Politics

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 26, 2020 - Southern states are holding judicial elections this year that will shape the outcome of critical cases involving voting rights and criminal justice. The elections could also bring unprecedented diversity to courts in some states.

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 cases of the coronavirus surge nationwide, states across the South have begun to loosen absentee ballot restrictions ahead of a presidential election that's expected to see unprecedented levels of mail-in voting.

August 12, 2020 - A federal appeals court recently overturned a lower court ruling that required a new majority-Black judicial election district in Terrebonne Parish. Only one Black judge has served there, but a white judge was re-elected after donning blackface and a prison jumpsuit for Halloween. The case is part of a broader struggle for judicial elections that are fair to Black voters.

August 6, 2020 - After North Carolina businessman and major GOP donor Louis DeJoy was appointed postmaster general in May, he announced an "operational pivot" to control costs that's caused delivery delays. Critics worry that DeJoy — who grew wealthy on USPS contracts and remains invested in USPS competitors — is a political partisan who's operationalizing President Trump's hostility to mail-in voting.

August 5, 2020 - As the U.S. marks the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there's a political fight underway in the U.S. Senate to restore the law after its 2013 gutting by the U.S. Supreme Court.

July 28, 2020 - A federal appeals court is allowing Florida to enforce a law that requires payment of court fines and fees before people with felony convictions can vote again. The court is still deciding if it's an illegal poll tax, and Democratic senators say two of the judges are violating ethics rules by remaining on the case.

July 28, 2020 - As the civil rights icon lies in state this week at the U.S. Capitol, lawmakers continue to press to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark civil rights legislation that Lewis nearly died fighting for.