Civil Rights Movement

Mar 15 2012

Protest laws that harass immigrants

This week’s 47th commemoration of the Bloody Sunday March of 1965 marks a new phase in the Civil Rights Movement. It represents a turning point for people from all backgrounds, who are joining together, not only to remember our shared past, but also to fight for a shared future. It’s a moment of recognition from all sides that, though our nation has progressed since 1965, we are not yet finished with the struggle to include everyone in the fullness that American life has to offer.

Mar 1 2012

Set for March 4-9

With a potential 5 million voters being affected by prospective new laws in 34 states, the Rev. Al Sharpton said his Selma to Montgomery march, to be held March 4-9, aims to expose what appears to be a goal of disenfranchisement in the Nov. 6 election.

Lisa Olivia Fitch  |   OW Contributor
Jan 26 2012

The movie rode a jet stream of national activism

Clapping and yelling at the sights of African American heroes on the screen, viewers on the opening night for “Red Tails” did not hesitate to voice pride in the movie at a local Baldwin Hills theater.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Jan 12 2012

Some contend occupiers are all in the family

“Conflicts are unavoidable because a stage has been reached in which the reality of equality will require extensive adjustments in the way of life of some of the White majority.” 
—from “The Last Steep Ascent,” originally published by Martin Luther King Jr. in the March 1966 issue of The Nation. 
 

Dec 22 2011

Urges Blacks to continue the fight

Legendary civil rights and political leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., speaking at the Urban Issues Forum on Monday, drew a comparison between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s to the Occupy movement of today.

Jackson was the keynote speaker at the monthly event, and by way of metaphors explained the correlations between the Civil Rights Movements of 40 years ago and the biblical movements for social justice.

Although initially somewhat subdued, the audience warmed up to Jackson with chants and frequent “amens.”

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.