No president has ever acted to rescind a national monument. I never thought it could happen. But the recent interim recommendation to revoke large swaths of Bears Ears National Monument shows us anything is possible. Millions of acres of public lands could be taken away from us, and from our children and grandchildren, if we don’t fight back now. On August 24, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke will announce the Trump Administration’s plan for 27 of our national monuments. There’s ample reason for concern. For the first time in history, they could act to rescind a national monument. Or they could recommend the loss of millions more acres of public lands by shrinking existing monuments. Whatever they do, WE have to be ready. I’m asking for your most generous donation so we can: Continue our public mobilization in defense of public lands Defend the Antiquities Act Prepare for legal action if necessary The Trump Administration has fired their opening shot. You can be sure, it won’t be their last attack on our public lands. The question is, will you help defend these national treasures for future generations, and for wildlife to thrive? I will. And I’m hoping you will, too. Please make your most generous donation now. The Trump-Zinke move to shrink Bears Ears National Monument must be a call to action! Don’t let them take what’s yours. It’s time to fight back. Are you with us? Sincerely, Jamie Williams President, The Wilderness Society

“Generous.” That’s what Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called Trump’s decision to donate his second-quarter salary—a total of $100,000—to the Department of Education. DeVos left out the fact that before donating that $100,000, Trump included a $9.2 billion cut to the department in his budget.

Stolen Guns. A gun is stolen every two minutes in the United States. And these stolen guns often enable violent crime, like the recent killing of NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia. Congress can do something about it. The question is whether or not they will.

Bipartisanship. May not be trending at the federal level, but the states are stepping up. A bipartisan group of governors released a letter slamming the Senate’s “skinny” repeal bill and echoing Sen. McCain (R-AZ)’s call for the Senate to return to regular order.

Discrimination. The Trump administration is attacking the LGBTQ communityfrom all sides. Yesterday, just hours after Trump’s tweets calling to ban transgender people from the military, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief saying that the Trump Administration doesn’t believe that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits anti-LGB employment discrimination. The DOJ doesn’t normally weigh in on private employment lawsuits like this – so Trump and Sessions are going out of their way to support workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people. Their position is way out of step with the EEOC, other federal courts, legal scholars, and Americans of all political affiliations who strongly support LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.

Protect Trans Troops. Make your voice heard: send a letter to Trump telling him to protect trans troops.

 

The killer cop who murdered Philando Castile won’t serve any jail time and was just paid $48K severance. Yet Philando’s cousin is facing 10 years in prison simply because he attended a protest last year, will you sign the petition to have the charges dropped and read his story below?

–Arisha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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First, they let Philando’s killer walk free. Now they’re going after his innocent cousin for attending a protest. Louis Hunter doesn’t deserve to spend 10 years in jail.  Tell the Ramsey County & Carver County DAs: Drop the charges. TAKE ACTION

 

My name is Louis Hunter, and I could be the only person to serve jail time as a result of my cousin Philando Castile’s murder–while former officer, Jeronimo Yanez, walks free with a $48K severance check in his pocket.¹

I am a loving father of four, a landscaper, and an active member of United Church of God in Christ. Last year, I attended the I-94 protest to stand against police violence and demand justice for Philando. And, like many that night, I chose to leave of my own accord rather than risk arrest. I never threw anything at the riot police; I would never do that. That’s not me. But to my surprise, the next day, cops surrounded my truck and arrested me on felony riot charges, making claims about things that I never did. They impounded my truck, leaving me unable to work as a landscaper. And my family and I were evicted from our home, five days after the arrest.²

Prosecutors let my cousin’s murderer go free, but are pursuing these harsh and cruel charges against me without any evidence. All I did was attend a protest. Clearly, these charges are an attempt to silence and punish dissent in response to a profound injustice. My case goes to trial on September 25th, and we don’t have much time to get the charges dropped. I’m asking you, please, will you stand in solidarity with me?

Tell the Ramsey and Carver County Attorney offices: Drop the charges against Louis Hunter. A 10-year prison sentence for protest is not justice for Philando.

The cops’ story has changed about three times since they arrested me. First, they said I threw a molotov cocktail. But when the evidence didn’t support their lie, they switched their claim and said I wielded a board against police officers. When they weren’t able to find evidence for that, they resorted to just alleging “riotous behavior.”

The media isn’t even mentioning the hardship my family faces merely because I attended a protest. Philando is gone, without justice. And I could be gone too–on a 10-year bid–for being in the right place at the wrong time, just like my cousin.

The prosecutor recently offered me a deal: plead guilty to gross misdemeanor riot, to be sentenced as a misdemeanor, including jail time. They thought it was a “generous offer,” but I refuse to plead guilty to something I didn’t do. They made that offer because their case is weak. I can’t agree to a charge that will set back everything I’ve worked for in my life: my business, a good place to live, providing for my family.

That’s why we need to pressure the prosecutor to drop these charges before it’s too late.

I didn’t do anything but stand up for justice. I don’t deserve to go to prison, while Philando’s murderer walks free.

Sign the petition.

Thank you for your support and solidarity,

— Louis Hunter, and the Color Of Change team.

References:

1. “Cop who killed Philando Castile to be paid $48,500 in buyout,” USAToday, 07-10-2017
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/8223?t=9&akid=7721%2E1174326%2ErlQsOi

2. “Support Louis Hunter,” supportlouishunter.org, 07-27-2017
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/8224?t=11&akid=7721%2E1174326%2ErlQsOi

You know Sandra Bland’s name. In the year after her well-publicized death, 815 people have died in jail awaiting trial. A third of them have died within the first three days of incarceration. Most were in jail for one reason only: They were too poor to pay bail. This reality is what terrified Tai Sherman’s mother, Tracey, and the reason she spent every dime she had – and a lot she didn’t – to get her daughter Tai out of jail. Watch Tai’s Story: College or Bail? Tai’s case is a classic example of what is wrong with money bail. Tai had no criminal record. She was arrested for driving away while a police officer was trying to arrest an acquaintance of hers for shoplifting $38 worth of stuff – dish soap and the like. For this, Tai was slapped with $100,000 bail. The good news is that money bail reform has a lot of momentum in California and has a good chance of happening this year – and Brave New Films has partnered with the Ella Baker Center and a number of other organizations to #EndMoneyBail this Summer in California.  And Brave New Films has even more work to share right now. In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing “How Much Is Your Freedom Worth?”, a spoken word film that brings the injustice of the money bail system to verse. Next is “A Deal With the Devil” which showcases how defendants are compelled to take horribly unfair plea deals due to money bail. All of these films, plus our collaboration with Pretrial Justice Institute – “Breaking Down Bail“ – are available to screen now. All you have to do is organize a screening at your home, at your school, or with your faith community to see these films about this important issue. Please help us get the word out now about the movement to end money bail. We all need to do our part – watch, share, take action. Sincerely,  Robert Greenwald President, Brave New Films P.S. We need resources to continue this work, please consider contributing $10 to this effort. With every donation, big or small, you’re helping to tell this story.