MetaFilter posts tagged with CivilRights

Civil Rights defeat in Maine

VikingSword — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:11:14 -0800

Maine became the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum Some said the loss was a sign that the state-by-state approach favored by the largest gay-rights groups had failed and that the focus should move to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and which Congress can overturn without voter approval. Others argued that the defeat only reinforced the need to keep winning grassroots support. Question 1 was approved as of November 4, 2009 at 2:05 a.m. EST. The fight goes on in the rest of the country, but for now, the focus is on legal measures.

US Military Cuts And A Step Towards Equality

zarq — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:55 -0800

Yesterday, US President Obama signed a $680bn military policy bill, which cuts military spending, including $2bn in funding for new F-22 fighter jets. However, the bill also contained the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, and fulfilled an Obama campaign promise: acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have now been added to the list of federal hate crimes.

Shades of Jim Crow and the Black Codes, in 2009

zarq — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:02:23 -0800

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish’s 8th Ward in Louisiana, has denied a marriage license to an interracial couple, using Tragic Mulatto reasoning. He claims that children of interracial marriages suffer needlessly, and the couple's union won't last. Previously on MeFi: The Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage

Obama reaffirms committments to the GLBT community

VikingSword — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:10:48 -0800

While Obama strongly reaffirms his promises to the GLBT community, not everyone is convinced. "Lane Hudson, a blogger and activist who attended the Human Rights Campaign event, said while Obama's speech was well-received, it probably would not erase doubts about his commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises. "It was the kind of feel-good speech we are used to from the president," Hudson said. "It lacked any specific details on fulfilling his promises and he failed to say anything new at all.""

Don't ask and don't tell and especially don't tell your life partner

VikingSword — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:20:48 -0800

'Silent partner' examines what happens when people 'don't tell' "We can really see the destructive effects of 'don't ask, don't tell' . . . when you see the pain that these spouses and partners go through". Lt. Dan Choi introduces a new documentary film about three gay partners of military personnel. "One of the rarely discussed effects of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule is the burden it places on the civilian partners of gay and lesbian service members. When their loved ones go to war, they do not have access to any of the counseling, financial assistance or support networks offered to heterosexual spouses. And if their loved ones die, no one will come knocking at their doors to notify them." ""Silent Partners" is being launched as gay rights advocates are pressing President Obama to make good on a campaign promise to repeal the rule that bars an estimated 65,000 service members from disclosing their sexual orientation."

We climbed up, time to kick the ladder away, so more can't follow us.

VikingSword — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:32:17 -0800

“But it was clear to me that any time you deny one group of people the same right that other groups have that is a clear violation of civil rights and I have to speak up on that.” The Southern Christian Leadership Conference — the 50-year-old civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others — is seeking to remove the president of its Los Angeles chapter in response to his support of same-sex marriage in California. In April, Mr. Lee attended a board meeting of the civil rights organization in Kansas City, Mo., and found himself once again in the minority position among his colleagues on the issue of same-sex marriage, but was told, he said, by the interim president of the civil rights organization, Byron Clay, that the group publicly had a neutral position on the issue.

You Break It, You Bought It, America

saulgoodman — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:58:48 -0800

In his latest national security speech, President Obama unequivocally reaffirms his commitment to closing GITMO. President Obama's strong statements reaffirming his administration's commitment to cleaning up the legal and ethical mess the Bush administration left behind comes just after congressional Democrats recently saw fit to capitulate to the Republican minority by defunding President Obama's efforts to close GITMO, ostensibly to ensure that President Obama proceeds prudently and avoids setting the terrorists loose on America's strip malls. But others interpret these latest maneuvers from the "weak-kneed" congressional Dems as reflecting a sudden acute case of the political jitters, pointing out that, despite all the fearful talk of the imminent dangers of possible terrorists being held and tried on American soil, it's not as though we haven't done it before. Some interesting comments and observations from a Justice Department insider, not only on the subject of Guantanamo, but also on the possibility of future Bush administration prosecutions here.

“…If you stand up straight, people can’t ride your back. And that’s what we did. We stood up straight.”

univac — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:00:30 -0800

When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968, he was helping sanitation workers in Memphis form a union. In 1967, SCLC initiated the Poor People's Campaign to unify the African-American civil rights movement with working people's movements more generally. In MLK's words, "It must not be just black people, it must be all poor people. We must include American Indians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and even poor whites." The campaign brought him to Memphis in 1968 to rally with striking sanitation workers. A movement of clergy & community activists had grown in support of the strikers after two workers died on the job. After King's death, the workers won recognition of their union, AFSCME Local 1733, as well as a collective bargaining agreement containing wage increases, a grievance procedure, and improvements to outdated & dangerous equipment. In 1968, union membership in the United States was at 29.4 % of the workforce. Since then, the country's election of a black president has prompted suggestions that King's dream has been fulfilled, while union membership has decreased to under 13%.

Surveillance Self-Defense

homunculus — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:11:51 -0800

The SSD Project. "The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has created this Surveillance Self-Defense site to educate the American public about the law and technology of government surveillance in the United States, providing the information and tools necessary to evaluate the threat of surveillance and take appropriate steps to defend against it." [Via]

We wear our dungarees / Above our nelly knees!

orthogonality — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:01:19 -0800

Robert Pinter, a 52-year-old gay man who was arrested for prostitution at the Blue Door in the East Village on Oct. 10, spoke at the town hall meeting. He said a young man ... cruised him in the store. He was "charming and persistent, and we agreed to go home for consensual sex, but as we were leaving he said, 'I want to pay you $50 [to have sex].' I didn't respond, but I thought it was strange," Pinter recounted. As the men left the store, Pinter said, a group of men who did not show police identification pushed him against the wall. "I thought I'd been set up by a gang," he said. "I asked them why they were doing this to me. I was totally clueless. They handcuffed me and said, 'Why the f--- do you think we're arresting you — loitering for the purpose of prostitution.'"

Reminiscent of the criminalizing of consensual gay sex in the Stonewall era, New York City cops are using questionable tactics to target, entrap, and falsely arrest gay men.

Because of you, John. Barack Obama

l33tpolicywonk — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:30:33 -0800

The President's hero is a 68-year old preacher, fearless civil rights activist, and Congressman named John Lewis. He got arrested on the bridge at Selma. He promised a serious nonviolent revolution, to "burn Jim Crow to the ground, nonviolently." Hear him tell the story, on Fresh Air, for UNC's Oral History Project.

Martin Luther King's Anti-Imperialism

homunculus — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:29:03 -0800

King's Anti-Imperialism and the Challenge for Obama.

Eye of the storm

Afroblanco — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:57:31 -0800

Many of us have seen or read The Wave, but how many of us have seen A Class Divided? It depicts one third-grade teacher's attempts to teach Midwestern children about the civil rights movement, many of whom had never met a black person before. As part of a daring experiment, she split the class between brown-eyed children and blue-eyed children, and gave the "browneyes" special privileges. The children were told, in no uncertain terms, that the "blueyes" were inferior. What followed was a lesson in discrimination that the kids would remember for the rest of their lives.

Got Milk?

ericb — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:58:55 -0800

Thirty years ago yesterday (November 27, 1978) San Francisco Board of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor. Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the U.S. Prior to his death he championed a movement against a California proposition (Proposition 6, dubbed the Briggs Initiative) which sought to ban gays and lesbians, and anyone who supported gay rights, from working in California's public schools. In the midst of a national right-wing, conservative, religious movement heralded by folks like Anita Bryant the proposition was soundly defeated. Fast forward to today. A new film "Milk" [trailer] (starring Sean Penn in the title role) is garnering critical acclaim and is relevant to current events. "Harvey came up against a lot of obstacles, which I think is the case for any gay man now," says Brolin, who plays Dan White [in the film]. "The irony is that Prop 8 is now what Prop 6 was then."

Pleasant Grove City v. Summum

Non Prosequitur — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:16:33 -0800

The previously-mentioned Summums want to place their own monument in a park which contains the Ten Commandments, making the Supreme Court's heads explode in a a hilariously weird oral argument^[pdf]: "Scalia: I don't know what that means. You keep saying it, and I don't know what it means. [...] Breyer: Suppose that there certain messages that private people had like "eat vitamins"—and then somebody comes along with a totally different content, "ride the roller coaster," and they say this part of the park is designed to get healthy children, not put children at risk." At issue: "Pulling a crystalline, cogent rule out of the murk of the court's First Amendment, public forum, and Establishment Clause doctrine is an act of creation too complicated for mere mortals."

389 years ago

desjardins — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:18:50 -0800

389 years ago...

A retrospective

greenie2600 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:51:28 -0800

We're all anticipating the future right now, but don't forget to remember the past, as well. Up From Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington (1901). The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois (1903). The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (1912). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass (1845). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (1861). Segregation signs. An interview with Rosa Parks (text, with video clips). Photo gallery of the Little Rock Nine.

Oral History of Black Leadership

Kattullus — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:52:25 -0800

Explorations in Black Leadership is a collection of video interviews with prominent African-Americans, focusing on activists of one sort or another. 34 people are interviewed, including Nikki Giovanni, John Lewis, Barbara Lee, Bobby Rush, Dorothy Height and Amiri Baraka. There are full transcripts of every interview. Here's an excerpt from the Nikki Giovanni interview: "The kids today have to have a voice. I'm amazed that they found it. I remember Sugarhill Gang with Sylvia, you know: "Uptown, Downtown, the Holiday Inn." You know, things like that. Then, of course, I remember the explosion of Tupac Shakur. Losing Tupac was a great loss for this generation. I have a tattoo--it says "Thug Life" --because I wanted to mourn with this generation. I don't see how people can knock the kids…paying so little attention. I had deep regrets--and I know Rosa Parks, you know, we don't hang out but I know her--I so regretted that she lent her name to be used against Outkast, because Rosa Parks is a wonderful--is a wonderful tune. And they were giving her problems. If people don't--if the younger generation doesn't sing the praises of the older generation they get forgotten."

Will the Mormon Church decide who gets married in California?

homunculus — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:30:20 -0800

Prophets and politics. "The Mormon Church works to ban gay marriage in California, even as gay people in places like Rexburg, Idaho, come out of the LDS closet."

Human Rights Blogger Killed by Russian Police

Chinese Jet Pilot — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:04:07 -0800

Magomed Yevloyev, who blogged human rights abuses committed by police in Russia's volatile Ingushetia region, was shot in the temple while in police custody today. The site, ingushetiya.ru (English version), reported the brutal anti-insurgent "Dirty War" tacticts committed by police against Ingushetia's civilian population.

Shut Em Down?

cashman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:11:07 -0800

'We done heard your voice, we saw your marches, we don't want to hear that any more.' Music artist Nas directs pointed criticism toward civil rights stalwart Jesse Jackson and his generation. But he's not alone. Kevin Powell is running for congress and shares the sentiment. At Nas' age, Jesse Jackson was marching in support of the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill for full employment. After saying "I got this", Nas has gotten onboard with a petition against a television channel to go along with his song. "It's a new day, it's a new voice," Nas says, citing Obama and members of the Hip Hop Community and the purported power of a new generation of folks to bring about positive change.

China's plan to tame Tibet

homunculus — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:56:02 -0800

China's secret plot to tame Tibet. "Internal Communist party documents have revealed that China is planning a programme of harsh political repression in Tibet despite a public show of moderation to win over world opinion before the Olympic Games next month." Meanwhile, the military has sealed off several monasteries in Lhasa, keeping over 1,000 monks locked up. Another 1,000 monks have mysteriously disappeared, and may have been sent to prisons in a neighbouring province to keep them silent through the Olympics.

Between enraged and engaged Buddhism

homunculus — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:35:17 -0800

Asia's Angry Monk Syndrome. [Via]

Happy Birthday, Justice Marshall

alms — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:52:03 -0800

"He grew up in a ruthlessly discriminatory world -- a world in which segregation of the races was pervasive and taken for granted, where lynching was common, where the black man's inherent inferiority was proclaimed widely and wantonly. Thurgood Marshall had the capacity to imagine a radically different world, the imaginative capacity to believe that such a world was possible, the strength to sustain that image in the mind's eye and the heart's longing, and the courage and ability to make that imagined world real." Born July 2, 1908, died January 25, 1993. Had he lived, he would have been 100 years old today.

1966 federal ban on racial discrimination in housing

russilwvong — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:46:36 -0800

The Meaning of Box 722. Letters to Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois in reaction to the 1966 civil rights bill, particularly the federal ban on racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. At the time, Chicago was the most segregated city in the north, with boundaries enforced by mob violence. By Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland. When I started researching NIXONLAND I knew the congressional elections of 1966 would form a crucial part of the narrative. They'd never really been examined in-depth before, but by my reckoning they were the crucial hinge that formed the ideological alignment we live in now. Via Brad DeLong.