The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate and division. It serves no place in Government buildings.

All sophomore high school students in WLWV schools are required to take a US history class. In this class, I remember learning about the civil rights movement as if racism was a thing of the past. This is far from true, and students are often shielded from this reality in insular white communities like West Linn and Wilsonville. We must do better to educate our students on the realities of racism in the country today, ask them to examine their own privilege, and teach them how to effectively join the movement against police brutality and the prison industrial complex as a whole.

We are are already experiencing a high spike in COVID-19 cases since our state reopened in mid May. Think about a convention center in Phoenix holding tens of thousands of people without masks or social distancing...we cannot risk it. Please sign this petition to protect our families, our friends and our communities.

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).

As Mercer Island residents, we call on you to take this pledge alongside so many other mayors who want to change and heal the injustices that have been happening for far too long. We need and want to be leading this change. By taking the pledge through https://www.obama.org/mayor-pledge/, you will: 1. REVIEW your police use of force policies. 2. ENGAGE your communities by including a diverse range of input, experiences, and stories in your review. 3. REPORT the findings of your review to your community and seek feedback. 4. REFORM your community’s police use of force policies.

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.

Based on current statistics in the United States, kids represent only 3.5% of confirmed cases and only .01% of deaths! In Kentucky, there has been ONE death in the 29 and under category – and that death, of a 6 month old – the one referenced in the June 5th Board meeting - based on admission from our Governor was not directly due to the virus. “While COVID-19 was not the lead cause of death, Beshear said, it will be counted in the coronavirus death toll, as has been custom.” https://www.wlky.com/article/coronavirus-contributed-to-death-of-kentucky-9-month-old-governor-says/32759141 Yet, in the effort to ostensibly protect them from this virus that is virtually non-existent in kids, we are instead willing to guarantee long-term damage to 100% of our student body?! We have “flattened the curve” here in Kentucky – but the reaction to this virus has robbed our kids of a normalcy that is imperative to their OVERALL health. And now, it is time to stop with these drastic measures that have already caused– and WILL continue to cause - harm to our kids. Of course we want our children to be safe and healthy!! Besides their physical health, though, we have to consider what will provide the best opportunity for academic achievement… and we HAVE to consider their social, emotional, and mental health. • Kids need structure. • They need adults - in addition to their parents – to help guide them. • They need socialization and peer interaction. • They need to be able to see facial expressions and for their facial expressions to be seen. • They need in-person instruction – they need their teachers! • They need sports and extra-curriculars – coaches, leaders, teammates, structured physical and recreational activity. • They need to be IN school, with their friends. It seems that the decisions being made are fear and liability driven, rather than being data driven or in the best interest of our kids. The data does NOT support the measures being considered and the current proposal does not allow for parent choice. If liability is a big concern, have parents sign a waiver! And allow parents that want their child to wear a mask or want to opt for virtual attendance, to do so. Everybody wins. Their OVERALL HEALTH should be the consideration of this administration and school board. And WE, as parents, are the ones that have a FRONT ROW SEAT to how all of this is affecting them. PLEASE LISTEN. WE NEED TO BE HEARD.

I agree wholeheartedly. He took a knee in silent protest and was blacklisted for it. Now everyone from the NFL and all his haters have remorse. His bravery, courage and activism is what has lead to where this country and other countries worldwide are at. For context he started sitting down and then was asked to take a knee, as it was felt to be so called more respectful, of which he did and still. So yes he should get it as a sign to the rest of the world that racism and police brutality is no longer acceptable in this country. https://www.npr.org/2018/09/09/646115651/the-veteran-and-nfl-player-who-advised-kaepernick-to-take-a-knee

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)

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.

We need the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) to make a statement denouncing racism and systems of white supremacy. We ask you stand with us. Thank you to the "SLPs of Color" for drafting their original petition to ASHA. Please also directly submit feedback to AAA here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VFGBN5K AAA is the world’s largest professional organization of, by and for audiologists, representing the interests of approximately 14,000 audiologists, as well as students and faculty at the university level. Per AAA’s website, one of the core values is Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity, defined as: “to value diversity and to treat all patients fairly and equally without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, or national origin.”  The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd are just the recent accounts of police brutality (towards Black people) and white supremacy. As a large professional organization, even if white-majority, we cannot stand idly by. Our silence speaks for us. Our silence says we are complicit. Our silence says we do not care. This silence not only affects those we serve, but also students and professionals of color within the organization.  Furthermore, intersectional identities are, by definition, not mutually exclusive. You may know of the Black students, audiologists, and faculty members in our organization, but what about those who may be Black AND d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing? Our students and professionals also serve numerous Black and d/Deaf + hard-of-hearing patients around the world, either through service trips and/or their everyday work. How can you actively choose to remain silent and not acknowledge their pain and experiences?  As a profession, we are stewards of health and communication and are charged with improving the quality of life for our patients, clients, and students. This includes our audiologists and patients that are directly affected by the systematic injustices seen in our country. We implore AAA to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequently our Black students and professionals.

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.