rights

Voting rights – and wrongs: How America struggles with uncomfortable truths

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The Supreme Court usually issues its most consequential rulings in June, at the end of a judicial term. Even with a number of prominent decisions made this term, I can’t shake the ramifications of the court’s decision and opinion on Louisiana v. Callais in late April. The ruling concerning a redistricting map in Louisiana feels … Read more

Don Lemon seeks grand jury transcripts in Minnesota civil rights case, citing misconduct

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Attorneys for former CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon argued in a court filing Wednesday that recent examples of grand jury misconduct by the U.S. Department of Justice across the country warrant the release of transcripts from the normally secretive proceedings in his case. Lemon pleaded not guilty in February to federal civil rights … Read more

Clarence B. Jones, civil rights activist who helped write MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, dies at 95

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Clarence B. Jones, a top civil rights activist and lawyer who helped write part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebrated “I Have a Dream” speech, has died. He was 95. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Jones was one of the organizers of the 1963 … Read more

NAACP calls on Black athletes to pause on southern schools over voting rights.

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The NAACP launched a campaign Tuesday calling on Black student-athletes to boycott Southern colleges in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last month that weakened the Voting Rights Act, leading to the dismantling of one majority-Black congressional district and a push to scrap others. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to … Read more

Supreme Court tells lower courts to take new look at 2 major voting rights cases

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Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday told lower courts to take another look at a pair of cases involving whether private individuals and groups can sue to enforce a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits discriminatory voting practices. In brief orders, the high court set aside lower court decisions and sent the … Read more

Alex Murdaugh files civil rights lawsuit against former court clerk for jury tampering

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Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is suing Rebecca “Becky” Hill, the former court clerk who allegedly interfered with the jury that convicted him in the murders of his wife and son in 2023. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The civil rights lawsuit filed Sunday in the … Read more

Supreme Court sends Native American voting rights decision back to lower court

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The Supreme Court has acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the Civil Rights-era law WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes on Monday, saying a … Read more

On the voting rights trail, bus riders to Montgomery retrace old steps while fighting a new fight

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In 1965, Black Americans peacefully demonstrated for voting rights and were beaten by Alabama state troopers before returning two weeks later to complete their march under federal protection. Keith Odom was a toddler then. Now 62 years old, the union man and grandfather of three retraced some of their final steps. On … Read more