Human Rights

September 25, 2020 - When it comes to abortion, fighting for legality alone will never be enough. Southern abortion funds are building a future where all of us can get the care we need no matter where we live.

September 24, 2020 - The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a Florida law requiring people with felony convictions to pay off all court fines and fees before they can cast ballots again, so voting rights advocates are redoubling efforts to raise funds to help the indigent.

September 11, 2020 - A storm of historic proportions in a record-breaking year, Hurricane Laura and the damage it wrought are symptoms of the worsening global climate disaster. Striking a heavily industrialized corridor along the Louisiana-Texas border, Laura exacerbated ongoing environmental crises that are disproportionately hurting communities of color in the South.

September 9, 2020 - As states across the country gear up for the November elections, millions of formerly incarcerated people could be blocked from voting because of laws requiring them to first pay all court fines and fees. But voting rights advocates are challenging those laws — and they recently racked up a big win in North Carolina.

August 27, 2020 - Since the Civil War, the post office has provided important economic opportunity for African Americans and played a critical role in advancing equal rights in the South. Now it's under threat from Postmaster Louis DeJoy, whose own company — a postal service contractor — has been sued over racial discrimination and other maltreatment of workers.

August 24, 2020 - As a voting rights activist in Georgia, I understand the sacred importance of the hard-won ballot. But as a young Black man in America, I recognize that elections alone cannot save Black lives.

August 20, 2020 - Emails obtained by Facing South reveal that as workers and community advocates begged for the closure of poultry plants with outbreaks, government and company officials worked closely to present a united front — and keep them open.

August 13, 2020 - As Black people continue to be victimized by police brutality, they are also dying disproportionately from COVID-19. The common thread is racism. 

July 31, 2020 - In North Carolina, the Durham Black Farmers Market has become so popular it's now branched out to nearby Raleigh. The markets are part of a growing local food justice movement that seeks to nourish and empower Black communities that have too often been cut off from agricultural opportunity.