civil rights

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Senate OKs Civil Rights-Era Cold-Case Unit

Bill would give Justice Department $10M a year to examine killings

(Newser) - The US Senate unanimously passed a bill that would open a Justice Department unit to re-examine civil-rights era killings that have gone unpunished, the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reports. The Emmett Till Act, named after the Chicago teen whose murderers confessed publicly, has also passed the House and will be...

Court Tosses Ex-Klansman's Conviction in '64 Murders

Statute of limitations for kidnapping had expired, appeals panel rules

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has thrown out last year's conspiracy and kidnapping conviction of an ex-Klansman involved in the murders of two black teens in Mississippi in 1964. Lawyers for James Ford Seale said they will seek to have the 72-year-old cancer patient, who was serving three life sentences, freed...

After 43 Years, LBJ's Dream Is Realized Tonight
After 43 Years, LBJ's Dream Is Realized Tonight
OPINION
Aug 28, 2008 10:12 AM CDT

After 43 Years, LBJ's Dream Is Realized Tonight

Voting Rights Act paved the way for Obama's candidacy, writes Caro

(Newser) - As Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination tonight, author Robert A. Caro will be remembering another speech: Lyndon Johnson's 1965 address to Congress urging the passage of the Voting Rights Act. In that speech, which reduced Martin Luther King to tears, LBJ "adopted the great anthem of the civil...

Some Blacks Think Obama Could Threaten Progress

Experts fear success could close discussion

(Newser) - Despite being a landmark in black American history, Barack Obama’s pending nomination could stall civil rights progress, some blacks say, because his success could fuel an argument that racial divisions have been healed, the New York Times reports. The danger is “that we declare victory,” a sociologist...

Advocates Work to Get Ex-Cons in Voting Booths

New laws make tens of thousands eligible to vote again

(Newser) - Grass-roots activists in states across the country are working to register an unusual bloc of potential voters: former felons. While nearly all states limit the right of convicted criminals to vote, most offer avenues back to the voting booth in varying degrees, the Washington Post reports. In the potential swing...

No Stopping Gay Marriage's Mass. Appeal
 No Stopping
 Gay Marriage's
 Mass. Appeal 
Opinion
Jul 17, 2008 1:54 PM CDT

No Stopping Gay Marriage's Mass. Appeal

Equality has been uphill climb for homosexuals, but history's on their side

(Newser) - With Massachusetts legislators set to repeal a law ex-Gov. Mitt Romney hoped would prevent the state from becoming “the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage,” Gail Collins, in the New York Times, looks at the march toward equality. For one thing, with the economy the way it is, “...

Obama to NAACP: 'Seize Responsibility'

Candidate pushes home message on accountability at NAACP convention

(Newser) - Barack Obama stood firm on his message to blacks of personal responsibility in his speech to the NAACP convention yesterday, reports the Chicago Tribune. The candidate, accused by Jesse Jackson last week of "talking down to black people," revisited his theme of personal accountability while stressing that responsibility...

AMA to Apologize for Racist Past
AMA to Apologize for Racist Past
Jul 10, 2008 8:17 AM CDT

AMA to Apologize for Racist Past

Group long barred black docs, kept mum on civil rights

(Newser) - The American Medical Association is to offer a full apology today for more than a century of racism against African Americans, reports the Washington Post. The country's largest medical association effectively barred black doctors for many years and stayed silent while the country was divided on efforts to end racial...

Don't Forget About the Other Jesse Helms
Don't Forget About the Other Jesse Helms
OPINION
Jul 5, 2008 1:17 PM CDT

Don't Forget About the Other Jesse Helms

Right-wing senator hired blacks and battled AIDS with Bono

(Newser) - Many remember Jesse Helms as an unflinching bigot who fought civil rights and foreign aid, but the former North Carolina senator also softened some views and befriended Bono, John Hunt writes in the Wall Street Journal. “Contrary to his reputation, Helms did change his mind,” Hunt notes: He...

Real Patriots Criticize the Government
 Real Patriots Criticize
 the Government 
Opinion
Jul 4, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Real Patriots Criticize the Government

American ideals more important than scare of the minute

(Newser) - Patriotism is the word of the day, but what does it mean? For Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it means fighting for your country’s ideals. "I believe I'm lucky to be an American because our founding document embraces the revolutionary idea that any citizen should be able...

Ex-Senator Jesse Helms Dead at 86
Ex-Senator Jesse Helms
Dead at 86
UPDATED
Jul 4, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Ex-Senator Jesse Helms Dead at 86

Conservative icon had been in poor health since retirement

(Newser) - Jesse Helms, a polarizing figure who represented North Carolina in the US Senate for 30 years before retiring in 2003, died today in Raleigh, the News & Observer reports. He was 86. A pro-segregation TV commentator before entering national politics, the first Republican senator from North Carolina since Reconstruction opposed...

Obama's Rise Sparks Affirmative Action Debate

Candidate's success has some calling for a rethink of equality policies

(Newser) - Barack Obama's ascent to the verge of the presidency has stoked the debate on affirmative action, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some wonder how far an African-American will have to rise for the playing field to be declared level, while others point to continued inequality and argue that Obama doesn't...

Superhero Dads Protest on Lawmaker's Roof

Fathers' group demonstrates for paternal access rights

(Newser) - Two dads in superhero getups climbed on a British lawmaker's roof today to demand their rights, the AP reports. A fathers' group staged the protest to promote paternal access rights, after talks with 10 Downing St. broke down. “We are now resuming a full-scale campaign of direct action,”...

Scouts Dig In for Philly Fight Over Gays

Battling city over eviction for barring gays

(Newser) - The Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts of America is locked in a legal battle with the city over the group's refusal to enroll gays. Philadelphia gave the Scouts an ultimatum to quit their historic city-owned headquarters—or pay a new fair-market annual rent of $200,000. The Scouts have...

NYPD Arrests Sharpton, Bell's Fiancée at Protests

Hundreds march against acquittal of officers in shooting

(Newser) - New York City police arrested the Rev. Al Sharpton and the fiancée and mother of Sean Bell today during protests over the April 25 acquittal of three officers who shot Bell to death in a 50-bullet barrage. Hundreds blocked traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge and other city hot spots,...

Woman Who Defied Interracial Marriage Ban Dies at 68

Mildred Loving launched case that led to Supreme Court changing law in 1967

(Newser) - Mildred Loving, whose challenge to Virginia law led to the Supreme Court decision overturning bans on racially mixed marriage, has died at the age of 68. Loving, who was black, and her white husband Richard pleaded guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of...

After Bell Shooting, NYPD Awaits Its Own Verdict

Case 'revealed significant deficiencies' in undercover operations: critic

(Newser) - A New York judge yesterday cleared the detectives who fatally shot Sean Bell, but the NYPD is awaiting its own verdict, after the case provoked charges of shoddy undercover police work. The shooting “revealed significant deficiencies in supervision, tactical planning, communications and management accountability,” said the Queens district...

Sharpton: Bell Verdict 'Abortion of Justice'

Feds will look into civil-rights charges against NYPD officers

(Newser) - Rev. Al Sharpton blasted today's acquittal of three NYPD officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-slug fusillade in 2006, CNN reports. "Justice didn't miscarry," Sharpton said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted." Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged citizens to respect the “...

Arizona's Black Leaders Haven't Felt the Mac Love

Senator has trouble 'feigning interest,' says scribe

(Newser) - John McCain has "pretty well zero relationship" with African Americans in his home state, says one prominent civil rights leader, and many others say they've never even gotten their senior senator's attention—much less met him. McCain's perceived indifference may be one thing in Arizona, and quite another in...

Not an Icon, a Man
 Not an Icon, a Man 
Apr 4, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Not an Icon, a Man

Would civil rights legend be controversial in today's political climate?

(Newser) - On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, the Washington Post looks past the legend at the multidimensional figure scholars and King's associates consider his true legacy. ”His challenge was much bigger than being nice," says historian Taylor Branch. "It was even bigger than race....

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