Civil rights

CHICAGO – (June 28, 2007)- The following is a statement from Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, in response to the latest Supreme Court decision to sharply limit the ability of school districts to manage the racial makeup of the student bodies in their schools.

In a cynical twist of logic and history, the right-wing conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court today cited Brown v. Board of Education to take a major step toward dismantling the historic 1954 decision’s purpose and effect.    » read more »

Decision could affect 20 Massachusetts Communities

06/28/2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling on diversity in our nation’s schools.    » read more »

June 11, 2007 -- The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voting to appoint Leon Drolet as Chair of the Michigan Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

"In a state with such a rich history of civil rights and union activism, it is most disappointing that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights chose a representative with such a shallow civil rights resume.    » read more »

"Legislation puts Families, Children in Jeopardy"

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – United States Senator Sam Brownback criticized Gov. John Lynch of New Hampshire today for signing legislation into law that grants the rights of married couples to homosexual couples.

"In nations that have embraced same sex unions, overall marriage has declined putting families in jeopardy," Brownback said. "This is a massive social experiment whose early results have been quite harmful to families and children."    » read more »

SF 427 Expands Housing and Employment Civil Rights Protections to LGBT Community

May 25, 2007 -- (Des Moines) Today, joined by Lt. Governor Patty Judge, legislators, activists, advocates and members of the business community, Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed into law SF 427, a bill expanding housing and employment civil rights protections to members of the LGBT community.

“We are here to celebrate one more victory in our nation’s constant struggle to live up to the ideal of our founding fathers – liberty and justice for all,” said Governor Culver.    » read more »

May 8, 2007 -- BOSTON – Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office obtained a civil rights injunction against two South Boston men accused of a racially-motivated attack on three men of Moroccan descent. The order, granted by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly, prohibits Kenneth Rooney, age 27, and Neil Woodworth, also age 27, from threatening, intimidating or coercing the victims or anyone else in the Commonwealth on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnicity or national origin.    » read more »

May 3, 2007 -- Today the United States Congress overwhelmingly passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) by a margin of 237-180. Although one in six hate crimes are related to sexual orientation, today's federal laws are missing protections for Americans from crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.    » read more »

02 May 2007 -- Ethiopia tops a list of countries where press freedom has deteriorated over the last five years, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. The U.S.-based media advocacy group says the Ethiopian government has jailed 18 journalists and shut down eight newspapers in its recent crackdown on the press. Katy Migiro in Nairobi has more on the report for VOA.    » read more »

On Monday, April 23, 2007, during its general meeting, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC) re-adopted its December 1989 position statement expressing support for pay equity. In what is likely only a first step in this issue, the Commission felt compelled to reiterate its past statement as pay equity is still a pressing concern in Michigan.    » read more »

April 24, 2007 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today in observance of this year's Equal Pay Day, April 24, 2007:    » read more »

Same sex partners and senior partners have the same legal rights and responsibilities as spouses

April 21, 2007 -- OLYMPIA - Washington Governor Chris Gregoire today signed into law a measure to treat domestic partners with dignity and respect by clarifying that they have some of the same rights and responsibilities as married couples on issues relating to the health care, incapacity and death of their loved one.    » read more »

"(The Voting Rights Act) was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting." - ourdocuments.gov

Transcript of Voting Rights Act (1965)

AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.    » read more »

This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.    » read more »

The "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, during the occasion of the March on Washington.

I am happy to join with you today, in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.    » read more »

This program listed the events scheduled at the Lincoln Memorial during the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The highlight of the march, which attracted 250,000 people, was Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.    » read more »