Sidney Poitier – Hollywood’s First Black Leading Man Reflected the Civil Rights Movement on Screen

Sidney Poitier – Hollywood’s First Black Leading Man Reflected the Civil Rights Movement on Screen

Actor Sidney Poitier at the gala screening of “The Da Vinci Code” at the 59th Annual International Film Festival de Cannes. May 17, 2006 Cannes, France. 2006 Paul Smith / Featureflash (Shutterstock) By Aram Goudsouzian, The Conversation In the summer of 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the keynote speaker for the 10th-anniversary convention banquet […]

How the United States Can Earn its Leadership on Human Rights at Home and Abroad

How the United States Can Earn its Leadership on Human Rights at Home and Abroad

By Civil Rights Culminating on International Human Rights Day today, the Biden administration convened a Summit for Democracy with world leaders this week to address three key themes: defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights. While there is much to say about the fight against authoritarianism and corruption in […]

Why France is Declaring Josephine Baker a National Hero

Why France is Declaring Josephine Baker a National Hero

France is honouring the US-born 20th Century singer and activist Josephine Baker with a place in the Pantheon on Tuesday. She’s the first black woman to be remembered in the resting place of France’s national heroes, through her work on civil rights and for the Resistance during the Second World War. Producers: Marianne Baisnee and […]

It’s Time to End the Racist and Unjustified Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine

It’s Time to End the Racist and Unjustified Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine

By Civil Rights Last month marked 35 years since President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which established a racially discriminatory 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. As a result of this legislation, for example, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, which was disproportionately consumed by African […]

Rittenhouse Verdict Flies in the Face of Legal Standards for Self-Defense

Rittenhouse Verdict Flies in the Face of Legal Standards for Self-Defense

People holding signs march in Brooklyn against the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on November 19, 2021 in New York City. (Shutterstock) By Ronald Sullivan, The Conversation In a two-week trial that reignited debate over self-defense laws across the nation, a Wisconsin jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting three people, two fatally, during a racial justice […]

Groups Call for Transparency Regarding Abuse and Mistreatment of Black Immigrants in Detention

Groups Call for Transparency Regarding Abuse and Mistreatment of Black Immigrants in Detention

By Tsion Gurmu, Legal Manager and Staff Attorney at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Emily Creighton, Legal Director of Transparency The public watched in horror this September as U.S. Border Patrol agents on horses chased down Haitians and other Black migrants who were coming to the United States to seek protection. Despite outcry from […]

Hurricane Ida’s Destruction was the Result of Years of Systemic Racism

Even after a racial justice awakening, the effects of climate change and natural disaster reflect deep inequality.

Hurricane Ida’s Destruction was the Result of Years of Systemic Racism

By Rashad Robinson, Salon With nearly two months left of this year’s turbulent hurricane season, thousands of Louisianans are entering their sixth straight week without power following Hurricane Ida. Meanwhile, displaced residents in search of adequate shelter for their families are piling into any neighbors’ homes that are still intact, some with up to 10 […]