Civil Rights & Individual Liberties Archives - Page 4 of 6

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Women: A Majority in the United States, A Minority in U.S. Government

March 29, 2021

The year 2021 has already been a ground-breaking one for women in national politics. Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman and person of color to hold the office, the 117th Congress includes the largest number of female members in U.S. history, and President Joe Biden’s cabinet will ultimately include 11 women, setting a […]

The 50th Anniversary of the 26th Amendment

March 22, 2021

Congress passed the 26th Amendment in March 1971; it was ratified by the states and signed by President Richard Nixon by July of that same year.1 The amendment lowered the voting age to 18. It reads: Section 1 The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to […]

How Can We Overcome Vaccine Skepticism?

March 16, 2021

There’s been a lot of good news in the fight against COVID-19. The United States has authorized three vaccines for emergency use and drastically ramped up the distribution to states while increasing the administration of doses.1 More than 107 million shots have already been given, with an average of 2.3 million per day.2 President […]

Restoring Confidence or Destroying Democracy? The Fight Over Access to the Ballot

March 08, 2021

The past several election cycles have seen high-stakes fights over access to the ballot and the rules that govern elections. In 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Voting Rights Act, thus making it easier for states to change their voting laws.1 In the years since, conservatives in Congress and in state legislatures have […]

156 Years and Counting: Reparations for Slavery in 2021

February 24, 2021

In the wake of this past summer’s demonstrations and civil unrest spurred by accusations of wrongful police killings and systemic racism, Congress is considering legislation regarding reparations for Black Americans who are descended from enslaved people. The bill, H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, was introduced by […]

The 14th: Why A Reconstruction-Era Amendment is in the News

February 23, 2021

Now that former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial has concluded with another acquittal, some lawmakers and voters remain unsatisfied with the results.1 Had President Trump been found guilty by the Senate, he would have been barred from holding federal office again in the future. With an acquittal, President Trump remains eligible to run once […]

The Debate Over School Resource Officers and the #CounselorsNotCops Campaign

February 16, 2021

As people across the country have raised questions about the role of police,4 it is unsurprising that those debates have spilled over into schools. Some large districts are already taking steps to reduce, or even remove, police officers from schools. Shortly after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, the city voted to remove SROs […]

President Biden’s Policy Priorities: The First 100 Days

January 22, 2021

During his inaugural address, President Joe Biden laid out a number of policy priorities. The clearest theme of his speech was a call for unity and the need to address political divisions in the United States, which came to a head with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.1 However, President Biden […]

Fallout and Consequences, Part Two: Free Speech and Censorship

January 15, 2021

The fallout continues to mount from the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In previous blog posts, we offered a collection of resources and articles and explored the question of accountability for elected officials. In this post, we examine a thorny issue that is also emerging as institutions respond to riots: the power of private […]

Fallout and Consequences, Part One: Who is Accountable?

January 13, 2021

The events at the Capitol on January 6 are forcing voters and elected officials to face some challenging questions. In a previous blog post, we provided some resources to help you begin to address some of these questions; in an upcoming post, we will examine other questions related to free speech. In this post, we […]