ColorOfChange.org

Campaigns

• 

  #JusticeforBre: Demand Louisville divest from LMPD, and invest in communities.

  Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was in her home in Louisville, KY on March 13th when officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department barged in without a warning nor announcement and broke through her door, fired off more than 20 bullets, and ultimately took Breonna’s life. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was burglarizing their home and fired his gun to defend himself. But in turn, the officers responded with a hail of bullets and turned an average morning into a tragedy. The police were at the wrong house. There was no search warrant that gave them the right to be there in the first place. Despite the clear and egregious misconduct of the police officers, Kenneth Walker is being charged with attempted murder and the murderers who killed Breona Taylor are walking free without any consequences. Instead of being transparent about their fatal misconduct, the police and commonwealth attorney conspired to make it look like this was a routine drug raid. LMPD even continued to falsely refer to Breonna as a “suspect” in the media for weeks though she had done nothing wrong. Nothing. A recent lawsuit filed against the officers reveals that police were actually searching for another person more than 10 miles away, who had already been arrested that morning. This is an affront to Black people, our communities, and Breonna’s family. They are charging her boyfriend with a crime to cover up, distract, and deflect from the fact they murdered a young Black woman in cold blood. All too often, Black women face police harassment and violence at the hands of bloodthirsty racist cops who see no value in Black lives. Breonna, her boyfriend, and their families deserve more. She was an EMT that lived her life on the frontlines as an essential worker, and when we need people like her the most during this pandemic, cops ended her young life. Let’s honor Breonna and hold the officers responsible for this tragedy accountable. We’re calling for the three police officers, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, to be fired and for all charges against Kenneth Walker to be dropped immediately. These officers are threats to our communities and as long as they’re allowed to wear badges Black people are not safe.

  886,274 of 900,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• 

  #JusticeforFloyd: Demand the officers who killed George Floyd are charged with murder

  It happened again. His name was George Floyd, and on May 25th he was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. George Floyd was a Black man, who was murdered in broad daylight after a grocery clerk called the police thinking he was writing a bad check. For seven minutes, George laid on the street while officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao held their knee on his neck as he was struggling to breathe. He lost consciousness and yet they continued to strangle him. Numerous bystanders pleaded with the police officer to let him go, while Floyd said the words “I can’t breathe,” several times, but the officer refused to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. After the murder, officers called his death a "medical problem." And it wasn't until the video was released clearly showing them choking him, did we finally see the truth. This was a blatant and disgusting coverup to prevent accountability for their brutal act of police violence. This is incomprehensible. His life was taken in a senseless act of violence at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, all for being “suspected” of writing a bad check. Police continue to hunt down Black folks in cities across America and we refuse to sit silent. It was not too long ago we heard Eric Garner utter the same last words, “I can’t breathe.” And just months ago, officers stormed Breonna Taylor’s home and murdered her in a botched investigation. On May 26th, officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, and two other officers who were present, were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. This is a step in the right direction to hold the officers accountable for murdering George Floyd but more action must be taken. We are calling for further action from Mayor Jacob Frey and County Attorney Freeman. Mayor Frey must 1) block the officers from receiving their pensions and 2) ban them from ever becoming police officers again. And County Attorney Freeman must immediately charge the officers with murder.

  536,287 of 600,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Drop any charges against Bree Newsome, the courageous organizer arrested for taking down the Conf...

  Early Saturday morning, a multiracial group of Carolinians led by teachers and activists took down the Confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol grounds — within an hour the state had raised the hateful banner once again in time for an 11 A.M. white supremacist rally. Bree Newsome, the Black woman who climbed the pole and cut down the flag, was arrested and taken into custody by Capitol Police. She should be promptly released from jail, any charges should be dropped, and the legislature should immediately vote to permanently remove the flag. According to a statement from the activists they took down the flag because: "We could not sit by and watch the victims of the Charleston Massacre be laid to rest while the inspiration for their deaths continue to fly above their caskets." The confederate flag was born out of a government defending the enslavement of Black people and resurrected as an emblem for whites violently opposing racial integration. Any government that recognizes the flag is declaring that it cherishes a history of racial terror. Taking down the flag is just one step but a symbolically meaningful one. Make no mistake about it, however, racism isn't just a flag or words it's baked into our economy and inequities in our democracy and criminal justice system. In Bree's own words: "It's time for a new chapter where we are sincere about dismantling white supremacy and building toward true racial justice and equality." South Carolina officials have sided with white supremacists in choosing to restore the flag before a planned rally. The legislature must immediately vote to permanently remove the Confederate flag from the capitol and all state buildings. ColorOfChange stands with Bree and the courageous activists who took down South Carolina's confederate flag. You can add a comment using the box provided.

  55,960 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Governor Bevin: Release Gynnya McMillen's Surveillance Video

  On January 11, my sister, Gynnya McMillen, was found dead in her room in a Kentucky juvenile detention center after being in custody for only a little over 24 hours. Since Gynnya’s death, the police are stating that they “didn’t expect that foul play was involved,” but it has recently been discovered that Gynnya was improperly monitored and immobilized when staff placed her in a martial-arts hold hours before she was found dead. There are so many suspicious factors surrounding the death of my sister. Governor Matt Bevin has fired KY Juvenile Justice Commissioner Bob Hayer and a staffer at the detention center, yet has failed to provide answers to how Gynnya died. Please sign this petition and join my family in demanding for Governor Bevin to release the Lincoln Village Regional Juvenile Detention Center surveillance video and provide answers about Gynnya’s death. - Greg, Gynnya's Brother

  53,899 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Greg Mitchell
• Justice for Alton Sterling

  Alton Sterling was a 37-year-old Black father of five selling CDs outside of a local store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He did not deserve to die. Yet here we are again. Another Black man slain by police. Another hashtag carrying the fury and pain of his community. And another family deep in mourning—in the same state that passed the 'Blue Lives Matter' bill to silence protests against police violence. On Tuesday night, Alton Sterling was selling CDs outside a local store, like he always does, when police arrived on the scene. The police tased him, held him down on the ground, and shot him in the chest and back. In the witness-recorded video, you can hear one of the officers shouting "If you f---ing move, I swear to God!" These officers have no respect for Black life, and must be held accountable. News just broke that the FBI and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division will be leading an independent investigation into his murder—and we have to keep up the pressure until they deliver accountability.

  142,261 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Don't sponsor a Trump-led presidential convention

  Donald Trump has repeatedly belittled Latinos, Muslims, Black people, women and people with disabilities with his hate speech, misogyny, Islamophobia, and racism. This has greatly inflamed a national atmosphere already hostile to these groups and is inspiring a dramatic rise in harassment and violent attacks against these groups. Now companies like Google, AT&T, Coca Cola, Cisco, Xerox, and Adobe Systems are planning to bankroll the Donald Trump-led Republican National Convention. But reports are showing that many of these companies are growing increasingly concerned about attaching their brand to anything involving Trump and his divisive rhetoric. With a nonviolent public push from us, we can convince these companies to dump their sponsorships. And if these companies cancel their RNC sponsorships it could put enough financial pressure on the Republican Party and the RNC to bar Trump from the convention!

  76,091 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• A historic time for national policing reforms

  The tragic police killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown hit home for millions across the country. The horror of losing a loved one, to senseless, racially-motivated police violence is a daily threat in the lives of Black people in America. Now, national leaders are paying more attention to racial profiling and police brutality than they have in years. Will you join us in calling on the federal government to implement critical reforms to end abusive, militarized, and biased policing targeting Black and brown communities?

  63 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Tell the FCC: Save the free and open Internet

  Following a court ruling, a handful of major corporations — Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable — now have total control over what we're able to see and do online. The free and open Internet is critical is to our communities' ability to access and share information without a corporate filter, and to effectively organize for racial and social justice. And as the FCC's National Broadband Plan acknowledges, high-speed Internet is an essential service that all Americans need in order to perform basic tasks, from applying for a job, to doing schoolwork, finding a home, and running a business.

  771 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• 

  #JusticeforAhmaud: District Attorneys George Barnhill & Jackie Johnson must RESIGN now!

  Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was jogging near his neighborhood in Brunswick, GA on February 23 when he was chased down, shot, and killed in cold blood. His executioners were father & son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, two white men, who told police they believed Ahmaud fit the profile of a suspect. But the truth is: Ahmaud’s murder was an act of hatred and white supremacy. Worst of all, the two DAs who recused themselves District Attorney Jackie Johnson and District Attorney George Barnhill further perpetuated the mismanagement of Ahmaud's case. DA Johnson has a history of her judgment being called into question. In previous years, she's shown through the mishandling of cases, her inability to fairly prosecute the officers she works with on a daily basis. And DA Barnhill even defended Ahmaud’s murderers by making the outrageous claim that Travis McMichael acted in self-defense and his actions fell within Georgia’s citizen arrest laws. In his letter to the Glynn County police, he stated, "it appears {Travis and Gregory McMichael's} intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia law, it is perfectly legal." Barnhill also went on to state that there was no need for arrest. And it is because of Barnhill's suggestions to police that two months have gone by without an arrest or any form of accountability. Now, a district attorney in another county has finally decided to bring the case to a grand jury--but grand juries aren't convening in Georgia until after June 2. Instead of seeking justice, DA Barnhill abused his authority to exonerate the McMichaels in the media. For their inaction, both District Attorney Gregory Barnhill and District Attorney Jackie Johnson must immediately resign. Ahmaud’s death is akin to a modern-day lynching. We must act NOW to end this racist terror. Enough is enough. We are demanding justice for Ahmaud -- we refuse to lose any more of our loved ones to these reckless acts of violence. Sign the petition demanding District Attorney George Barnhill & District Attorney Jackie Johnson's immediate resignation.

  155,271 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Demand Justice for Sandra Bland!

  DA Mathis said there was no reason for concern, despite the fact that an allegedly routine traffic stopped turned into a violent arrest is itself a cause for concern. Sandra's family says that Sandra would never kill herself and that police seem to be covering up her death. We must demand that local officials release all video, information and photographs relating to Sandra's unjust arrest, imprisonment and death. The local police department and prosecutor's office have a long history of racism and corruption. Last year, DA Mathis threatened a local Reverend who spoke out about racist prosecutions, saying he would release his “hounds” on the Reverend. Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith was fired from the police department in Hempstead, Texas for documented cases of racism. According to her loved ones, Sandra Bland was a loving, compassionate woman, with a bright future ahead. Today would have been the first day at her new job working student outreach at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University. Loved ones described her as bright, spirited, and having a thirst for life. She was also a vocal advocate against police brutality and often spoke about ending racism and police violence. Our hearts and minds are with her friends and family as they move through this unimaginably hard time. But in a world where Black people are stereotyped as “violent” and police exist to enforce the boundaries of a deeply divided and racist society, who Sandy was or the life she was creating, did not matter. What mattered was that she was Black, and therefore, in the eyes of the law, didn’t deserve respect, didn’t deserve her civil rights, her freedom or her life. To be Black in America, is to be safe nowhere. Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to be targeted by police and incarcerated than white women. The Department of Justice and Attorney General Lynch have the power and responsibility to address the systemic police violence targeting Black communities. The reality is, racism, corruption and a deep-seated culture of secrecy prevents local and state police from holding themselves accountable. Without independent oversight, police will continue to kill and prosecutors will continue to do nothing. We should not have to demand justice, every time a Black person is murdered, but we will continue to do so until the justice system respects Black lives.

  47,223 of 50,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson