It is known and documented that “Kelsey” terrorized the indigenous population of Pomo Indians in Lake County. He mass murdered them and stole their lands from them. It is written and documented and was even “taught” to us in school in 4th grade as “ legends” of Lake County, California. It has been abhorrent to me all my life. I am ashamed that the name of Kelsey lives on in the form of “Kelseyville.” I would respectfully ask the Tribal Elders of Lake County Pomo tribes to rename the town. Mt. Konocti rises above the town. It is a beautiful name that could easily be incorporated into the area.

This Is ImPortant Because Lakeisha Isn’t Some Cold Blooded Murderer and it means a lot to me if you guys can help me out and vote 🗳

With COVID-19 numbers rising steadily in Arizona, we need city wide precautions like mask wearing to be mandated by our Mayor to ensure the safety and health of Maricopans. Many other surrounding cities have already made masks mandatory so let’s urge Mayor Price to do the same!

Livonia has an unfortunate history as one of our country’s largest “Sundown Towns” - “all white” municipalities or neighborhoods that practiced a form of segregation by excluding non-whites through a combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, policing and violence. We urge the Livonia Police Department to set a higher standard of policing by strengthening accountability mechanisms and securing critical reforms to end police brutality, biased racial profiling, and policing targeting youth and communities of color. It’s time to not only address the racism and inequality that exists in our own community, but to address it with intention and ambition. Be a part of the Livonia Citizens Caring About Black Lives movement by following us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1183500345325924 Read about the Campaign Zero initiative - https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision

(Español Abajo) For many years, we have been taught that Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent, and with his great finding, civilization followed. However, this portrayal of history is all wrong. When Europeans invaded the continent, they murdered many of the original residents on this land, destroyed entire cities, and infected entire communities with diseases. Their colonization led to the arrival of enslaved people, who were taken from their native lands on the African continent, and forced to work in this country. As a community, we commemorate the memory of all the indigenous people that were devastated by colonization especially the Quinnipiac, Wapinger, and Paugussett peoples whose land we reside on now. We also celebrate their traditions and our heritage as descendants of the original inhabitants on the continent. Additionally, we want to acknowledge that many immigrants who live in New Haven, are in reality travelers who are walking through stolen land similar to those histories of their own nations and ancestry. Having acknowledged this, we reject any sort of celebration of the individual who brought so much death and destruction to our land: Christopher Columbus. We reject any institution that glorifies this violent history and American colonization. We demand that the school's name be changed in honor of indigenous people and the New Haven immigrant community. Located in the Fair Haven neighborhood, the Christopher Columbus Family Academy is a monument to the genocide of indigenous people that began in 1492 and continues to this day. The neighborhood of Fair Haven is home to a significant number of immigrants. Several of them are directly from indigenous communities whose first languages are not Spanish and are currently in resistance in Latin America. Our community knows that not only is the name inappropriate, but completely offensive to who we are as descendants of genocide survivors- and that we continue to experience violence in the form of racism. For all the aforementioned reasons, we demand that the school be renamed IMMEDIATELY. Both New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and the Board of Education need to do everything in their power to change the name. Durante muchos años, nos han enseñado que Cristóbal Colón descubrió el continente “americano” -Abya Yala- y que con su gran hallazgo llego la civilización. Sin embargo, esta representación de la historia está completamente equivocada. Cuando los europeos invadieron el continente masacraron a los residentes originales, destruyeron ciudades enteras e infectaron a comunidades enteras con sus enfermedades. Su colonización condujo eventualmente a la llegada de personas esclavizadas, que fueron secuestradas de sus tierras nativas en el continente africano y obligadas a trabajar en estas tierras. Como comunidad, conmemoramos la memoria de todos los pueblos aborígenes que fueron devastados por la colonización, específicamente los pueblos Quinnipiac, Wapinger y Paugussett en cuyas tierras vivimos ahora. También celebramos sus tradiciones y nuestra herencia como descendientes de los habitantes originales del continente. Además, queremos reconocer que muchos migrantes que vivimos en New Haven, en realidad, somos viajeros que caminamos por nuestras tierras, tierras llenas de historia de robo y saqueo y lo cual no cesa hasta el día de hoy. Habiendo reconocido esto, rechazamos cualquier tipo de celebración del asesino que trajo tanta muerte y destrucción a nuestra tierra: Cristóbal Colón. Rechazamos cualquier institución que glorifique esta historia violenta y de colonización. Exigimos que se cambie el nombre de la escuela en honor de los pueblos indígenas del norte y del sur del continente. Ubicada en el vecindario de Fair Haven, la Academia de la Familia Cristóbal Colón es un monumento al genocidio de los pueblos indígenas que comenzó en 1492 y continúa hasta nuestros días. El vecindario de Fair Haven es el hogar de miles de migrantes. Muchos de ellos son comunidades aborígenes, cuyo primer idioma no es el español. Provienen de territorios que están en resistencia en el sur de la frontera. Nuestra comunidad sabe que el nombre no solo es inapropiado, sino completamente ofensivo para quienes somos descendientes de los sobrevivientes del genocidio, pero que seguimos experimentando todavía la violencia del saqueo y el racismo. Por todas estas razones, exigimos que la escuela cambie su nombre INMEDIATAMENTE. Tanto el alcalde de New Haven, Justin Elicker, como la Junta de Educación tienen el poder de hacerlo.

As people across the country and the world have taken to the streets to demand racial equality and justice it is time for Illinois to step up to this moment in history. Governor Pritzker, make Juneteenth a statewide paid holiday!

As musicians committed to fighting racial and economic injustice, we will no longer stand idly by and allow police unions to protect police officers who murder Black people and fellow workers. Police unions across the nation largely continue to condone the same policing tactics that led to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Botham Jean, Freddie Gray, and countless more Black lives. Many musicians and AFM members are using social media platforms to listen to the voices of Black activists and amplify them. In addition, many are actively engaging in peaceful protest–using their voices, instruments, and talents to uplift not only the names, but the platforms of anti-racist movements such as Black Lives Matter. This is only the beginning of the work we must do to actively build anti-racist practices within our community. Background: In 2017, Philadelphia Police Union President John McNesby said of Black Lives Matter protesters: “When you go to work each day, you shouldn’t have to worry that a pack of rabid animals will suddenly show up at your home and openly threaten your family,” McNesby said. “These are not activists, they are racist hate groups determined to instigate violence.” This is a prime example of Police Union leadership disrespecting and undermining the values and work of anti-racist activists, many of whom are also members of the AFM. Under the protection of police union bylaws, many predatory officers are able to escalate situations, intimidate, injure, and kill unarmed citizens with impunity. This environment makes it unsafe for Black musicians and members to organize at the workplace, at home, and travel to/from performances. The actions of police officers and their unions have made it clear that they are not treated as traditional workers and thus have no place in the Labor Movement. The history of the AFM includes decades of inaction against racial injustice. Many Union Locals represented by the AFM across the nation were forced to integrate Black and White union musicians by court order, with the signing of Civil Rights Act legislation. Despite this history, the AFM and its members have made considerable amounts of money performing, and–at times–appropriating Black American music and Black culture, especially in its legacy contracts such as Broadway, festivals, club dates, live TV, and film scoring. It is easy to conclude that the AFM’s livelihood depends on Black American Music, therefore it is of the utmost duty for the AFM to defend Black American lives. We appreciate the recent statement by Ray Hair pledging “to continue to confront the ways our union and the music industry have contributed to persistent systemic racism” as well as the work done by the AFL-CIO in support of racial justice, including calling for police reform and the resignations of the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and President of the Minneapolis Police Union. However, as musicians we must truly come to terms with our own history, ask our Union to do the same, and move forward together by taking direct action. The American Federation of Musicians must show the world that it is invested in the beliefs of its membership and committed to becoming an actively anti-racist union. Calling on the expulsion of police unions in the Labor movement is a essential step to begin this work.

There is a concerning lack of awareness around historically significant people and events that directly lend to race relations today, particularly as it relates to the challenges Black Americans face in fighting to bring awareness to the racial disparities in education, healthcare, homeownership, law enforcement interactions, criminal sentencing and much more. Critical omissions in California's educational curriculum perpetuate the misunderstanding of what it means to be American, while simultaneously reinforcing institutional ideologies birthed from White supremacy. California has long served as the trailblazer in progress, and we are looking to our elected officials in education to, once again, set an example by ushering in a more integrated and comprehensive curriculum, offering our bright-minded youth a truer and more holistic sense of who we are and where we come from.

As both acquisition and cleanup are under threat of defunding, I fully support retaining the funding and reactivating the Santa Fe County / NMED remediation program to clean up lead, mercury, and arsenic from the abandoned Cash Entry mine North of the State Park washing through the Cerrillos Gravel Products parcel. It's essential for the public welfare that these contaminates be remediated and permanently capped in the abandoned gravel pit. Cleanup is necessary for this largest most significant prehistoric Native American turquoise mine, Mt. Chalchihuitl, to be acquired, protected, and safely appreciated by the public. This acquisition will also add to the economic wellbeing of the Park and the people of the Turquoise Trail area, and New Mexico. I therefore fully support the acquisitions and remediation program that taxpayers have funded, and I support the purchase of all lands needed for the cleanup program and for inclusion in the Cerrillos Hills State Park.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the deadliest frat in the world. Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd’s murders sparked righteous outrage across the United States and the world, with millions of people taking the streets to protest the unjust treatment of Black people at the hands of the police. While the majority of the country, including non-governmental leaders and politicians of all party affiliations, have denounced these murders, there’s one outlier: police unions. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll penned a letter to his fellow officers calling George Floyd a “violent criminal,” and called the people protesting his unjust killing “terrorists.” While many would find Kroll’s comments to be deplorable and inflammatory, he isn’t the only police union head to spew such rhetoric following the murder of an innocent Black person. When the officer who killed Laquan McDonald was convicted of murder, Chicago’s police union slammed the trial process as unfair. When Philando Castile was murdered by police in Minneapolis, the union president jumped to the officer’s defense with attempts to discredit accusations of racism. When 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot dead in Cleveland, cops appealed the removal of the officer responsible. And even now, in this moment of national revolt against police brutality, we’re seeing these groups double down on their racist excuses for unforgivable violence. The Minneapolis police union has continued to throw its support behind violent, troublesome officers in defending George Floyd’s murderer. One of New York’s police-only unions recently doxxed — released identifying and personal information to the public — the mayor’s daughter, who is Black, after she was arrested during a protest. Police unions create one of the biggest barriers to our progress towards officer accountability and policy change. These institutions keep the tradition of police brutality alive and pledge blind loyalty to police officers -- even the most violent among them -- and make powerful political allies of the elected prosecutors who are intended to hold them to account. For decades, police union leaders have used their power and influence over the law enforcement community to preserve a rigged system rather than embrace fair, safe, common-sense solutions. We know that the Black community, when organized, is a powerful force for political and social change -- and we’re paying attention. We are taking note of which elected officials have chosen to accept contributions and make themselves beholden to these unions, and against the interests of our community. The time has come for these officials to make a choice: you are either with the people, or you are in support of systemic police violence and mass incarceration. We call on elected leaders across the nation to return and refuse political donations from police unions and the Fraternal Order of Police that have excused, defended and encouraged police violence for decades.

This is our taxpayer money, our money funded the program and the program should be accountable to us. Taxpayers are entitled to this public information and Secretary Mnunchin promised full transparency. The Washington Post's Catherine Rampell made a compelling case this morning that with "a half-trillion dollars of our hard-earned cash" in question, taxpayers should be asking, "What are they hiding?"

Because history keeps repeating itself need I say more. Aside from the fact that children are dying the planet is dying, Why because most people don’t care unfortunately