Law

On "Let It Be Known" on January 27, four Black journalists, including this writer who served as Fairfax’s communications consultant, had an hour-long discussion on “twitter justice,” modern media click-bait strategies and how they impact the speed and decision making of today’s journalism.

THE AFRO — Most knowledgeable political historians agree that the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the Voting Rights Acts, which passed one year later, became law because President Johnson passionately supported them.  In addition to the two landmark civil rights measures, the nation also witnessed the passage of legislation that introduced Medicaid and Medicare during the Johnson administration.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — White House Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond, who served as Louisiana’s representative in the U.S. House for a decade before assuming his current role as the White House Office of Public Engagement Director, said during a Zoom gathering of reporters, that voting rights are the “bedrock of democracy.”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “It’s about putting $6 billion into state and local government to improve safety on the roads,” Vice President Harris pronounced. “It’s about funding for local communities for better streetlights, ensuring crosswalks are safe. We’re talking about the elderly, the mother with the stroller, the father with the stroller – people given enough time to cross the street. It’s a very big thing when you talk about the quality of life and when you live in communities where they rely on public streets to walk to church, to get the kids to school, to get them to the bus stop.”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Any hopes of getting legislation through was quashed when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona), and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) reiterated their refusal to change Senate rules so that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act could pass.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Notably, the next several days will also reveal whether Democrats have the resolve, strength, and even the negotiating skills to get one of their own on board with changing Senate filibuster rules. Doing so would allow the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to pass.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Professor Guinier worked in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and then headed the voting rights project at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the 1980s. She published such scholarly articles and books as The Tyranny of the Majority, Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School and Institutional Change, and Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice.

OAKLAND POST — Across the nation, over 400 bills have been introduced suppressing the right to vote — from reducing polling hours and locations to allowing lawmakers to overturn a legitimate election result. And we know that voter suppression laws are not felt universally: these restrictions are particularly harmful to people of color, young people, the low-income, the disabled, those in rural areas, and other marginalized communities. 

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Also murdered in the bombing were Addie Mae Collins, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Cynthia Dionne Wesley. All three were 14 years old. The Birmingham bombing was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement and remains one of the most notorious incidents of violence and political terrorism in U.S. history. 

NNPA NEWSWIRE — "My staff were converting filing cabinets into barricades after we were evacuated from chambers," Vice President Harris noted, adding that she could emphasize how the fragility and strength of democracy were represented on January 6, "The fragility of our democracy is this: if we are not vigilant, if we do not defend it, democracy simply will not stand," the vice president said. "It will falter, and it will fail."