Tag Archives: Children

A group documenting lynchings is trying to erect markers at the sites, but expects local opposition.

By Cliff Weathers / AlterNet

Nearly 4,000 African Americans were victims of “racial terror lynchings” in the South between 1877 and 1950, according to a new report by the Equal Justice Initiative.

The report, released today, is the result of some five years of research by the organization. It has found that racial terror lynching was much more prevalent than previously reported. The researchers documented several hundred more lynchings than had been identified in the past. They did so by reviewing local newspapers, historical archives and court records. They also conducted interviews with local historians, and the families and descendants of the victims.

In all, EJI documented 3,959 lynchings of black people in twelve Southern states, which is at least 700 more lynchings in these states than previously reported. More than half of the lynching victims were killed under accusation of committing murder or rape against white victims. The EJI says that racial hostility fed suspicion that the perpetrators of the crimes were black and the accusations were seldom scrutinized. “Of the hundreds of black people lynched under accusation of rape and murder, nearly all were killed without being legally convicted,” says the report.

Some states and regions were particularly terrifying for African Americans, with dramatically higher rates of lynchings compared to the rest of the South. These areas included Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Counties that were particularly terrifying were Hernando, Taylor, Lafayette, and Citrus counties in Florida; Early and Oconee counties in Georgia; Fulton County, Kentucky; and Moore County, Tennessee, which had the highest rates of lynchings. Phillips County, Arkansas, and Lafourche and Tensas parishes in Louisiana were regions of mass killings of African Americans that make them historically notorious. Georgia and Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings of all the Southern states.

In conversations with survivors of those that had been lynched, EJI found that lynching played an integral role in the migration of millions of African Americans away from Southern states.

EJI also found that there was an astonishing lack of effort to acknowledge, discuss or address lynching in Southern states and communities. According to the report, many of these communities tried to veil this violent past by erecting monuments memorializing the Confederacy and the Civil War instead, while hiding the violence and terror used against African Americans.

The report says that there are currently few memorials that address the legacy of lynching, and that most communities do not actively recognize how their race relations were shaped by terror lynching.

Bryan Stevenson of EJI told the New York Times that his group wants to force people to reckon with the country’s violent and racist past by erecting the memorials. He said the EJI hopes to select some of the lynching sites and erect markers there. This will involve a significant amount of fundraising by the non-profit group. EJI is also bracing for controversies and objections as it tries to erect these markers.

“Lynching and the terror era shaped the geography, politics, economics and social characteristics of being black in America during the 20th century,” said Stevenson.

The report by EJI is part of a larger project that also involves the recognition of slave markets in the South and the erection of markers on those sites, particularly in Montgomery, AL. Stevenson said that regional and state governments have not been receptive to such markers although there are plenty of Civil War memorials in Montgomery, as well as some Civil Rights movement markers.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Annie Leonard, Greenpeace and bits of plastic in our oceans

05/30/2017 Nativegrl77

Bits of plastic called microbeads are polluting our oceans.

Take action today to ban the use of microbeads in the US.

Every time you brush your teeth, you might be unknowingly adding tiny bits of plastic to our oceans.

These bits of plastic are called microbeads and you can find them in everything from face soaps to body washes to toothpastes. And while they’re almost invisible to the naked eye, they’re causing serious problems for our waterways and oceans (and us!).

Most wastewater treatment can’t filter out the tiny microbeads — meaning they journey from your bathroom drains into waterways. Once there, they end up in the bellies of fish or other marine life and are passed along the food chain.

National legislation has been introduced in Congress to ban the sale of personal care products that contain plastic microbeads. It’s part of an ever-growing movement that needs your voice.

Tell your federal Representative and Senators today to support the Microbead Free Waters Act and to solve the problem of these polluting plastics.

This doesn’t end in the water. Today’s plastic face wash is in tomorrow’s sushi.

Many fish species that humans eat are known to consume these microbeads at an alarming rate, and the toxins absorbed in those plastics transfer to the fish tissue.

The toxins absorbed by plastic microbeads include pesticides, flame retardants, motor oil and more. And all that ends up in the oceans — and on our plates. We have to act.

A single microbead can be up to a million times more toxic than the water around it! Take action today to ban plastic microbeads from everyday personal care products.

The Story of Stuff Project, an organization I founded, is leading a coalition of over 100 groups to get these tiny plastic beads out of everyday products. Greenpeace is proud to be a part of this coalition.

This is a perfect example of the underlying problem with our current economic system and the culture it helps create. Natural alternatives to microbeads exist. But plastic microbeads are smoother than natural alternatives like apricot shells, jojoba beans and pumice.

Smoother is better for the companies making these products because smoother means these cleansers will be less effective at exfoliating… which means you can use them everyday… which means you buy more of the product!

Sadly, it also means poisoned oceans and a poisoned food supply. Plastic pollution in our waterways has become one of the great perils facing our environment. We can do something about it.

Take a minute right now and tell your elected federal representatives to support the Microbead Free Waters Act.

Thanks for all you do.

Annie Leonard
Executive Director, Greenpeace USA
P.S. Tiny pieces of plastic called microbeads are polluting our waterways and oceans. Tell your elected federal representatives to ban microbeads by supporting the Microbead Free Waters Act today!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Supreme Court’s decision on voting access … a repost

10/19/2016 Nativegrl77

First posted 8/6/2015

The Supreme Court announced a major decision about voting access in the United States. You can start a petition now to address these issues and make your voice heard.

The Supreme Court announced a landmark voting access decision in the case of Evenwel v. Abbott, upholding the current standard for creating congressional districts – the geographical lines that determine where you vote and who represents you in Congress – around the country.

This is the first Supreme Court decision regarding voting access and congressional districts in 50 years, and it has reignited debates about these issues around the country.

Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Change.org users like you have taken action to protect voting rights, expand voting access, and ensure that the United States maintains a free and open democracy. From the Voting Rights Act to expanding early voting around the country, users have started petitions to voice their opinions. Now you can add your voice to the conversation.

You can start your own petition about voting rights, voting access, or issues concerning America’s voting process by clicking here. It only takes about five minutes.

Change.org users are using these tools to ask their states to create nonpartisan committees to draw up the new congressional districts, to ask Congress to address issues of voter access, to call on governors to create early voting in in their home states, and much more.

Want to do the same? All you have to do is go to the dedicated start a petition page for voting rights and access and follow a few easy steps: https://www.change.org/start-a-petition/protecting-democracy.

In just a few moments, you can make your voice a part of the conversation.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

The Staff at Change.org

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Homemade Tater Tots

06/12/2016 Nativegrl77

Serves 4

3 large red potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)

2 cloves of roasted garlic

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 dash freshly ground sea salt

Olive oil for greasing pan

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Scrub the potatoes clean and roast until they are fork tender. Cool them rapidly by plunging them in ice water. Change the water, and repeat, until the potatoes are cool.
Shred the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. You can peel them first; I didn’t.
Place the other ingredients into the bowl with the grated potatoes and use a fork to fully combine everything.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub it with a layer of olive oil.
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Using about a teaspoon of the potato mixture, form it into a cylinder about 1 inch long. Place on baking sheet and repeat until all the tots are made.
Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, turning once about 20 minutes into the cooking time.
Serve hot with ketchup.

Save and print the full recipe on Food52.

Photo by James Ransom

This recipe originally appeared on Food52.com: Hand-Formed Parmesan Tater Tots

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Share This With A Mother In Your Life

05/08/2016 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Wishing Moms Everywhere A Happy Mother’s Day — With Progressive Policies!

It’s a fact of life that none of us would be anywhere without our moms. It’s also a fact of life that the Progress Report loves talking about progressive policies. So it’s natural, then, that on the Friday before Mother’s Day we will take the opportunity to share some of the reasons why our public policies lag behind for women and families — and why America’s mothers deserve better.

Here are five steps we can take right now:

1. Establish paid family and sick leave. Nearly all workers need to take time away from work to deal with a serious personal or family illness, or to care for a new child or aging parent. Access to paid family and medical leave could allow workers to meet those needs without jeopardizing their economic security. The United States is the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee workers the right to earn paid time off in some form; only 12 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave through their employers. We need a national paid family and medical leave insurance program that allows workers to continue to earn at least a portion of their pay while they take time away from work: it’s good for families and its good for the economy, too.

2. Ensure equal pay for equal work. Women are the primary, sole, or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of families, yet they continue to earn less than their male counterparts, with Latinas and African American women experiencing the sharpest pay disparities. Although the law prohibits unequal pay for equal work, there is more we need to do to ensure that both women and men enjoy the fullest protections against discrimination. Unfortunately, despite overwhelming public support, conservatives in Congress continue to be unwilling to move forward concrete action steps that could help uncover discriminatory pay practices, create greater pay transparency, and ensure that the law works fairly for everyone.

3. Raise the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will help hardworking women better support their families. Women made up approximately two-thirds of all minimum wage workers in 2012. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which means someone working fulltime earns
$15,080 a year. That is below the poverty rate for a family of three. Progressives are stepping up on this issue: last week new legislation was introduced calling on Congress to raise the wage to $12 per hour and eliminate the sub-minimum tipped wage, a move that would boost earnings for 19.6 million women.

4. Require paid sick days. Everyone gets sick, but not everyone has time to get better. Almost 40 million U.S. employees, or about 40 percent of the nation’s private-sector workforce, do not have access to paid sick days. If employees choose to skip work, the loss of pay can take a toll, particularly on the low- income workers who are least likely to have access to these policies. Allowing employees to earn paid sick days helps keep our economy, families, and communities healthy.

5. Expand access to preventative healthcare. Make no mistake, health care — from affordable insurance coverage to reproductive freedom — is an economic issue. In a 5-4 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, five conservative male justices on the Supreme Court gave unprecedented power to closely-held, for-profit, secular corporations to make health care decisions for their female employees. That needs to change — along with the minority of U.S. Senators who blocked a bill to overturn that decision. At the same time, conservative officials in some states continue to refuse to close the Medicaid coverage gap for low-income working families. In fact, it turns out Florida Gov. Rick Scott used his mother’s own death as a ruse in his political games to deny hundreds of thousands the right to affordable care.

Do you like what you are reading here? These and other important policy issues are part of a nationwide campaign called the Fair Shot campaign to help women and families get ahead. Check out the website here to learn more, and sign on to become a Fair Shot voter.

BOTTOM LINE: The mothers in our lives deserve the very best from us, and Mother’s Day is one easy way to show we appreciate them. But they also deserve the best from the employers and policymakers that can affect their ability to help their families succeed. Those officials who stand in the way should be more afraid than the child who forgets to call their mom this Sunday.