We know that COVID-19 viruses are transmitted via droplets produced when we sneeze, cough, sing, yell, or even when we're just talking. A simple cloth covering can significantly lessen the spread. It's a minor step we can all take to help protect our fellow Floridians.

America faces an emergency on three primary fronts: a public health pandemic, economic insecurities, and long-standing structural and institutional racism. Working families need job security, economic stability, and freedom from systematic oppression. That is, we must address the racial barriers from COVID-19 and the racial oppression that African Americans and people of color are facing. Furthermore, we must stress the importance of the HEROES Cares Act. So, please sign on and join us for this tel-town hall Wednesday, June 24th, at 6:30 pm, for the tel-town hall call-in number (866) 976-6355. Speakers for this event will be NC Senator Erica Smith-Ingram Dr. Michelle Laws- Department of Health and Human Services Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin Action NC member Tarsha Gunn

It is important that people recognize the black family as a Union just like they obviously do for the white families. It sends a message that the black family is non existent & we need to desperately change the narrative, because there are plenty of black family units of all structures. It also sends a message of acceptance which is important for our young children to see today. This has really been an issue for years I e been joking about it but it’s time to put my foot on the gas with Apple & get this done!! I know everyone won’t support & that’s okay but I also know plenty will!! So let’s do it let’s let it be known that we have family units that move forces!!

This racism has to stop, so many people have died, yet it continues, by police and private citizens. There has to be an end to this disgraceful behavior, and people of all races have to come together and stop this practice and behavior before it gets worse.

Late on a Friday night, William Barr’s Justice Department sent out a press release stating that Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was “stepping down” from his position. But this announcement came as a total shock to Berman, who responded: “I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position[.]” That’s right: Barr blatantly lied to the American people and tried to strongarm Berman into abandoning his role -- so that he could fill it with a Trump lackey. Berman has consistently fought for justice and upheld the rule of law -- despite Barr’s conversion of the DOJ into a partisan Trump protection machine. For example, Berman’s office prosecuted Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, who went to prison -- and Berman is currently investigating top Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani. It’s no surprise that Trump wanted Berman out -- and that he sent Barr to do his dirty work. And the day after Berman denied his resignation, Barr had Trump fire Berman -- though Berman fought to ensure his successor would continue to investigate Trump's allies. Barr has time and time again shown that he is unfit to serve as Attorney General. He dropped all charges against Trump’s former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, even after Flynn pleaded guilty… he brazenly misled the public about Robert Mueller’s findings… and his Department of Justice tried to bury the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment. Barr’s attacks on Berman are yet another example of his willingness to damage our nation’s system of justice to protect President Trump. Common Cause called for Barr's impeachment and removal at the end of last year [1] -- and now, we're renewing that vital call. If you agree, add your name to demand that Congress respond to Barr’s many abuses of power -- by impeaching him and removing him from office. 1) https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/common-cause-calls-for-impeachment-of-attorney-general-william-barr/

All across America, Confederate statues are falling. Except in Congress. The National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building has eleven statues of former Confederate leaders and soldiers. That includes Confederate president Jefferson Davis and Confederate vice-president Alexander Stephens, among others who committed treason and made war in order to defend slavery and white supremacy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi just called on these statues to be removed. But it takes support from both the House and the Senate. If we put enough pressure on Representatives and Senators, they will act. Can you help?

On 5/29 and 5/30, Virginians outraged by recent police murders and systemic racism took to the streets of Richmond. The police met this unrest with violence, tear-gassing protestors and nearly running people over with a police vehicle. As in dozens of other cities, there was significant damage to both private and public property. Some protesters also defaced symbols of white supremacy with anti-racist graffiti. The next day, Mayor Levar Stoney called in the National Guard and imposed an 8 pm curfew for the city. That night, protesters took to the streets once more. At around nine o'clock, RPD interrupted an otherwise peaceful protest by firing tear gas into the crowd. They pursued and arrested 233 people, some of whom were not protesting and were unaware of the curfew. Police transported these individuals to the Richmond City Jail where they were kept in a hot poorly ventilated bus, some for over twelve hours. The full litany of abuses they suffered at the hands of police is too long to list here (for more see @nomoniker on Twitter). Over the course of the night, law enforcement officials sexually harassed protesters, failed to adequately address medical and psychological crises, dismissed concerns about COVID-19 exposure, and regularly denied arrestees water—all for behavior that should NOT HAVE BEEN CRIMINALIZED in the first place. More arrests were made on the second night of the curfew. More recently, on 6/14 and 6/15, protestors were maced and gassed by police in riot gear outside the precinct. On 6/14 Michaela G. Hatton, a 22-year-old protester with a master’s degree in social work from VCU, was targeted by RPD and charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer and conspiracy to incite a riot. Michaela lost her job because of the arrest. Despite the numerous calls to drop charges against protestors, the City has taken NO substantive action to reject police repression and violence. Let's all pressure Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin, Mayor Stoney, and Richmond City Council to protect the people they supposedly serve. We demand that our elected officials work to ensure that ALL chargers against protestors are dropped immediately!

The Washington Redskins exposed their hypocrisy recently while tweeting out on #BlackoutTuesday in support of #BlackLivesMatter while continuing to profit off of a racist and derogatory name—Redskins—and a caricature logo of Native Americans. Borne out of a genocidal past, the term “Redskin,” is a word dripping with contempt, racism, and a quite literal reference to blood; advertisements were placed in newspapers on behalf of governments and institutions perpetuating the genocide of indigenous peoples using this term—for example, from the The Winona Daily Republican in Minnesota: “The State reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every red-skin sent to Purgatory. This sum is more than the dead bodies of all the Indians east of the Red River are worth.” While the team may claim that the term is used to honor the purported Native American ancestry of its one-time coach William “Lone Star” Dietz, the team knows full well that the name was changed to Redskin to avoid issues with the Boston Braves baseball team. Further, after an investigation, Dietz was found to have fraudulently posed as indigenous—the name of the football team only dishonors in many ways. Snyder argues that the term is one of honor and of benign origins—it is not. Native American leaders and peoples have been fighting to have the name changed across society, and have succeeded but in this one place. Since 1898, the term has been defined as one used contemptuously. If the Washington Football Team had to change the fight song for racist illusions, why not change the name? To claim that the term “redskins” honors Native Americans defies logic—no one would think to claim that, for example, a football team named for the confederacy honors African Americans. Other teams are named after animals (Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears), after numbers (San Francisco 49ers), or after empowering, flattering, mythic characters (New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans). In short, a racial slur has no place in the NFL's lineup. Academic studies continue to show that the name and mascot do not honor Native Americans; to the contrary, the term leads to “lower self-esteem, lower community worth, less capacity to generate achievement-related possible selves, and greater levels of negative effect” amongst Native American youth, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and oppression. The term, with its contemptuous nature, further builds a gap between native and non-native cultures, contributing to intergenerational trauma and continued racism. Leaders, historians, psychologists, and social scientists have concluded that “Native mascots are part of a much larger web of phenomena that contribute to oppression faced by Native Americans and thus it seems clear that these mascots should be eliminated.” While it should be clear, some people seem to be unwilling to see the continued consequences. Everytime the Washington team takes the field, the Redskins name conjures images of brutality. The Washington Redskins, the NFL, the media, and sponsors must discontinue profiting off of a racist trope. Native Americans are not mascots, they are people and are still here. Daniel Snyder cannot continue to muzzle and whitewash a people and history. Words have power. Symbols have power. It is time the media and sponsors cease their complicity in this cultural genocide, and stand with justice—boycott the name until the name changes.

Olentangy Local School District has a long history of not hiring people of color (especially for teaching positions) or providing an intersectional, diversified, honest education to its 21,711 students. As a former student, I can testify to never having had a teacher of color (I attended OLSD from 2nd to 12th grade), never learning about issues that didn’t specifically pertain to white people (severe lack of an intersectional education), lack of a feeling of safety in terms of bullying from students and teachers alike (even as a white student), lack of accountability and punishment for students and teachers who discriminated in any way towards other students. (For firsthand stories from current and former OLSD students in regards to discrimination against them, please see @dearolsd account on Instagram). There is a severe lack of inclusivity for the students who attend any OLSD school from K-12 that happen to not be white, cis-sexual, straight (and, if attending any of the schools in the Powell area) wealthy. The onus should not be on these students to educate their peers and teachers about their oppressions and oppressors; this education needs to come from the teachers in the OLSD beginning in Kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. It is an injustice to the hundreds of thousands of students that have passed through the halls of an OLSD school to have been denied the opportunity of an intersectional education. Going forward, it is imperative that the aforementioned major changes are made to OLSD. Note: This does not look like compulsory blanket apologies/statements made to students and parents of students across OLSD social media platforms. Actions always speak louder than words. It is better late than never to take advantage of the opportunity to properly educate the current and the future students (and staff) of OLSD so that they can all truly flourish.

With the recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in Florida, the plan to re-open theme parks should be re-evaluated. The state’s proposed plan for re-opening theme parks would start at Phase 2, “after the successful conclusion of Phase 1, which includes a downward trajectory…this will occur when there is no evidence of a rebound or resurgence of COVID-19 cases.” Because of the increase in cases suddenly, it is clear that theme parks – a non-essential business – should not be planning to operate until the cases have gone down again. The recent spike of COVID-19 cases is concerning due to our proposed opening in July. With a record high of 4,049 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on June 20, 2020, we are now backtracking from where we originally were. Retreating back to an earlier Phase in re-opening is our best option at not exposing the virus to thousands and thousands of theme park employees and their families. As individuals who work in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests and our fellow magic makers. Keeping ourselves and our visitors safe is our number one priority, in every theme park. This includes our health and wellbeing. We are encouraged to say something when we see something that we deem is unsafe so we’re speaking up. This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state. Having our theme parks remain closed until cases are steadily decreasing would keep our guests, our employees and their families safe. Re-opening the theme parks is only putting our guests, employees, and families at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. Mayors, Theme Park Executives, Government Officials - please hear what we are saying. shorturl.at/bCENX https://rb.gy/limuqd

Recently, our Village has lost another valuable employee amidst allegations of harassment and retaliation within Village Hall. While the details have been shared with some board members, over the course of the last month and a half there has been no action by the board to improve the employee relations within our Village Hall. At this point, we, the residents of the Village of Lakewood, believe all parties need a cooling off period and to have a fair and independent review of the facts of these complaints. We want action from the Board that says we value our staff, all of the staff, and I want transparency in the process so that we can all have trust that this is not opening the Village up to any legal action on behalf of the Village Employees.

Survivor has produced 40 successful seasons over 20 years by telling the stories of people who represent a wide array of human experience within the context of a game of social strategy, physical challenges, and survival. Representation matters. One of the most important ways we can embrace our diversity and evolve is to represent that diversity responsibly, equitably and fully. A commitment to the afore-mentioned actions would have a huge impact and move us toward a more fair, just, and equitable society.