Problems with voting? Call the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.

Newsroom

Welcome to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Newsroom. This page contains our press releases, news clips and blog posts.

We have subject matter experts on civil rights issues ready to handle inquiries from journalists on such issues as voting rights, criminal justice, economic justice, fair housing, educational opportunity, racial justice matters and more.

Looking to arrange an interview or book a speaker? Contact press@lawyerscommittee.org

Search our Newsroom:

The Historic Political Gains Made By Black Women In 2018

The Historic Political Gains Made By Black Women In 2018

When Ayanna Pressley heads to Congress in January, the newly elected Massachusetts representative will work from the same office that Shirley Chisholm once occupied decades ago. The symbolism is powerful: Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress 50 years ago, while Pressley is part of the incoming class of Black women who made history of their own in 2018. The November midterm elections saw five new Black women nab seats in the House, according to Higher Heights for America and the Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. In 2019, that cohort will join the 20 Black women already in office including Representatives, non-voting Delegates, and a U.S. Senator. The Congressional Black Caucus will have 50 members, the largest number to date.

Settlement requires ‘anti-hate training’ for internet troll

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — An internet troll who harassed a black college student with racist messages on social media has agreed to a court settlement requiring him to get “anti-hate training,” apologize in writing and on video and publicly renounce white supremacy.

Tuesday’s settlement agreement would resolve Taylor Dumpson’s claims against one of the defendants she sued in April over an online harassment campaign orchestrated by a neo-Nazi website publisher.

The “troll storm” started after she became the first black woman to serve as American University’s student government president. Her suit says The Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin directed his site’s readers to cyberbully her. Dumpson sued Anglin and two people who harassed her. Her settlement agreement is with Evan James McCarty, who posted online under a pseudonym. Anglin hasn’t responded to the suit.

4 days, 5 reports of hate crimes, and a disturbing trend developing in America

(CNN)Over the course of four days, five reports of hate-related incidents recently made national headlines. The news illustrates a disturbing trend, civil rights groups say.

On Friday, December 7, a fire destroyed a Jehovah’s Witnesses house of worship. It was the fifth attack this year targeting the religious group in Washington state, federal officials said.
The next day, a black man was assaulted at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington, by eight self-professed members of a neo-Nazi skinhead group, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. Members of the group allegedly yelled racist slurs during the incident, and an employee identified as an Asian man was injured as he tried to intervene. On Sunday, Pittsburgh officials said that anti-Semitic pamphlets were being spread throughout the city, including in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the site of a mass shooting that targeted Jews in October.

Courts side with Maryland HBCUs in long-standing case over disparities in state higher education

A federal judge this week ordered Maryland to remedy the lack of investment in the state’s historically black colleges and universities, in an effort to resolve a decade-old lawsuit over inequality in public higher education.

The state must establish a set of new, unique and high-demand programs at each historically black institution, the judge declared.

Since 2006, a coalition of alumni from Maryland’s four historically black institutions have been locked in litigation with the state to dismantle what they say are vestiges of racial segregation. The group says Maryland has underfunded Morgan State University, Coppin State University, Bowie State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and allowed other state schools to duplicate their programs, placing pressure on enrollment.

Georgia to pick new elections chief amid voting rights debate

(Reuters) – Georgia voters return to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new elections chief in a state where critics accused Republicans this autumn of exploiting the position to suppress minority voting rights. Republican Brad Raffensperger and Democrat John Barrow were forced into a runoff in the secretary of state race after neither candidate secured a majority of the vote in the Nov. 6 general election as required by state law. The contest has showcased the partisan divisions still rankling the state after its hard-fought governor’s contest, which saw widespread reports of voting problems during an election overseen by the Republican candidate, Brian Kemp, then secretary of state. Kemp’s narrow victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams, who sought to become the nation’s first female African-American governor, followed complaints of hours-long waits in heavily minority precincts, polling equipment failures and concerns about absentee ballots getting rejected under stringent rules that voters’ signatures exactly match the records on file.