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The Oxford MI Active Shooter Incident: The Anomaly, and reactions that Harm

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Prayers to the Oxford, MI school district and the victims of the mass shooting that happened this week.  I can only imagine the level of concern, and fear parents are having for their children's safety.  In response to this incident,   many school districts have cancelled classes for the remainder of the week  . I'm sure some will homeschool their children, while others enroll them in private schools. But realistically,  the majority of American parents cannot afford anything beyond public school.  Typically mass shooting incidence result in community panic and desperation. And this commonly leads to, what I define as reactive - overnight solutions, such as parents advocating for employment of more police officers, and the installation of surveillance technology in schools. Or city officials immediately diverting funds to police technology, instead of considering the impact surveillance and policing, continues to have on Black and Arab communities. Ev...

Dearborn City Council Unanimously Vote Yes on Police Surveillance within Public Schools

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It's clear that the current council body has no interest in creating safe environments for Black and Arab Communities.  The role of City Council is to do what's in the best interest of the people, take actions that move us towards progress and better lives, regardless of residential status, religion, color or race.  Installing surveillance cameras in Public Schools that would feed directly to the Dearborn Police Department ,  where more than 30% of the city's residents identify as Arab, is fear mongering, extreme, and an attempt to label Arab people as terrorists.  These tactics are rooted in Anti-Blackness; for a long time Dearborn lawmakers have presented and passed policies or procedures that continue previous mayor, Orville Hubbard's racist legacy , and this is no different.  Dearborn public schools are not meeting recommended state guidelines for mental health. During the month of May, Governor Gretchen Whitmire released state guidelines for student r...

Metro-Detroit Activist, Alexandria J Hughes, Responds to Removal of the Largest Confederate Monument in the U.S

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There are many facets to anti-racism, but the most popular in 2020, included removal of racist monuments. Whether it was Minneapolis, or communities surrounding me, there were activists and legislators taking action to eliminate statues of slave owners, and leaders of the past who carried out mass massacres on American Soil. Knowing that dozens of activists including myself were instrumental in urging Dearborn, MI City Council members to move forward on renaming the Hubbard Ballroom , and removing the statue of former Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard is a feeling of joy. After our protesting efforts in 2020 to stop racist policing in cities such as Dearborn and Livonia , Michigan, we were elated to see progress being made. But this also came with a feeling of  uncertainty. Uncertainty, for what the future of Black Americans will be. This year, in the same cities, myself and others have been labeled as extremist and ignored, after advocating that police reform is necessary. At Livoni...