reconstruction

April 21, 2023 - This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Moral Monday Movement's launch, and to mark the occasion Facing South democracy reporter Benjamin Barber spoke with Rev. Barber, his father, about the movement's historic roots and accomplishments, and what keeps him hopeful about progressive change today.

April 12, 2023 - The expulsion of two Black lawmakers from the Tennessee House for participating in a nonviolent protest recalls an earlier expulsion of dozens of Black lawmakers from Georgia's General Assembly because of their race. Here's the defiant speech delivered in response by one of those expelled lawmakers, the Rev. Henry McNeal Turner.

February 23, 2023 - Goat in the Road Productions of New Orleans recently presented an immersive play about a family of Sicilian grocers deciding whether to make common cause with Black/Creole grocers during the city's 1892 general strike. They were joined by community partners Step Up Louisiana and the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice to help raise awareness about the history behind the drama.

February 17, 2022 - A recent report from the Zinn Education Project comprehensively assesses educational standards for the teaching of Reconstruction history in all 50 states and finds vast room for improvement. The study urges policymakers, teachers, parents, and students to press for more attention to this history in grades K–12 as the era has assumed greater relevance amid ongoing fights for racial justice and historical accuracy.

January 27, 2022 - As the N.C. Supreme Court prepares to hear a lawsuit challenging gerrymandered election districts, a prominent Republican leader has brought up the possibility of the legislature impeaching judges. It hasn't happened in well over a century, when white supremacist Democrats impeached two justices, as well as a Klan-fighting governor.

April 22, 2021 - A Mississippi city challenged a medical marijuana amendment that was overwhelmingly approved by the state's voters last year because of how the signatures to put it on the ballot were counted. A ruling in its favor would also end a new campaign to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions, along with any future amendment efforts.

March 24, 2021 - U.S. senators are currently considering whether to eliminate, reform, or protect the filibuster. The parliamentary procedure that gives the minority outsized power has a long history of being used to undermine civil rights legislation — and it now threatens to derail a bold Democratic agenda that includes voting rights and other pro-democracy reforms.