Racial Justice

Stop ONE UNITED BANK’s IDENTITY Theft One United Bank claims to be the largest Black Bank in the nation yet has stolen the face and identity of a Black Woman and made her the face of their #BankBlack trademarked marketing campaign. STOP #BankBlack Scams No MONEY DONATIONS... this is bigger than that, please just sign. Wanda Darden, professionally known as Phantom KNOET, has been charged over $100,000 dollars since 2017 by attorneys to stop OneUnited Bank from using her FACE, Image, likeness and characterization. THIS IS A VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS  Statutes 50 & 51  Darden has never given permission orally or written for use of her face, image, likeness or characterization for any advertising or commercial purposes.  One United Bank received Darden’s imagery, work, history, and social media account information from a former friend of Darden’s that became employed by the bank.  Upon discovering One United Bank illegally using her image, likeness, picture, and characterization in an online promotion and on mousepads, Darden diligently sought through supplication and litigation to force One United Bank to Cease and Desist from infringing on her Human Rights and Civil Rights.  DARDEN served Facebook a DCMA notice and some of One United Bank’s ads were removed; however, the inconsistent protections of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter has allowed the continued infringements of One United Bank despite acknowledgement by Facebook of the infringements and their promise to end the abuse.  One United Bank continues intentionally inflicting economic and emotional harm to Darden’s psyche, family, friends, and business associates. This abuse must end.   Please do not donate money.  In 2016, Darden advised One United Bank that they were illegally exploiting her and she wanted the abuse to end. Instead of ending the use, One United Bank increased usage by placing her image on Debit, Credit, and Atm cards Funeral home fans Mousepads Notebooks Phone cases Stickers Tee-Shirts Banners Billboards in Time Square Email banners Digital Marketing Packages Webpages Social Media AccountsAnd More SIGN THIS PETITION TO END EXPLOITATION. Adding insult to injury, One United Bank created a campaign called “Unapologetic” while claiming in Brooklyn Supreme Court that Darden was an avatar, caricature, or algorithm of features. In addition, they distributed over 20,000 bank cards (financial instruments of exchange) bearing Darden’s biometric data, abhorrently placing a chip on her eye and the words “Good Through” on her lips. In bad faith and with malice, One United Bank has infringed on the Rights of an American citizen who has dedicated her life to servicing her global community, promoting self-sufficiency, and advancing upward economic mobility in depraved communities.    In an effort to persuade One United Bank to disassociate Darden’s face from their advertising and marketing campaigns, a movement #STANDWITHHER was started where supporters across the globe used social media and word-of-mouth to alert unsuspecting consumers of the false advertisements and misappropriated uses of Wanda Darden/ Phantom KNOET as the face of One United Bank’s #BankBlack marketing campaign. Supporters and activists wrote letters of support and contacted local law enforcement and civil rights agencies advocating on Darden’s behalf. Customers closed their accounts in alliance and others vowed not to open accounts and to advise others to destroy their cards and infringing paraphernalia.   This is EMPOWERMENT.  Sign in Support. This support has aided Darden in continuing her fight to stop the exploitation of One United Bank through litigation in King’s County Brooklyn Supreme Court.        Please sign this petition to show that you support WANDA DARDEN’s fight asserting her rights as a human being to NOT BE USED FOR ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL PURPOSES without her written or expressed permission. Wanda Darden has not historically endorsed financial institutions nor allowed her goodwill and image and likeness and characterization to be exploited.  For Darden, this has been a living hell.   Please visit @PHANTOMKNOET on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more in-depth information on Darden’s legal journey through the US Court System fighting for her Civil Rights to Privacy and Publicity and to own her own property.    Please sign, share, and engage others if you believe that companies MUST GET YOUR PERMISSION before using your face for advertising and marketing purposes.   Please sign this petition if you believe that skin color does not affect the rights of a human being.     Please sign this petition if you #STANDWITHHER       Send One United Bank the message that BLACK EXPLOITATION ENDS NOW!       Stop BANKING ON BLACK FACES!   In this digital age, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of our humanity. As companies create robots and androids with human features and “skin like” textures, we must ensure that HUMANS are afforded their right to owning their own faces and representation in the world. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. One United Bank has sought to claim ownership of “Wanda’s Eyes” by presenting in the marketplace and on the World Wide Web registrations with the US Copyright Office for a picture of Wanda Darden registered without Darden’s knowledge in 2018. WANDA Darden has never given permission for any person or business to copyright her name and eyes and she finds this akin to slavery and denounces it as evil and corrupt.    Names and Eyes Are NOT COPYRIGHTABLE!    Instagram: @standwithher211 Nuances in the law state that in order for Darden to get an injunction, there must be a show of community support in petition or other manners to preserve the rights of one citizen. Do not donate money through this petition as it does not go towards the litigation expenses Darden faces against her own face.  Today, it is Darden.... tomorrow it could be your grandchild. Protect your face today by choosing to #STANDWITHHER   Speak up: FDIC (877) 275-3343 Florida Attorney General (850)414-3300 NY Attorney General (800) 771-7755 California Attorney General (800) 955-0045 Maxine Waters (202)225-2201 (Govt Official that promotes and underwrites OUB and the Cohees) Write: In-house Counsel- OneUnited Bank: bcooper@oneunited.com Tpatel@oneunited.com   FBI: ic3.gov   As I fight for my civil rights, it is imperative to let the decision makers know that I do not stand alone and this is a right that we all choose to assert. Please let our voices unite. This is a good cause. This is a worthy cause. We must not allow injustices due to gender, skin color, or celebrity status.                        

Did you know Harriet Tubman, Audre Lorde, Lorraine Hansberry, Sojourner Truth, and Sammy Davis Jr. had disabilities? Living legends like Alice Walker, Simone Biles, Solange Knowles, and Halle Berry have hidden disabilities too. You may not know this because disabled black history is ignored not just by mainstream America, but black America also. It’s time to start, including disabled black people in both American and African American history. This begins with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). This petition asks the NMAAHC to include a disability history exhibit within the museum. Project ASCEND wants black disabled history makers like Claudia Gordon, Brad Lomax, Haben Girma, Lois Curtis, Cecil Ivory and more to become household names. Gordon is the first black deaf woman attorney in the United States, and Girma is the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Brad Lomax was a disabled member of the Black Panther Party that fought better healthcare in black communities. Curtis is an intellectually disabled black woman that won a landmark civil rights case, which granted disabled Americans the right to live independently within communities and not institutions. Cecil Ivory was a wheelchair user that led the Rock Hill boycott that put Star Buses out of business.  Disabled black people have made history in ways you couldn't imagine. Their race and disability shaped their activism and who they were as people. The racial justice movement was built on the backs of disabled black people. Sign our petition if you want to honor their legacy and see disability representation in the National Museum of History and Culture. This petition is addressed to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch and NMAAHC Interim Director, Dr. Spencer Crew. The museum’s founding donors are being asked to sign and support this petition: Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation, Lilly Endowment, Inc., Robert Frederick Smith, Atlantic Philanthropies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rhimes Family Foundation, David M. Rubenstein, American Express, and Ford Foundation.  

The record store and cell phone carrier at the corner of Georgia and Florida Avenue NW (U Street) has been playing D.C's indigenous Go-Go Music since the late 1990s. Neighbors in newly constructed condos across the street pressured the city and then T-mobile, to force the owners to stop playing the music. Tell T-mobile, the city, and residents who don't understand the cultural significance and history of go-go music in Washington, D.C. that this is unacceptable. Bring back the music! I started this petition because...Ronald Moten is a longtime peace activist, go-go promoter and a DC Native. Dr. Natalie Hopkinson is the author of "Go-Go Live" a book published in 2012 by Duke University Press that chronicles the history of Black Washington DC through its music. Go-go is the soul and heartbeat of Washington, and we refuse to be silent as gentrifiers malign, assault and attempt to erase this culture. #DontMuteDC

Last Saturday, 16-year-old cross country runner Noor Alexandria Abukaram crossed the finish line of a 5k race with a new personal record. She was heart-broken to find out that her record would no longer stand. Race officials had disqualified her for the most absurd reason -- she had worn a hijab while running.  According to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, runners with religious headwear need a waiver to participate. This includes Muslim girls like Noor who wear hijabs, Jews who wear yarmulkes, and Sikhs like me who wear turbans. This is not right. And I need your signature to help change this discriminatory practice. When I first heard of this incident, I felt pained and angered. I was overwhelmed by memories from my own childhood. I was born and raised in Texas. My three brothers and I grew up with a love for sports and a love for our Sikh faith. We wore turbans as part of our religion, and occasionally, an official would use headwear policies to keep us from being able to play.  My older brother had to sit out his ninth grade year of basketball because of a similar high school rule in Texas. I had to petition the United States Soccer Federation to change its discriminatory rules so referees would stop giving me a hard time. My younger brother encountered a similar obstacle when he became the first turbaned Sikh to play NCAA basketball.  No one should have to choose between their love for sport or their love for religion. And certainly no one should feel excluded in athletics. Sports should bring us all together, not drive us apart.  Rules barring religious headwear are wrong, hurtful, and discriminatory. They’re also unnecessary and outdated.   Let me say this as someone who has run the world’s largest marathon in New York City five times while wearing a turban. My religious identity didn’t hinder me or any of the other 50,000 people running alongside me each year.  There is no legitimate reason to require religious minorities to carry waivers in order to compete in sports. It’s time to change this outdated and discriminatory rule. We call on the Ohio State Athletic Association to update its policies so that all students, including Noor Abukaram, can compete freely and fairly.