Brown v. Board at Sixty
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine, fundamentally changing the life of our nation.
Race / Ethnic Issues
At March on Washington, ALEC Is Exposed
"The task is not done, the journey is not complete," said Martin Luther King III on Saturday's 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
"The vision preached by my father a half-century ago was that his four little children would no longer live in a nation where they would judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," he said.
The Supreme Court Has Severely Limited Workers’ Ability to Sue Employers for Discrimination
-- by Seep Paliwal
In the midst of landmark opinions on the Voting Rights Act, affirmative action, and marriage equality, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a pair of barely-noticed decisions that will severely limit workers' ability to seek justice if they are victims of discrimination at work.
For Bradley Foundation, Challenging Affirmative Action & Voting Rights Is Part of Long-Term Crusade
The Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation is one-for-two in legal challenges to civil rights and racial equality this term, with the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in one case bankrolled by Bradley, and in another, remanding an affirmative action case to a lower court, turning back the Bradley-backed challenge. The cases represent the latest in the Bradley Foundation's long-term effort to dismantle the gains of the civil rights era.
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Another ALEC Voting Bill
In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down an Arizona statute that imposes restrictions on voter registration, finding it conflicts with federal law. After becoming law in Arizona, the legislation at issue was adopted as a "model" by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
WI Senate Passes Mining Bill, Opposition to Continue
A controversial mining bill, which opponents say will weaken environmental standards and threaten the state's water resources, has passed the Wisconsin State Senate. The bill, the first to be introduced in the 2013-2014 legislative session, passed 17 to 16 with one Republican, Senator Dale Schultz, voting against along with the 15 Senate Democrats. SB1 is nearly identical to the bill that failed to pass in 2012.
On Anniversary of Trayvon Martin's Death, ALEC-Backed Stand Your Ground Laws Remain on Books
One year ago today, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman. On average, 30 people are killed by firearms each day, so Trayvon Martin could have become just another faceless statistic. But the tragedy soon gained national attention as a result of the injustice wrought by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which was cited to protect Zimmerman from prosecution because he claimed to have felt threatened by the unarmed African-American teenager.
The Trayvon Martin tragedy soon led to an examination of Stand Your Ground laws, as well as the organization responsible for their proliferation: the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules against Voter ID, for now
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld the state's voter ID law, setting the stage for the law to be blocked before the November elections.
Will Pennsylvania Follow Wisconsin's Lead on Voter ID?
Last month, a Pennsylvania court upheld the state's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - inspired voter ID law, but in hearings on appeal that state's supreme court has given the law a harsh reception. Might the Pennsylvania Supreme Court follow Wisconsin's lead and throw out the voter ID law before the 2012 election?
Emails from ALEC Member Russell Pearce Show Anti-Immigrant Law May Have Been Racially Motivated
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona has asked the man behind the "show me your papers" anti-immigrant law in that state to show them his emails. An open records request to former Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce netted thousands of email records sent from Pearce's account that suggest Arizona's SB 1070, which was taken up as an American Legislative Exchange Council "model bill" but recently struck down in large part by the U.S. Supreme Court, was motivated by racism and xenophobia.
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