are greater. Homeowners have spent their life savings to buy their homes. Children and preschoolers should live in a safe environment and as our recent pandemic has proven. Density housing is a failure and should never be rushed into. A single home with over 20 people who are violent offenders should have never been rushed into.

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.

The justice system needs to be reformed. We must act to remove those who tarnish the system. We must revisit how we are training police. We must evaluate how the hiring process works. We must enable the so called good police to weed out bad ones. We must end the war on drugs that continues to put non-violent offenders in for-profit prisons.

You have the chance to make change and inspire change in other police departments by leading by example. Be the heroes that we hope you will be! We know that you care about the Scituate community, and that your work-life is dedicated to serving our community. Help to enrich and enlighten our community by educating yourselves about the implicit unconscious racial bias that lives and thrives in every community in America. Lead our community to rise up and make real lasting change!

You might be asking, “How can making these two dates federal holidays improve our situation?” You also might be asking, “How do we seem to be taking steps back to “Da Crow”?” You must fight for freedom yes, but use your power wisely. Do it through love and collaboration. We have to do things decently and in order and remember, a divided house will fall from infighting! Instead of risking Covid-19 infection, continue to mitigate exposure as much as possible to protect vulnerable people. But to really get something done. We need it in writing and we need it in the law. IF YOU WOULD MARCH IN THE STREET, SIGN THIS PETITION! Once we get 150,000 signatures we will submit transparent plans to raise funding to cover the administrative costs involved. This virus will devastate the same populations in our already risky environments. The disproportionality in the death toll skews overwhelmingly towards the black and brown communities. DO NOT BE A MOTH to the FLAME. Be STILL, and sign this petition. Juneteenth June-teenth celebrates the final freeing of slaves in Texas. It was on June 19, 1865, that slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free—although they had been freed two years earlier in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This is a prime example of progress for everyone does not always mean progress for people of color, especially black Americans. The only way to level the playing field is to vote and be able to do it freely! Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day or the Black Fourth of July, is an American holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865. On this day, after almost two and half years since the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved African Americans were informed of their liberation. More Info: The Mascogos (also known as negros mascagos ) are an Afro-descendant group in Coahuila , Mexico. Centered on the town of El Nacimiento in Múzquiz Municipality , the group are descendants of Black Seminoles escaping the threat of slavery in the United States. • Also called: Freedom Day or Emancipation Day • Observances: Exploration and celebration of African-American history and heritage • Next time: June 19, 2020 • Observed by: Residents of the United States, especially African Americans, Mascogos • Significance: Emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy The Pen is Mightier than the Sword!