Civil rights groups and people across the nation suspect foul player after a young woman dies in police custody. Several petitions are circulating to have the Texas State Troopers release the full video of the arrest. Read more about it here. See edited footage from the trooper’s dashcam here.
Is Standardized Testing Good or Bad? Civil Rights Activists can’t seem to agree.
Standardized testing in schools has been a longstanding and much debated practice in education. Some argue that standardized testing is a way to bring attention to the achievement gap in schools and consequently bring about solutions. Others argue that standardized testing causes school systems to “teach the test,” which results in a decreased focus on the arts and creative thinking in schools. Read more about it here, and tell us what you think.
Voting Rights Legacy of the ’60s Heads to Court as North Carolina Law Is Tested – NYTIMES
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
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
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
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
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
Sacramento Schools Allegedly Discriminate against Latinos
Five Families filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Latino students were excluded from a Sacremento Elementary school’s Gifted and Talented program and were referred to as the “ghetto class.”
Congress moves to restore the Voting Rig
Congress moves to restore the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 50th Anniversary of the VRA in August 2015. Stay tuned. http://www.thenation.com/article/210673/congressional-democrats-introduce-ambitious-new-bill-restore-voting-rights-act#
“If anybody thinks there’s not racial di
“If anybody thinks there’s not racial discrimination in voting today, they’re not really paying attention,” Senator Leahy said.
Challenge to Maryland’s Redistricting Plan Filed
Judicial Watch files a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s Congressional districts in federal court http://jwatch.us/8zBSQL
Baltimore Avoids Intense Civil Rights Investigations
Baltimore’s involvement with the Justice Department’s COPS program may keep the city out of civil rights litigation.
Dr. MLKing on riots. There is nothing ne
Dr. MLKing on riots. There is nothing new under the sun. Go to the 24 minute mark. http://ow.ly/Meyrp
Ohio settles early voting lawsuit.
The settlement maintains a uniform statewide voting schedule in Ohio, but extends the hours and days in the schedule. This will likely lead to a larger voter turnout, allowing people to vote in the evening and on weekends. The settlement also protects the new schedule from being legally challenged.
This Week in Civil Rights History
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.
Civil Rights Today 