(2019-02-06). The Right-Wing Attack on Medicare-for-All. counterpunch.org One thing you can say about Karl Rove: the guy pretty much telegraphs his intention to lie, distort and just make sh*t up in an ends-trump-means effort to win at all costs. For keeping Republicans in the game even as their racist white, male, uber-Christian, know-nothing political base keeps shrinking, that is an essential tactic More
(2019-02-06). Headlines for February 6, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Attacks Immigrants, Abortion Rights, Democratic Investigations in SOTU, Stacey Abrams Slams Gov't Shutdown, Voter Suppression in SOTU Response, School Apologizes for Racist Yearbook Photos as VA Gov. Northam Resists Resignation, Pope Francis Acknowledges Priests Sexually Abused Nuns, Ex-President of Costa Rica Accused of Sexual Assault, At Least 29 Haitian Migrants Killed in Shipwreck, Taliban Attacks Kill 50 in Afghanistan, CNN: Saudis Gave U.S. Weapons to al-Qaeda, Other Militants in Yemen, CENTCOM Head Was Not Notified of U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Syria, Anti-BDS Lawsuit Against Salaita & American Studi…
(2019-02-06). The United States Is a Progressive Nation With a Democracy Problem. thenation.com The United States Is a Progressive Nation With a Democracy Problem…
(2019-02-06). Trump Can't escape having called Nazis "Very Fine People" zcomm.org Trump isn't giving people orders to commit violence. But fringe violent racists clearly are taking encouragement from Trump's outrageous bigotry…
(2019-02-06). MAGA teen gearing up to sue dozens of media outlets, celebrities in 'landmark' libel case. rt.com 
More than 50 media outlets, celebrities and public figures could be targeted in a libel suit aiming to vindicate a MAGA-hat-wearing teen who was savaged by social media after he faced off with a Native American activist.
(2019-02-06). The State of the Resistance. truthout.org The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a jail run by the Trump administration in Brooklyn, New York, reportedly lost power about a week ago, leaving prisoners — many of whom have yet to be convicted of a crime — without heat and light in their cells as temperatures plummeted amid a polar vortex. | As soon as word got out about conditions inside the jail, family members and activists quickly organized and gathered to protest outside the facility on Friday, demanding that jail officials provide the people inside with heat, hot meals and means for contacting their families and attorneys. Since then,…
(2019-02-06). Discover Systemic Institutional Racism Seeking to Destroy the Legacy of Negro Bar, CA. indybay.org Together, we can begin to quantify and qualify systemic institutional racism, ongoing disenfranchisement unique to "previous condition of servitude" and unacknowledged second class citizenship mandated by the 1849 California Constitutional Convention.
(2019-02-06). Senate Accused of Endorsing 'McCarthy-Era Tactics' as 25 Democrats Join GOP to Pass Anti-Boycott Bill. commondreams.org "Should the House take up similar legislation, we urge members to remove the Combating BDS Act from the package of bills due to the threat it poses to all Americans' First Amendment right to boycott," the ACLU said | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/israel_boycott_bds.jpg…
(2019-02-06). VA Governor Northam Won't Address Racist Reality, Runs From Blackface Past. therealnews.com 
The reemergence of Blackface as an issue, around Gov. Northam's inaction, exposes the depth of American racism. Our panel with Jacqueline Luqman and Eddie Conway explores the topic
(2019-02-06). The Power Is Back on at Brooklyn Jail, but a Visiting Federal Judge Found Untreated Gunshot Wound, "Black Blotchy Mold," and Ongoing Crisis. theintercept.com 
A spate of court hearing relating to a federal jail revealed a humanitarian crisis that goes beyond freezing temperatures and a power outage.
(2019-02-06). Russia: Jehovah's Witness Convicted. hrw.org 
| | Dennis Christensen (behind the windows) talks with his interpreter at the Zheleznodorzhy District Court in Oryol, January 28, 2019 | © 2019 Human Rights Watch | (Moscow) — A Russian court on February 6, 2019 convicted Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah's Witness adherent and Danish citizen, on extremism charges for practicing his faith, Human Rights Watch said today. The court sentenced Christensen to six years in prison. The conviction is a blatant viol…
(2019-02-05). Historical marker alongside Alabama highway will honor civil rights martyr William Lewis Moore. splcenter.org Jerry Smith was humming along U.S. Highway 11 in his light-green, 1961 Chevrolet Corvair, when he came upon something unusual.
(2019-02-05). NAACP Weekly News Update 01/27/19 to 02/05/19. naacp.org …
(2019-02-05). NAACP Secures Agreement to Increase 2020 Census Transparency. naacp.org Commerce Department settles federal suit, will release planning and budget documents FEBRUARY 5, 2019 — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) along with the NAACP Connecticut State Conference and the NAACP Boston Branch have reached an agreement in partial settlement of federal litigation against the U.S. Department of Commerce, in […]
(2019-02-05). Headlines for February 5, 2019. democracynow.org Venezuela: European Leaders, Lima Group Recognize Guaidó as President, VA Gov. Northam Delays Resignation Decision over Racist Yearbook Photo, VA Lt. Gov. Fairfax Denies 2004 Sexual Assault Accusation, Old Photo of Sen. McConnell in Front of Confederate Flag Resurfaces, Dems Invite Targets of Trump Policies to SOTU Address, Trump to Nominate David Malpass to Head World Bank, Trump to Nominate Ex-Oil Lobbyist Bernhardt as Head of Interior Dept., Iraqi President Salih Blasts Trump for Saying U.S. Troops Will Monitor Iran from Iraq, Somalia: Al-Shabab Claims Car Bomb & Shooting That Kills At Least 12, U.K. Panel: Sa…
(2019-02-05). Students and Faculty Plan Walkout Over Johns Hopkins' ICE Contract. therealnews.com 
"ICE is a racist institution that terrorizes black and brown communities and violates the human rights of the families it separates," says one Hopkins professor.
(2019-02-05). Pressure Mounts on Prosecutor to Drop Controversial Case Against Black Police Chief. therealnews.com 
After the Maryland Court of Special Appeals overturned the misconduct conviction of Pocomoke's first black police chief Kelvin Sewell, the ACLU of Maryland submitted a petition urging Special Prosecutor Emmitt Davitt not to retry the case
(2019-02-05). Iran: Environmentalists' Flawed Trial. hrw.org 
| | A campaign poster showing environmental activists, Taher Ghadirian, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, who have been in detention for six months. | © 2018 #anyhopefornature Campaign | (Beirut) — Iran's judicial authorities are violating fair trial standards in the case of eight environmentalists who have been detained for over a year, Human Rights Watch said today.
(2019-02-05). "Change Is Taking Too Long" — Cabinet Member Speaks Out Amid Gov. Ralph Northam's Blackface Fallout. theintercept.com Pressure for Ralph Northam to resign mounts after a photo surfaced of a man in blackface, initially understood to be Northam, next to a man in KKK robes.
(2019-02-04). The Supreme Court Is Considering Whether the Government Can Dodge the First Amendment by Outsourcing Its Power. aclu.org A case about a video banned from public access cable TV could have important implications for our constitutional rights. | The First Amendment bars the government from censoring speech that it doesn't like. That rule also goes for a private organization that takes on a government role. But when exactly is an organization considered a stand-in for the government? The Supreme Court will soon hear a case to decide. | Before smartphones, the internet, and digital cameras, it wasn't easy to get your videos in front of…
(2019-02-04). High School Could Have Been Hell for My Transgender Son. Don't Make It Hell for the Next Kid. aclu.org I had hoped that my son would wait until after high school to come out as transgender. But I realized I'd prefer a thriving son over a dead daughter. | This piece was originally published on USA Today. | When I gave birth to my first baby, the doctor said, "It's a girl!" Before I even knew my child, those words helped me imagine the future. | But the future was different from what I expected. | By the time my c…
(2019-02-04). NAACP Mourns the Passing of Actor Kristoff St. John. naacp.org Prayers Go Out to Family of 10-Time NAACP Image Award Winner BALTIMORE (February 4, 2019)—The nation's foremost civil rights organization issued the following statement regarding the passing of actor Kristoff St. John, who passed away today at age 52. The NAACP mourns the passing of Kristoff St. John and our condolences and prayers go out […]
(2019-02-04). Chicago: Emergency demonstration to demand, "Hands off Venezuela! Not another U.S. coup!" fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL — A Chicago protest to demand an end to U.S war moves against Venezuela is set for Tuesday, February 5, 5: 30 p.m., at the Federal Plaza, (219 S. Dearborn Street.) | "The people of Venezuela are in urgent need of solidarity. Join us to stand against the blatant attempt by Trump to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela," say protest organizers. | The demonstration is being organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and is endorsed by: U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Chicago ALBA Solidarity Committee, Black Lives Matter – Chicago, Party for Social…
(2019-02-04). Lights Back On at NYC Jail After Hundreds Protest, But Prisoners Still Without Heat in Winter. democracynow.org 
More than 1,600 prisoners at a Brooklyn federal detention center were forced to endure freezing temperatures during last week's polar vortex, with no heat, no light, no hot water for showers and no hot meals. Demonstrators rallied throughout the weekend to protest the conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center, which is run by the Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners communicated with protesters by banging on the jail windows. On Sunday afternoon, some of the protesters, including family members of those incarcerated, were pepper-sprayed by guards. Democracy Now! was there on the ground. By 6: 30 p.m., officials said…
(2019-02-04). As Virginia Governor Waffles on Blackface Yearbook Photo, NAACP Leader Calls His Apology "Invalid" democracynow.org 
Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is facing calls to resign after a photo surfaced on his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page showing a man wearing blackface posing next to a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam apologized for the photo on Friday, but walked back his statements on Saturday, claiming neither of the men in the photo was him. He did admit to using blackface to portray Michael Jackson at a dance contest. We speak with Reverend Kevin Chandler, president of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP.
(2019-02-04). Youth and College Director Tiffany Dena Loftin Recognized by NBC. naacp.org 
This #BlackHistoryMonth NBC BLK recognized 10 women shaping their environment and altering the lives of those in their communities. Our Youth and College Director, Tiffany Dena Loftin, was recognized for using her voice and talent to make sure young black people's lives matter. Loftin has been raising her voice since she was an undergraduate at […]
(2019-02-04). NAACP and RWJF Partner to Improve Health Equity. naacp.org Leveraging grassroots activism and cross-sector commitment for better health for everyone in America February 4, 2019 Princeton, N.J. — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have expanded their partnership to improve health and opportunity in communities of color across the United States. For almost 10 years, […]
(2019-02-04). Historian: Americans Must Face Violent History of Blackface Amid Virginia Gov. Racist Photo Scandal. democracynow.org 
We discuss the history behind calls for Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign after a photo surfaced on his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page showing a man wearing blackface posing next to a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit. The yearbook also features an image of a white man in a wig, dress and black face. The photo's caption reads, "'Baby Love,' who ever thought Diana Ross would make it to Medical School!" Another photo in the yearbook shows three men in blackface. We are joined by Rhae Lynn Barnes, assistant professor of American cultural history at Princeton University and auth…
(2019-02-04). Virginia Legislative Black Caucus: Governor Northam Must Resign over Blackface Yearbook Photo. democracynow.org 
Calls are mounting for Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign after a photo surfaced from his medical school yearbook page showing a man wearing blackface posing next to a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit. On Friday, Northam apologized for the photo in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. However, on Saturday, he reversed course and claimed neither of the men in the racist yearbook photo was him as he initially thought. As Northam resisted growing calls for his resignation, he admitted to a separate instance of blackface: darkening his face to imitate Michael Jackson in a 1984 dance c…
(2019-02-04). Headlines for February 4, 2019. democracynow.org Calls Mount for VA Gov. Northam to Resign over Racist Yearbook Photo, Trump Sends Aid to Venezuela, Says Military Intervention "An Option", Trump: U.S. Should Maintain Troops in Iraq to "Watch" Iran, Trump Floats Another Gov't Shutdown or Nat'l Emergency over Border Wall Funding, El Salvador Elects Outsider Nayib Bukele as President, Mexico Denies Entry to U.S Lawyers & Journalists Working with Migrants, Iraq: Gunman Shoots Novelist Alaa Mashzoub, Amnesty Int'l: Boko Haram Killed At Least 60 in Nigeria Attack Last Week, Russia Suspends INF in Response to U.S. Withdrawal, U.N.: At Least 29 Children Died on Way to…
(2019-02-04). Want to Eradicate Hunger in America? Take on Racism. thenation.com Want to Eradicate Hunger in America? Take on Racism.
(2019-02-03). "'Vicious' And 'Brutal'" — Life Inside a Freezing Federal Prison With No Heat. theintercept.com 
Inside accounts are seeping out of a New York prison where hundreds of people have been incarcerated without heat as the city endured arctic weather.
(2019-02-03). Officers Accused of Abuses Are Leading Chicago Police's "Implicit Bias" Training Program. theintercept.com Sergio Herrera, a Chicago police officer, was accused in a 2010 lawsuit of teaming up with another officer to mace and beat a black man for no reason. The man was sitting in his parked car when Herrera's colleague approached the vehicle. As the man went to retrieve his identification, the officer told him to "cuff up," at which point Herrera entered the fray, spraying the man with mace according to the lawsuit. Both officers then allegedly proceeded to throw the man to the ground, strike him in the head with handcuffs, and dig their knees into his back. When the man asked for medical assistance, his pleas were ig…
(2019-02-02). Philippines: Congress Aims to Lock Up More Children. hrw.org 
| | | | | | In this photo taken last year in Manila, children are detained in a Bahay Pagasa detention center, the same type of facility the Philippine government plans to use under a proposed new law that would lower the age of criminal responsibility. | | © 2018 Carlos Conde/Human Rights Watch | (New York) — Philippine legislators should reject a draft law to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 to 12, Human Rights W…
(2019-02-01). Congress, Don't Give DHS Unrestricted Authority to Build a 'Smart Wall'. aclu.org What Congress must do to ensure that border technology doesn't trample on the rights of border communities. | On Thursday, House Democrats unveiled their proposal for a $55 billion Department of Homeland Security budget. The proposal includes some strong provisions — including no funding for a border wall, no new Border Patrol agents, and a requirement for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cut its detention of immigrants and phase out the jailing of immigrant families. But there are also a number of troubling elements, ch…
(2019-02-01). ICE Partners Again With a Sheriff It Once Severed Ties With Because of Racial Profiling. aclu.org Sheriff Terry Johnson is known for racial profiling. He just secured $2.8 million in taxpayer funding to do ICE's bidding. | Whether it's Jeff Sessions, Stephen Miller, or Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Trump administration has a real knack for empowering and absolving people who push discriminatory law enforcement and immigration policy. Now there's another name to add to that list: Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County in North Carolina. Six years after the federal government severed ties with Sheriff Johnson for his office's discriminatory policing of Latinx residents, Uncle Sam and the Alamance County Sheriff's O…
(2019-02-01). Gandhi and American Civil Rights. consortiumnews.com Howard Thurman travelled to India and returned to the U.S. intent on bringing nonviolence to the struggles of African Americans, writes Walter E. Fluker. Howard Thurman's image on Howard University chapel's stained glass window. (Fourandsixty from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA) By… Read more →
(2019-02-01). 28 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month. naacp.org Issa Rae Rooting For Everybody Black GIF from Issarae GIFs Since the 1970s, the month of February has been an exceptional period for the Black community as we devote 28 days — 29 if we're lucky — to commemorate all things Black. Black History Month is celebrated across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany […]
(2019-02-01). "Do We as a Society Have a Right to Kill?": Chinonye Chukwu's Film "Clemency" Examines Death Penalty. democracynow.org 
As the state of Texas this week carried out the nation's first execution of the year, we look at "Clemency," a new film starring Alfre Woodard that examines the death penalty from the perspective of those who have to carry out executions as well as the condemned. Woodard portrays prison warden Bernadine Williams as she prepares to oversee what would be her 12th execution as warden in the aftermath of one that was horribly botched. As her life seems to unravel, Williams, for the first time, grapples with what it means to be part of a system of state-sanctioned murder, as the execution date for Anthony Woods, playe…
(2019-02-01). 'There Is No Such Thing as a Nonracist'. progressive.org An Interview with Ibram X. Kendi…
(2019-02-01). The price Peter Norman paid for his anti-racism. greenleft.org.au 
The Peter Norman Story
| Written by Andrew Webster & Matt Norman
| Macmillan, 2018
| $34.99 | Australian sprinter Peter Norman had just run a blistering 20.6 seconds in the men's 200-metre final at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games to claim the silver medal. After he heard about the plans of the gold and bronze medallists, African-American runners Tommy Smith and John Carlos, to protest against racism in the US, Norman agreed to support their actions by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge, stating: "I'll stand with you". | In The Peter Norman Story, his nephew Matt Norman, w…
(2019-02-01). Vietnam: Hanoi Misleads UN on Rights Record. hrw.org 
| | Twenty-five political prisoners currently locked up for exercising basic rights. | | © 2018 Private | (Geneva) — Vietnam presented a grossly inaccurate picture of its human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on January 22, 2019, Human Rights Wat…
(2019-02-01). ICE Force-feeding Immigrant Detainees on Hunger Strike. hrw.org 
| | Screenshot from a 2013 video of Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) volunteering to undergo the standard operating procedures for force-feeding of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. | © 2013 The Guardian/YouTube | ICE officials are force-feeding six immigrant detainees who are on hunger strike in Texas, according to an investigation published by the Associated Press. | The AP reported indications that nearly 30 men — mostly from India an…
(2019-01-31). What Breastfeeding Has to Do With Economic Security. aclu.org A recent study from the Center for WorkLife Law reveals the heavy toll of breastfeeding discrimination and the pressing need for more protections. | The discrimination began almost immediately after Barbara, an emergency room nurse, returned from maternity leave. Like most breastfeeding parents, Barbara needed to pump regularly to keep up her milk supply and prevent infection. But while her co-workers got smoke breaks, Barbara wasn't allowed to take time to pump, leaving her in pain: "I'd feel like my breasts [were] bursting," she said. | When she did get breaks, Barbara found herself expressing breast milk for h…
(2019-01-31). Senate Judiciary Vote on the Barr Nomination. naacp.org The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on whether or not to send the NAACP-opposed nomination of William P. Barr to the full Senate with a positive recommendation on Thursday, February 7, 2019. We need to contact the entire Senate Judiciary Committee and urge that they oppose this misguided nomination. For information on the nominee, as […]
(2019-01-31). Headlines for January 31, 2019. democracynow.org Venezuela: U.S. Urges Military to Back Guaidó as Protesters Take to Streets, Reuters: UAE Hired Ex-NSA Agents to Spy on Opponents and Critics, Congress Reintroduces War Powers Resolution to End War on Yemen, Trump Hits Back After Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Him on Iran, N. Korea, Israeli Forces Kill Teenage Palestinian Girl at West Bank Checkpoint, Israel: Thousands of Israeli Ethiopians Protest Racism, Police Brutality, Migrants: Scores Killed in 2 Boat Wrecks Off Djibouti Coast, Humanitarian Ship Docks in Italy After European Nations Agree to Process Migrants, Colombia: 2 Community Leaders Killed Amid Mounti…
(2019-01-31). Dialogue: Women's March Leaders on Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racism & More. democracynow.org 
Thousands took to the streets for women's marches across the country on January 19, exactly two years after Donald Trump's inauguration sparked a burgeoning women's movement. But some of this year's marches were steeped in controversy. In November, Teresa Shook, one of the founders of the Women's March movement, called for the removal of the four national co-chairs: Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour. She accused them of allowing "anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform." Much of the criticism focused on links between some of the c…
(2019-01-31). Darwin pub staff take a stand against racism. greenleft.org.au 
Staff at the Rorkes pub in Darwin walked off the job on January 22 after refusing to follow the owner's orders to ban Aboriginal patrons from the premises. | Larrakia elder June Mills called for a boycott after allegations of racism against owner Mitchell McNamee came to light. | Staff told ABC News that McNamee had told them to ban Indigenous patrons using the excuse of "no singlets". Thom Brock, a former…
(2019-01-29). The One Wall Trump Doesn't Like. aclu.org The Trump administration continues to push laws and policies that breach the wall separating religion and the government. | President Trump may be the world's most renowned fan of building walls, but there's at least one wall he loathes: the wall of separation between church and state. From the Muslim ban to his so-called "religious freedom" executive order, Trump and his theocratic supporters have pushed l…
(2019-01-29). Trump Says 58,000 Texans Voted Illegally. Here's What Actually Happened. aclu.org Voter fraud is extremely rare. States using unreliable data to justify purges of eligible voters, unfortunately, is not. | The president of the United States is once again spreading unsubstantiated claims about rampant voter fraud and undermining faith in the integrity of our democracy. This time, he's claiming that 95,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in Texas and more than half have actually voted. These numbers,…