Good news for people who want to do good: Week 60

Welcome to your weekly roundup of good news about good people, how you can help make a difference — and a picture of President Obama to make you smile.

Students in Los Angeles made their message on gun violence clear

On Wednesday, thousands of students around the nation walked out of class and hit the streets — including at the Capitol — in protest of the gun violence epidemic.

And in Los Angeles, they took their message to a football field to literally spell it out for anyone who still doesn’t get it.

Students in Granada Hills spell out "ENOUGH" during a day of school walkouts. https://t.co/JLEOhUbq8H pic.twitter.com/UmXklT350V

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) March 14, 2018

Nickelodeon shows solidarity with teens demanding action on gun safety

A television channel can’t join a walkout. But kids’ programming network Nickelodeon did the next best thing when they went off air for 17 minutes in support of the activists.

As Virginia Democratic congressional candidate Dan Ward noted, the channel’s message of solidarity was a heck of a lot more than conservatives in Congress or statehouses have done.

When Nickelodeon has more moral courage than your Congressman… pic.twitter.com/3vfdr42YNK

— Dan Ward (@DanWardVA07) March 14, 2018

ACTION ALERT: March For Our Lives!

The protests this past week were massive and inspiring. And they’re not over yet.

On Saturday, March 24, the March For Our Lives will hit Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Join the movement and raise your voice!

Baltimore rededicates former Confederate monument in honor of Harriet Tubman

The push to remove monuments to white supremacy from the Confederate era is still ongoing. And it took a big step forward recently in Baltimore.

Mayor Catherine Pugh had ordered the removal of statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson last summer. And now the public park space where the statues stood has been renamed the Harriet Tubman Grove, in honor of the woman who guided more than 300 slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Ernestine Jones Williams, a descendant of Tubman’s, was at the renaming ceremony and noted the importance of the dedication.

“We stand on the shoulders of this great woman,” she added.

Ciara Harris of the Baltimore Recreation and Parks Department noted that the city is “properly recognizing an African-American hero.”

Fort Lauderdale elects first openly gay mayor

Dean Trantalis made history recently when he was elected as the first openly gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Trantalis had a sizable victory over his nearest opponent, former police chief Bruce Roberts.

In a news release from Equality Florida, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker — one of the nation’s first openly gay mayors and now the head of the LGBTQ Victory Fund — noted the importance of Trantalis’ win.

“When Dean takes office, Fort Lauderdale will be the largest city in the South with an openly LGBTQ mayor and his voice will resonate throughout the region,” she said.

ACTION ALERT: Stop the cover-up!

Trump and the Republicans are still engaging in their Russia cover-up. This needs to stop — and Trump must meet with special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigators.

Sign the petition to demand that this unpatriotic cover-up stop now!

Sen. Kamala Harris: “We need the United States Congress to have the courage to act” on gun safety

On the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris called out her colleagues who have been patently unwilling to buck the NRA and protect Americans.

During a Judiciary Committee hearing on the gun violence epidemic, Harris was very clear.

“We don’t need any more tragedies. We’ve seen some of the most tragic incidents that one could imagine. And we don’t need any new ideas, we’ve got great ideas. What we need is we need the United States Congress to have the courage to act.”

She also slammed the absurd idea of arming teachers, and raised the concern that students of color, particularly black students, would potentially be harmed rather than helped by their teachers carrying guns.

Watch her powerful comments:

California Democratic state senator pushing for near-universal sexual harassment training

California Democratic state Sen. Holly Mitchell introduced a bill that would require companies in the state with five or more employees to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all workers by 2020. After that, companies would need to refresh the training every two years.

Currently, state law only has such requirements for companies with 50 or more employees. But as Mitchell noted, “In order for this culture shift around sexual harassment prevention to be successful, workers need to feel confident in their workplace policies and procedures.”

The #MeToo movement has brought the painfully prevalent issue of sexual harassment across all areas of life to the forefront. And Democrats like Mitchell and her legislation partner, California Controller Betty Yee, are making sure it stays there until serious changes happen and the impact of harassment and abuse is taken as seriously as it always should have been.

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