• End Police Violence in Kern County
    Kern County Law Enforcement (Bakersfield Police Department and Kern County Sheriff Office) were declared the most violent police force in the entire country in 2015. 65% of those shot and killed by Bakersfield Police are Latinos, even though Latinos only make 45% of the City. Earlier this month the ACLU released a report highlighting the patterns and practices of violating civil rights. Additionally, there is an ongoing Department of Justice Investigation into both the KCSO and BPD to get to the bottom of this. We in Kern County need change and we need it now! That change must start with accountability! Please help us make this a reality in Kern County.
    623 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Laura S.
  • U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Too Racist to Be a Lawyer #DisbarSessions
    On October 18, 2017 U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, defending his stance against Sanctuary Cities, against protections for LGBTQ people, and towards criminalizing U.S. born and immigrant communities of color. His statements during this hearing are part of a history of unethical behavior, which should disqualify him from continuing as a member of the legal profession. In fact, the ACLU and over 2000 lawyers have filed bar complaints in Alabama stating just that. But one thing that Jeff Sessions has never lied about is being a racist - his entire career is built on oppressing communities of color. As the nation's top attorney, he has more power than ever to flush lives down the drain. Under his lead the Department of Justice has: (1) Stopped the investigation of police departments charged with racial discrimination and use of force, and instead encouraged use of army-level equipment and technology; (2) Sought to criminalize organizing and community defense by targeting groups like Black Lives Matter; (3) Increased funding for local police to push the War on Drugs, and instructing prosecutors to pursue the harshest penalty for drug offenses; (4) Attacked municipalities that seek to assure protections and constitutional rights for all residents, including immigrants; (5) Advocated for the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), taking away protections from deportation for hundreds of thousands of young people, work permits, and ability to travel; (6) Increased incarceration rates by targeting people with simple drug-related convictions and immigration-related crimes like crossing the border (entry and re-entry); (7) Has interpreted constitutional and human rights protections on gender as rights that do not apply for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals; As Attorney General, he is not Trump's attorney, he is the attorney of all the people of the United States. His actions demonstrate that he is incapable of representing the country and all of its people. His active advocacy against our communities is the epitome of injustice and it renders him unfit to be a lawyer, much less the person at the head of defending the interest of the United States. Join us in calling on the Alabama State Bar and the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate Jeff Sessions' misconduct.
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    Created by Mijente
  • Living is Not a Crime: Reject Santa Ana Anti-Homeless Ordinance!
    In January of this year the Santa Ana City Council declared Santa Ana to be a Sanctuary City. Yet many of our most vulnerable neighbors continue to suffer under the City's agenda of criminalization. People experiencing homelessness are consistently the target of compassionless efforts to outlaw their every behavior. Currently, the Santa Ana City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban items vital to people's survival, such as tents or any shelter from the coming winter, chairs, and recyclables. It would make it a misdemeanor for churches and community groups to provide food to those in need, which will lead to costly lawsuits the City is not likely to win. While the City claims this is being done in the interest of public safety, this is nothing more than a transparent attempt to drive the people away from their offices, with no established shelter as viable alternative. Please add your voice to the concerned residents calling on the City to vote no on such a cruel and shortsighted ordinance. *This campaign is a collaboration between:OC HoME, OCNEP, Catholic Worker, Chicanos Unidos, Chispa, Orange County Immigrant Youth United, Resilience Orange County, and Summer of the People.
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    Created by Hairo C. Picture
  • Stop Targeting Abuelitas Selling Candy on the Street in Back of the Yards to Make the City Money
    Alderman Raymond Lopez has suggested that the City of Chicago hire more police officers to enforce all the laws in the books, as a way to give out more tickets and increase the City budget. Specifically, he has mentioned going after people selling elotes, candy or other items on the sidewalks; people who are playing loud music; and Taco makers who are trying to make ends meet by selling from home. Meanwhile, the budget for police in Chicago makes up 40% of the entire city budget. In addition to that, just in 2016 City of Chicago taxpayers were responsible for covering $52 million on police misconduct payouts and litigation. And recently, Mayor Emanuel proposed a $95 million dollar police training academy. It doesn't make sense to pay the City debts on the backs of our communities, especially when there is so much money being spent already on policing and criminalization. You can read more about his stance here: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ald-lopez-wants-city-to-hire-50-super-ticket-writers/, and on his facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/RLopez15thWard/ #firelopez #defundthepolice #nocopacademy
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  • We Demand an Independent Investigation of the Phoenix Police Riot!
    The militarization of police departments is dangerous to communities of color and vulnerable populations. Dissent should not be punished, it's our right to voice our opinions and demand justice. We cannot continue to be harassed by white supremacists who leave the premises protected, and be targeted by white supremacist institutions like the Phoenix Police Department for calling out the very system that tear gasses, tackles, shoots us, and takes our lives. The residents of Phoenix have elected a City Council to be more reflected of the communities that live in this City. We need you to stand with us, to represent our concerns, and to stop the criminalization of dissent in our city.
    514 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Luis A.
  • Add Your Name: New Mexicans Will Not Fill Your Private Prison for a Profit
    CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America runs a private prison in Estancia, NM. With the number of inmates dwindling, it is pressuring elected officials to find 300 more prisoners or risk closing. In addition to profiting from suffering and family separation, this facility has grave problems with sexual assault, use of force and detainee deaths. CoreCivic has been instrumental in passing legislation that criminalizes communities of color in order to cash in on their incarceration. Senator Tom Udall and Representative Michelle Lujan-Grisham have the power to deny CoreCivic's efforts to drum up more business by incarcerating New Mexicans. Tell them to shut it down! http://www.alternet.org/human-rights/private-prison-demands-new-mexico-and-feds-find-300-more-prisoners-60-days-or-it-will#.WYIYt1D7WWw.facebook
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    Created by Jessica A.
  • Remove Immigrant Father from Gang Database, Review its Content
    On May 1st, 2017 Wilmer Catalan Ramirez filed a lawsuit for the excessive use of force that ICE used when they raided his home, and the Chicago Police Department and the City of Chicago for wrongfully putting him in the gang database. Chicago’s mayor and city council should be advocates for every city resident who falls victim to Trump’s deportation force, but especially for those whose physical well-being is in danger and those who the city has had a specific role in leading to his wrongful detention. Wilmer's detention was part of a national immigration raid targeting suspected gang members. It is clear that ICE wouldn’t have targeted Wilmer if it wasn’t for the Chicago police department. The police created the gang database at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s request in 2012 as part of his efforts to be ‘tough on crime.’ But since then, it has proven to be like other lists of names compiled by police in other parts of the country: arbitrary, discriminatory, and with dire consequences for those whose names get entered. Wilmer didn’t find out he was on the list until ICE agents cited it as the reason they broke down his door. He never had a chance to look at the evidence and defend himself. Join us in asking Mayor Emanuel and the city council for the least they could do to correct this error and advocate for Wilmer’s release, and start to review the procedures and content of the Chicago gang database.
    818 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Antonio G.
  • Don't let Bakersfield cops get away with killing an abuelito! Justicia Para Francisco Serna
    According to a 2015 report by Mapping Police Violence, the Bakersfield Police Department was found to have killed more people per million residents than any other large police department in the United States. Between the start of 2013 and the end of 2015, 29 people had been killed by law enforcement officers in kern county . Mapping Police Violence identified two of those people as black. Thirteen of those killed by police were identified by the group as Hispanic, ten were white, one was Asian, and three were racially unidentified. In December of 2016, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris opened separate civil pattern or practice investigations into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield Police Department . “Excessive use of force and police misconduct erode and undermine the public’s trust in our law enforcement agencies,” Attorney General Harris said. “These investigations will objectively, impartially, and thoroughly examine whether the Kern County Sheriff’s Office or the Bakersfield Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force or other civil rights violations." We seek justice for Francisco Serna. We demand a criminal justice system that ceases to criminalize communities of color and no longer permits the violence committed against our bodies to be seen as lawful . This abuelito's life mattered and we must not allow his death to be in vain.
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    Created by Jeronimo S.
  • Freedom4Dajon - Youth Charged as Adult - Awaiting Trial 4 Years
    Youth should not be charged as adults. Youth being charged as adults is one of the most important justice issues in California. The fate of the young people who have a shot at going back to juvenile court because of Prop 57 is of th utmost importance. #DreamBeyondBars #Freedom4Dajon Please sign this petition and show District Attorney Nancy O'Malley and the Judge that the community supports Dajon and does NOT want to see him treated as an adult.
    582 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Prince W.
  • PHX PD Release Police Report
    On March 23 2017, Francisco Valdez, a 24 year old Mexicano/Venezolano was murdered by PHX Police Department after his mother made a call that he was in emotional distress. She thought police would provide help to her son and make sure he didn't hurt himself. Shortly after arriving, police officers shot Francisco, who was unarmed, in the back four times in his mother’s living room. Instead of providing help, the police ended his life and devastated his family and his entire community. Three months after the incident, the Phoenix Police Department and the Office of Public Records refuses to release the police report. Frascisco’s mother, Lorenza Valdez has submitted a records request with no results. Puente Movement and Center for Neighborhood Leadership have submitted their own requests and Public Records has refused to release it. Both organizations have made multiple attempts at getting the exact language in city policy or law that points to the PHX PD’s right to withhold a police report for three months and no response has been given. At a Phoenix City Council meeting on May 10, Councilmember Nowakowski made a request for the report and has also been denied access. What are Phoenix PD and the City of Phoenix hiding? TODAY we need the entire community to stand up to this City and Department’s lack of accountability and transparency. Sign this petition and share it widely. Demand Phoenix PD Chief Jeri Williams and Mayor Greg Stanton to release the police report immediately!
    383 of 400 Signatures
    Created by Viridiana H.
  • New Haven Needs an All-Civilian Review Board & Sanctuary City Ordinance
    We demand safety, dignity and respect for our people in our homes, in our schools, and on our streets. We are all at risk until we are all protected. There is no sanctuary without real police accountability. Therefore, we demand that the City of New Haven adopt and implement the Malik Jones All-Civilian Review Board and the Sanctuary City Ordinance.
    137 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Megan F.
  • Stop 8 executions in 10 days
    Arkansas has scheduled 8 executions to take place in 10 days this April. There hasn’t been a torrent of executions like this in the last 40 years anywhere in the U.S. Please sign our petition below to ask the Governor of Arkansas to intervene to stop this injustice. Why is Arkansas rushing this life and death matter? The drugs the state acquired to execute expire at the end of the month. No really, that’s the reason. Executions leave a wake of destruction in their path - not the least, corrections officers who will participate in this onslaught of executions. Many individuals who have participated in executions have testified that the experience was traumatic. It’s frightening to imagine what 8 executions in 10 days will do to the Arkansas Department of Corrections staff.
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    Created by Equal Justice U. Picture