4 h. ago Legendary civil rights attorney Fred Gray honored with statute in Alabama

The legendary attorney who was once deemed the “chief counsel” of the Civil Rights Movement by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been honored with a statue outside the Alabama State Bar Association

Politics

6 h. ago Civil rights groups sue to restore jobs at Homeland Security oversight offices that were gutted

Three advocacy groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, seeking to restore staff jobs at three gutted offices that oversee civil rights protections across the department’s broad mission

Society

9 h. ago US federal agency texts Barnard College employees to ask if they’re Jewish

Employees received text from EEOC on personal phones linking to survey asking if they are Jewish or IsraeliEmployees from Barnard College received text messages this week from the federally run Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on their personal phones linking to a voluntary survey asking recipients if they are Jewish or Israeli and whether they have been subjected to harassment or antisemitism.The text, which was reviewed by the Guardian, states that the civil rights agency is “currently reviewing the employment practices at Barnard College” and invites current and former employees to complete the linked survey. It is not clear how many college employees received the survey, but it appears to have been sent to a sizable portion of the faculty and other staff. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago NAACP head disinvited from Texas even after group’s lawsuit against Trump

The State Bar of Texas has rescinded a speaking invitation to the civil rights group’s president after the organization challenged the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Education Department

Politics

10 h. ago Federal judge blocks Trump effort that could disenfranchise millions of voters

President sought to unilaterally add proof of citizenship requirement to voter registration formA federal judge on Thursday blocked Donald Trump’s efforts to add a proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form, a change that voting rights advocates warned would have disenfranchised millions of voters.The president sought to unilaterally add the requirement in a 25 March executive orders. The Democratic party, as well as a slew of civil rights groups, challenged that order, arguing the president does not have the power to set the rules for federal elections. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Federal judge blocks Trump order that could disenfranchise millions of voters

President sought to unilaterally add proof of citizenship requirement to voter registration formA federal judge on Thursday blocked Donald Trump’s efforts to add a proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form, a change that voting rights advocates warned would have disenfranchised millions of voters.The president sought to unilaterally add the requirement in a 25 March executive orders. The Democratic party, as well as a slew of civil rights groups, challenged that order, arguing the president does not have the power to set the rules for federal elections. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Civil rights advocates say Trump order guts protections against discrimination

Order directs federal agencies to ‘deprioritize enforcement’ of laws where policies have discriminatory effectsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s executive order on Wednesday eliminating “disparate-impact liability” from federal civil rights enforcement has sparked condemnation from legal and civil rights advocates who argue it guts protections that have shielded Americans from discrimination for decades.The order directs federal agencies to immediately “deprioritize enforcement” of laws where policies have discriminatory effects, even without discriminatory intent – a cornerstone of modern civil rights protection. It also instructs the attorney general to begin repealing or amending regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Trump administration kills landmark pollution settlement in majority

Decision will affect mostly low-income Alabama residents as DoJ dismisses agreement over untreated sewage as DEIThe Trump administration has killed a landmark civil rights settlement requiring Alabama to address raw sewage pollution in majority-Black, residential areas south-west of Montgomery, dismissing it as an “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agreement.The decision could condemn low-income people in Lowndes county, about 40 miles south-west of Montgomery, to indefinitely continue living with no or failing sanitation infrastructure. Continue reading...

Events

30 h. ago Head of NAACP disinvited from speaking to Texas state bar over suit against Trump administration

The State Bar of Texas has rescinded a speaking invitation to the NAACP’s president after the civil rights group challenged the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Education Department

Politics

58 h. ago A Venezuelan immigrant accidentally entered Canada. He was seized by US authorities — and no one knows where he is

Lawyers and advocates fear the Trump administration’s rushed removals may have ‘disappeared’ others

Events

62 h. ago Al Gore compares Trump second term with Nazi Germany in scathing speech

Former VP said the administration was creating its ‘own preferred reality’ and slammed it for green energy U-turnUS politics live – latest updatesFormer vice-president Al Gore compared the Trump administration with Nazi Germany, in scathing comments made Monday about the president’s use of power during remarks about climate change.During a speech at an event to mark the beginning of San Francisco’s Climate Week, Gore, an established climate advocate, said that the Trump administration was “trying to create their own preferred version of reality”, akin to the Nazi party during the 1930s in Germany, Politico reported. Continue reading...

Politics

62 h. ago Al Gore draws parallels between Trump 2.0 and early Nazi Germany in speech

Former VP said the administration was creating its ‘own preferred reality’ and slammed it for green energy U-turnUS politics live – latest updatesAl Gore said there were “important lessons” to be learned from similarities between the early rise of Nazi Germany and the recent actions of the the Trump administration, in scathing comments made Monday during remarks about climate change.During a speech at an event to mark the beginning of San Francisco’s Climate Week, the former vice-president and established climate advocate, said that the Trump administration was “trying to create their own preferred version of reality”, akin to the Nazi party during the 1930s in Germany, Politico reported. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago For Women Scotland snub key Scottish Parliament committee over Green MSP 'bigotry' comments

There have been several calls for Maggie Chapman MSP to be removed from Holyrood’s equalities, human rights and civil justice committee.

Politics

5 d. ago Outrage as Trump’s coal expansion coupled with health cuts: ‘There won’t be anyone to work in the mines’

Agencies protecting coal miners from hazards such as ‘black lung’ among those gutted by government cutsThe Trump administration’s efforts to expand coal mining while simultaneously imposing deep cuts to agencies tasked with ensuring miner health and safety has left some advocates “dumbfounded”.Agencies that protect coal miners from serious occupational hazards, including the condition best known as “black lung”, have been among those affected by major government cuts imposed by the White House and the unofficial “department of government efficiency” (Doge) run by the billionaire Elon Musk. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Government Cheese stars explain why they were 'thrilled' that racism isn't a major theme in new Apple drama

Apple TV+ drama Government Cheese follows the Chambers family in the 1960s

Events

5 d. ago Government Cheese stars admit why they were ‘thrilled’ Apple TV+ drama didn’t include Civil Rights movement

The stars of the new Apple TV+ drama Government Cheese have shed light on the show’s unique approach to the depiction of race relations in 1960s America

Politics

6 d. ago Trump ally pushes DoJ unit to shift civil rights focus, new messages show

Internal mission statements from Harmeet Dhillon pivots division’s priorities away from marginalized groups’ rightsThe justice department’s civil rights division is shifting its focus away from its longstanding work protecting the rights of marginalized groups and will instead pivot towards Donald Trump’s priorities including hunting for noncitizen voters and protecting white people from discrimination, according to new internal mission statements seen by the Guardian.The new priorities were sent to several sections of the civil rights division this week by Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump ally who was confirmed a little more than two weeks ago to lead the division. Several of them only give glancing mention to the statutes and kinds of discrimination that have long been the focus of the division, which dates back to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Several of the mission statements point to Trump’s executive orders as priorities for the section. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Rev Al Sharpton meets with Target CEO over halting of DEI initiative

Activists had called for boycotting the company after it announced a roll back of diversity, equity and inclusion effortsOn Thursday morning, the Rev Al Sharpton met with Brian Cornell, the Target CEO, to discuss the fallout from the company’s decision to walk back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts earlier this year. The meeting happened in New York at Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) headquarters, and also included the NAN national board chair Dr W Franklyn Richardson and the NAN senior adviser Carra Wallace.In January, activists in Minnesota called for a boycott of Target following the Minneapolis-based company’s decision to eliminate their DEI initiatives. Though Sharpton, one of the most prominent civil-rights activists in the US, did not directly call for a Target boycott, he supported the efforts of others to boycott, and, prior to the meeting, indicated that he would be open to calling for such an action depending on how the meeting went. Continue read...

Events

7 d. ago Target CEO to meet with civil rights leader Al Sharpton amid DEI cuts

Target’s chief executive officer is planning to meet this week with the Rev. Al Sharpton

Politics

7 d. ago ‘All of his guns will do nothing for him’: lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday

Liberals in the US make up about 15% of the prepping scene and their numbers are growing. Their fears differ from their better-known rightwing counterparts – as do their methodsOne afternoon in February, hoping to survive the apocalypse or at least avoid finding myself among its earliest victims, I logged on to an online course entitled Ruggedize Your Life: The Basics.Some of my classmates had activated their cameras. I scrolled through the little windows, noting the alarmed faces, downcast in cold laptop light. There were dozens of us on the call, including a geophysicist, an actor, a retired financial adviser and a civil engineer. We all looked worried, and rightly so. The issue formerly known as climate change was now a polycrisis called climate collapse. H1N1 was busily jumping from birds to cows to people. And with each passing day, as Donald Trump went about gleefully dismantling state capacity, the promise of a competent government response to the next hurricane, wildfire, fl...

Politics