More than two centuries after it was designed to empower southern white voters, the system continues to do just that. By Wilfred Codrington III, The Atlantic — s a color-blind…
By Hannah Uebele, WGBH — This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arriving in the United States. Reverend Irene Monroe and Reverend Emmett G. Price III joined Boston Public Radio on Monday to discuss what reparations will look like if HR-40 — the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act — or another reparations bill is passed. “We’re looking at 250 years of slavery, 90 years of…
By Dr. Maulana Karenga — The Anniversary of the 1965 Watts Revolt occurs in the context of a larger history of Black struggle, sacrifices and achievements: the assassination, sacrifice and…
The Brennan Center’s report authors said as the 2020 election cycle heats up, election administrators must be transparent about how they’re deciding what names to remove from the rolls. By…
The same anxiety that drives white supremacists has motivated Republicans to disenfranchise populations that don’t vote for them. By Luke Darby, The Guardian — Before he opened fire on an…
Areas with discriminatory history purging at higher rates Purges accelerated following 2013 supreme court decision By Tom McCarthy, The Guardian — US election jurisdictions with histories of egregious voter discrimination have been purging voter rolls at a rate 40% beyond the national average, according to a watchdog report released on Thursday. At least 17 million voters were purged nationwide between 2016 and 2018, according to a study by the Brennan Center for…
By Benjamin Barber, Facing South — As Republican lawmakers in Southern states continue their efforts to undermine the influence of a diverse electorate, Democratic presidential candidates are calling for new reforms to combat discriminatory voting policies and practices. Since the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and ended federal preclearance of election-law changes in places with a history of voting discrimination, state…
By Bruce Hartford, Civil Right Movement Veterans — Note: This brief time-line describes an American history of oppression, persecution, and discrimination in regards to voting rights. But in all of the events described here, those affected were not submissive or passive victims, – rather they fought for their rights with whatever means they had. Similarly, much of this short summary consists of legislative and legal milestones. But those laws and…
By Astead W. Herndon, The New York Times — BALTIMORE — The first “Amen!” rang out after a couple of minutes, as Senator Elizabeth Warren, speaking to an almost all-black…
Topics: Connecting the Diaspora to Africa • The Impact of the Mid-Term Elections on Blacks and the Progressive Movement. Guests:
H.E. Arikana Chihombori-Quao (African Union Ambassador to the U.S., Washington, D.C.), Bill Fletcher (Labor and Social Justice Activist, Washington, D.C.) and Maurice Mitchell (National Director, Working Families Party, New York, NY)
By Lynette Monroe, NNPA — Black people do vote. Let’s stop perpetuating the myth that Black people don’t vote. Besides, emphasizing negative behavior will not yield positive results. Positive language reinforces positive behavior. While statistics related to health and wealth routinely place Blacks as dead last, when it comes to voting, this is not the case. Black voter turnout is higher than any other minority group, but Black people still…
TOPICS: Defining the Black Agenda in the Post Obama Era • Suppressing the Black Vote • The Midterm Elections: Blue Wave or Red Tide. GUESTS: Dr. Elsie Scott, Interim President, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc, Washington, D.C. • Atty. Barbara Arnwine, President/Founder, Transformative Justice Coalition, Washington, D.C. • Earl Ofari Hutchinson, President, Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, Los Angeles, CA • Bill Fletcher, Labor and Social Justice Activist, Washington, D.C.