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Emory University Hospital has now approved the surgery, but the fight is not over. Sign the card, to show support for A.J. and his family. SIGN THE CARD!

 

Last weekend, Emory University Hospital agreed to proceed with the lifesaving kidney transplant surgery for 2-year-old A.J.¹ The hospital’s CEO Dr. Jonathan Lewin finally admitted it was a mistake to delay important medical treatment.² Emory University was completely wrong in the first place. The surgery was supposed to occur early last month — even with the signoff from Gwinnett County Jail. Instead, the hospital canceled because the father, Anthony Dickerson has a criminal past. To punish a child for his father’s past offenses is blatant discrimination

The fight is not over. We are showing up for A.J. and his family to make sure no other family endures this type of stress and agony.

A.J and his family’s strength has never wavered. We are sending a card to the family to let them know they are not alone in the struggle. Carmen, will you please sign the card today?

In just a short time, over 43,000 Color Of Change members like you signed the petition calling on Emory University Hospital to do the surgery for A.J. With the outpouring of community support in Atlanta, A.J. is on the path to finally receive the surgery he desperately needs. Too often returning citizens and their families are pushed to the margins and struggle to gain fair access to the most basic human rights such as healthcare. We need to show an institution like Emory University Hospital that they are not above the law nor should they dictate the right of a parent. Now we must make sure, the hospital follows through on its promise.

Sign the card today and let A.J. and his family know we are on their side and are fighting for them.

It is good news that Emory University has now approved the surgery. But we still need to keep up the pressure for systemic changes that holds medical institutions accountable for negligence and abuse of power. There is a long and frightening legacy of such institutions ostracizing and exploiting Black people. No family should have to hope, beg, and plead for urgent and lifesaving care. And no parent should have to justify their right to provide and care for their child. A.J. deserves a speedy recovery and the right to live as a free, happy child.

Please sign the card.

Thanks for supporting A.J. and his family,

Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Anay, Clarise, Enchanta, Malaya, Kristen, Katrese, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:

1.”Emory Healthcare Approves Kidney Transplant For 2-Year-Old A.J. Burgess,” Ice Cream Convos, 11-03-2017 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/10246?t=9&akid=8140%2E1174326%2EmNpeVI

2. “Kidney transplant for toddler closer to reality after hospital CEO admits mistake,” The Telegraph, 11-03-2017 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/10247?t=11&akid=8140%2E1174326%2EmNpeVI

 

 

Last night, civil rights lawyer Larry Krasner won a crucial District Attorney’s race in Philadelphia.

Krasner, who has defended Black Lives Matter activists in court, is on the record saying: ¹

1. “Policing and prosecution are both systemically racist…You have to be willing to study that to know exactly what points need to change. Then you have to be willing to push against it and train against it if you want to change that.”
2. “We need to end cash bail. We need to fix civil asset forfeiture so no one’s property is taken without conviction. We need to decarcerate. We need to stop the death penalty.”
3. “Every study confirms that good public education means less crime and yet we won’t fund public education. We just fund jail cells. That has to stop.”

Larry Krasner gets it. And this is exactly the type of bold, transformative leadership we need if we’re going to fix America’s broken criminal justice system which unfairly targets Black folks and other people of color.

Color Of Change PAC helped Larry Krasner win. During the primary election, we mobilized and trained 50 volunteers in Philadelphia and held two text-a-thons in the city. Together we sent 100,000+ peer-to-peer text messages to Black voters in Philly asking them to vote for Krasner. And he won!

In 2018, we want to do this but at a much larger scale. Color of Change PAC has a plan to flip DA races across the country. Will you contribute?

Yes, I want to help elect more District Attorneys like Larry Krasner across America.

With your donation we will:

1. Train volunteers around the country on how to use technology to mobilize Black voters and our allies
2. Scale up our cutting edge peer-to-peer texting program to turn out voters when it matters
3. Deploy hyper-targeted Facebook persuasion ads. Republicans are already doing this to suppress Black voter turnout. We need the resources to fight back.
4. Scope and build new technology that can help us win even BIGGER in 2018

…and so much more!

Here’s what’s at stake:

Black folks are 5x more likely to be incarcerated than white folks. Black women are imprisoned at the twice the rate of white women. Black children make up almost a third of all children arrested in the United States. Black people are unfairly targeted and over-incarcerated at every level! District Attorneys can help change this.²

District Attorney is one of the most powerful roles in our criminal justice system. They set prosecutor priorities and help shape sentencing. They can either choose to acknowledge that policing and prosecution are systematically racist, and commit to changing this reality – as Larry Krasner has – or run their offices like a sports league where all that matters is maximizing conviction counts

Larry Krasner calls this “a failed approach.” ¹ We believe that America can do better. We believe that America must do better by Black folks and all those unfairly targeted by bad District Attorneys.

Please chip in $20.18 (or another amount) to help transform America’s criminal justice system.

Until justice is real,

Arisha, Jenni, Bhavik, and the rest of the Color Of Change PAC team

Let’s elect Larry Krasners across America!
Sources:

1. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/10219?t=9&akid=8136%2E1174326%2EK0wNsY

2. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/10220?t=11&akid=8136%2E1174326%2EK0wNsY

KFI radio host Bill Handel called U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson a derogatory slur on air, twice. Tell KFI’s parent company, iHeartMedia, to immediately fire Bill Handel for his derogatory attack on Rep. Wilson!

Dear Friends,

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) was called a “whore” TWICE by KFI radio host Bill Handel — we need to have her back.¹

After exposing Trump’s appalling and disrespectful remarks to a Gold Star widow, Myeshia Johnson, whose husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, was killed in Niger earlier this month, Rep. Wilson was repeatedly targeted by Trump and his administration.² Emboldened by Trump, right-wing radio hosts like Bill Handel made misogynistic and degrading attacks.

We cannot allow attacks like this to stand. iHeartMedia, the parent company of KFI has the power to remove Bill Handel from the airwaves. It’s time iHeartMedia stops profiting from hosts that attack Black women.

Demand iHeartMedia immediately fire Bill Handel!

Bill Handel and KFI have used their position on L.A. radio for decades to disparage and humiliate Black people and Black culture. From mocking the Kwanzaa holiday to quips about the Congressional Black Caucus serving grape soda at their parties.³ In 2012, KFI afternoon drive hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of the John and Ken Show finally got themselves suspended after they called the late singer Whitney Houston a “crack ho” after years of insulting people of color.

The comments KFI and iHeartMedia are allowing their hosts to make are dangerous.They shape perceptions of Black people in the minds of viewers, and thus endanger Black people in neighborhoods, courtrooms, and classrooms across the country.⁴

That’s why we’re demanding that iHeartMedia immediately fire Bill Handel. Black womanhood have always been political–and disturbing “jokes” about appearances are a common go-to for misogynistic white supremacists who are trying to belittle Black women’s power. In just the last few months we have seen efforts like this repeated from Trump and right-wing media outlets – attacking powerful black woman like Rep. Maxine Waters, journalist April Hill, and ESPN TV host Jemele Hill. Research shows there are real life consequences for Black women when these dehumanizing attacks rule the day including diminished economic opportunities, less attention from doctors, and harsher sentences from judges.

Rebuke Bill Handel’s attack on Black womanhood and tell iHeartMedia to apologize for the segment now.

Few things upset a racist more than a powerful Black woman unapologetically exposing the illegitimacy of white supremacy and the power it wields–and Representative Frederica Wilson did that when she challenged Trump’s appalling comments to Gold Star widow, Myeshia Johnson.

If we continue to let KFI and iHeartMedia produce segments like the one with Bill Handel, without repercussions, we say that it’s okay for this show and shows like it to attack Black womanhood for ratings. And it’s not–they must be accountable for their cruel attacks. We can’t let this continue. We stand with Representative Frederica Wilson and we call on iHeartMedia to rebuke Bill Handel’s attack on Black womanhood.

Stand with Representative Frederica Wilson and tell iHeartMedia to fire Bill Handel now.

Until justice is real,

— Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Johnny, Evan, Jade, Chad, Corina, the rest of the Color Of Change team.

References:

1. “L.A. Radio Host Insults Congresswoman at Center of Trump Controversy,” LA Weekly, 24 October 2017. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/9755?t=9&akid=8097%2E1174326%2EXGzYYv

2. “As Loved Ones Say Goodbye to US Soldier Killed in Niger, Trump Continues to Disrespect Congresswoman Affiliated With His Family,” The Root, 22 October 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/9756?t=11&akid=8097%2E1174326%2EXGzYYv

3. “KFI Audio,” Jasmyne A. Cannick, 25 October 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/9757?t=13&akid=8097%2E1174326%2EXGzYYv

4. “Opportunity for Black Men and Boys: Public Opinion Media Depictions and Media Consumption,” Opportunity Agenda, 2011. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/9759?t=15&akid=8097%2E1174326%2EXGzYYv

By CAP Action War Room a repost from 4/2015

The Supreme Court Gives a Second Chance to Opponents of North Carolina’s Redistricting Plan

The Supreme Court gave good news to opponents of North Carolina’s gerrymandered redistricting map — and supporters of representative government! — yesterday. The high court ordered that North Carolina take another look at a challenge to the state’s election map. In December, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a redistricting map drawn by the Republican legislature that packs African-American voters into a few districts, diluting the overall power of their vote. The Supreme Court did not issue a formal decision on the case, but the justices ordered the state supreme court to reexamine the case, which is an important first step in ensuring that the state’s election maps are fairly considered.

African American voters in North Carolina saw a drastic change in representation after the 2010 census, when the map in question was drawn. Before 2011, North Carolina had ten majority black state House districts. After, the number more than doubled to 23. Concentrating black voters into a handful of districts dilutes the group’s voting strength by increasing the proportion of white voters in other districts. For example, in 2012, while more than half of North Carolina voters voted for Democratic representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans filled about 70 percent of the seats.

Much controversy surrounds the drawing of North Carolina’s redistricting maps. Through a project called the Redistricting Majority Project, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), worked with many states, including North Carolina, to draw election maps that would rig the game in their favor.

The RSLC was looking to influence the outcome of these gerrymandered maps in other ways as well. The group was by far the largest contributor in the last two North Carolina Supreme Court races, which both took place after this court case was filed and while the appeal was pending, calling into question the partiality of the court’s decision. The Center for American Progress looks deeper into the influence of the RSLC and other conservative groups on judicial races and looks at some of the return on investments these groups are getting.
Yesterday’s decision represents some momentum for advocates of good government. It built off of a similar ruling on Alabama’s election map that the court handed down in March. The Alabama decision asked a lower court to consider whether concentrating minority voters into a handful of districts could violate the Voting Rights Act by limiting the number of districts in which minorities could influence elections. These two orders from the Supreme Court are a good sign that the highest court is taking a harder look at racial gerrymandering.

BOTTOM LINE: The Supreme Court’s order to revive the challenge to North Carolina’s unfair election map is a step in the right direction. Fixing the state’s election map is just one of many steps that will need to be taken to ensure that conservatives cannot continue stacking the deck in their favor by suppressing the voice of others.