On February 27, 2006, baseball pioneer Effa Manley becomes the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley, who died in 1981, was co-owner of the Newark (New Jersey) Eagles, a Negro League powerhouse, and a huge advocate for Black ballplayers and civil rights causes. …read more
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Aramis Ayala, the first Black woman state attorney in Florida history, just made a heroic move by refusing to seek the death penalty in any case–and Florida Governor Rick Scott removed her from a key case and handed it over to a white prosecutor in another county.1
Even the victim’s family is in support of Ayala’s decision to not pursue the death penalty.2 Gov. Scott is punishing her for doing the right thing and undermining the voters who chose her–and he must be stopped.
In November, Ayala ousted incumbent Jeff Ashton. She ran on a daring and progressive platform in which she championed dramatic changes to the criminal justice system that would shift the power and control from law enforcement to enhancing safety and well-being of community members. As State Attorney, Ayala understands that justice deserves to be in the hands of the people. Now, she’s facing a careless and disrespectful move from a governor who continues to trample on any real progress towards criminal justice reform–we must have her back to make sure other prosecutors follow in her footsteps.
This is about more than just the death penalty. Black communities and our allies have built a movement over the last year to replace the worst prosecutors with leaders who want to change the system from the inside out–like Aramis Ayala and Kim Foxx in Chicago. Just like every other movement that has built power for Black people, this movement is being met with anti-Blackness, right wing resistance, and anti-democratic tactics intended to keep our communities trapped under the leadership of white conservatives.
We’ve seen it before. After the election of the first Black President, we saw a wave of voter suppression laws intended to constrain Black political power and right-wing politicians refusing to let President Obama conduct the most basic aspects of his duties like appointing a Supreme Court Justice. We have to send a clear signal that when it comes to real leaders like Aramis Ayala, we’ve got their backs.
During his tenure, Governor Rick Scott has repeatedly failed to step up to other state attorneys when they did not serve justice. He shunned the family of Trayvon Martin. In 2012, when 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by cop wannabe George Zimmerman, Governor Scott moved too slowly to pursue justice for the teenage boy and his family. It was only after urgent pleas from protesters and community members that Scott finally stepped up and appointed a special prosecutor. But who he appointed was damaging–Angela Corey–whom he knew would support his “Stand Your Ground” law where he saw fit. Instead of fighting for justice, Corey allowed Zimmerman to get off. Since then, the Governor hasn’t done a thing about the criminalization of Black folks or the laws that allow them to be killed in cold blood.
Yet, Governor Scott did not even wait a day to take State Attorney Aramis Ayala off this crucial case, diminishing and undermining her position as a prosecutor. He is sending a scary and unfair message — the voters’ choice in who they elect to serve real justice does not matter.
Local prosecutors are the most influential decision makers in the criminal justice system and their work has an enormous impact on the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Our communities cannot afford to have elected leaders put their own interests and power above the people. That is why Orange-Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala–someone who will stay committed to making justice a reality for all people–is the kind of leader that we need. We cannot stand by and let someone like Governor Rick Scott silence her and the voters who elected her to fix our criminal justice system. Let’s show up for Ayala’s bravery and integrity.
Until Justice is real
Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Clarise, Anay, Enchanta, Malaya, and the rest of the Color of Change Team
References:
“Gov. Scott appoints special prosecutor after Ayala says she won’t pursue death penalty, ” Orlando Sentinel, 03.16.2017. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7602?t=7&akid=7127.1174326.9kEgwY
1454 – Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy. Matthias Ringmann, a German mapmaker, named the American continent in his honor.
1617 – The Treaty of Stolbovo ended the occupation of Northern Russia by Swedish troops.
1734 – The Russians took Danzig (Gdansk) in Poland.
1745 – The first carillon was shipped from England to Boston, MA.
1793 – Jean Pierre Blanchard made the first balloon flight in North America. The event was witnessed by U.S. President George Washington.
1796 – Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine de Beauharnais were married. They were divorced in 1809.
1799 – The U.S. Congress contracted with Simeon North, of Berlin, CT, for 500 horse pistols at the price of $6.50 each.
1812 – Swedish Pomerania was seized by Napoleon.
1820 – The U.S. Congress passed the Land Act that paved the way for westward expansion of North America.
1822 – Charles M. Graham received the first patent for artificial teeth.
1832 – Abraham Lincoln announced that he would run for a political office for the first time. He was unsuccessful in his run for a seat in the Illinois state legislature.
1839 – The French Academy of Science announced the Daguerreotype photo process.
1858 – Albert Potts was awarded a patent for the letter box.
1859 – The National Association of Baseball Players adopted the rule that limited the size of bats to no more than 2-1/2 inches in diameter.
1860 – The first Japanese ambassador to the U.S. was appointed.
1862 – During the U.S. Civil War, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia fought to a draw in a five-hour battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
1863 – General Ulysses Grant was appointed commander-in-chief of the Union forces.
1897 – A patent was issued to William Spinks and William Hoskins for cue chalk.
1900 – In Germany, women petition Reichstag for the right to take university entrance exams.
1905 – In Egypt, U.S. archeologist Davies discovered the royal tombs of Tua and Yua.
1905 – In Manchuria, Japanese troops surrounded 200,000 Russian troops that were retreating from Mudken.
1905 – In Congo, Belgian Vice Gov. Costermans committed suicide following an investigation of colonial policy.
1906 – In the Philippines, fifteen Americans and 600 Moros were killed in the last two days of fighting.
1909 – The French National Assembly passed an income tax bill.
1910 – Union men urged for a national sympathy strike for miners in Pennsylvania.
1911 – The funding for five new battleships was added to the British military defense budget.
1916 – Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico. 17 people were killed by the 1,500 horsemen.
1929 – Eric Krenz became the first athlete to toss the discus over 160 feet.
1932 – Eamon De Valera was elected president of the Irish Free State and pledged to abolish all loyalty to the British Crown.
1933 – The U.S. Congress began its 100 days of enacting New Deal legislation.
1936 – The German press warned that all Jews who vote in the upcoming elections would be arrested.
1945 – “Those Websters” debuted on CBS radio.
1945 – During World War II, U.S. B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan.
1946 – The A.F.L. accused Juan Peron of using the army to establish a dictatorship over Argentine labor.
1949 – The first all-electric dining car was placed in service on the Illinois Central Railroad.
1954 – WNBT-TV (now WNBC-TV), in New York, broadcast the first local color television commercials. The ad was Castro Decorators of New York City. (New York)
1956 – British authorities arrested and deported Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus. He was accused of supporting terrorists.
1957 – Egyptian leader Nasser barred U.N. plans to share the tolls for the use of the Suez Canal.
1959 – Mattel introduced Barbie at the annual Toy Fair in New York.
1964 – Production began on the first Ford Mustang.
1965 – The first U.S. combat troops arrived in South Vietnam.
1967 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Josef Stalin’s daughter defected to the United States.
1975 – Work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline.
1975 – Iraq launched an offensive against the rebel Kurds.
1977 – About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington, DC. They killed one person and took more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.
1983 – The official Soviet news agency TASS says that U.S. President Reagan is full of “bellicose lunatic anti-communism.”
1985 – “Gone With The Wind” went on sale in video stores across the U.S. for the first time.
1986 – U.S. Navy divers found the crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger along with the remains of the astronauts.
1987 – Chrysler Corporation offered to buy American Motors Corporation.
1989 – The U.S. Senate rejected John Tower as a choice for a cabinet member. It was the first rejection in 30 years.
1989 – In Maylasia, 30 Asian nations conferred on the issue of “boat people.”
1989 – In the U.S., a strike forced Eastern Airlines into bankruptcy.
1910 – Union men urged for a national sympathy strike for miners in Pennsylvania.
1989 – In the U.S., President George H.W. Bush urged for a mandatory death penalty in drug-related killings.
1990 – Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as the first female and Hispanic surgeon general.
1993 – Rodney King testified at the federal trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of violating his civil rights. (California)
1995 – The Canadian Navy arrested a Spanish trawler for illegally fishing off of Newfoundland.
2000 – In Norway, the coalition government of Kjell Magne Bondevik resigned as a result of an environmental dispute.
The election of Donald Trum
p puts the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants on the line.
That’s because Trump has recklessly pledged to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Under DACA, young people who came to the United States as children — known as DREAMers — are protected from deportation. Established under an Executive Order by the Obama Administration in 2012, DACA allows more than 740,000 young immigrants to work and go to school.
As a nation of immigrants, it is our duty to embrace DREAMers. Immigrants have shaped our nation for hundreds of years, and have made our country richer, stronger, and more prosperous.
The Bridge Act essentially maintains protections that young immigrants receive under DACA for a three-year period.1 The Bridge Act is seen as a placeholder to protect DREAMers until Congress passes comprehensive immigration legislation.2
If Donald Trump rescinds DACA, hundreds of thousands of young people could be arrested, deported, and torn away from their families. For many DREAMers, life in America is all they have known. We cannot allow these smart, talented young people to be removed from their families, jobs, and schools and forced into the unknown.
| Act now, It’s 2024 and time to progress into behavior that reflects the 21st Century ! |
Thanks for speaking up.
Heather Hargreaves
Vice President, National Program
NextGen Climate
Be a Seed for Change 
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