civil rights

The inherent racism behind admissions lawsuit against UNC

Submitted by scharrison on

Angry White Man does not like diversity efforts:

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill weighs race so heavily in its admissions process that it is the predominant factor in determining whether many black and Hispanic students get in, according to court papers filed on Friday by an anti-affirmative action group that is also suing Harvard.

The group, Students for Fair Admissions, says the university is excluding white and Asian applicants in favor of less qualified black and Hispanic students.

There's a couple of things you need to know about this before having that conversation with a fence-sitter: First, the man driving these lawsuits is the same man who successfully gutted the Voting Rights Act provisions that monitored and supervised historically exclusive Congressional districts. And as a result, minorities have (once again) suffered voter suppression the VRA was enacted to stop. The second thing you need to know is the inclusion of Asian applicants is a beard, a disingenuous approach to make this look less like white vs. black. In UNC's case anyway, said Asian plaintiff simply does not exist:

Why there are no good excuses to not vote in America

Submitted by scharrison on

People are literally dying to exercise a right we take for granted:

An Afghan provincial government official says two people died and 22 were injured when insurgents fired several rockets and mortars at a variety of targets in the Baghlani Markazi district in an attempt to terrorize voters casting their ballots in parliamentary elections. Zabihullah Shuja, of Baghlan province, said the attack Saturday did not deter voters who continued to make their way to polling stations to cast their ballot.

In a separate attack, also in Baghlan, a bomb detonated in the capital of Pul-e-Kumri injuring one person, said Shuja. He added that Taliban insurgents also engaged in a firefight with security personnel at check posts on the main roadways.

It's been eight years since the last Parliamentary election in Afghanistan, and these voters have no way of knowing when (or if) the next election will be held. Not even polling places in Kabul are safe, but these folks are still turning out to determine who their leaders will be. In some of the provinces, that means walking for a half-day or more across brutal terrain, totally exposed to sniper fire or worse. But still they come. I'm sure if asked, NC's gun fetishists would say they need to travel "in force," 2-3 trucks of well-armed heroes to protect them. But then they would be drone bait, wouldn't they? You probably get the message, but we're not done yet:

Workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation a violation of the Civil Rights Act

Submitted by scharrison on

And considering the makeup of the court, this ruling is a game-changer:

A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, setting up a likely battle before the Supreme Court as gay rights advocates push to broaden the scope of the 53-year-old law.

The 7th Circuit is considered relatively conservative and five of the eight judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents, making the finding all the more notable. In an opinion concurring with the majority, Judge Richard Posner wrote that changing norms call for a change in interpretation of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.

Even if Gorsuch does get seated (which is highly probable), it will be surprising if the Supreme Court reverses this decision. I'm sure there will be some clever arguments put forward, but there simply is no justification for basing an employment decision on somebody's sexual orientation. To decide the Civil Rights Act doesn't apply to some classes of citizens would be an erosion of the Law itself, and I just don't see more than two Justices throwing their weight in that direction.

Marking the 57th Anniversary of the Greensboro Sit-In

Submitted by scharrison on

Civil rights were not a gift, they had to be secured:

It’s a testament to what they achieved, in a way, that so many today have no knowledge of the Sit In Movement. It’s what happens when you achieve something so good, so transformative, that in a couple of generations the young people can’t comprehend a time when it was vastly different.

That four young men decided that they would walk in to the Woolworth’s on Elm Street in Greensboro on Feb. 1, 1960 and simply ask to be served at the lunch counter did, in fact, change America. Similar protests spread within days across the state, and across the Deep South within a week. Though the department store owners held firm that winter and into the spring, by late summer they realized that arc of history was bending toward justice.

When I think of what these four brave men endured at the hands of their white oppressors, it makes me feel ashamed of my race. But that's good, it makes us learn. We will never again just stand by while bigots attack, we will stand between them and speak truth to evil intent.

Libertarians Say Repeal HB2

Submitted by libertypoint on

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has joined the growing list of organizations calling for the repeal of House Bill 2.

"The state has no authority to determine gender," the unanimous resolution states. HB 2 also “unduly intrudes state authority into local decision-making and unreasonably limits the ability of the citizens ... to govern themselves.”

In addition, the bill reduces individual rights because it “bans citizens from using state courts to remedy discrimination”

Demonstrators march in Bladenboro for Lennon Lacy

Submitted by scharrison on

Too many questions still remain:

Hundreds of protesters joined with the state chapter of the NAACP in a march in Bladenboro to call for a thorough federal investigation of a black teen whose death was ruled a suicide.

Lacy was found last summer hanging from a noose fashioned from two belts and tied to a swing set in Bladenboro. Family members and NAACP officials have called his death a "possible race-based homicide" and said local authorities rushed to reach a conclusion and didn't fully investigate the case.

Pretty sure it was a belt and a dog leash, neither of which belonged to the victim. It's inconsistencies in the media coverage like that which scream for a much more detailed investigation, and any embarrassment on the part of local law enforcement falls on their shoulders alone.

Subscribe to RSS - civil rights