In early July, Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson shot 36-year-old Sonya Massey after she attempted to move a pot of water off of her stove at the officer’s request. Sonya Massey called the police for help after she was concerned about an intruder in her home. We must all demand justice for Sonya. What happened to her was unacceptable, and we cannot let this type of police violence, which is all too often directed against the Black men and Black women of our country, continue unchecked. We're demanding accountability for Sonya Massey and her family. And we're not alone. The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly fired Grayson, who was later charged with first-degree murder. And the U.S. Department of Justice will also be investigating the tragic death of Sonya Massey. As long as police officers like Sean Grayson can continue to hop between law enforcement jobs, regardless of their criminal or professional records, our communities will have to suffer the type of police violence that cost Sonya Massey her life. We’ve had enough.  Demand local and federal officials deliver justice for Sonya Massey now!

Vice President Kamala Harris is a Black, South Asian, daughter of immigrants who has tirelessly advocated for and fought for our communities. She’s fought to raise the minimum wage, to protect our voting rights, to make higher education tuition-free, to reform the cash bail system, to expand access to health care, to hold sexual abusers accountable, to protect our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, to protect the LGBTQIA+ community, and so much more.  Harris has a proven track record of putting people over corporations by taking on fraudsters trying to cheat the American people—and winning, successfully going after Big Oil, greedy pharmaceutical companies, and predatory mortgage lenders to deliver wins for working people. This is what the media should focus on instead of racist and sexist attacks. Unfortunately, attacks against Black candidates, especially Black women candidates, are not new. When former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the House of Representatives, ran for president, she was not taken seriously. When Stacey Abrams ran, Republicans talked about her relationship status, her weight, they darkened her skin in political ads to rile up their racist base, and so much more. And now, Republicans like Congressman Tim Burchett are calling Vice President Kamala Harris a “DEI hire." We have to call it what it is: A racist dog whistle against Vice President Harris that bigots also use to diminish and discredit Black and brown people, LGBTQIA+ people, and women’s experiences and accomplishments. “DEI'' which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is being weaponized similarly to how the word “woke” has been weaponized by bigots. And news outlets stoke the flames, reporting on these statements without providing necessary critical analysis or context regarding the underlying racism and sexism. We must come together to fight back against this.  The truth is that Black women have powered the Democratic Party for years. In 2008 and 2012, 96% of Black women voted for President Barack Obama, providing the margin he needed to win two presidential terms. In 2016, 94% of Black women voted for Hillary Clinton. Black women powered the blue wave in 2018, and 90% of Black women voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020. We can’t sit idly by as MAGA Republicans and bigots continue to hurl racist and sexist attacks and news and media outlets legitimize their most offensive and baseless claims. Vice President Harris has broken glass ceiling after glass ceiling many times throughout her life. But when trailblazing Black women and women in politics like Harris are put in the spotlight, they are far too often subject to sexist and racist disinformation campaigns, made worse by news publications looking for "hot takes" and social media virality for clicks, views, and money. We need news outlets and journalists to be held to the highest standards of integrity, ensuring that they are not spreading harmful misinformation, recklessly sharing racist or sexist commentary that undermines Harris's qualifications, or publishing biased and unbalanced reporting on Harris.  Harris is a beacon of hope and representation for young Black and brown girls and women, not only across the country but the world. MAGA Republicans are afraid of her because they know she will continue to expose their dangerous Project 2025 agenda that will give Trump unchecked powers to eliminate abortion, hurt working- and middle-class people, fire civil servants, and roll back our rights and freedoms while reshaping all aspects of the government. They are afraid of her because they know she will fight for the working class instead of big corporations. So they resort to racist and sexist attacks against her. We can only imagine how low MAGA Republicans will go to discredit a successful, qualified candidate like Harris. But we can and must demand better from independent journalists now to STOP these sexist and racist attacks in their tracks. The media has a significant influence on the public narrative, and journalists have a responsibility to address racism, sexism, misogynoir, and any biases that can influence their election reporting when it comes to Harris.  Will you add your name to the petition? 

The health risks of toxic metals in tampons are serious and need attention now. Heavy metals like arsenic and lead can harm vital organs, increase cancer risk, and cause severe developmental issues in fetuses. With millions of Americans using tampons regularly, the potential for widespread harm is huge. We can't wait for more studies to confirm what we already know is a big problem. We need immediate action to protect public health. By pushing for stricter regulations and mandatory testing, we can make sure menstrual products are safe for everyone. This is crucial for protecting individual health and maintaining public trust in consumer safety standards.

Trans people deserve basic human rights just like everyone else. They deserve to use the restroom in peace and safety. By denying an employee the use of common restrooms used by employees who share their same gender identity, Braum's is in direct violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Braum's is also in violation of federal OSHA best practice standards. OSHA's Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers states that all employees, including transgender employees, should have access to restrooms that match their gender identity.  This is because OSHA's Sanitation Standard requires employers to provide sanitary and accessible toilet facilities for all employees so that they don't experience adverse health effects. Since the Sanitation Standard requires restrooms for each separate sex, employers are required to allow transgender employees to use the bathroom in best alignment with their gender identity for their safety as well. Situations like these are why trans rhetoric is so dangerous. It disregards decades of advancement in human rights and safety that benefit all people. It gives a voice to the bully and theocracy.  OSHA guidelines exist to take the guesswork out of what is and isn’t best practice for safe workplaces. Sign your name in support of equal bathroom rights!

First, abortion. Then, IVF. Now, conservative lawmakers are putting contraception at risk. Nearly all voters—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—support the right to contraception. Millions of people use it to plan their families and manage their health. But instead of protecting this right and enshrining it into law, Republicans in the Senate blocked the Right to Contraception Act. Every American should have the freedom to use contraception if and when they need it—and the assurance that the government will never take it away from us. Right now, there’s another path forward. A discharge petition is circulating in the House of Representatives that, if they get enough signatures, would force the Republican majority to bring the Right to Contraception Act to a vote in the House. Sign the petition to urge your representative to support the right to contraception, sign the discharge petition, and fight for our freedom to plan our families and our futures. 

WHAT IS ENTITLED TO US SHOULD NOT BE STOLEN AND OUR WORDS SILENCED

Ms. Ziegler's conduct has been a continuous distraction from the business of the Board  — the education of our students, and the Board's stated commitment of "Every student every day."  At the May 7, 2024 School Board meeting she proposed a resolution defying constitutional officer responsibilities by refusing to uphold changes to Title IX. She claims she was protecting "our girls" while openly discriminating against certain students. This makes our students unsafe.  Ms. Ziegler has damaged countless students' lives and is an embarrassment to the Sarasota County School District.  She needs to resign or be removed. Join us in this effort. 

Trump’s first term was chaotic and incompetent. But this time, MAGA is prepared with a detailed plan to quickly seize power and ruthlessly reshape America. Project 2025 is a 920-page document authored by Christian nationalists that provides a step-by-step blueprint to impose the MAGA agenda on every aspect of Americans’ lives and make Trumpism the rule of law. Their goal is the elimination of our freedoms and protections: eliminating Social Security and Medicare, corporate regulations, environmental protections, rights for LGBTQ+ people and religious minorities, contraception and IVF, resources we need for public education, and more.  Their plan also includes systematically sabotaging our elections for their own benefit. And they want to dismantle our democracy and its checks and balances by centralizing power to the White House, giving the president control of previously independent agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, and even the Department of Justice. As one expert, Mary Guy, warned in response to Project 2025, "Democracies have crumbled before, and that’s on the verge of happening here." Project 2025 details a concerted plan for how the MAGA movement seeks to control us, decide our futures for us, and take us backward. Instead of representing "We the People", they want to rule over us and for their corporate interests.  We deserve to know where our elected leaders stand on this extreme, dangerous blueprint. It’s time we sound the alarm about this MAGA vision and demand all Republicans in Congress go on record with their position on Project 2025. A banner at a protest against Project 2025 in Washington D.C. on January 27, 2024 (Credit: Elvert Barnes/Flickr.com)

The NFL has a responsibility to show respect to its viewers, including women, men and LQBTQ+. But, by letting Harrison speak like this they are instead promoting hatred towards women and the LGBTQ+ community. This needs to stop. If they don't punish him, they are stating that this behavior is ok and it is not ok. He is inciting hateful and outdated stereotypes, that do nothing but harm people. These stereotypes have been used to keep women and LQBTQ+ from being able to live their lives they way they want and instead forces them to live in constant fear of violence. The NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs need to send a clear message that this hatred can not be tolerated and they can do it by firing and banning Harrison Butker from the NFL. 

To have equal rights, better health care amongst people who are put at a disadvantage because of a false diagnosis gives people a greater disadvantage than others to get the proper medical care treatments that they deserve just like anyone else. There needs to be stricter laws put in place before a diagnosis of psychosomatic can be made and be determined. Very strict steps that a health care provider must establish in order to rule everything out with proper testing, evaluation of past and current medical history and traumas. This diagnosis can never be made and labeled due to a MVA or any kinda physical trauma and injury that they have sustained. This hits very near and dear to me because of the medical neglect my children and I have had to face while my children have had to watch me not get the proper medical treatments and attention that I deserved and so they deserved as well. We have an epidemic in opiates and suicide rates at an ultimate high due to the medical neglect and errors that are made by given false diagnosis to patients are severely harmful. When labeling them for a mental health diagnosis instead of there real physical injuries. This is harmful to our medical community and Families.

Though accusations had been made against Harvey Weinstein long before, they came to a head in 2017 when The New York Times and New Yorker released in-depth stories with accounts of Weinstein’s abuse. Still, it wasn’t until 2020, three years later, that Weinstein was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York. He was also convicted of rape in California in 2022, a 16-year sentence that still stands. The New York Court of Appeals shamefully overturned his 2020 conviction, claiming that allowing other women to share testimony of their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse to demonstrate a pattern of behavior should not have been permitted. According to Judge Madeline Singas, this is part of a "disturbing trend" of sexual assault cases being overturned. It also comes just a few years after Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Every 68 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. Only a fraction of perpetrators of sexual assault and violence are held accountable. It is heartbreaking and infuriating that the New York Court of Appeals has twisted the law to let Weinstein, a convicted rapist, walk out of the New York prison. We owe it to the nearly 100 women who risked their livelihoods and careers to come forward— and the countless others who could not come forward—to make sure the charges against Weinstein hold. Ashley Judd, one of the early actresses to bravely share publicly her accusations against Weinstein, said that the Court of Appeals decision was "unfair to survivors," and that "(w)e still live in our truth. And we know what happened." We believe the nearly 100 women who came forward against Weinstein. And together, we can ensure that their efforts to hold Weinstein accountable are upheld by the New York legal system.

Women's sports are winning BIG right now. The 2024 NCAA women's championship game between Iowa State and South Carolina was the most watched basketball game in history. Yet, women basketball players aren't getting properly rewarded for their excellence. After this year's tournament—for the first time ever—the NCAA will award $65 million to participating women's conferences based on the performance of their teams. That's less than HALF of the men's teams $220 million in payouts. While $65 million may seem like a lot, it's a drop in the bucket when compared to some estimates that put the women's team's valuation at $112 million. These payouts provide critical funding to team operations throughout the year for things like scholarships for student-athletes, upgrading training facilities, covering team travel expenses and more. Gender inequality has been baked into the NCAA from the very beginning with media rights agreements and revenue models that have always prioritized men's basketball. A gender equity report in 2021 revealed the NCAA spent a whopping $35 million more on the men's basketball tournament than the women's. And for decades women's teams couldn't even use "March Madness" branding for their tournament. The current system perpetuates the sexist myth that women's sports are less valuable. Women players are showing the world that they are powerful, talented athletes that deserve the same recognition and attention that male athletes have been receiving for decades. We have to show institutions like the NCAA that women deserve to be paid for their talent. Sign the petition to demand that the NCAA address gender pay inequity NOW and increase payout amounts for women basketball players.