Laws enacted during the U.S. slavery era are still being used by lawyers and judges in today’s courtrooms. By Justin Simard, The Conversation — As the story of Juneteenth is told by…
An anonymous cop believes civil rights organizer DeRay Mckesson is liable for injuries suffered in a 2016 Black Lives Matter demonstration—but at least one conservative judge isn’t buying it. By…
Revisiting When Affirmative Action Was White, nearly two decades on. By Ira Katznelson, Boston Review — First published in 2005, my book When Affirmative Action Was White answered a question Lyndon Johnson posed…
By Julianne Malveaux — When the Supreme Court overturned Section Five of the Voting Rights Act, it struck a blow to voting rights. No longer did states with a history…
“We need to do this in order to protect our rights, rights we already have, rights we shouldn’t have to still be fighting for.” By Tom Conway — E.J. Jenkins…
Racial discrimination in cases like the Arbery murder trial reflect the everyday reality of the criminal legal system. By Laura Jedeed, Truthout — On November 24, 12 carefully selected jurors…
Many parents of color see the not guilty verdicts as just one example of what their children face every day. By Danielle Campoamor, NBC News — Last week a 12-person…
By Alan J. Singer, HNN — Jury selection has begun for the trial of Gregory and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three white men accused of murdering…
The president is using his executive power not to address a legitimate crisis, but to satisfy a political goal. By Matt Ford, The New Republic — President Donald Trump has announced that he will sign the compromise spending bill struck between Democrats and Republicans this week, which will avert another government shutdown and provide $1.375 billion for new barriers along the southern border. Unhappy with that amount—he had requested $5.7 billion from…
National African American Drug Policy Coalition Call for Papers and Panel Presentations Join NAADPC members, state chapters and affiliates of NAADPC in panel discussions, research sessions, and select presentations in…
Andrew Gillum wants to fix his state’s broken carceral system. He’s not alone among Democratic nominees for governor. By Matt Ford, The New Republic — Andrew Gillum wasn’t expected to win Tuesday night’s Democratic primary for the Florida governor’s race, even after he won Senator Bernie Sanders’s endorsement weeks ago. The 39-year-old Tallahassee mayor was outspent five-to-one by the frontrunner, and even more so by the two billionaires in the race, but…
Bill Otis believes America must maintain draconian policies to be tough on crime. No wonder Trump picked him for a key administration post. By Matt Ford — Bill Otis doesn’t think too highly of the criminal justice reform movement in America today. Last year, the Georgetown University law professor told NPR that mandatory-minimum sentences were a “big success,” citing the drop-off in crime since the 1980s. In blog posts, he’s even more blunt: “Q:…