rights – Page 2

After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?

The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, had the support of less than half of white Americans. Given that Americans tend to have a very narrow definition of racism, many at that time were likely confused by the juxtaposition of Black-led protests, implying that racism was persistent, alongside the presence of a Black family in the White House. Barack Obama’s presidency was seen as evidence that racism was in decline. The current, second wave of the movement feels different, in part because the past months of protests have been multiracial. The media and scholars have noted that whites’ sensibilities have become more attuned to issues of anti-Black police violence and discrimination. After the first wave ...

Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, Trump: The risks and rewards of corporate activism

17Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, Trump: The risks and rewards of corporate activism

The big idea Companies and CEOs are increasingly wading into political issues. My latest research suggests that such corporate activism can come with high costs if it doesn’t align with the political values of a company’s customers, employees and local lawmakers — or big gains when it does. Dozens of companies have recently expressed support for Black Lives Matter. Jessica Felicio via unsplash, CC BY-SA The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. In what we think is the first study to examine how corporate activism affects financial performance, three co-authors and I built a database of decisions by publicly traded companies that took a stand on polarizing issues such as LGBTQ rights, abortion, immigration and gun control over a five-year period. We then looked at...

There are many leaders of today’s protest movement – just like the civil rights movement

8Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

There are many leaders of today’s protest movement – just like the civil rights movement

The recent wave of protests against police brutality and systemic racism has inspired numerous comparisons with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Commentators frequently depict the charismatic leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in sharp contrast with the decentralized and seemingly leaderless nature of the current movement. Despite the efforts of activists and historians to correct this “leaderless” image, the notion persists. Such comparisons reflect the cultural memory – not the actual history – of the struggle for Black equality. Heroic struggle led by charismatic men Through collective remembering and forgetting, societies build narratives of the past to create a shared identity – what scholars refer to as cultural memory. The civil rights movement is...

Stripping voting rights from felons is about politics, not punishment

8Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Stripping voting rights from felons is about politics, not punishment

In 2018 Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment ending the disenfranchisement of ex-convicts. Though it excluded people convicted of murder or sexual offenses, Amendment 4 restored voting rights to felons “after they complete all the terms of their sentence including parole or probation.” Civil rights groups and prisoner rights groups celebrated the election result. In contrast, Republicans worried that allowing felons to vote would tilt Florida toward Democrats. Scholars estimate that across the United States voter turnout among felons would average around 35%. If correct, this figure could have swayed several 2016 elections with small victory margins, including Florida, where President Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 1.2 percentage points. Florida Republicans s...

Viral videos of racism: how an old civil rights strategy is being used in a new digital age

8Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Viral videos of racism: how an old civil rights strategy is being used in a new digital age

After a black bird-watcher filmed a white dog-walker on May 25 calling the police on him in response to his request she obey the dog-leash laws in the Ramble woodlands area of Central Park, New York, the video went viral. “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life”, Amy Cooper informed Christian Cooper (no relation) before she called 911 and made a deliberately dramatic false accusation. Melody Cooper, discussing her decision to post her brother’s footage online, told hosts of American talk show The View that she “wanted to shine a light on” Amy Cooper’s weaponisation of racism “so that no other black person would have to go through it from her”. Over half a century ago, African Americans viewed the potential of the newest development in communications te...

How Civil Rights Leader Wyatt Tee Walker Revived Hope After MLK’s Death

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

How Civil Rights Leader Wyatt Tee Walker Revived Hope After MLK’s Death

Four years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the novelist James Baldwin would write on the pages of Esquire magazine, “Since Martin’s death, in Memphis, and that tremendous day in Atlanta, something has altered in me, something has gone away.” Baldwin wrote about how “the act of faith” – that is, his belief that the movement would change white Americans and ultimately America – maintained him through the years of the black freedom movement, through marches and petitions and torturous setbacks. After King’s death, Baldwin found it hard to keep that faith. Nearly two weeks after King’s funeral, in April of 1968, King’s confidant and former strategist Wyatt Tee Walker tried to renew this faith. Drawing on a tradition of black faith, Walker encouraged a grieving communit...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Black folks get quizzed on the Civil Rights Act of 1866

Byron Allen’s racial discrimination case will be heard in the Supreme Court on November 12th. The media mogul who owns Entertainment Studios, The Weather Channel and theGrio, alleges that Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications are discriminating against him due to being a Black man. This factor is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits racial discrimination in contracting. Due to an amicus brief filed by Comcast, the case has gone from being about Allen’s racial discrimination allegations to challenging the entire Civil Rights Act of 1866. According to legal experts, Comcast’s interpretation of the law would require plaintiffs to prove discrimination was the sole reason they were denied business or contracts. Allen has explained this case is bigger than his perso...

Florida restricts recently restored voting rights to felons

2Apr

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VIDEO REELS

Florida restricts recently restored voting rights to felons

Florida has the highest number of people who have been disenfranchised because of their criminal records, say campaigners. Voting rights activists in the US state of Florida say they have been forced backwards by a new amendment imposing restrictions on people with criminal records. More than a million convicted felons had their voting rights restored at the beginning of the year. But now thousands are struggling to get to the ballot box. Al Jazeera's Andy Gallacher reports from Miami.

NYC Commission on Human Rights bans hair discrimination

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

NYC Commission on Human Rights bans hair discrimination

Earlier this week, the New York City Commission on Human Rights instituted a law that bans discrimination by employers, schools and other public places, based upon hairstyle. Banning certain hairstyles, whether in the workplace or at a school, is now considered a form of racial discrimination in New York. Guidelines released by the city's Commission on Human Rights apply to everyone, but are particularly geared towards protecting the rights of black people. Violators can be fined up to $250,000, although proving the discrimination may still be difficult. by Kristen Saloomey Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reports from New York.

The #MeToo Movement’s Roots in Women Workers’ Rights

16Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

The #MeToo Movement’s Roots in Women Workers’ Rights

An unsung shero of the early 20th century, Rose Schneiderman organized women to fight for laws to protect them from sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Whenever new protest movements emerge, people look to history for lessons from activists and thinkers who came before. We all stand on the shoulders of those who struggled, sacrificed, and organized to push for a more humane society. #MeToo is one such movement. It has not only raised awareness about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault—particularly of women—but is also an example of what happens when those who are relegated to a second-class citizenship status come together to speak out. History is filled with courageous and heroic women who launched crusades for women’s liberation and workers rights, and c...