Wow. Thanks to people like you, we’ve been able to collect over 1000 signatures on this petition asking that the White House direct the Department of Justice to investigate the assault on Brandon Pettiford as a potential hate crime! And in less than 48 hours no less! However, in order to obligate the White House to respond to our petition we need nearly 99,000 more.

Here’s some ideas of ways we can reach our goal together!

1. SHARE EVERYWHERE! Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr… We especially could use a lot of help on Reddit. If we can get Brandon’s story on the front page of Reddit, I’m positive we’ll reach that 100k threshold easily.

2. STAR POWER! Got the ear of an athlete, musician, journalist, or of an organization that might be sympathetic? Ask them to pass the link around! While getting Oprah or Lil Wayne would obviously be awesome and get a lot of attention, don’t overlook the stars in your own community. Local sports teams, community leaders, religious leaders all have star power too.

3. PEOPLE POWER! While using celebrities is great, we’re gonna get these signature with or without their help. Talk to the people you spend your day with. Prayer groups at church, coworkers in your office, and family members are all potential allies in our fight against racist violence. Is there an organization, club, or student group at your school that might be interested in helping? It certainly can’t hurt to ask.

4. ADD THAT PERSONAL TOUCH! Hit up your email address book. Here’s a sample email you could use as a template:

Dear friend, I wanted to let you know about a new petition I signed on We the People,

a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your

name to mine? If this petition gets 100,000 signatures by March 22, 2013,

the White House will review it and respond! You can view and sign the petition here: http://wh.gov/v0mw Here’s some more information about this petition: Direct the DOJ to investigate the assault on Brandon Pettiford of

Terre Haute, IN as a potential hate crime. In the early hours of Feb 17, three people pursued the car of Jessie

Stout. They forced her to pull her car over and violently assaulted her. The

biracial passenger of the car, Brandon Pettiford, was the real target of the

assault. Racial slurs were hurled at Brandon while he was nearly kicked to

death. According to the attackers’ own words they pursued him because he

had flirted and danced with a white girl at a house party earlier that

evening. The three accused attackers are being held on a small bond and one

minor felony despite Brandon’s critical condition. Local authorities

claim their hands are tied, largely because of the lack of state legislation

against hate crimes. Please direct the Department of Justice to investigate

the matter. For more information about Brandon Pettiford please visit: https://vengeanceforbrandon.wordpress.com/ Thanks so much for your time and your help! Together we can make sure that there are serious consequences for racist violence, even in the State of Indiana. In order to make sure we get the 100k signatures in time, would you consider forwarding this to a couple of your friends? Sincerely, [YOUR NAME HERE]

Thanks for the hard work everyone has put in trying to get the word about this horrible situation out. Together we can make sure that even in Indiana, hate crimes receive more than a slap on the wrist.