As a diverse group of concerned citizens representing various fields, both within and beyond the arts community, we are alarmed by the decision of Delta Airlines and Bank of America to withdraw financial support for The Public Theater's work after The Public's performance of its production of Julius Caesar. The arts play a vital role in opening public dialogue about fundamental issues shaping society, and allowing individuals to consider different perspectives on challenging—and sometimes frightening—subjects. For sponsors to withdraw funding from Julius Caesar under public pressure predicated on an incomplete understanding of the production risks chilling artistic expression far more broadly and deterring creative works that seek to engage with difficult subjects. Delta and Bank of America are private actors with the ability to decide which projects they will financially support. However, we are deeply concerned by the impact that the abrupt withdrawal of sponsorship from The Public Theater may have on the willingness of other producers of art to address controversial or political subjects that may result in targeted campaigns and could put their funding in jeopardy. The Public Theater is an institution known for its artistry, imagination, and fearlessness. We urge these and other corporations to stand by their artistic partners at this pivotal time of social and political tension and, in so doing, to affirm the core values that support for the arts must imply. 1. Andrew Solomon, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University 2. Autumn Dornfeld, Program Director, Action Group Network 3. Bill Bragin, Co-Director, globalFEST 4. Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director, New York Live Arts 5. Chip Rolley, Senior Director of Literary Programs, PEN America 6. Claude Grunitzky, Chairman, TRUE Africa 7. Daisy Wolf, Student 8. David Baile, CEO, ISPA 9. Elly Brinkley, PEN America 10. Ginny Suss, Okayplayer 11. Giulia D’Angolo Vallan, Writer/Curator 12. Heidi Sieck, CEO/Co-Founder, #VOTEPROCHOICE 13. Isabel Soffer, Co-Director, globalFEST 14. Janet Wong, Associate Artistic Director, New York Live Arts 15. Jenny Schlenzka, Executive Artistic Director, Performance Space 122 16. John Vanco, SVP/GM, IFC Center 17. Kim Cullen, Executive Director, New York Live Arts 18. Kyle Dacuyan, Writer/Curator 19. Laura Macomber, Project Manager, PEN America 20. Laura Michalchyshyn, Producer 21. Linda Brumbach, Director, Pomegranate Arts 22. Lisa Kron, Playwright 23. Lydia Dean Pilcher, Founder/CEO, Cine Mosaic 24. Mary Kaye Schilling, Culture Editor, Newsweek Magazine 25. May Zhee Lim, PEN America 26. Meredith Shepherd, Partner/Co-Founder, Canopy 27. Miriam Fogelson, Cultural Strategist 28. Nathalie Molina Niño, CEO, Brava Investments 29. Nicole Birmann Bloom, Arts Coordinator 30. Nicole Merritt, General Manager/Producer, globalFEST 31. Noah Bashevkin, Associate Programmer, THE OFFICE performing arts + film 32. Philip Himberg, Artistic Director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program 33. Rachel Chanoff, Director, THE OFFICE performing arts + film 34. Rebecca Stump, Senior Memberships Manager, PEN America 35. Sam Zelitch, Social Media Coordinator, PEN America 36. Shanta Thake, Co-Director, globalFEST 37. Susan Feldman, Founder/Artistic Director, St. Ann's Warehouse 38. Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, PEN America 39. Tanya Selvaratnam, Producer/Writer 40. Yasmeen Hassan, Global Executive Director, Equality Now

Trump announced that he's pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This attack on our environment is so extreme that Trump's corporate advisors are speaking out against it. Already, the CEOs of Tesla and Disney have decided to leave Trump's council in protest. General Motors also opposes Trump's decision to leave Paris. And its CEO, Mary Barra, serves on an advisory council to Trump. So we need your help to convince her to stop normalizing Trump! Tell General Motors CEO Mary Barra: Leave Trump's advisory council!

Last month, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order threatening Mojave Trails National Monument with fossil fuel development. The Department of the Interior is accepting public comments on whether to let Big Oil destroy Mojave Trails. So we need you to speak up NOW and help save this special place! Help us reach 50,000 comments: NO fossil fuel development in Mojave Trails!

Senator Manchin just voted for David Bernhardt to be Number 2 at the Department of the Interior. Now, his nomination has passed the committee and will go to the full Senate. That means he's one step closer to playing a key role in deciding the fate of our National Monuments and public lands. Tell Senator Manchin you'll hold him accountable for handing over our National Monuments to Big Oil!

The Trump administration is starting the process to renegotiate NAFTA. But will it fight for a trade deal that benefits people and protects healthy food and the environment? The U.S. Trade Representative has to release its plan to renegotiate the agreement this summer. It's seeking public input -- but you only have four days left to send your comment! Help us reach 20,000 comments telling the U.S. Trade Representative: No bad trade deals to replace NAFTA!

Donald Trump signed an Executive Order threatening Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with fossil fuel development. The Department of the Interior is accepting public comments on whether to let Big Oil destroy Grand Staircase-Escalante. So we need you to speak up NOW and help save this special place! Help us reach 50,000 comments: NO fossil fuel development in Grand Staircase-Escalante!

The GMO apple could hit supermarkets this fall. It could pose health risks, hurt farmers and damage our environment. The USDA should be stopping risky new products like this. But the agency is using 20-year old rules to review them. We need your help to change that! Tell the USDA: Fix the rules to protect our health, farmers and the environment from risky GMOs!

On July 14, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to prohibit U.S. participation in the Saudi-UAE war in Yemen, when it passed the Davidson and Nolan amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA]. [1] The Davidson [R-OH] amendment prohibits U.S. military action in Yemen not authorized by the 2001 AUMF [2]. U.S. participation in the Saudi-UAE war in Yemen is not targeting Al Qaeda or ISIS and is not authorized by the 2001 AUMF. Davidson's amendment would block the U.S. refueling of Saudi and UAE warplanes bombing Yemen. The Nolan [D-MN] amendment prohibits the deployment of U.S. troops to participation in Yemen's civil war. [3] Nolan's amendment would block the U.S. refueling of Saudi and UAE warplanes bombing Yemen. Tell your representatives that you support the House actions and that U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen should end immediately by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1766 2. http://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/DAVIOH_020_xml%20(7)712171724502450.pdf 3. http://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/NOLAN_046_xml712171116271627.pdf

I am deeply saddened by the cavalier fashion in which Republican senators and representatives have proceeded with trying to repeal the ACA. Their actions are not only ill considered but lethal to people whose only mistakes were getting old, being sick, or having a low wage job.

Governor Scott, we are requesting that you come out and state that this HealthCare Legislation is not for the people of Florida. You know that It will hurt your constituents, so you will not support it. This legislation guts Medicaid. It is going to take healthcare away from up to 20 million people. Premiums will skyrocket for people with pre-existing conditions making their healthcare unaffordable. People shouldn't have to die just so Big Pharma and Insurance Companies get richer. This is wrong for Florida and it is wrong for America.

The NRA is using dangerous language to rally their members against progressives and people of color. In a vicious and incendiary recruitment ad, filled with images from recent demonstrations, the NRA creates an illusion of safety for their members by threatening the safety of others. MomsRising unequivocally joins the Women's March and other partners in denouncing the video and calling on the NRA to take the following actions: 1. Take down the recent irresponsible and dangerous videos from all social platforms immediately. 2. Issue an apology to the American people for the video that suggests armed violence against communities of color, progressives, and anyone who does not agree with this Administration's policies. 3. Make a statement in defense of Philando Castile's Second Amendment right to own a firearm, demanding that the Department of Justice indict the police officer who killed Castile for exercising that right.

On June 18, 2017, in Seattle, Washington, 4’10” tall, thirty-year-old, mother of four, Charleena Lyles called 911 reporting that she believed someone had burglarized her residence. Seattle Police Officers Jason Anderson and Steven McNew were sent to investigate. Moments after they arrived they shot and killed Ms. Lyles in front of her four children. Ms. Lyles weighed less than 100-pounds and was three months pregnant. The officers reported that Ms. Lyles was holding a knife and claimed they felt threatened by that. There was no earnest attempt to negotiate with her first or to pursue non-lethal options (e.g.: taser), there was no option exercised to injure her with a gunshot to the knee or foot. Instead, seven bullets entered her body, including two to her back. There was immediate intent to kill and end her life, not just deter her. The Prosecuting Attorney for Martin Luther King, Jr. County has jurisdiction over this case and will decide whether or not the officers will be face charges in the murder of Charleena Lyles. Dan Satterberg is the elected County Prosecuting Attorney. We, members of Seattle’s communities of African descent, initiate this petition to Mr. Satterberg demanding he takes swift and decisive action to hold Jason Anderson and Steven McNew accountable in the murder of Charleena Lyles. We invite our families, allies, and friends around the world to sign in solidarity. ==================================== Dear Mr. Satterberg: We begin by reminding you of statements from your 2016 State of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office speech (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqzFp5C_FCg&index=3&list=PLKgFT3iD4B6ljswxnHfqF8sIUDf0-Zu-9). You stated: • the core mission of your Office is “to do justice” and, “when someone has done something to harm the community, to hold them accountable.” • the core function of your Office is accountability • you and your staff are committed to partner with the community to define what the term ‘justice’ means in the context of the present • it is your Office’s responsibility to hold a person accountable for harm they do to the community and reduce the impact that person is going to have on the community in the future. • all of society’s most complicated issues come to your doorstep. • prosecutors can either see their function to defend the status quo, or as agents of reform. Being a leader requires being an agent for reform. • just because wisdom is slow to arrive doesn’t mean you should ignore it when it does. • being a part of Martin Luther King, Jr. County “compels us to do extraordinary things, to be inspirational”. • together, working with the community “we have the power to define justice, to define a system that reflects our best values and aspiration for our kids”. • around the nation, people are looking to the King County Prosecutor’s Office to see what’s good, what’s possible. • “We need to build bonds of trust with the community. We need to ask the community ‘what do YOU mean by justice’”. Based on your assertions, we call on you to take swift and decisive action to hold Jason Anderson and Steven McNew accountable in the murder of Charleena Lyles. These two men relied on the presumed safety of their badges to kill a woman in crisis. Letting them go without grave, life altering, consequences leaves our communities vulnerable to others who hide their violence behind badges. Our families are being terrorized by police officers who put their safety above the safety of the community, their fear above the security of our citizens. With impunity, they violate their oath to protect and serve us. We are unprotected by our gender, size, disability, vulnerability, or innocence. Our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are routinely and obviously violated without consequence. 4’10” tall, pregnant, Charleena Lyles is just the latest example. Her death destabilizes the already-precarious circumstances of her children. The ripples of her death touch the other families in her immediate community, the children who attend school with her children, every child of a Black parent struggling with poverty, and every Black parent struggling to give their child a sense of agency in their own lives. The cumulative, long-term, impact of this murder undermines all the internal work we do to encourage and inspire one another. You are aware of the historic inequity in how the law has been applied against our communities. Your office has done important work to undo some of that inequity. We, as citizens, have given you the duty and power to serve as the guarantor that justice prevails. You have asked us to help you define that word in a present context. Justice, in this case, demands that you will: • proceed with charges against these men regardless of the findings of the coroner’s inquest • charge these men with murder, and not a lesser charge • vigorously prosecute them at trial • immediately schedule an open meeting with our community to discuss your intended process and timeline for holding these men accountable for Charleena Lyles murder Justice demands that the consequences of Mr. Anderson’s and Mr. McNew’s actions will be so dire that: • no officer will take the use of their gun for granted again. • no officer will ever again shoot someone out of their own fear. • officers will, instead, hesitate and put their own lives at risk before they decide to kill someone who is, themselves, in crisis. • officers will understand that they are accountable to all of their fellow citizens. We are aware that your Office relies on police and sheriffs to carry out your day-to-day work. We realize this puts you and your staff in a difficult position. We ask you not to be bullied but to do the courageous and inspirational thing that Dr. King’s legacy compels. This is a moment in history where you and your team can show nationwide leadership as agents of reform. In your speech, you urged your staff to connect with their humanness. We call on ...