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Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Randolph County school board to reverse its ban on “Invisible Man” a repost – Black History

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Black literature is under attack.Invisible Man book coverDemand Randolph County reverse its ban on Invisible Man at tonight’s meeting.Join Us

It took just one letter from an angry parent to convince a North Carolina school district to remove Ralph Ellison‘s Invisible Man from school libraries in the county. A short board meeting prompted by a single letter — describing one of the most significant pieces of Black literature in American history as “filthy” — was all that five members of the Randolph County Board of Education needed to feel justified in voting to ban the novel last week.1 It’s just the kind of quiet injustice — and officially-sanctioned bias — that happens behind closed doors in towns across the country all of the time. But this time, we have an opportunity to push back.

Just days after Randolph’s decision made national headlines, the school board called an emergency special meeting for tonight regarding the ban.2 If a couple of bad press hits is enough to make Randolph reconsider, imagine how powerful thousands of our voices can be.

The Board is meeting TONIGHT. Will you join us in demanding that the school board reverse its decision and return Invisible Man to library shelves? It only takes a moment.

This isn’t the first time in recent months that books by Black authors depicting American racism have been attacked. Earlier this month, the president of the Ohio Board of Education called Toni Morrison‘s The Bluest Eye “pornographic.”3 And in July, a Detroit-area school district came under fire for dumping a collection of over 10,000 volumes of invaluable Black books and artifacts.4 Enough is enough.

Banning Black stories not only alienates Black students, it denies all students the opportunity to engage with and discuss important themes like racial enmity in society and the development of personal identity. For elected officials concerned with the education of our young people, it’s particularly perverse that Randolph’s school board failed to recognize the irony of banning a book that’s about silencing critical voices and the ways in which racist culture restricts individuals from reaching their full human potential.

Please join us in calling on the Randolph County school board to reverse its book ban at tonight’s meeting. Together we can send a message about the critical value of Black literature in our schools.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Kim, Hannah, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
September 25th, 2013

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way

References

1. “Invisible Man Banned: Ralph Ellison’s Landmark Novel Banned From School Libraries,” Huffington Post, 09-19-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2956?t=9&akid=3136.1174326.F-YN-i

2. “Board to reconsider its ‘Invisible Man’ ban,” Asheboro Courier-Tribune, 09-20-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2957?t=11&akid=3136.1174326.F-YN-i

3. “ACLU to Ohio schools leader: Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ not porn,” News Channel 5, 09-12-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2958?t=13&akid=3136.1174326.F-YN-i

4. “Discarded Black history books incite protests in Detroit,” Amsterdam News, 08-10-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2959?t=15&akid=3136.1174326.F-YN-i

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

OFCCP 58th Anniversary Celebration … 9/25 in memory of EO 11246


President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Commemorating the 58th Anniversary of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Executive Order 11246

Over the past 58 years, OFCCP has helped define and defend equal employment opportunity in the American workplace.
The origins of the agency can be traced back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941.
Executive Order 8802 was issued to prohibit federal contractors within the defense industry from discriminating on the basis of race or ethnicity.

President Lyndon Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, granting supervision of federal contract compliance to the Secretary of Labor, and creating the department’s first Office of Federal Contract Compliance. The EO ordered federal departments and agencies to impose non–non-discrimination and affirmative action rules in all federal contracts and federally–assisted construction projects. Later, on October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter consolidated all affirmative action enforcement actions into DOL by signing into law Executive Order 12086.

History of Executive Order 11246

Learn more about the history of OFCCP and stay informed about planned celebratory activities across the country in honor of this significant milestone.

In a June 1965 commencement address at Washington, DC’s Howard University, President Lyndon Johnson shared his strong belief in civil rights and nondiscriminatory practices when he said: “Thus it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates. This is the next and the more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity. We seek not just legal equity but human ability, not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the 27th amendment


 

What is the 27th Amendment:

“No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.” –

See more at: http://constitution.laws.com/27th-amendment#sthash.XQKBlcAs.dpuf

Date Proposed:

The 27th Amendment was first proposed on September 25th, 1789

Date Passed:

The 27th Amendment was passed May 7th, 1992

President of the United States Bill Clinton was the President of the United States during the ratification of the 27th Amendment

Stipulations of the 27th Amendment The 27th

Amendment is the most recent constitutional amendment passed; as of 2011, there have been 27 Constitutional Amendments passed with regard to the Constitution of the United States of America

The 27th Amendment addresses the salary rate of members of Congress, which is comprised of a bicameral legislature – the Senate and the House of Representatives The 27th Amendment stipulates that members of the Congress are not permitted to adjust their respective wage earnings in the middle of a term; in the event of a proposed wage adjustment, members of Congress must address any or all concerns with regard to wage adjustment prior to the starting of a new Congressional term

27th Amendment Facts

The 27th Amendment has never been cited within a Supreme Court Hearing The 27th Amendment addresses the adjustment of costs of living with regard to inflation The 27th Amendment is considered to be the Constitutional Amendment with the longest duration of time between the initial proposal and subsequent ratification; the 22nd Amendment is considered to maintain the second-longest duration of 4 years between proposal and passing

States Ratifying the 27th Amendment

1. Alabama 2. Alaska 3. Arizona 4. Arkansas 5. California 6. Colorado 7. Connecticut 8. Delaware 9. Florida 10. Georgia 11. Hawaii 12. Idaho 13. Illinois 14. Indiana 15. Iowa 16. Kansas 17. Kentucky 18. Louisiana 19. Maine 20. Maryland 21. Michigan 22. Minnesota 23. Missouri 24. Montana 25. Nevada 26. New Hampshire 27. New Jersey 28. New Mexico 29. North Carolina 30. North Dakota 31. Ohio 32. Oklahoma 33. Oregon 34. Rhode Island 35. South Carolina 36. South Dakota 37. Tennessee 38. Texas 39. Utah 40. Vermont 41. Virginia 42. Washington 43. West Virginia 44. Wisconsin 45. Wyoming

States Not Participatory in the Ratification of the 27th Amendment

1. Massachusetts 2. Mississippi 3. Nebraska 4. New York 5. Pennsylvania – See more at: http://constitution.laws.com/27th-amendment#sthash.XQKBlcAs.dpuf

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Choices … they are clear: Women have the RIGHT TO safe quality & affordable HEALTH CARE – BarackObamaCare2012- a reminder


Join Women for Obama: http://OFA.BO/3C7BeJ

President Obama held a grassroots event in Denver, Colorado where he highlighted how health reform has helped women get access to the care they need.

Thanks to Obamacare:

-Over 868,600 women will now have access to free preventive care.  That means things like mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer and pap smears are available to women without any cost-sharing.

-Over 22,100 Colorado women who find themselves in the Medicare doughnut hole coverage gap will have received a discount on their prescription drugs, saving them an average of $577 each.

-On August 1, insurance companies began to cover eight new women’s health services — including contraception, well-woman visits, breastfeeding support, and more.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org :::::: He broke his own neck?


In memory… Freddie Gray

It looks like Baltimore police are trying to blame Freddie Gray for his own death.

Police and prosecutors are refusing to officially release information about the investigation into Freddie Gray’s death. But at the same time, someone just leaked a police document that quotes a prisoner who rode in the same van as Gray, saying that Gray “was intentionally trying to injure himself.”1This anonymous leak almost certainly came from someone in the Baltimore police department.

It’s despicable. And it’s exactly the same type of victim-blaming we saw years ago when Baltimore police gave another Baltimore resident a “rough ride,” paralyzing him and eventually killing him in a hauntingly similar case.2

We’ve seen time and time again what happens when police are given the authority and political cover to police themselves. No transparency. No accountability. No prosecution. Unless Governor Hogan brings independent oversight to this case, we can expect the same familiar miscarriage of justice.3,4

Will you join nearly 40,000 ColorOfChange member in urging Governor Hogan to appoint Attorney General Frosh to assist the case against Freddie Gray’s killers?

Freddie Gray's family marches for justice

The prisoner quoted in this leak was separated from Gray by a metal barrier, so he couldn’t have seen Gray. According to the leaked document, he claims he heard Gray banging on the walls, and that he thinks Gray was trying to hurt himself. But if Gray was banging on the walls, it could be because he was desperately trying to get help.5We already know that he had been requesting medical attention, and those requests were ignored.

And Gray might not have been banging on the walls at all. According to other versions of the story, Gray was unresponsive by the time the second person was loaded into the van.6Whatever happened, what’s clear is that this leak is an attempt to shape the story in a way that absolves police of responsibility — at a time when law enforcement is refusing to release other information about the case.

Nearly 40,000 ColorOfChange members are urging Governor Hogan to send Attorney General Frosh to support the investigation and prosecution of Freddie Gray’s death. This leak makes it clear that the current investigation cannot be trusted. Baltimore police and State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby are heading down the same path of denied justice that has allowed Baltimore’s crisis of discriminatory police violence to flourish for years.

In 2014, 100% of people killed by Baltimore Police were Black. And almost none of those officers have ever been held accountable.7 Over the past 5 years, Baltimore police have paid millions to people injured and paralyzed by police “rough rides.”8 Freddie Gray was killed. And his family, Baltimore, and America have the right to an independent investigation that gets to the bottom of what happened and ensures the greatest measure of justice.

Take action to escalate pressure on Governor Hogan and build the widespread support we will need to win.

Thanks and peace,

— Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Lyla, Shani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team

April 30th, 2015

References

1. “Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says,” Washington Post 4-29-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4783?t=5&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

2. “Freddie Gray not the first to come out of Baltimore police van with serious injuries,” The Baltimore Sun Post 04-23-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4784?t=7&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

3. “Police Kill Black Women All The Time, Too — We Just Don’t Hear About It,” Bustle 12-08-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4785?t=9&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

4. “Why I Don’t Trust Baltimore Prosecutors with Freddie Gray Case,” Legal Speaks 4-22-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4769?t=11&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

5. “Prisoner Was Wrong: Freddie Gray Didn’t Kill Himself,” Daily Beast, 4-30-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4789?t=13&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

6. “Baltimore Cop’s Relative Claims Freddie Gray Was Injured Before He Got In Van,” Daily Beast, 4-30-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4790?t=15&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

7. BaltimoreUprising.org
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4788?t=17&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

8. “Baltimore’s “rough rides”: the city has paid out millions to people injured in police vans,” Vox, 04-28-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4786?t=19&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6