(2019-03-07). NAACP Joins NABJ in Criticism of CNN's Lack of Diversity in Leadership Positions. naacp.org Civil Rights Group Voices Concerns over Diversity Failure to CNN BALTIMORE — The nation's foremost civil rights organization issued the following response to CNN President Jeff Zucker's refusal to address the lack of diversity in leadership positions: "It is vital that news organizations reflect the diversity of our country, which includes people of color in …
(2019-03-07). Following sustained campaign, JP Morgan Chase and Co divests from private prison operators. peoplesdispatch.org More than 85 civil rights groups in the country had formed a coalition and urged the bank to stop lending to firms which run private prisons for profit. Firms such as GEO Group and CoreCivic have reportedly spent USD 25 million on lobbying over the past three decades to push for harsher criminal justice and immigration laws…
(2019-03-07). Stop Weaponizing "Anti-Semitism" and "Racism" counterpunch.org 
Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair | What's in a word? Plenty, if those words are "racism" or "anti-Semitism." Just ask Virginia Governor Ralph Northam or freshman Congresswoman Ilham Omar. Last week both found themselves engulfed in political firestorms. All because of those two barbed words. | Governor Northam faced charges of racism when someone discovered a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page That an 80's yearbook photo could push a governor's political career to the brink raises questions about how the word "racism" is being defined and how it is being weaponized in political debates. | Northam's ad…
(2019-03-07). Georgia legislators try to kill bail reform and require jail for the poor. zcomm.org The Georgia NAACP criticized the bail bond industry for lobbying "against ending cash bail so that they can continue to profit from people … who are often poor."
(2019-03-07). Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Zionism in France. consortiumnews.com Lawrence Davidson dismantles Macron's equation of apples and oranges. By Lawrence Davidson TothePointAnalysis.com We are at a new stage of the fight to realize Palestinian rights and free both Palestinians and Jews from the consequences of Zionist racism. There was… Read more →
(2019-03-07). Cornel West on Bernie, Trump, and Racism. theintercept.com Taking a lesson from his 2016 loss to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is dedicating more time in his speeches to discussing systemic racism and discrimination. Will it be enough to win over black voters?
(2019-03-06). Kirstjen Nielsen Continues to Insist That There Is No Family Separation Policy. aclu.org During her congressional testimony, Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen dodged questions about her department's vicious border policies. | Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified on Wednesday before the House Committee on Homeland Security, just days after the House passed a resolution to overturn President Trump's emergency declaration on the border wall. | Nielsen has helped Trump push lies and fabrications about the supposed security crisis at the border, when in fact the only crisis…
(2019-03-06). ACLU Comment on EO Revoking Requirement to Release Casualty Numbers From Lethal Strikes Abroad. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-03-06). Selected Articles: The Recolonization of Latin America and the War on Venezuela. globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
(2019-03-06). As National Socialist Movement Falls Into Disarray, League of the South, Neo-Nazi Billy Roper Seek To Pick off Members. splcenter.org After a black civil rights advocate took over the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM), Kynan Dutton had enough.
(2019-03-06). South Florida students rally on anniversary of Trayvon Martin's murder. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On February 28, the Tampa Bay chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Lives Matter rally at the University of South Florida for the seventh anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death. In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, after returning from a nearby gas station. The trial of Zimmerman became a national phenomenon with him walking free due to Florida's 'stand your ground' law. The shooting is still fresh on Florida's mind, with many questioning the judicial system that let a man off with murder. | The protest was aimed at the jud…
(2019-03-06). Revealed: British Army Deployed "Interrogators" to Abu Ghraib Despite Abuse Concerns. globalresearch.ca Ministry of Defence refuses to answer MEE's questions about what its personnel were doing and what they saw at height of torture scandal in US-run Baghdad prison | *** | Britain's defence ministry covertly deployed a team of interrogators to Iraq's notorious …
(2019-03-06). Headlines for March 6, 2019. democracynow.org NY Regulators Probe Trump Org. Insurance Company, BLM Occupies Sacramento Police Dept. After Police Get Off for Killing Stephon Clark, Whistleblower: Chicago PD Tried to Falsify Report on Shooting of Unarmed Black Teen, House Updates Anti-Semitism Resolution to Include Islamophobia, Alabama Tornado Kills At Least 23, 8 Still Missing, U.K. Labour Leader Calls for End to Israeli Arms Sales, Egypt: Noted Photojournalist Shawkan Released After 5 Years in Jail, White House Rejects Dems' Request for Security Clearance Info, CNN: Trump Pressured Staff to Grant Security Clearance for Ivanka | , GOP Senators Confirm 37-Ye…
(2019-03-06). Anti-Semitism Versus Anti-Zionism in Today's France. counterpunch.org We are at a new stage of the fight to realize Palestinian rights and free both Palestinians and Jews from the consequences of Zionist racism. There was a time when very few in the West understood the racist nature of the Israeli state. For a long time the Zionists controlled the public relations message and More
(2019-03-06). Democratic leaders step up witchhunt against Congresswoman Omar on phony anti-Semitism charges. wsws.org This intimidation and character assassination is part of a drive to criminalize all criticism of the Israeli state's oppression of Palestinians by equating it with anti-Semitism.
(2019-03-05). Ending the NSA's Massive Phone Spying Program Would Be a Good Start — But There's a Lot More to Do. aclu.org The successor to the NSA's bulk surveillance program revealed by Snowden is reportedly being abandoned. Congress needs to make sure it stays dead. | We may be one step closer to putting the final nail in the coffin of the National Security Agency's massive phone records surveillance program, if a New York Times report bears out. Ending this program is a good first step, but as Congress debates expiring Patriot Act provisions this year, it needs to do much more to protect individual rights, including eliminating t…
(2019-03-05). Congress, Let's Fix the Problems in H.R. 1 So We Can Enact the Bill's Much-Needed Reforms. aclu.org As currently drafted, the For the People Act of 2019 violates the First Amendment rights of American citizens and public-interest organizations. | Members of Congress are expected to vote this week on H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2019. There is a lot to like about the bill. , , To begin, its aim is to strengthen and expand participation in our democracy. We are at a crucial moment where our democratic institutions are not adequately protecting the will of the people, and we strongly support the goals of H.R. 1 to correct these infirmities. , , But, as we de…
(2019-03-05). NAACP Calls for Justice in Stephon Clark Case. naacp.org Joins Sacramento Branch in Condemning DA's Failure to Charge Police Officers in Murder of Stephon Clark BALTIMORE (March 5, 2019)—The nation's foremost civil rights organization joins its NAACP Sacramento Branch in condemning Sacramento District Attorney Marie Schubert's decision to not charge Sacramento Police officers Terrence Mercadel and Jared Robinet with murder for the killing of …
(2019-03-05). France's Yellow Vests: Proving Police Are Indeed Part of the 1%. mintpressnews.com 
8,000+ arrested, 500 major injuries, 2,000+ imprisoned (as of Feb. 14), 1,500+ awaiting trials (Feb. 14), 12 deaths, 20+ blindings, 6 hands lost, 10,000+ rubber bullets fired. Cops never switch sides — they have too much to lose.
(2019-03-05). Headlines for March 5, 2019. democracynow.org Judiciary Committee Launches Probe into 81 Trump Associates and Groups, New Yorker Report Details Trump's Deep Ties to Fox News, Groundwater in 39 States Contaminated by Coal Ash Waste, Dem Leaders Rebuke Alleged Anti-Semitic Remarks by Rep. Omar, U.S. Closes Jerusalem Consulate, Rights Groups Say Jailed Saudi Women Activists Tortured, Sexually Assaulted, Report: Khashoggi's Body Was Burned in Oven at Saudi Diplomat's Home, NYT: Detained U.S. Citizen Allegedly Tortured in Saudi Custody | , South Korea Calls for Resumption of Talks Between Trump and Kim, North Carolina Reschedules 9th District Election After Voter…
(2019-03-05). How Two Immigration Lawyers Created a Rapid-Response Team to Combat ICE. theintercept.com 
Sarah Gillman and Gregory Copeland were half way through a six-hour drive from Rochester to New York City last week when they got word that Baba Sillah, a father of five from the Bronx, was at John F. Kennedy International Airport, about to be deported to Gambia, a country he had left in the early 1990s. | It had been a long two days for the lawyers. On their way upstate, they had stopped by the Bergen County Jail, in New Jersey, to meet a Bangladeshi father facing imminent deportation. They had then driven to Buffalo, New York, where they trained a 21-year-old law student to argue the case of an Albany man, Kini…
(2019-03-05). How award-winning Palestinian poet found her 'magic pen' in an Israeli jail. greenleft.org.au 
Four months after her release from an Israeli prison, Palestinian poet and photographer Dareen Tatour received the Oxfam Novib PEN Award for Freedom of Expression in The Hague in January. Oxfam Novib, the Dutch affiliate of the international charity Oxfam, said it awarded Tatour the prize to highlight "the growing repr…
(2019-03-04). Student Surveillance Versus Gun Control: The School Safety Discussion We Aren't Having. aclu.org Identifying the best way to combat school shootings cannot occur unless Congress repeals amendments blocking gun research and data collation. | On April 20, 1999, two male students walked into Columbine High School and started shooting. By the time it was over, 15 students were dead and 24 more had been injured. America had changed forever. But in some ways, it hasn't changed at all. | Nineteen years later, 17 students were murdered on Valentine's Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. That event marked the 2…
(2019-03-04). The Prisoner Says 'No' to Big Brother. consortiumnews.com The refusal by Australia's foreign ministry to honor the UN's declaration that Julian Assange is the victim of "arbitrary detention" is a shameful breach of the letter and spirit of international law, says John Pilger. By John Pilger in Sydney,… Read more →
(2019-03-04). The Infiltrators: How Undocumented Activists Snuck Into Immigration Jail to Fight Deportations. democracynow.org 
An immigrant rights activist has been detained in Florida just weeks after he appeared in an acclaimed film at the Sundance Film Festival about activists infiltrating and exposing for-profit immigrant detention jails. Claudio Rojas was apprehended on Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an annual check-in and is now being held at Krome Detention Center, where he faces immediate deportation. His lawyer says his arrest is linked to the film featuring his activism. It's called "The Infiltrators." The gripping hybrid documentary/dramatic feature was a smash success at Sundance and will play at the M…
(2019-03-04). Robert Fisk Exposes Israel's Hidden Role in the Brewing India-Pakistan Conflict. mintpressnews.com 
Israel's export of Zionist nationalism and neocolonialism — and the accompanying oppression that in practice actually helps to create many of the very terrorist groups they fight against — is just as dangerous as its export of arms.
(2019-03-04). What is the NAACP ETF? naacp.org In our own evolution of working to advance economic opportunity for all, the NAACP recently partnered with Impact Shares, Inc. in the launch of the NAACP Minority Empowerment Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)—a new tool that scores and ranks companies on the S&P 500 based on their commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. The ETF was created using NAACP's …
(2019-03-04). President Trump's "Emergency" naacp.org On February 26, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H. J. Res 46, a resolution to reject and nullify President Donald Trump's declaration of an emergency so he could shift as much as $6.7 billion of previously appropriated monies away from their intended recipients and used instead to build a wall …
(2019-03-03). MEDIA ADVISORY: NAACP Announces Regional Training in South Carolina. naacp.org Training to be Association's First National Event in South Carolina in two decades BALTIMORE (March 3, 2019)—The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's foremost civil rights organization will host a press conference on Tuesday, March 5, to announce the Civil Rights Advocacy Training Institute (CRATI), to be held in …
(2019-03-02). Congressional, civil rights leaders gather at Civil Rights Memorial to honor movement's martyrs. splcenter.org U.S. Rep. John Lewis led a gathering of congressional and civil rights leaders in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, today, honoring those who lost their lives in the struggle for civil rights.
(2019-03-01). The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent. aclu.org A federal court threw out a baseless lawsuit against Greenpeace and other pipeline opponents and the company promptly refiled the case in state court. | In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently dismissed a baseless $900 million lawsuit brought by the Dakota Access Pipeline company against Greenpeace and a number of individual protesters. The company should have learned its lesson. Instead, it refiled the case in state court. | These meritless cases…
(2019-03-01). Activist Faces Prison for Climbing Statue of Liberty & Southwest Key HQ to Protest Family Separation. democracynow.org 
Last week, immigrant activist Patricia Okoumou climbed the Southwest Key building in Austin, Texas, to protest the company jailing immigrant children. Now a judge in New York will decide whether to revoke her bail from her first arrest, when she climbed the Statue of Liberty on July 4 to protest President Trump's "zero tolerance" policy. Okoumou was with the group Rise and Resist on July 4 last year as they dropped a banner from the statute that read "ABOLISH ICE." She broke away from the group and climbed all the way to Lady Liberty's left foot, where she continued to protest and refused to leave until she was a…
(2019-03-01). Headlines for March 1, 2019. democracynow.org U.N. Human Rights Panel: Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to Be Indicted on Corruption Charges, NYT: Trump Intervened to Give Security Clearance to Jared Kushner, In Peace Talks with Taliban, U.S. Floats Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal, Somalia: At Least 15 Dead in Twin Suicide Bombings, North Korea Disputes Trump's Account of Why Kim-Trump Summit Failed, Immigrant Groups Cite "Alarming Increase" in Babies Jailed by ICE, House Approves Bill to Extend Gun Purchase Waiting Period, Lawmakers Seek Interview of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, Virginia's First Lady A…
(2019-03-01). UNF SDS wins campaign demands. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – On February 19 the University of North Florida Students for a Democratic Society (UNF SDS) held a rally speaking out against Trump's Declaration of a National Emergency to fund his racist, xenophobic border wall. About 30 students attended despite the chilly rain. Several speakers addressed the protesters about the importance of organizing on campus and opposing Trump's backwards policies. | After the speeches, students from UNF SDS marched across campus to the university president's office and occupied it until the administration met with SDS to discuss the students' demands. SDS dem…
(2019-02-28). A Connecticut Bill Would Help Ensure That Re-Entry Doesn't Last a Lifetime for the Formerly Incarcerated. aclu.org Connecticut could be the first to make the formerly incarcerated a protected class under the state's antidiscrimination law. | This year, I moved from one city in Connecticut to a new one. On top of the usual stress of trying to find an affordable, comfortable place to live, I was burdened with extra anxiety. | Despite my success in the 12 years since being released from prison, I dreaded explaining my criminal record again. Weeks into my search, I revealed that part of my past to a potential landlord. When I did, that home's door was closed to me. | My experience is not unique. | Ninety-five percent of the milli…
(2019-02-28). In an Era of Religious Refusals, the Do No Harm Act Is an Essential Safeguard. aclu.org The bill would restore the original intent of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by making clear that it cannot be used to discriminate. | Earlier this year, the Trump administration granted a request from the state of South Carolina for an exception to a federal rule barring discrimination in federally funded child welfare programs. With its action, the administration allowed government-contracted and taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies in South Carolina to turn away would-b…
(2019-02-28). A Criminal in the Oval Office? Michael Cohen Accuses Trump of Lying, Racism & Illegal Activity. democracynow.org 
In an explosive 5-hour hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen accused his old boss of committing multiple criminal acts before and during his presidency. Cohen provided evidence that Trump had violated campaign finance laws by paying hush money to women, accused the Trump Foundation of committing fraud by using the tax-exempt organization for personal purposes, and said Trump lied when he said he couldn't release his tax returns because they were being audited. He also claimed that Trump had advance knowledge that WikiLeaks was preparing to publish a trove of e…
(2019-02-28). Mexico: AMLO's government expands controversial preventive detention laws. greenleft.org.au 
Mexico's new left-wing government has tripled the list of crimes that carry automatic pre-trial detention, in what President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) says is a crackdown on corruption. Human rights groups, however, have warned the move may end up funnelling more innocent people into Mexico's already strained penal system. | On February 19, the Chamber of Deputies, approved an expansion of the constitution's controversial Article 19, which allows for the automatic "preventive detention" of individuals accused of crimes such as homicide, human trafficking, rape and any violent offence committed with a fir…
(2019-02-28). Italy: Government institutionalises hatred and racism. greenleft.org.au 
It has now become clearer than ever: the Italian government coalition operates at the behest of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini and his party's racist and reactionary policies. | Since the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Salvini's far-right League (formerly the Northern League) formed a coalition government League's support has soared. In less than a year since the March 2018 general elections, their support has grown from 17 percent to 33 percent, according to the latest polls. | In the same period, support for the M5S decreased from 32 percent to 22 percent. | These figures show League'
(2019-02-28). Grand Rapids Police caught lying. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI — The Grand Rapids Police Department was caught lying and covering up for Captain Curt VanderKooi this week. VanderKooi racially profiled an ex-Marine and contacted ICE to detain him in November 2018. The recent Grand Rapids police investigation claims VanderKooi contacted ICE out of concern for possible 'terrorism.' | However, Michigan ACLU lawyers and immigrant rights activists are pointing out that this is a blatant lie. The FBI is the agency that VanderKooi would contact, not Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Captain VanderKooi works with both and knows the difference. | The outrageo…
(2019-02-27). North Carolinians Voted to End Cooperation With Trump's Deportation Force. ICE Retaliated. aclu.org The federal agency stepped up raids after sheriffs stopped notifying it about the immigration status of people arrested. | President Trump's Department of Homeland Security frequently claims to be motivated by a dedication to law and order, but its immigration enforcement tactics are often directly contrary to local communities' legal and electoral choices. | Recent raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in North Carolina were a failed attempt to achieve by force what was soundly rejected at the ballot box last November: Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. ICE targeted places and people based on democ…
(2019-02-27). It's Time to Make Sure Our Kids Are No Longer Bound, Shackled, or Locked Away When They're at School. aclu.org Congress is finally holding a hearing on the use of restraints and seclusion in our schools. | In 1998, teachers in West Virginia strapped a 4-year-old autistic girl with cerebral palsy to a wooden chair. Why? She was being "uncooperative" because she needed to use the bathroom. The girl suffered bruises and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. | In 2003, school officials in Michigan held a 15-year-old autistic boy in a face-down restraint for an hour after he had a seizure and lost control of his extremities. He died without receiving medical attention. | These are just two of many barbaric s…
(2019-02-27). dream hampton on Making "Surviving R. Kelly" & the Grassroots Activists That Helped Bring Him Down. democracynow.org 
R. Kelly was released from jail in Chicago on Monday, three days after he was arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. The charges involve four women and girls, three of whom were under the age of 17 at the time of the alleged crimes. A judge set bail at a million dollars and forced the singer to surrender his passport. Almost immediately after he posted bond and pleaded not guilty on Monday, Kelly was spotted at a McDonald's in downtown Chicago—a spot his accusers say he used to frequent to prey on young girls. Kelly has been accused of abuse, predatory behavior and pedoph…
(2019-02-27). NAACP President's Response to Michael Cohen's Testimony Before the House Oversight Committee. naacp.org BALTIMORE — NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson issued the following statement regarding Michael Cohen's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Donald Trump has been showing us his true colors for decades. Trump's presidency and entire career has …
(2019-02-27). Lula: Brazil 'Cannot Submit to US Imperialism' in Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com In a letter penned from prison, former president Lula Da Silva says that the U.S. and Brazil shouldn't intervene in Venezuela. He also criticized the U.S. blockade as a 'dirty trick'.
(2019-02-27). Patty Hearst and the SLA's militarist disaster. greenleft.org.au 
American Heiress: The Kidnapping, Crimes & Trial of Patty Hearst
| Jeffrey Toobin
| Profile Books, 2017, 371 pages | "Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people." With this hyperbolic declaration by "General Field Marshall" Cinque M'tume (the nom-de-plume of a Black prison escapee), the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) introduced itself to the American people in the early 1970s. | It derived its mysterious name from contrasting the "symbiosis" of a harmonious socialist society to the "parasitism" of a capitalist elite. | The political catch-phrase, and the military pretension of it…
(2019-02-26). Today: In Historic Moment NAACP Rings Closing Bell on Wall Street to Highlight Launch of New Minority Impact ETF. naacp.org 
NEW YORK — February 26, 2019 — Today the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) joined Impact Shares in ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to highlight the launch of the NAACP Minority Empowerment ETF (NYSE Arca: NACP). L-R: NAACP Economic Director Marvin Owens, …
(2019-02-26). Editors' Pick: 28 Black-Owned Businesses on the Rise. naacp.org 
Black History Month might be drawing to a close, but the celebration of all things Black should be a year-long event. Taking into account that Nielsen estimates the Black buying power to be at $1.2 trillion, a great way to celebrate Black culture should be to put some of this money back into our communities. …
(2019-02-26). NAACP Infusing Social Justice into Wall Street in Historic Bell Ringing Group Joins with Impact Shares in Highlighting New Minority Impact ETF. naacp.org Discussion on "Using Capital Markets to Create Social Equity" to Precede Event Contact: Malik Russell — mrussell@naacpnet.org NEW YORK — February 26, 2019 — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will join Impact Shares, the first 501(c)(3) nonprofit exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform, in ringing the Closing Bell at the New York Stock …
(2019-02-21). SPLC lawsuit: ICE raid at Tennessee slaughterhouse violated workers' constitutional rights. splcenter.org On a quiet, chilly morning in April 2018, Alma drove through the verdant Tennessee hillsides to the ramshackle slaughterhouse where she had been working on the kill floor for more than two years.