http://www.thedefendersonline.com A civil rights blog promoting informed discourse on issues of race, justice, equality and democracy. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:38:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/05/remembering-selma-1965-and-the-march-that-changed-america/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/05/remembering-selma-1965-and-the-march-that-changed-america/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:53:57 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12559 The Editors Friday, March 5, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) marked the 45th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma in the spirit the marchers of that day would have appreciated—by working with the citizens of Selma and other communities to ensure the voting rights won that day remain secure.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/05/remembering-selma-1965-and-the-march-that-changed-america/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/02/a-crack-in-the-danziger-bridge-cover-up/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/02/a-crack-in-the-danziger-bridge-cover-up/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:41:12 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12509 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/02/a-crack-in-the-danziger-bridge-cover-up/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/01/passing-the-torch-assessing-the-toll-the-famu-jail-in-50-years-later/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/01/passing-the-torch-assessing-the-toll-the-famu-jail-in-50-years-later/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:38:50 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12490 Tananarive Due Fifty years ago, my mother, Dr. Patricia Stephens Due, and my aunt, Priscilla Stephens Kruize, were among five Florida A&M University students who spent 49 days in jail after being arrested for ordering food at a Tallahassee Woolworth lunch counter—the first “jail-in” in the fledgling civil rights movement of the 1960s.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/03/01/passing-the-torch-assessing-the-toll-the-famu-jail-in-50-years-later/feed/ 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/02/16/census-bureau-gives-states-new-option-on-counting-inmates/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/02/16/census-bureau-gives-states-new-option-on-counting-inmates/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:09:28 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12363 The Editors This month the U.S. Census Bureau issued new guidelines that could significantly alter how inmates in state prisons are counted for the census. That, in turn, could affect whether voting districts across the country gain or lose population in advance of the 2011 Congressional and state legislative redistricting.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/02/16/census-bureau-gives-states-new-option-on-counting-inmates/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/reflections-of-a-black-pioneer-two-cases-of-integrative-leadership/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/reflections-of-a-black-pioneer-two-cases-of-integrative-leadership/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:53:17 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12022 Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. The unprecedented election of President Barack Obama has provided a dramatic spotlight on the issues of race in America. One aspect of significance is that it represents an important step in the process of racial integration in our nation. His election was the result of the collective decisions by a multi racial and multi ethnic electorate. Both as a U.S. Senator from Illinois and as President, Obama has been what might be called an "Integrative Black Pioneer."]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/reflections-of-a-black-pioneer-two-cases-of-integrative-leadership/feed/ 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/critical-census-mistake-mis-counting-prisoners/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/critical-census-mistake-mis-counting-prisoners/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:46:53 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12006 Ryan P. Haygood The 2010 Census affords a unique opportunity to harness the momentum of African-American civic engagement that was forged in the 2008 Presidential election — this time, to ensure complete African-American inclusion.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/critical-census-mistake-mis-counting-prisoners/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/the-missed-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/the-missed-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:38:35 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=12011 Leslie Proll When President Obama took office last January, hopes were high that the right wing’s long stronghold on the federal courts had come to an end. LDF and other civil rights advocates were eager for a new day when fair and impartial judges would once again be nominated and confirmed in large numbers.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/22/the-missed-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/what-would-martin-say/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/what-would-martin-say/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:59:08 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11952 Lee A. Daniels This is the week America celebrates in special fashion the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/what-would-martin-say/feed/ 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/the-cornel-west-you-don%e2%80%99t-know/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/the-cornel-west-you-don%e2%80%99t-know/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:15:26 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11893 George E. Curry I thought I knew Cornel West, the most public of public intellectuals. But it was not until I read his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud that I realized how much I didn’t know about my friend.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/the-cornel-west-you-don%e2%80%99t-know/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/kings-legacy-serves-as-a-call-to-arms-on-crisis-in-haiti/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/kings-legacy-serves-as-a-call-to-arms-on-crisis-in-haiti/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:51:13 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11924 John Payton Today provides a moment for reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born 81 years ago on this day. It is also a moment of intense anguish for the survivors and those continuing to suffer in the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/kings-legacy-serves-as-a-call-to-arms-on-crisis-in-haiti/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair-2/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair-2/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:56:26 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11886 The Editors Eunice Johnson, who created the Ebony Fashion Fair in the mid-1950s and built it into a powerful social and financial success, was clairvoyant.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/15/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair-2/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/11/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/11/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:39:20 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11824 The Editors Eunice Johnson, who created the Ebony Fashion Fair in the mid-1950s and built it into a powerful social and financial success, was clairvoyant.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/01/11/eunice-johnson%e2%80%99s-fashion-flair/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/11/behind-bedroom-doors-codifying-bigotry-into-law/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/11/behind-bedroom-doors-codifying-bigotry-into-law/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:11:37 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11489 Stacey Patton Ugandans don’t like homosexuals. That simple phrase is a gross understatement to the country’s 500,000 gays and lesbians living in the heavily Muslim and Christian nation of 30 million, where 95% of the population opposes legalizing homosexual acts. The Ugandan parliament is trying to further crack down on the lives of gays and lesbians as it debates a draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would require its citizens to peep behind bedroom doors and tell on people who engage in “unnatural” consensual sex.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/11/behind-bedroom-doors-codifying-bigotry-into-law/feed/ 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/04/black-leaders-condemn-racism-in-cuba/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/04/black-leaders-condemn-racism-in-cuba/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:20:48 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11406 TaRessa Stovall A group of 60 prominent leaders has released a statement condemning the Cuban regime of Raul Castro for harassing and cracking down on an emerging civil rights movement in the small, controversial Caribbean nation.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/12/04/black-leaders-condemn-racism-in-cuba/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/24/remembering-the-freedom-riders-giving-thanks/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/24/remembering-the-freedom-riders-giving-thanks/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:54:46 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11309 Lee A. Daniels They were criminals, all 400-plus of them, according to the duly enacted laws of the states of the Old Confederacy – lawbreakers, ‘race mixers,’ and disturbers of the peace.  Government officials and editorialists across the South called them “communists,” “socialists,” and “outside agitators.” They were beaten, with the connivance of the police, by Ku Klux Klan thugs in Alabama. They were jailed in Mississippi, first in the city jail in Jackson, and then, in the notorious Parchman state penitentiary. Their very lives were in danger. They were the Freedom Riders.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/24/remembering-the-freedom-riders-giving-thanks/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/18/tom-perez-sworn-in-as-the-justice-department%e2%80%99s-new-chief-of-civil-rights/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/18/tom-perez-sworn-in-as-the-justice-department%e2%80%99s-new-chief-of-civil-rights/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:20:17 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11202 The Editors Tom Perez, President Obama’s choice as Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division — the Administration’s point man on civil rights enforcement—formally took office November 13, amid a palpable sense of celebration among civil rights advocates.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/18/tom-perez-sworn-in-as-the-justice-department%e2%80%99s-new-chief-of-civil-rights/feed/ 1 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/07/ldf-celebrates-23rd-annual-national-equal-justice-awards-dinner/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/07/ldf-celebrates-23rd-annual-national-equal-justice-awards-dinner/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:39:00 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=11095 The Editors “There has never been a year like this past year in America.” Those were the opening words of the brief speech with which John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) welcomed the nearly 800 guests at LDF’s 23rd annual National Equal Justice Awards Dinner in New York on November 4; and that straightforward declarative sentence indeed seemed to capture an entire twelve months’ sense of excitement—and determination—that permeated the buoyant gathering.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/11/07/ldf-celebrates-23rd-annual-national-equal-justice-awards-dinner/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/stealing-strategies-from-our-playbook-a-brief-conversation-with-theodore-m-shaw/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/stealing-strategies-from-our-playbook-a-brief-conversation-with-theodore-m-shaw/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:31:29 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10548 Stacey Patton I had a chance to steal a few moments with former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) President and Director-counsel Theodore M. Shaw after the September 18 symposium on the Supreme Court’s case selection process held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/stealing-strategies-from-our-playbook-a-brief-conversation-with-theodore-m-shaw/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/is-the-supreme-court-broken/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/is-the-supreme-court-broken/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:09:42 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10524 Stacey Patton The Supreme Court’s function is to solve important questions of the law by resolving cases and controversies. So what happens when it decides to hear fewer cases? And what happens when the Court hears even fewer cases on civil rights claims?]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/23/is-the-supreme-court-broken/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/18/who-are-we-the-people-john-payton-on-the-constitution-and-democracy/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/18/who-are-we-the-people-john-payton-on-the-constitution-and-democracy/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:54:09 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10469 By The Editors Most Americans undoubtedly consider America’s Constitution, that set of principles and regulations set down by the Founding Fathers in Philadelphia in 1787, as essentially a static document. It was, after all, the foundation of the nation. But that’s “a mistaken notion,” John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told a rapt audience of students, faculty and others September 16 at the Constitution Day convocation of Oberlin College.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/18/who-are-we-the-people-john-payton-on-the-constitution-and-democracy/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/04/working-for-freedom-the-naacp-and-the-making-of-the-civil-rights-movement%e2%80%9d/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/04/working-for-freedom-the-naacp-and-the-making-of-the-civil-rights-movement%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:59:08 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10263 Lee A. Daniels Writing with an easy command of a mountain of material that encompasses six decades of enormous changes in America, Sullivan shows how critical the NAACP, now celebrating its centennial, was to the Civil Rights Movement’s ultimate legal and legislative victories that made the United States a democracy in fact not just in rhetoric.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/04/working-for-freedom-the-naacp-and-the-making-of-the-civil-rights-movement%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/02/justice-department-moves-to-reinvigorate-civil-rights-division/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/02/justice-department-moves-to-reinvigorate-civil-rights-division/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:56:39 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10219 The Editors The effort of the Obama administration to restore the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division as an agent of the nation’s civil rights laws has apparently shifted into high gear.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/09/02/justice-department-moves-to-reinvigorate-civil-rights-division/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/08/remembering-joe-wood-10-years-later/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/08/remembering-joe-wood-10-years-later/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:27:56 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=9040 Martha Southgate Ten years ago today, my friend Joe Wood, Jr. went birding on Mt Rainier in Washington state. He never came home. He was 34 years old.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/08/remembering-joe-wood-10-years-later/feed/ 8 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/02/july-2009-something-to-celebrate-and-contemplate/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/02/july-2009-something-to-celebrate-and-contemplate/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:23:11 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=8861 Lee A. Daniels July’s importance to African-American history underscores the fullness of the history of African Americans in and of itself. It also underscores how profoundly intertwined that history is -- right down to the present moment -- with the forces and ideals which led to and flowed from the actions of the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/02/july-2009-something-to-celebrate-and-contemplate/feed/ 0 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/06/23/long-live-the-king-the-coming-martin-luther-king-jr-biopic-must-come-correct/ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/06/23/long-live-the-king-the-coming-martin-luther-king-jr-biopic-must-come-correct/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:36:00 +0000 The Editors http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=8664 George Alexander The upcoming King film has the potential to force us to reexamine his ideas and positions not only in an historical context but to also see their relevance today and for the future of an ever changing and more complex world.]]> http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/06/23/long-live-the-king-the-coming-martin-luther-king-jr-biopic-must-come-correct/feed/ 2