Voting Rights Legacy of the ’60s Heads to Court as North Carolina Law Is Tested – NYTIMES

stevenramon Uncategorized

Days after South Carolina confronted its past and lowered the Confederate battle flag, North Carolina will grapple with its present-day rules that determine access to the voting booth.

A federal trial opening in Winston-Salem on Monday is meant to determine whether recent, sweeping changes in the state’s election laws discriminate against black voters. These changes were adopted by the Republican-dominated state legislature in 2013, immediately after the United States Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when it ended a requirement that nine states with histories of discrimination, including North Carolina, get federal approval before altering their election laws.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/us/a-voting-rights-legacy-of-the-1960s-heads-to-court-in-north-carolina.html?_r=0

CIVIL RIGHTS: Academy to focus on struggle

stevenramon Uncategorized

Participants in the Martin Luther King Jr. Association’s Civil Rights Academy hope the event will give young people a newfound appreciation of the struggle of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s.

Read more here: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/civil-rights_participant_03681841

Watch: Civil rights leader John Lewis implores the US government to ban the Confederate flag on federal grounds

stevenramon Uncategorized

US congressman John Lewis, famed civil rights activist, rose to the floor of the House of Representatives to call on his colleagues to ban the flying of the Confederate flag on federal grounds.

 Watch Here: http://qz.com/450828/watch-civil-rights-leader-john-lewis-implores-the-us-government-to-ban-the-confederate-flag-on-federal-grounds/

Jefferson Davis Descendant Delivers Powerful Speech for Removal of the Confederate Flag

GDaniels Civil Rights ,

A descendant of Confederate President Jefferson Davis made a tearful plea for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state capitol.  Rep. Jenny Horne asked South Carolina lawmakers to do something “meaningful.”  After more than 13 hours of debate, the body voted to take the flag down and place it with other Civil War relics.     Read and watch here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/09/south-carolina-rep-jenny-horne-on-her-historic-and-surprisingly-personal-speech-it-needed-to-be-done/    Let’s hope and watch for other meaningful legislative actions that make the lives of South Carolinans safer and better.

NC Voting Rights Challenge

GDaniels Civil Rights, Voting Rights , ,

The challenge to North Carolina’s restrictive voting rights law is set to begin next week.  Many believe that the decision could have vast implications for other states.  However, what is most likely to happen after the trial  is an appeal and we could be a year or more away from an impactful decision.  Read more here:  http://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2015/07/09/local/naacp-nc-square-off-on-voting-rights-with-national-implications/ Continue reading →

This Week in Civil Rights History

GDaniels Civil Rights , , , ,

This week marks some significant events in the history of civil rights in the US.  Many of the occurrences are sad, such as the funeral for civil rights worker, Viola Liuzzo,  fifty years ago following the march from Selma to Montgomery, AL and the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said that the quest for justice was eternal.  As the quest continues, universities, such as Michigan, are hosting discussions that link the struggles of the past to our current state of  equal rights.