Tag: Civil Rights

Civil Rights Legend, Celebrated Congressman: John Lewis Dies at 80

The Associated Press

by Calvin Woodward and Desiree Seals   ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — Representative John Lewis, who became a household name at the height of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and then went on to become a celebrated Congressman, died. He was 80. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Lewis’ passing late Friday night, calling him “one of the greatest heroes of American history.” “All of us were humbled to call Congressman Lewis a colleague, and are heartbroken by his passing,” Pelosi said. “May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make ‘good trouble, necessary trouble.’” Lewis’s announcement in late December 2019 that he had been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer — “I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” he said — inspired tributes from both sides of the aisle, and an unstated accord that the likely passing of this Atlanta Democrat would represent the end of an era. Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that had the greatest impact on the movement. He was best known for leading…

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University of Minnesota Students File Civil Rights Complaint Against School Alleging Misuse of Student Fees

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Two students filed a civil rights complaint against the University of Minnesota for misuse of student fees and “worship[ing] the great god of political correctness.” Along with a student group called Viewpoint Neutrality Now!, students Evan Smith and Isaac Smith claim student fees being used to fund nine cultural centers in Coffman Union with subsidized space is unconstitutional, reported the Minnesota Daily.

Viewpoint Neutrality Now! is not officially recognized as a campus organization at UMN, but it is an association of students who pay student fees and “support and advocate for viewpoint neutrality and other reforms.” The students say that the current system has offered “preferential treatment” to nine cultural groups receiving student fees in that they are offered free lounge space in the student union.

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Alveda King: ‘We’re All Human Beings and We Live in What’s Called a Human Condition’

Julie Carr

In an interview Monday on The Tennessee Star Report Michael Patrick Leahy – live broadcast Friday morning on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed special guest, Dr. Alveda King, who is an American activist, author, former state representative for the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives and officer in the Executive Branch of the United States.

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Biden Says Race ‘Shouldn’t Be About the Past,’ Defends His Civil Rights Record

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by Shelby Talcott   Former Vice President Joe Biden said the 2020 presidential race “shouldn’t be about the past” Friday before defending his civil rights record. “I want to be absolutely clear about my … position on racial justice, including busing. I never, never, never ever opposed voluntary busing,” Biden said at the Rainbow Push Coalition event in Chicago. “I did support federal action to address root causes of segregation in our schools and communities, including taking on the banks and red-lining and trying to change the way in which neighborhoods were segregated,” Biden said. Biden was confronted on all sides during Thursday night’s Democratic primary debate. California Sen. Kamala Harris hit Biden for past positions on school busing and desegregation. Harris said she was one of the girls who had to deal with segregation on school buses. Biden said he “heard and listened to” Harris, but a debate could not “do justice on a lifetime of commitment on civil rights.” Biden also said the race’s discussion should not be focused on the past. “Folks, the discussion in this race shouldn’t be about the past,” Biden said. “We should be talking about how we can do better, how we can…

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Commentary: Ralph Abernathy and His Stand to Put Americans First – in 1969

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by John M. Howting   The summer of 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of man walking on the moon. Before Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” however, another significant event occurred: Rev. Ralph Abernathy’s protest outside of the Saturn V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida. On the afternoon of July 15, 1969, the day prior to the Apollo 11 launch, Abernathy rode up to the launch site in a mule-drawn carriage (to symbolize rural poverty) with 500 activists to protest. Abernathy delivered a speech. According to NASA’s archives: He deplored the condition of the nation’s poor, declaring that one-fifth of the nation lacked adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. In the face of such suffering, he asserted that space flight represented an inhuman priority. During this stunt, Abernathy never once mentioned race. His message concerned misplaced priorities: putting space exploration ahead of domestic problems. Ralph Abernathy is an understated figure in the civil rights movement. A longtime friend and confidant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he succeeded King as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. But Abernathy was nothing like the radicals we see today who fashion themselves as “civil rights leaders.” Jesse Jackson…

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Nashville’s Community Oversight Board to Offer Executive Director Job to Chicago Civil Rights Lawyer William Weeden

Jason M. Reynolds

Nashville’s community oversight board has turned to someone outside of the community – Chicago, to be exact – to lead the organization’s oversight of police. The oversight board voted Tuesday to offer the executive director job to Chicago attorney William Weeden, Nashville Public Radio said. The board selected Weeden over four other finalists. Weeden is a civil rights attorney and a former prosecutor and professor of law. He served eight years as a leader of the Independent Police Review Authority in Chicago, Nashville Public Radio said. Metro Nashville’s website says the board has the power to investigate allegations that MNPD officers have committed misconduct against members of the public. That’s not all of its powers: The Board has the option to forward resolution reports that produce factual findings of criminal misconduct and civil rights violations to the District Attorney, Grand Jury, or U.S. Attorney. The Board shall have all powers, including the power to compel, identified in Section 18.10 of the Metropolitan Charter. A biography on Weeden’s law practice website says his previous stints included working for the Cook County (Illinois) State’s Attorney Office and serving as Assistant Attorney General in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he prosecuted felony…

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Commentary: Learning About America’s Forgotten Civil Rights History

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by Marc DeJager   Early in the morning last Saturday, a group of 12 Heritage Foundation interns (including myself) boarded a bus bound for Holly Knoll, the manor house of Robert Russa Moton. Most of us had never heard of Moton before. This is unsurprising, as he was “the forgotten civil rights leader,” in the words of professor Brian McGovern of Rappahannock Community College. We disembarked from the bus into a steady rain at Holly Knoll, and quickly hurried inside to hear from McGovern about the life and accomplishments of Moton. Moton is arguably the most important African-American leader of the early 20th century. Both his parents had been slaves. His mother taught him to read, and he was determined to become an educator. He graduated from the Hampton Institute in 1890—a historically black college in Virginia—and was immediately offered a position there as a teacher. There, he served until 1920 when, upon the death of his friend and fellow civil rights activist Booker T. Washington, he was named principle of the Tuskegee Institute, another historically black university. Moton was a staunch advocate for the strategy of accommodation in civil rights, believing that black Americans should show their white neighbors…

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The Double Standard of Justice in the U.S. Is Risking the Collapse of the Entire System

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Lady Justice

by Printus LeBlanc   The political world is waiting with bated breath for the outcome of Paul Manafort’s trial. The former one-time Trump campaign chairman is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for various tax and bank fraud crimes, most of which occurred over a decade ago. Manafort is also facing charges in the District of Columbia for Foreign Agent Registration Act violations. In total, Manafort is looking at more than three centuries behind bars. Many recall Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian election interference and if the Trump campaign colluded. Yet for some unknown reason, Mueller is vigorously pursuing Manafort even though none of the charges in Virginia or D.C. have nothing to do with Russia or the 2016 election. Despite being on trial for nothing to do with Russia or the election by someone that is supposed to be investigating Russia and the election, Manafort is likely to spend more time in prison than rapists or murderers. Is that justice? The mainstream media has reported authorities raided a compound last week in New Mexico and found malnourished children. But what really happened is much more sinister, and the actions of a local judge have called into question what…

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Donald Trump Pays Tribute to Civil-Rights Heroes in Mississippi as Black Leaders Boycott His Visit

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With some black leaders boycotting the event, President Trump paid tribute Saturday to the heroes of the civil rights movement at the dedication of two museums in Mississippi. Speaking to a small invitation-only group of dignitaries indoors at the new civil-rights museum in Jackson, Mr. Trump called the facility honoring leaders of the movement “a tribute…

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