YouCaring is selected Crowdfunding for MPA LLC Communication Campaign for the People

FOR RELEASE September 15, 2015

Media Contact:  Mary Glass, mpapublicpolicyreview@gmail.com

CLICK PHOTO below.  Hear my Request for your donation.
Click DONATE for Online gift.

MILWAUKEE - We are pleased to announce that YouCaring is Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC choice for Crowdfunding.  The platform is well known, has easy access, provides support and its pay system instantly enable users to accept donations.

"It is clear that we must take a giant step forward into the opportunities of the World Wide Web and social networking for the implementation of our newest campaign, Marathon against NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal," said Mary Glass, Chair/Chief Visionary Officer.  "We have launched a time-sensitive crowdfunding campaign to jumpstart the campaign and provide necessary information to the People of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to compete with the Fast-tracking of the Public Financing that has the citizenry hog-tied in 30 years of INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE.

On June 4, 2015, Wisconsinites were broadsided with the press conference announcement by Governor Scott Walker-County Executive Chris Abele-Mayor Tom Barrett of a deal they had cut with three wealthy millionaires, Herb Kohl and billionaires Wes Edens and Marc Larsy, for the retention of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Team in the city of Milwaukee.

The announced deal is called:  "It is Cheaper to Keep Them".  It is proposed at $500 million and it consists of two (2) paying parts; one is private and one is public.  The private part of the deal was $250 million.  It was divided into:

–       $250 million from seller Herb Kohl and buyers Marc Larsy and Wes Eden

–       $100 million from seller Herb Kohl

–       $150 million from Marc Larsy and Wes Eden

The public part of the deal was $250 million.  It was divided into:                                

– $55 million State of Wisconsin

– $55 million Milwaukee County

– 47 million City of Milwaukee

– 93 million Wisconsin Center District - the traffic cop of the funding. 

The Cheaper to Keep Them announcement also came with surreptitious parts of this-n-that in cost and the promise of JOBS with no specificity in accountability. 

Continued reports of cost-overruns, public staff work, surreptitious meetings, growing interest cost, NO involvement of African American and People of Color and lack of clarity of all partners and investors left the taxpayers of Milwaukee with their mouths open with the ongoing surprises and disgust of another deal for everyone but them; however, they provide the framing and finance.

The bottom line for the taxpayers from the Cheaper to Keep Them deal was that the taxpayers had been violated in due process and they will pay for 30 years for a private deal for three wealthy men (Kohl-Edens-Larsy) that they knew nothing about, had no input, and did not authorize – a deal of Involuntary Servitude. 

They saw how Walker-Abele-Barrett’s "Misuse of Power" included the legislative side (state-county-city), and monopoly-oligopoly takeover of lobbyists, developers and investors with conflict of interest, bait-n-switch, marketing created many troubling features, that included legislators rolling over with support, Rolling Request for Proposals, Resolution, Senate Bill 209, $1 giveaway of approximately 10 acres of prime Park East Corridor real estate, sales tax waivers, purchase of a parking lot, giveaways of parking lot revenue, framing of tax increment districts, recommendations from comptroller and key officers, $200 million Contingency fund in the 2016 city budget (earmarked for NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal funding), housing funding, environmental payments, changing of RACM staff involvement and the dominance of Head of the Herd LLC.   It is clear that the level of disenfranchisement demands the U.S. Department of Justice and as often as necessary visits to our judicial system for address and relief.

YouCaring Crowdfunding will assist MPA LLC, Milwaukee Joint NSP Committee & Task Force (the neighbors of the communities) in districts of the city of Milwaukee and county of Milwaukee to shine a light, tweak the fast-tracking and wrongful acts at the present time and seek relief through our justice system, public scrutiny and the 2016 ballot box. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

We look forward to creating an ongoing leadership, fellowship and stewardship for public policy that includes networking with our new relationships across the city-county-state-nation-world to jumpstart a 2015 email and text list for data collection, surveys, focus groups, and a conference to promote success and the functional model that will come from the YouCaring Crowdfunding over the next 20 plus days.   

Our YouCaring campaign is called:

HELP Mary Glass create COMMUNICATION for People's engagement.

Anyone interested in getting involved as a Crowdfunding donor should go to:

https://www.youcaring.com/mary-glass-neighbor-community-432968

We are creating a volunteer list that includes:  economists, lawyers, sponsors, photographers, writers, graphic designers, videographers, and film producers.  If interested, we are at:  mpapublicpolicyreview@gmail.com

SATURDAY TALK is ON-THE-ROAD in the Marathon Against Disenfranchisement & Misuse of Power

CLICK photo to Enlarge

SATURDAY TALK - Saturday, September 5, 2015
WATER TOWER PARK - East North Avenue and Lake Drive Milwaukee was the site of the LABOR DAY Bonding in Leadership and Stewardship for Milwaukeeans in the marketplace and working folk seeking family supporting wages, lifestyles comparable with today's offerings and quality of life that supports health and wellness, disposable dollars from gainful employment, varied affordable housing with real estate options of renting, leasing, joint ownership and home ownership.

Labor Day is the first Monday in September.  It is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American Workers.

There were 4 Issues of Address

1. 2016 Candidates wanting BIG Changes in City Hall.
2. February 16, 2016 Pink Slip & Voter ID Push Campaign.
3. City of Milwaukee Budget.
4. NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal.

Citizens Oversight Wake-up Call Group

• Victoria Bodor - Homeowner
• Bishop Rasheed
• Candidate Jackie Ivy - District 2
• Candidate James Methu - Mayor
• Candidate Frank S. Emanuele, Jr. - District 9
• Candidate Andrew Shaw - District 4
• Martha De La Rosa - 9to5 - Wisconsin Director
• Dawn Powell - Dusk to Dawn Gardner
• Richard Kauper - Architect and Consultant Methu Campaign
• Lonnie Green - Methu Campaign
• Mary Glass - Chair/CVO/CEO, MPA LLC

Craig Jackson - Photographer

Text4Baby - September 8, 2015

September 8, 2015

Dear MARY,    The month of September is recognized each year as Infant Mortality Awareness Month, and provides an opportunity for healthcare providers, policy makers, and families to discuss and learn more about how to reduce the risk of infant mortality.  Text4baby is one tool that can support moms and other caregivers in giving their babies the best possible start in life. Providing mothers with accurate, ongoing health information is a powerful tool to ensure that babies start life healthy, and stay healthy. Text4baby messaging includes healthy pregnancy tips, such as reminders to take a prenatal vitamin containing folic acid, as well as infant safety tips, such as the importance of a safe sleep environment for baby. When you help pregnant women and mothers of infants sign up for Text4baby, you are connecting them to reliable health and safety information, right at their fingertips. Together with Text4baby, you can help families raise babies who thrive!   Sincerely, Kathleen Murphy Senior Program Manager, Text4baby

LABOR DAY - A tribute to American Workers - especially African Americans in KING COTTON SLAVERY

CITY-WIDE Milwaukee | DAY of September 7, 2015 | Labor Fest in Milwaukee is the traditional celebration with parade, food, speakers and advocacy at the Henry Maier grounds.  President Barack Obama has been a featured speaker and highlighted the importance of remember the importance of WORK and the importance of improving "work conditions".

Historic
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

African American 
We remember and celebrate the history of African Americans working in these United States and  promoting economic wealth for Caucasians - Enduring Concentrated Poverty.

The Gospel of Slavery, by “Iron Gray,” [Abel C. Thomas] 1864.

The most commonly used phrase describing the growth of the American economy in the 1830s and 1840s was “Cotton Is King.” We think of this slogan today as describing the plantation economy of the slavery states in the Deep South, which led to the creation of “the second Middle Passage.” But it is important to understand that this was not simply a Southern phenomenon. Cotton was one of the world’s first luxury commodities, after sugar and tobacco, and was also the commodity whose production most dramatically turned millions of black human beings in the United States themselves into commodities. Cotton became the first mass consumer commodity.

Understanding both how extraordinarily profitable cotton was and how interconnected and overlapping were the economies of the cotton plantation, the Northern banking industry, New England textile factories and a huge proportion of the economy of Great Britain helps us to understand why it was something of a miracle that slavery was finally abolished in this country at all.

Let me try to break this down quickly, since it is so fascinating:

Let’s start with the value of the slave population. Steven Deyle shows that in 1860, the value of the slaves was “roughly three times greater than the total amount invested in banks,” and it was “equal to about seven times the total value of all currency in circulation in the country, three times the value of the entire livestock population, twelve times the value of the entire U.S. cotton crop and forty-eight times the total expenditure of the federal government that year.” As mentioned here in a previous column, the invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the productivity of cotton harvesting by slaves. This resulted in dramatically higher profits for planters, which in turn led to a seemingly insatiable increase in the demand for more slaves, in a savage, brutal and vicious cycle.

Now, the value of cotton: Slave-produced cotton “brought commercial ascendancy to New York City, was the driving force for territorial expansion in the Old Southwest and fostered trade between Europe and the United States,” according to Gene Dattel. In fact, cotton productivity, no doubt due to the sharecropping system that replaced slavery, remained central to the American economy for a very long time: “Cotton was the leading American export from 1803 to 1937.”

What did cotton production and slavery have to do with Great Britain? The figures are astonishing. As Dattel explains: “Britain, the most powerful nation in the world, relied on slave-produced American cotton for over 80 per cent of its essential industrial raw material. English textile mills accounted for 40 percent of Britain’s exports. One-fifth of Britain’s twenty-two million people were directly or indirectly involved with cotton textiles.”

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twenty-two million people were directly or indirectly involved with cotton textiles.”

Milwaukee 2016 Candidates Caucus - Fact Sheet

CLICK Photo to ENLARGE

Milwaukee 2016 Caucus is based in the City of Milwaukee and is a political outreach of Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC.

It is a non-partisan group of individuals committed to ensuring that the VOTERS of Milwaukee have candidates that Respect them, Respect the Office desired/obtained, Oath of Office; and, the candidate realizes that neighborhood oversight of transparency and accountability is a MUST for the People's preferred candidates.

Guiding Points

• We seek replacement of incumbents that fail in TRUST and Due Diligence.
• We seek Complete Support of those that seek partnership and informed decision making with the People.
• We seek district-2-district engagement for to remove Isolation Gaps, by-design discrimination, and Enduring Concentrated Poverty.
• We seek communication that is Open, ongoing and full of opportunities to engage.
• We have a ZERO TOLERANCE for discrimination, disrespect, divisiveness, and disenfranchisement.
• We seek attendance for SATURDAY TALK, press calls, and coaching seminars.
• We promote the PINK SLIP Call each election.
• We depend on the internet for massive exposure but demand that good ole fashion door-to-door communication is a Golden Rule.

NEXT EVENT

• PRESS CALL - Saturday, September 5, 2015

Q:  Are you interest in joining us as a Candidate for 2016?

Contact us.

mpapublicpolicyreview@gmail.com

SATURDAY TALK - Add NEW 2016 Candidates Thompson & King and Adopt Pink Slip Campaign for 2016

L-R: Kendrick Harris, Candidate James Methu, Candidate David King, Candidate Judge Joseph Donald, Richard Kauper, Candidate Andrew Shaw, Sebastian Shaw, Brandon Methu, 
Candidate Ronny Thompson, Mary Beth Keller
L-R, Row 2: Vickie Bodor, Celaneese Lando, Ethel Thompson, Candidate Randy Jones
seated - Mary Glass
**********************

September 4, 2015

City-Wide Milwaukee is the focus of SATURDAY TALK, a monthly address of issues affecting the public square relative to FOLLOWING the MONEY, quality of life and economic development at the census tract and neighborhood level.

2016 Candidates & Pink Slip Campaign

On August 29, 2015, guest included 2016 Candidates for City of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Supreme Court.

They were:

• Candidate Ronny Thompson - 6th District
• Candidate David King - 9th District
• Candidate Judge Joseph Donald - WI Supreme Court

Each candidate were able to give his statement for candidacy and join in the discussion and networking.

Discussion highlights at Saturday's meeting were the addition of Candidates Thompson and King in the 2016 Candidates Caucus and the upcoming Press Call for September 5, 2015 to:

• Introduce the NEW 2016 Candidates in the Caucus
• Introduce February 16 Pink Slip & Voting Push Campaign
• Talking points of City of Milwaukee Budget
• NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal

SATURDAY TALK promotes discussions and networking for Informed Decision-Making.

In June, 2015, Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC created a forum for 2016 Candidates to introduce and grow their campaign while working with other candidates and stakeholders of the residential and commercial base in Milwaukee.  

The PINK SLIP campaign is on the removal of incumbents that have NOT shown loyalty to their Oath and DUE DILIGENCE to the People.

Candidates Thompson and Candidate King were on the Agenda for joining the 2016 Candidates Caucus. 

Judge Joseph Donald was a Walk-in Candidate as he was out in the neighborhood campaigning and came upon our meeting at Center Street Library.  He was welcomed and given the opportunity of sharing his candidacy and a group photo.

Candidates James Methu, Mayor; Andrew Shaw, District 4; and Randy Jones, District 7 were present.  Not present of the Caucus were: Jackie Ivy, District 2; Michael Olen, District 10; Michael Sugden, District 11.  We have also had Candidate Joe Davis, Mayor.

CLICK PHOTOS to Enlarge
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MPA LLC Citizen Oversight & Wake-up Call of NBA BUCKS GREED DEAL - September 3, 2015

DIRECTIONS
This article is produced through SWAY.   It is very Informative.  There are pictures, text and videos to the STORY.

TOUCH the right side of the GREEN frame. You can PULL DOWN the TAB on the RIGHT of the frame and view the information.
CLICK on photos to Enlarge.
READ THE TEXT and VIEW the videos
 ==============================

Glass will seek HIDDEN TALENT in Stewardship and Entrepreneurship with the MEN on the BUCKS Team

L-R, Top: Greg Monroe, Greivis Vasquez, Chris Copeland, O J Mayo, 
Right-Down:  Miles Plumlee, Shawn Williams, Damien Inglis, John Henson, JerryD Bayless, MARCUS LANDRY
L-Down:  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Michael Carter-Williams
L-R, Bottom:  JorgeGutierrez, Tyler Ennis, Rashad Vaughn, Johnny O'Bryant
***********************************************

City Center Milwaukee | September 2, 2015 | Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC visionary leader is Mary Glass.  She has decided to take MPA LLC and the city of Milwaukee neighborhood strategic modeling to the Hidden Talent of the NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal.

These are the young men, 19 years old to 31 years old, that come to the city of Milwaukee and court of basketball with HIDDEN talent and BIZ potential for partnership and MPA LLC plans to encourage engagement in the CORE CONSTITUENTS.

Demographics

The NBA Bucks Team has primarily the same demographics as the city of Milwaukee.  

They are African American, other People of Color and Caucasian.  

They are from cities across the USA; and, they are from Greece, Mexico, Venezuela, Canada and French Guyana.

Skin-n-the-Game
The Hidden Talent and CORE CONSTITUENTS of the NBA Bucks Mega Greed Deal are not mentioned.  They are the 18-member team of young men that will run the court in the games to Win.

These are the professionals and Hidden Talent that PAY a FEE every time they PLAY on the COURTS in the state of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee.  Not only the 18-member team, but any of their colleague-players from other teams that play in Milwaukee from other teams.

Therefore, they are automatically vetted and vested; and, should be a "working partner" with the neighborhoods who have been saddled with a 30-year taxpayer law (Statute 209).  They should have a say-so in the growth and success of Milwaukee the HOMETOWN according to Glass.

"Glass said, I will talk to each of the young men on the NBA Bucks Team to see if they see the benefit of creating a model - an image - that is more in line with Stewardship and Entrepreneurship of the NEW Millennium.  Additionally, since they are all less than 32 years of age, I expect nothing but INNOVATION."

Text4Baby - SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

September 1, 2015

Dear MARY,   You may have noticed some changes in the Text4baby website over the past week. This is because we have launched a brand new site! If you visit text4baby.org you will see a new look to the site, as well as some new features. The change gives us an opportunity to provide more information for Text4baby moms about their pregnancies, their health and their babies' health. For now, the partner page will continue to look the same, but will be found at a slightly different web address: https://partners.text4baby.org/index.php/get-involved-pg/partners. You can still access the same information and resources that you have been using, and this part of the site will not change until a later date. To access the partner page, you can also go through text4baby.org, then click the Outreach Partner link at the top left. If you currently have a link to Text4baby on your website, you should double-check the link and make sure it's going to the correct page. We are excited about this new change and look forward to hearing feedback from moms and partners! If you have any questions about the new website, or have noticed a problem with one of your links, please notify your State Outreach Manager or email info@text4baby.org.   Sincerely, Kathleen Murphy Senior Program Manager, Text4baby

SATURDAY TALK - Informed Decision Making and Networking - August 29, 2015

CLICK photo to Enlarge

City Center Milwaukee - Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC is in HIGH gear of sharing information that is media focused for more Informed Decision Making and networking of the residential and commercial stakeholders that attend SATURDAY TALK.

SATURDAY TALK

SATURDAY TALK is in its 2nd year at Center Street Library in AMANI/METCALFE Country.

The neighborhood was chosen because of the decades of outreach by Mary Glass, Chair/CEO/CVO, MPA LLC, for neighborhood strategic planning and advocacy for human-civil-legal rights in the public square.  

SATURDAY TALK is DESIGNED to encourage the use and growth of Center Street Library as a major public depository of information and the neighborhood source for Information Technology/IT.  It is also to take aim at the 53206 Incarceration focus and Flemers Chaney Correctional Institution located in the Amani and Metcalfe areas.

Glass created the forum at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in 2010-11 to inform young college academics of Color, domestic and international, about the Urban environment of Milwaukee, strategic planning with IT as a focus, volunteerism; and, the importance of leadership.

Election 2016 - Call-4-Action in MILWAUKEE

Upcoming Election Dates

Election Day Voting Hours: 7:00 A.M. -  8:00 P.M.

ELECTION DATES AND DEADLINES  

Spring Primary - Tuesday, February 16, 2016

• January 27th - Last day to register to vote by mail.*
• February 1st - First day for In-Person Absentee Voting (Location to be determined)
• February 11th - Last day (5:00 pm) to request absentee ballots by mail.
• February 12th - Last day (5:00 pm) for In-Person Absentee Voting

Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote - Tuesday, April 5, 2016 

• March 16th - Last day to register to vote by mail.*
• March 21st - First day for In-Person Absentee Voting (Zeidler Municipal Building)
• March 31st - Last day (5:00 pm) to request absentee ballots by mail.
• April 1st - Last day (5:00 pm) for In-Person Absentee Voting

Partisan Primary - Tuesday, August 9, 2016 

• July 20th - Last day to register to vote by mail.*
• July 25th - First day for In-Person Absentee Voting (Location to be determined)
• August 4th - Last day (5:00 pm) to request absentee ballots by mail.
• August 5th - Last day (5:00 pm) for In-Person Absentee Voting

Fall General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 

• October 19th - Last day to register to vote by mail.*
• October 24th - First day for In-Person Absentee Voting (Zeidler Municipal Building)
• November 3rd - Last day (5:00 pm) to request absentee ballots by mail.
• November 4th - Last day (5:00 pm) for In-Person Absentee Voting

 ==============

Do you have an acceptable ID for Voting in 2016?

Questions

• Election Commission - 414.284.3491  
• GAB/Government Accountability Board - (866) 868-3947

*Special Registration Deputy

NEW TWITTER account to Fight NBA Bucks Mega GREED Deal

https://twitter.com/nbamkegreeddeal

City Center Milwaukee |  DAY 282 |  On August 5, 2015, Mary Glass, Chair - Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC launched the MARATHON commitment for due diligence of NBA Bucks Mega GREED Deal.  To help ensure that the "framing" and the "status quo" is before the eyes of the People, especially African American, other People of Color and Work Challenged Milwaukeeans.  

Join Us

We ask that you join us in support by going to our NEW Twitter site and click "FOLLOW".

Our site is:   https://twitter.com/nbamkegreeddeal

Decorum in our Charter Officers - Speaks to TRUST and Professionalism in CUSTOMER CARE

The above paid individuals represent state and county elected officials, UW-M and the Democratic Party.

August 17, 2015

MILWAUKEE - Customer Care is part of the TRUST factor when holding an office in the public; especially one related to taxes, government or politics.

Most of the above are arrogant-based.
MPA LLC is making a list and posting as part of the public policy reporting for funding and the 2016 Election.

This is LIST #1

On The Ground With Shaun King

People join hands against the backdrop of an American flag as thousands of marchers meet in the middle of Charleston's main bridge in a show of unity after nine black church parishioners were gunned down during a Bible study, Sunday, June 21, 2015, in Charleston, S.C.

CREDIT: AP/David Goldman.

Shaun King is a Justice Writer for Daily Kos, where he discusses issues at the intersection of race, discrimination, injustice, and equality. Today, he advocates primarily for reform in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on the issue of police brutality in America.

Shaun King - Justice Writer

Can you talk to us a bit about your upbringing and growth up to this point?

I grew up in a single-parent household. Some people in my situation would say that their mother played the roles of both my mom and dad, but my mother was simply a very astute woman; she never filled the role of my father. A lot of principles and ways that I see the world today, I learned from her; particularly in terms of how to view people and the world. I was raised in rural Kentucky, and it was actually pretty rough. African Americans faced a lot of racism and discrimination growing up. I never really experienced overt racism myself until high school. I was put into a weird position when a huge group of students (who called themselves “rednecks”) hated me for no reason. My friends and I had to deal with regular discrimination, from physically having to defend ourselves to all kinds of other acts. I once was chased down a road by a group of guys in a pickup truck and was almost ran over. And this isn’t even the 1960s, it was the mid-90s! Even today what I’m seeing in places like McKinney, Texas, with 14-year-old girls being assaulted by officers, proves to me that racism hasn’t ended; but it’s shaped me in a lot of ways. When I went to college at Morehouse, it became my safe haven and the place that I learned the most about Black history. It’s also the place where I first learned to truly be a leader.

What sparked your passion for social activism?

A lot of who I am today all goes back to the discrimination that I faced in high school; it was so painful. In my sophomore year of high school I was assaulted really badly. I missed over a year of high school. I had three spinal surgeries, fractures in my face, and a lot of physical pain; it was brutal. So when I finally came out of that, I came out as someone having the ability to identify with people who have gone through physical and emotional pain. This experience really softened my heart toward other people who are going through hardships.

How long have you been involved in social justice activism?

My entire life. But I really started becoming active as a student at Morehouse College. While I was in college, Amadou Diallo was shot by the NYPD. They fired 41 shots at him, and several of my buddies and I can remember how we were protesting police brutality even way back then. We also had several conversations about the inequity in sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and those drugs’ popularity in certain racial communities. I was Student Government President my sophomore year of college, and since then, I’ve been involved in both activism and community work in general.

How do you define your role in criminal justice activism?

I view my role in society today as being a thought leader in shaping how people view issues. A lot of people are really angry and irritated about police brutality today. It always bothered me, but when I saw the video of Eric Garner being killed, knowing that this man was a father with many kids (I have two kids myself), it hit me hard. It felt like within days of that happening we heard about Mike Brown, then John Crawford, and case after case. Social media made these cases known, and in the beginning I really struggled to discover how I could make a difference and do something that mattered with this issues. So my first role was simply telling the stories of these injustices and I think I’m going to always do that, but I have also been working to figure out how we can approach these issues to make people’s lives better. There is a part of me that worries that, in spite of all of the awareness, nothing is getting better; and the statistics for police abuse this year are on their way to supporting that concern. I’m infuriated because we’ve talked about it so much, but I’m not convinced that society has done enough. In fact, the brutality that I see people experiencing today is kind of like a modern day version of racialized violence that was seen in the past. The brutality has roots and history, so we’re starting a project called Red Records to tell better stories about it. I felt like people connected with your [author Martese Johnson’s] story because, because you are a young person, you lived online and there were these pictures of you looking like a regular college student. So people saw you and they immediately connected and were like “oh no, this is terrible.” Now let me flip it: I’ve asked people “what can you tell me about Freddie Gray?” and people knew he lived in Baltimore, they knew his age, and they knew something really grotesque happened to him and he died; that’s about it. In spite of all the coverage, money, and expense, people don’t know his story; and that’s the case with a lot of victims of police brutality. It’s a lot harder to throw a story away when you add a human element to it, and that’s our goal with the Red Records.

Can you briefly describe the primary goals of activists in the arena of police brutality at the moment?

There are so many different types of activists, and the style of activist changes from place to place; all of that is important. I just read a book about the struggle for freedom and civil rights in Mississippi, and how local activists made a huge difference. So in the movement that we’re in now when people are speaking out against police brutality, there are few national voices and I think that’s a good thing. That’s because what you get as a result is people who really know their local problems and can advocate for those problems and against those issues in a smart and effective way. I know some activists for instance, who are focusing solely on issues of women being brutalized by police. I know others focused on immigrants being brutalized by police. Some are focusing on police brutality just in New York City, some inside of prisons, and so forth. It’s a really complex system, and when we first started saying we need to end police brutality, I don’t think any of us understood just how complex and intricate the problems were. Now, nearly a year after Michael Brown was killed, we are able to better wrap our minds around the problem and all of us are saying “how are you (people or organizations in different places) handling these problems, and how can I (the individual activist) do something to complement what you do. We found that we need to be able to define what the problems are nationally, state-by-state, and all the way down to the local/city level, then give people the tools to fight for better policies in their police departments. That is an area that still needs a lot of help. Ultimately, our goal is to start seeing these numbers go down: the number of police abuses, people killed by police, and officers killed in service. Until those numbers go down, I won’t be the least bit satisfied.

How has social media influenced you and other popular activists’ methods in achieving these goals?

Social media has been everything. Twenty years ago, if you had a certain hobby or affinity for a certain issue, but you didn’t know who the person leading that organization was locally, you didn’t know how to become involved. If you cared about animal rights in high school, you may not have even known another person who cared about similar issues. Social media solved that problem, connecting us all in a powerful way. Now, all of a sudden, it seems like everybody cares about particular issues and can connect to one another in ways that used to not be available. There are people now that I see as my friends and genuine partners in this fight for a better, safer America. Without social media, I don’t think I would have known them. Frankly, I don’t believe people would have even heard about the incident in Ferguson without social media. I had never heard of Ferguson; social media brought my awareness. It allows stories, which normally would have disappeared, to be magnified in a powerful way.

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