The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that existing federal civil rights protections forbids job discrimination against LGBTQ+ workers. The decision said that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on a person’s sex, also covers sexual orientation. Twenty-two states plus the District of Columbia […]
Governor Newsom Called On to Release Elderly Incarcerated Women
The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, is facing pressure to release elderly and vulnerable incarcerated women amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 2020, 3,200 incarcerated people have tested positive for coronavirus, and 16 incarcerated people have died. LA County recently reported the first death of a pregnant woman related to the virus. The county […]
Egypt Arrests Female Social Media Influencers for Promoting “Immorality”
Four young Egyptian women on the popular social media app TikTok have been arrested by state authorities accusing them of spreading “immorality” with their content. These women are the most recent targets of state authorities monitoring social media accounts for “offensive” content. Since President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s election in 2014, hundreds of dissident public persons, […]
#ShareTheMicNow Campaign Amplifies Black Women’s Voices on Social Media
On Tuesday, the #ShareTheMicNow campaign garnered national attention as it spread across social media platforms. The social media campaign was organized by Black women including Bozoma Saint John, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Glennon Doyle, and Stacey Bendet in light of recent protests against police brutality that disproportionately targets Black Americans. According to the organizers, the aim […]
Kentucky Governor Pledges Universal Health Care Coverage for Black Residents
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) announced plans to provide healthcare coverage to 100 percent of Black and African American Kentuckians in an effort to address racial inequalities in health care on Monday morning. The governor made the announcement during his daily COVID-19 press briefing. Beshear began the briefing by acknowledging the racial disparities in Kentucky’s […]
Utah’s “I Voted” Stickers Honor Women’s Suffrage
The state of Utah will be celebrating its historic commitment to women’s suffrage as well as the centennial of the 19th Amendment by distributing unique “I Voted” stickers during 2020 primary and general elections. Because 2020 marks 150 years since Utah’s equal suffrage law as well as 100 years since Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, […]
Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin, Qualifies to Run for Public Office
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, has officially qualified to run for public office in Florida. On Monday, she announced her qualification to run for Miami Dade County Commissioner for District 1. Fulton lost her 17-year-old son to racial violence in 2012, when he was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. She has since […]
Federal Judge Dismisses a Challenge to the Trump Administration’s Title X Rules
On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to the reformed Title X rules, also known as the Trump administration’s “gag rule”, that puts limits on what federally funded health care providers can tell patients about accessing abortion services. Title X is a “federal grant program created in 1970 to provide comprehensive and confidential family […]
Minneapolis City Council Votes to Dismantle Police
On Sunday, June 7, the Minneapolis City Council voted to dismantle the city’s police department. The council members pledged to replace the department with a community built public safety system, citing an inability to reform the force – which has long been accused of racism. A total of nine council members voted in favor of […]
First Openly Transgender Official Wins City Council Seat in West Virginia
Tuesday was Election Day in West Virginia and Rosemary Ketchum, a community organizer and activist, was among those elected to office. Ketchum will represent Wheeling, West Virginia’s Third Ward in the Wheeling City Council and has made history by becoming West Virginia’s first openly transgender elected official. Ketchum announced her candidacy for Wheeling City Council […]
Georgia Primary Marred By Voting Delays
Voting in Georgia’s primary elections Tuesday was plagued with technical difficulties and hours-long lines that disproportionally affected urban areas and communities of color. Delays with voting in the state occurred because of poll workers’ inadequate training on the new voting machines, precincts being closed because of the pandemic, and social distancing and disinfecting practices. Areas with […]
Immigrants Arrested on Mistaken Charges at Phoenix Protests Face Deportation
Four undocumented people were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being arrested at protests condemning the murder of George Floyd in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Police Department arrested all four immigrants the night of Saturday, May 30. They were held overnight in a Maricopa County jail before being transferred to ICE custody. One […]
Colorado To Vote on Late-Term Abortion Ban in November
An initiative to ban abortions after 22 weeks has made it onto the November ballot in Colorado after collecting 153,204 signatures, according to the Colorado Secretary of State. The initiative, backed by the group Due Date Too Late, proposes to make it illegal to perform abortions at 22 weeks or later. This includes cases where […]
House Unveils Justice in Policing Act Amid National Protests
Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate unveiled legislation today to overhaul policing standards in response to nationwide protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality. The Justice in Policing Act, led by Chairwoman Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), seeks to increase accountability in police brutality cases and […]
Black Communities Battle for Their Lives Amongst COVID-19 and Police Brutality
The current civil unrest around systemic and institutional racism that has been present in America for over 400 years is deeply connected to the racial and health disparities exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. Thousands of people globally have marched in the streets to protest police brutality, and many are worried about the risk of COVID-19 […]
Wisconsin Teachers Union Demands Police Be Removed from Public Schools
The Madison, Wisconsin teacher’s union, Madison Teachers Inc. (MTI), has changed its stance on school-based police officers and is now advocating for police to be taken out of the city’s main high schools and replaced with thirty-three additional support staff. This is the first time that Madison Teachers Inc. has demanded the removal of police […]
D.C. Mayor Renames Intersection Near White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza”
On Friday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed an intersection in front of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza” to honor the demonstrators that have flooded D.C. streets in the last several days. 16th Street NW, between K and H streets, has been painted with the slogan “Black Lives Matter” in enormous yellow letters. The […]
Chicago Protests Amplify Demands that Police Be Removed from Schools
Outrage over the murder of George Floyd by police has sparked activists in Chicago to demand that police officers be removed from Chicago Public Schools. Young people are urging the district to nullify the $33 million contract it entered into with the Chicago Police Department in August to station officers in CPS buildings. Approximately a […]
Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump Administration for Violence Against Protesters
Civil right groups are representing Black Lives Matter D.C. and individual protesters in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for violently dispelling peaceful protesters for President Donald Trump’s photo op on Monday. The lawyers, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, say the violence against protesters […]
Activists Respond to Video of Black Trans Woman Being Attacked by Group of Men
Iyanna Dior, a 21-year-old Black transgender woman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was brutally attacked by a group of mostly cisgender men on Monday, according to a video that has gone viral on social media this week. The video shows a group of between 15 and 30 assailants beating Dior and calling her homophobic slurs outside a […]