32 h. ago Josephine Baker: the superstar turned spy who fought the Nazis and for civil rights

Book highlights performer’s wartime contribution and how she used her fame to provide cover and promote equal rightsShe was, according to US wartime counter-intelligence officer Lt Paul Jensen, “our No 1 contact in French Morocco”, supporting the allied mission “at great risk to her own life – and I mean that literally. We would have been quite helpless without her.”The British intelligence agent Donald Darling had her down as an especially “cherished agent of [Charles] de Gaulle’s government”. Well aware of her importance, the UK foreign intelligence service MI6 called her “the pet lady agent” of the Free French. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago Advocacy groups fear Trump pressure will force Big Law into civil rights retreat

Firms that helped fight high-profile battles targeted by White House executive orders

Politics

52 h. ago ‘Hands Off’ protests begin across US to oppose Trump agenda – live

More than a thousand events expected in a show of defiance against US president’s ‘authoritarian overreach’Hundreds of protesters gathered in central London on Saturday as part of global demonstrations against Donald Trump’s administration. Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump”. The rally is one of hundreds of so-called “hands off” demonstrations around the world – including in cities across the US, Paris and Berlin. The movement has been organised by more than 150 groups, including civil rights groups and trade unions. Among the protesters in London was Clarke Reinstein, 73, from Rhode Island, who told the PA news agency he was “disappointed in my fellow Americans” over the election of Donald Trump. “I’ve been in London for two months and I like being over here because people think a little differently,” he said, adding, “They made a mistake over Brexit – but they didn’t fall over like the Americans have.” A 37-year-old woman ...

Politics

69 h. ago IRS plans to cut up to 25% of staff, starting with closing its civil rights office, AP sources say

The IRS plans to cut as many as 20,000 staffers as part of layoffs that began Friday

Politics

69 h. ago Maya Angelou memoir, Holocaust book are among those pulled from Naval Academy library in DEI purge

Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were among the nearly 400 volumes removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library this week

Politics

3 d. ago US cop admits to stomped on mentally ill inmate who later died of injuries

Carl Lofton Carpenter pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of Anthony 'Tony 'Mitchell

Events

4 d. ago This Black church sued the Proud Boys and won its trademark, carrying on a civil rights legacy

Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D

Politics

5 d. ago US senator Cory Booker delivers longest speech in Senate history

Cory Booker, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, spoke on the Senate floor for more than 25 hours, the longest speech ever given in Senate history. Starting his speech on Monday evening in Washington, vowing to remain on the Senate floor as long as he was 'physically able', Booker spoke in protest at what he called the 'grave and urgent' danger that Donald Trump's presidential administration poses to democracy and the American people. In 1957, Strom Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina, gave an anti-civil rights speech that lasted 24 hours and 18 minutesSenate Republicans consider joining Democrats to oppose Trump over tariffs Continue reading...

Culture

5 d. ago Cory Booker breaks record for longest Senate speech with Trump condemnation

In speech that began Monday night, Democratic senator warns of ‘grave and urgent’ danger of Trump administrationUS politics – latest updatesCory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator – beating the record first established by Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.Booker’s speech, which began at 7pm on Monday night, was not a filibuster but instead an effort to warn of what he called the “grave and urgent” danger that Donald Trump’s presidential administration poses to democracy and the American people. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Civil rights groups say push to dismantle Education Department will undue hard

President Donald Trump has reopened a debate in the fight over the federal government’s role in education policy after signing an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Education Department

Politics

2 w. ago ‘The only thing still working’: Russia and UK agreement to tend war graves transcends bitter international relations

Private understanding ensures tending of British military graves in Russia and Crimea, and Soviet graves in UKIn graves at Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok, in Russia, lie the bodies of 663 British military personnel. Most of the dead lost their lives in the period just after the first world war, when allied troops were sent to support rightwing White forces in the Russian civil war against the Bolsheviks, while 41 are casualties from the second world war Arctic convoys.Their resting places have been tended over decades by the Russian military and by private contractors, paid by the UK’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission. But after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, economic sanctions meant Britain could no longer pay for the graves to be maintained. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago George Foreman showed every gesture is political – especially for Black athletes | Bryan Armen Graham

At the 1968 Olympics, Foreman’s flag-waving was seen as deference if not betrayal. But the reaction to it reveals the limited ways we allow Black athletes to express themselvesWhen a teenager from Texas named George Foreman waved a tiny American flag in the boxing ring after winning Olympic gold in 1968, he had little awareness of the political minefield beneath his size 15 feet. The moment, captured by television cameras for an audience of millions during one of the most volatile periods in American history, was instantly contrasted with another image from two days earlier at the same Mexico City Games: Tommie Smith and John Carlos, heads bowed and black-gloved fists raised in salute during the US national anthem, a silent act of protest that would become one of the defining visuals of the 20th century. Their message was unmistakable: a rebuke of the country that had sent them to compete while continuing to deny civil rights to people who looked like them. Their action was seen as ...

Politics

2 w. ago DHS closes office that advocated for migrants calling it a ‘roadblock’ to immigration reform

The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to three key offices that oversee civil rights protections

Events

2 w. ago In these dark times, Americans must harness the power of the civil rights movement again | Al Sharpton

We have power as individuals and communities to boycott companies that don’t respect us and support those who stand with usIt can often be challenging to keep track of everything in Donald Trump’s US; the executive orders, the changes to decades-long protocols, the draconian legislation, the abandonment of established policies – and just the utter chaos.That in itself is part of the Trump administration’s strategy – throw everything at us all at once to see what sticks and what they can get away with. There is, in fact, so much happening simultaneously that it is virtually impossible to tackle it all. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Homeland Security makes cuts to offices overseeing civil rights protections

The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to three key offices that oversee civil rights protections across its broad mission, suggesting that they were impeding immigration enforcement efforts

Society

2 w. ago Major League Baseball removes references to `diversity' from MLB Careers home page

Major League Baseball has removed references to “diversity” from its MLB Careers home page following an executive order by President Donald Trump that could lead to possible federal action against organizations using DEI programs in contravention of his administration’s interpretation of civil rights law

Politics

2 w. ago The US is poised to use terror laws against students. This could be worse than McCarthyism | Thomas Anthony Durkin and Bernard Harcourt

A new 7 October 2023 taskforce says it’ll investigate support for Hamas, paving the way for a legal strategy targeting free speechOn Monday, the Department of Justice announced the launch of “Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7)”. In an accompanying press release, the DoJ said it would bring to justice Hamas leaders who murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians in the deadly attack on Israel of 7 October 2023. Few would quarrel with this ambition. In the same breath, however, the press release claimed that the task force would also “investigate acts of terrorism and civil rights violations by individuals and entities providing support and financing to Hamas, related Iran proxies, and their affiliates, as well as acts of antisemitism by these groups”.In plain English, this means the student protesters. It could also include universities and colleges that have entered the government’s crosshairs. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Justice department removes disability guidelines for US businesses

Multiple pages scrubbed from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website due to a Trump orderNever miss global breaking news. Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time.The Department of Justice removed 11 guidelines for US businesses on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including some that deal with Covid-19 and masking and accessibility.The ADA was signed into law in 1990 and is the key civil rights law that protects Americans with disabilities from discrimination. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump live updates: President ends ban on ‘segregated facilities’ in federal contracts

Despite overturning order signed by Lyndon Johnson, federal contractors must still abide by federal and state anti-discrimination laws, including Civil Rights Act

Politics

2 w. ago Defense Department webpage on Jackie Robinson's military service suddenly missing amid DEI purge

A Department of Defense webpage describing baseball and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s military service is now missing

Events