Politics

March 11, 2022 - Thousands of people gathered recently in Alabama for the 57th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights, which was met with police violence as peaceful demonstrators tried to cross a bridge named for a Klan leader. This year’s event took place as state legislatures across the South are passing bills to limit voting and protesting.

March 11, 2022 - A new report from the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center finds that the number of U.S. hate groups fell for the third year in a row — but says that's not necessarily good news, as such views are now moving from the fringe into the mainstream. It also found that hate groups are becoming more concentrated in the Southern states.  

March 9, 2022 - Organizers are frustrated by Biden giving short shrift to voting rights in his first State of the Union address. In response, they're stepping up efforts to secure federal voting protections as state legislatures across the South continue to pass suppressive voting laws.

March 9, 2022 - Mississippi civil rights organizer Fannie Lou Hamer passed away 45 years ago this month. A recent book and documentary examine her life and work amid a pitched national debate over how to teach and think about U.S. racial history.

March 7, 2022 - As trans youth face a crisis of harassment, violence, and trauma, Republican politicians up for reelection in Texas and other states are launching misleading attacks on them and their families in a blatant attempt to stir up the party's base and win votes. Legal and human rights advocates and the Biden administration are taking steps to protect the lives of these vulnerable young Americans as others press for boycotts.

February 24, 2022 - With federal courts limiting the scope of protections, voting rights advocates are turning to state courts to challenge election districts for violating state constitutional rights. A recent ruling in North Carolina has given hope to voters who've filed similar lawsuits in other Southern states.

February 22, 2022 - Following several recent scandals involving ethically questionable stock trades by U.S. senators from Georgia and North Carolina, momentum is building in Congress for legislation that would more strictly regulate stock trading by members.

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.

February 17, 2022 - The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing this week on the Environmental Justice for All Act, which would strengthen protections for vulnerable communities from environmental health threats. We share the official testimony of Amy Laura Cahn, director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at the Vermont Law School, who discussed waste dumping in Alabama and pipeline construction in Virginia in making a case for the bill's transformative power.

February 11, 2022 - Public support for labor unions in the U.S. is at an all-time high, but the latest federal data on union membership shows the share of workers belonging to unions declined in 2021. The downturn, which was especially dramatic in the South, appears to be driven by several factors.