Politics

October 16, 2015 - A growing body of research, including a new report from the Institute for Southern Studies, details the growing gap between those funding elections and we the people.

October 15, 2015 - A new Institute report finds that whites make up 95 percent of the state's largest political donors to high-profile contests and account for 97 percent of the big donations.

October 9, 2015 - Civil rights advocates warn that Alabama's plan to close 31 DMV offices where citizens can get an ID they need to vote disproportionately affects African Americans and therefore violates the U.S. Constitution and Voting Rights Act.

October 5, 2015 - How does Big Money affect the promise of political equality? An event co-sponsored by the Institute for Southern Studies on Oct. 15 in Durham, N.C. will explore how today's campaign finance system operates as a barrier to equal and meaningful participation in democracy.

October 2, 2015 - A campaign is underway to pressure Congress to pass a law restoring a key civil rights law gutted by the Supreme Court two years ago. Citizens recently marched thousands of miles to press their case with elected officials in Washington, with one march leader giving the last days of his life to the cause.

September 25, 2015 - September marks National Voter Registration Month, created to draw attention to the importance of voter registration. The registration process is currently hindered by outdated technology, particularly in the South, but modernization efforts are making headway.

September 25, 2015 - The recent case of Ahmed Mohamed, a Sudanese-American student in Irving, Texas who was detained for bringing a homemade clock to school, has shed light on tension between the Dallas suburb's racially diverse population and its nearly entirely white local leadership — a dynamic that has persisted despite efforts to ensure local leadership reflects the broader community.