By The Editors
John Payton, speaking at one of the nation’s most historic black institutions of higher learning, takes on the challenging question – and assertion – President Obama’s election has inevitably raised: Does that mean the United States of America has become a “post-racial” society?

By 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.

By The Editors
The United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has issued a decision ordering a jury trial to determine whether the Ford Motor Company illegally fired an African-American auto-worker because she was pursuing a claim of racial discrimination against the auto giant.

By Cheryl I. Harris and Kimberly West-Faulcon
The Supreme Court’s narrow ruling in Ricci declaring that the City of New Haven discriminated against white firefighters implicates more than just one case. It is actually the latest salvo in the war being waged by the Court’s conservative majority to redefine racial discrimination as any and all race-conscious action—even when taken to avoid race discrimination.

By The Editors
In a controversial and closely-watched case, Ricci v. DeStefano et al, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in favor of white New Haven firefighters who claimed the city had discriminated against them on racial grounds because it scrapped an officers’ promotion test in which 17 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter met the requirements for promotion. In the test a number of black firefighters passed but none scored high enough to be considered for promotion.

By Nura Sediqe
President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restores the ability of employees to challenge pay discrimination. African Americans, women and others protected by fair employment laws can once more be assured the right to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace under federal law.