civil rights

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Scouts Dig In for Philly Fight Over Gays

Battling city over eviction for barring gays

(Newser) - The Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts of America is locked in a legal battle with the city over the group's refusal to enroll gays. Philadelphia gave the Scouts an ultimatum to quit their historic city-owned headquarters—or pay a new fair-market annual rent of $200,000. The Scouts have...

NYPD Arrests Sharpton, Bell's Fiancée at Protests

Hundreds march against acquittal of officers in shooting

(Newser) - New York City police arrested the Rev. Al Sharpton and the fiancée and mother of Sean Bell today during protests over the April 25 acquittal of three officers who shot Bell to death in a 50-bullet barrage. Hundreds blocked traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge and other city hot spots,...

Woman Who Defied Interracial Marriage Ban Dies at 68

Mildred Loving launched case that led to Supreme Court changing law in 1967

(Newser) - Mildred Loving, whose challenge to Virginia law led to the Supreme Court decision overturning bans on racially mixed marriage, has died at the age of 68. Loving, who was black, and her white husband Richard pleaded guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of...

After Bell Shooting, NYPD Awaits Its Own Verdict

Case 'revealed significant deficiencies' in undercover operations: critic

(Newser) - A New York judge yesterday cleared the detectives who fatally shot Sean Bell, but the NYPD is awaiting its own verdict, after the case provoked charges of shoddy undercover police work. The shooting “revealed significant deficiencies in supervision, tactical planning, communications and management accountability,” said the Queens district...

Sharpton: Bell Verdict 'Abortion of Justice'

Feds will look into civil-rights charges against NYPD officers

(Newser) - Rev. Al Sharpton blasted today's acquittal of three NYPD officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-slug fusillade in 2006, CNN reports. "Justice didn't miscarry," Sharpton said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted." Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged citizens to respect the “...

Arizona's Black Leaders Haven't Felt the Mac Love

Senator has trouble 'feigning interest,' says scribe

(Newser) - John McCain has "pretty well zero relationship" with African Americans in his home state, says one prominent civil rights leader, and many others say they've never even gotten their senior senator's attention—much less met him. McCain's perceived indifference may be one thing in Arizona, and quite another in...

Not an Icon, a Man
 Not an Icon, a Man 
Apr 4, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Not an Icon, a Man

Would civil rights legend be controversial in today's political climate?

(Newser) - On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, the Washington Post looks past the legend at the multidimensional figure scholars and King's associates consider his true legacy. ”His challenge was much bigger than being nice," says historian Taylor Branch. "It was even bigger than race....

Roomie Site Can't Match by Gender, Sex Preference

Court sees violation of fair housing laws

(Newser) - Roommates.com is violating fair-housing laws by asking users their gender, sexual preference, and whether they have children, and using that information to match them,  a US Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. Judges said such questions would be illegal if a real estate agent asked them over the phone...

Chinese Rights Advocate Jailed
 Chinese Rights Advocate Jailed 
Apr 3, 2008 8:18 AM CDT

Chinese Rights Advocate Jailed

EU, US slam China's handling of Hu Jia's case

(Newser) - A top Chinese human-rights activist has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for writings and comments considered subversive, the New York Times reports. The case of Hu Jia, 34, been watched closely around the world; critics see it as part of a government crackdown on dissidents...

Lewis Switches His Support to Obama
Lewis Switches His Support
to Obama
Feb 27, 2008 5:15 PM CST

Lewis Switches His Support to Obama

Georgia lawmaker and superdelegate initially backed Clinton

(Newser) - After a month of shifting signals, influential congressman John Lewis said today he’s switching his support from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Lewis says he’s unwilling to go against the voters in his Atlanta district—and that Obama “has tapped into something that...

Rights Activist Carr Dies at 97
Rights Activist Carr Dies at 97
Feb 23, 2008 4:00 PM CST

Rights Activist Carr Dies at 97

Friend of Rosa Parks and organizer of 1955 Ala. Bus Boycott

(Newser) - Johnnie Rebecca Carr, an early leader in the civil rights movement and compatriot of Rosa Parks, has died of a stroke at age 97, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Carr helped organize the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1955 after Parks made her famous stand on a city bus. The group's yearlong...

Spears Pal Strikes Back Against Dad
Spears Pal Strikes Back Against Dad
Feb 16, 2008 7:34 AM CST

Spears Pal Strikes Back Against Dad

Ex-manager asks court to spring Britney from family control

(Newser) - Britney Spears' former manager and pal Sam Lutfi is trying to liberate her from her family's control by getting her case moved from Los Angeles to federal court, E! reports.  He's arguing in a petition that Jamie Spears is unfit to oversee his daughter's life and that she's being...

Kids Line Up Behind Obama
Kids Line Up Behind Obama
Jan 28, 2008 4:07 PM CST

Kids Line Up Behind Obama

Young voters reject old-timey partisan bickering

(Newser) - With "youth vote" challenging "change" as the buzzword of the 2008 elections, Barack Obama is drawing hordes of young people tired of what one campaign worker calls “the old partisan fights and bickering,” reports Voice of America. John Edwards also appeals to the young, but the...

King's Church Rings With Praise
King's Church Rings With Praise
Jan 21, 2008 3:04 PM CST

King's Church Rings With Praise

Bill Clinton, Huckabee pay respects to civil rights leader

(Newser) - The Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached his message of racial equality rang with praise today for the slain civil rights leader, reports the AP. Hundreds of notables, including Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, crammed into Ebenezer Baptist Church. "King's legacy gives light...

Obama Visits MLK's Church
Obama Visits MLK's Church
Jan 20, 2008 7:50 PM CST

Obama Visits MLK's Church

Senator speaks of 'empathy deficit' as Clinton campaigns in Harlem

(Newser) - On the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Barack Obama visited the civil rights leader’s old church and repeated his mantra of unity, the Chicago Tribune reports. “If enough Americans were awakened to the injustice,” Obama said, “if they joined together, then perhaps that wall...

Cheney May Testify in 'Assault' Arrest Lawsuit

Turmoil in Cheney's Secret Service detail

(Newser) - Vice President Dick Cheney may be questioned under oath in a free-speech and civil rights lawsuit brought by a man who was arrested and threatened with assault charges when he approached Cheney at a ski resort. The 2006 incident has sparked a storm of controversy inside the Secret Service with...

Obama Pastor Faulted for Farrakhan Rave
Obama Pastor
Faulted for
Farrakhan Rave
OPINION
Jan 15, 2008 4:38 PM CST

Obama Pastor Faulted for Farrakhan Rave

Incensed scribe cries racism; candidate deplores same

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s controversial pastor is back in the press—and the blogosphere—this time for praising Louis Farrakhan in an issue of the church's magazine, calling him "an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose."...

Sharpton Insists He Still Has a Role to Play

Civil rights leader not threatened by new wave of black politicians

(Newser) - Is there a place for Al Sharpton in a Barack Obama world? The first black politician with a serious shot at the Oval Office hardly mentions race, whereas Sharpton is, as one historian puts it, “kind of a racial ambulance chaser.” But Sharpton isn’t worried. “They...

Debaters Inspires, Critics Argue
Debaters Inspires, Critics Argue
NEW RELEASE
Dec 25, 2007 5:01 PM CST

Debaters Inspires, Critics Argue

Film may play it by wrote, but it does it with conviction

(Newser) - The Great Debaters, which follows a Jim Crow-era black debate team, aims only for “inspirational pop entertainment in the Oprah Winfrey mode,” but it still manages to resonate, says the New York Times’ Stephen Holden. It is conventional, and sometimes clichéd, in telling the classic underdog story....

Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

Court sides with judicial discretion

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that federal judges can use discretion to order shorter prison sentences in crack cocaine crimes, to lessen a disparity with sentencing for powdered cocaine. It was a win for civil rights advocates, who have long argued that sentencing guidelines call for longer terms in crimes...

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