Civil Rights
Advocates press for action in Congress on voting rights, despite grim outlook
WASHINGTON — Activists are ramping up the pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to move on his chamber’s version of a voting rights bill, even though there’s no sign there will be enough Republican support to advance it. Alternatively, they’re pressing for an end to the filibuster, though there’s no indication there would be […]
Advocate for sexual assault survivors: Why is Louisiana cheering on Jameis Winston?
The woman who runs Louisiana’s largest service organization for sexual misconduct survivors is questioning why Louisiana residents feel comfortable cheering on New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston, who has been publicly accused of sexual assault by two women. “We need to examine the cultural norms which allow someone like Jameis Winston to work for an […]
Louisiana political districts will have to undergo drastic changes, legislative staff says
In a process that will impact every state-level and congressional election in Louisiana for the next decade, lawmakers met Friday for the first of what will be many redistricting sessions in which legislators draw new maps that determine which voters to include in their districts and other statewide political boundaries. The Legislature’s Joint Governmental Affairs […]
In Louisiana, FBI examination of Civil Rights-era killings doesn’t bring new charges
This story was written by Liz Ryan and Laura Nicholson. It was produced by Manship News Service at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. It is the fourth story in a four-part series from the LSU Cold Case Project. You can read the previous installments here. A retired FBI agent was at a Christian […]
Revised voting rights bill rolled out in U.S. Senate, with Manchin on board
Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the legislation to the floor of the Senate […]
LSU basketball court name change sparks debate over gender equality
The LSU Board of Supervisors voted to name the basketball court in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center after former LSU men’s basketball coach Dale Brown, but only after an extended and heated debate over whether a woman coach should be given the honor instead. Mary Werner, a LSU Board member, pushed back on naming the […]
Commentary: Five facts anti-abortion activists get wrong
Want to reduce abortions? Great — but doing so doesn’t require unconstitutional abortion bans. Conversations on female reproductive biology have long been muted. The duct tape is often applied by religious and conservative sects that historically view even the most basic utterances of sexual education as lewd. The result? A fundamental lack of understanding of […]
In 1960 Louisiana, Black victim — not white shooter — convicted of a crime
This story was produced by Manship News Service at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. It is the third story in a four-part series from the LSU Cold Case Project. You can read the first story in this series here and the second story in this series here. More than six decades ago a […]
Study finds voting disparity growing among white, non-white voters
A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice demonstrates that the gap between white voters and non-white voters in states that were once required to get clearance from the federal government before implementing new voting laws has widened since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Law in 2013. […]
U.S. House reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship
A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers; farmworker workers; those who hold a […]
Biden administration launches civil rights investigations of 5 GOP-led states banning school mask requirements
WASHINGTON — Federal education officials have launched civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states that have prohibited school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying those policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. The Biden administration notified the education chiefs in Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah and Oklahoma of the investigations through formal letters Monday. […]
Southeastern Louisiana University cuts funds to student newspaper to pay for Title IX staff
Southeastern Louisiana University is taking $150,000 from the school’s student newspaper and using it to pay for two additional staff members in the university’s Title IX office. The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors approved the shift in funding Thursday without discussion. Half of the university’s $12 student publication fee will now go toward […]