ColorOfChange.org

Campaigns

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  #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.

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  Created by Rashad Robinson
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  #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.

  1,628,643 of 1,700,000 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!

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  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Facebook deactivated her profile on police request. Then police killed her.

  Facebook just took away one of the most important tools we have to help hold police accountable – social media. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook, at the request of police, deactivated the social media accounts of Korryn Gaines, a 23-year old Black woman shot to death by Baltimore County police last Monday. She was broadcasting the standoff on Facebook that led to police shooting her 5-year-old son and killing her. Social media and shareable videos have been crucial not just for raising awareness about the injustices Black folks like Korryn and her son face every day from police, but in allowing us to control our own stories and narratives. Without access to social media, the police control the narrative. And when police control that narrative we’re always portrayed as people who deserved to die. This is a dangerous precedent. To keep our message from getting out, police are going to keep taking our social media out. Demand Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stop censoring users at the request of the police.

  26,037 of 30,000 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

  53,902 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Greg Mitchell
• 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.

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  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.

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  Created by Rashad Robinson
• Terence Crutcher died for being Black. Indict Officer Betty Shelby.

  Terence Crutcher needed help. But instead, he got a bullet. On Friday night, Terence, a father of four, was on his way home from class at Tulsa Community College when his car stalled in the middle of the road. Someone called the police. And instead of helping him, officers jumped out of their vehicles with guns drawn while helicopters circled in the sky filming the entire incident. The officers in the helicopter can be heard on video saying, "That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something." Terence died because he was Black. There's no other reason for someone to be killed by police when they are unarmed, walking slowly away with their hands up. He posed absolutely no threat. To make matters worse, after Officer Betty Shelby killed him, Tulsa Police let Terence Crutcher bleed out on the street. He died in the hospital a few hours later. This kind of continued disregard for Black life is enraging. Officer Betty Shelby killed someone. She should not be on administrative leave, sitting at home collecting a paycheck. Terence Crutcher's family and local activists in Tulsa are calling for Officer Shelby to be arrested and criminally charged. Let's join them and make sure this officer is held accountable.

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  Created by Rashad Robinson
• #DropOReilly

  O'Reilly has used his position of power on the network to prey on vulnerable women and attempt to force himself sexually on them--harassing subordinates with disgusting phone calls and threatening to fire them for not giving in to his lewd and misogynistic advances. Enough is enough. Tell "The O'Reilly Factor" advertisers to #DropOReilly now!

  46,378 of 50,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson
• President Obama and US Attorney General Holder: Secure justice for Mike Brown

  Today, a St. Louis grand jury refused to indict Mike Brown's killer — Police Officer Darren Wilson. On Aug. 9, the nation was horrified to learn that Mike Brown was targeted and killed by police as he walked down the street with a friend. Now his killer may never be held accountable — unless President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Holder take action. The Department of Justice has the power to arrest and prosecute Officer Wilson under federal criminal charges. Raise your voice today to ensure our national leaders secure justice for Mike Brown immediately.

  83,953 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Rashad Robinson