In “John Lewis: A Life,” David Greenberg recounts how the late Democratic congressman reacted after Republicans scored a landslide victory in the 1994 election. A staffer hoped Lewis would buoy her spirits and tell her there was a silver lining. Lewis instead told her, “There is no silver lining.” Exchanges like this that reveal moments … Read more
The police department in a majority-Black town in Mississippi has consistently violated the rights of residents with illegal arrests, as well as by retaliating against department critics, according to a Department of Justice report released Thursday. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the police department in Lexington last year after several complaints from local … Read more
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s transgender health care ban discriminates against state employees and violates their civil rights. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that the state’s ban violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based … Read more
Residents in a small Alabama town will be able to vote in their own municipal elections for the first time in decades after a four-year legal battle. A proposed settlement has been reached in the town’s voting rights case, allowing Newbern, a predominantly Black town with 133 residents, to hold its first legitimate elections in … Read more
NEW YORK — Black music traditions such as jazz are central to celebrations of Juneteenth, says civil rights lawyer and jazz pianist Bryan Stevenson. That’s why he and Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz artist Wynton Marsalis have debuted “Freedom, Justice and Hope,” a live performance album of historic jazz records created to protest racial injustice, in time … Read more
(NewsNation) — This week’s Juneteenth holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, but this Wednesday also marks 60 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate. The occasion serves as a reminder that many of the rights afforded to Black Americans were not realized … Read more
PARIS — The audience in Paris stood to applaud Tommie Smith, more than 50 years after he took a stand for civil rights. A second ovation was even longer, and the 80-year-old Olympic champion seemed overwhelmed with emotion. He lowered his head, clasped it in his hands and wept for several moments. He had just … Read more
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is seeking court permission to convert his personal bankruptcy reorganization to a liquidation, which would lead to a sell-off of a large portion of his assets to help pay some of the $1.5 billion he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones and his media company, … Read more
WASHINGTON — An anti-abortion activist who led others on an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in the nation’s capital was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly five years in prison. Lauren Handy, 30, was among several people convicted of federal civil rights offenses for blockading access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic on Oct. 22, … Read more
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the latest attempt by Republican state officials to block taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, citing a failure in the state’s legal appeal. The high court’s decision upholds a ruling by a trial judge, who found that a 2022 funding bill violated the … Read more
