Dear Marcia, You recently joined 12 million people in the call for justice for George Floyd. Your signature adds another voice to the nationwide call for action in response to the horrific murder of an unarmed Black man.  Then you did something incredible: you contributed your money to spread the petition even further.  Here’s the deal: + You are driving real change in Minneapolis and around the country; + Change.org uses your contribution to amplify the petition as widely as possible; and  + Kellen, the petition starter, is ready to take this petition to the next level, and you can help decide how. How is this petition driving change? Contributions like yours are part of the reason more than 12 million people have joined in – making it the biggest petition ever on Change.org.  That’s why it has been featured in thousands of media storiesfrom Seventeen to USA Today and been endorsed by dozens of celebrities like Beyonce, Lil Nas X and Janelle Monae. Together with movements and activism around the country, that ramps up the pressure on DA Michael Freeman to charge all of George Floyd’s murderers. And it’s working. Right now it looks likely that the DA may finally charge the other three officers involved in George Floyd’s death. Kellen, with your support, will keep the pressure up until those officers, and Michael Chauvin who was already charged, are held accountable. How is Change.org using contributions to spread Kellen’s petition? It’s pretty simple. People like you who sign petitions on Change.orgare always given the opportunity to promote petitions they care about, increasing the chance that they win. Change.org already emailed the petition to more than 40 million people, and has advertised it to more than a million people visiting our site every day.     People like you keep contributing, so we’re taking it a step further to amplify the call for justice.  Your contributions are driving: + 118 digital billboards like the one above. They’re all over Minneapolis where the DA, the Mayor and the police can’t ignore your voices, where George Floyd’s family and community can see your solidarity. And they’re in New York, where most national media is headquartered -- they won’t be able to miss them. + More than 100 additional billboards on top of taxis in New York City, calling on people to text in to sign the petition. + Ads all over social media to put the petition in front of people who care about racial justice, all across the country. What’s next? Victory is going to take more people adding their signatures. It might be the biggest petition ever on the site, but until those police officers are found guilty, it’s not enough.   So we’ll put this petition in front of millions more people – both on our site and in creative ways – to inspire them to add their names too.  Click here to give Change.org your thoughts on where, and how, we should put this petition in front of more people. Thank you for using Change.org to support the causes you care about. P.S. Change.org is a public benefit company with a B Corp status. Our mission is to empower everyone to create the change they want to see, which is why we provide free petition tools to people around the world. Learn more about our vision by visiting our site, and read more about promoting petitions here.

Here's a link to Change.org if you want to add your voice and make a commitment.

Supporting the Protests

There was a protest and vigil here in Columbia last night.  Though we didn't leave our apartment to participate because of Covid concerns we did watch from afar.

We saw more cars parked in the Columbia Mall lots than have been there for months. Actually no cars have been parked there in months.  

We saw the cars streaming in on Little Patuxent Parkway to join the march.

With binoculars we could see the marchers as they walked to the lakeside gathering point.  I wish we could have heard the speeches and the chanting and the singing.

This is a critical time in our nation's history. Are we going to let a wannabe dictator take control with his racism and idiocacy?  I don't think so.  His administration has revealed the cracks and faults in our society but rather than proposing solutions and working to heal, he has continued to fracture us more.  

Here are the words of a leader: President Obama -

The former president also noted that while protesting and civil disobedience puts a spotlight on racial injustice, "aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices" and emphasized the importance of electing the right officials at all levels of government.

"Yes, we should be fighting to make sure that we have a president, a Congress, a US Justice Department, and a federal judiciary that actually recognize the ongoing, corrosive role that racism plays in our society and want to do something about it," he wrote. "But the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels."

He added, "The bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn't between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform."

 The protests here in Columbia were peaceful.  It was all over by 8 pm.

Some photos I picked up off the news.

Addendum: Never thought I'd be directing anyone to read what George Bush had to say but if you haven't read his statement you must. HERE.