Civil & Human Rights

National Youth Summit ‘Freedom Summer’ Free Webcast

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

2014 is the 50th Anniversary of the "Freedom Summer" Mississippi voter registration project. I am old enough to remember the news reports each evening about this voting rights effort. I have had the privilege and honor of meeting several participants in Freedom Summer.

For those of you not old enough to have lived during this era, I wonder whether the Civil Rights Movement is even taught in schools at all.

There are far too many people who take their "right to vote" for granted, and choose to forget that people had to fight for your right. They risked their lives and went to prison, were beaten, and were killed for the right to vote that so many take for granted today.

The Smithsonian National Musueum of American History has an educational program on Freedom Summer scheduled for February 5, 2014, during Black History Month. O Say Can You See? Blog: Freedom Summer:

Remembering the civil rights movement at the grassroots

Joy Lyman, one of the museum's Freedom School Scholars, will moderate the National Youth Summit on Freedom Summer on February 5, 2014. Joy hosts the latest episode of the History Explorer podcast series, featuring the experiences of activist Zoharah Simmons from a presentation by the museum's Program in African American Culture in 2000 called "Fighting for My Rights." Joy reflects on how the Civil Rights Movement can be better taught to encompass the complexity of the story.

FreedomSummer

The National Youth Summit on Freedom Summer will be held February 5, 2014 and webcast live from Jackson, Mississippi

Arizona needs a ‘Moral Mondays’ movement

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The most fascinating political development of 2013 to observe was the rise of the progressive "Moral Mondays" movement in North Carolina in response to the radicalized extremist Tea-Publican controlled state legislature.

"Moral Mondays" engages in civil disobedience protests, organized in part by local religious leaders including William Barber, head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP. Members of the protest movement meet every Monday to protest an action by the North Carolina legislature and then enter the legislature building. Once they enter, a number are peacefully arrested each Monday.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently reported that a Moral Mondays organization was being established in Georgia. Your daily jolt: Moral Monday protests coming to state Capitol:

The Moral Monday protests that rocked North Carolina (and led to hundreds of arrests each Monday) last year may be coming to Georgia.

A group called Moral Monday Georgia (moralmondayga.org) has quietly begun gathering supporters and planning organizing meetings this month. They plan one of the first actions on the Jan. 13, the first Monday of the session, and the platform focuses on a call to expand Medicaid, restore funding to public schools and raising the minimum wage.

On Christmas Day, the AP reported that the "Moral Mondays" movement will spread to other Southern States (i.e., Red States). Moral Mondays to continue, spread to other states:

The Moral Monday movement to protest changes in North Carolina public policy that organizers believe are extreme and hurt the state won’t abate in 2014 and will spread to other states, its leader said.

Activists from a dozen states attended a meeting in Raleigh earlier this month to learn how to hold similar protests in their states.

Court Certifies Lambda Legal Arizona Benefits Case as Class Action

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Blog post from Lamda Legal: Court Certifies Lambda Legal Arizona Benefits Case as Class Action: Lawsuit Now Covers All Lesbian and Gay State Employees by Lambda Legal December 24, 2013 Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona certified as a class action Lambda Legal's lawsuit on behalf of lesbian … Read more

2013 a big year for Marriage Equality – 2014 could be a bigger year

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

EqualWho would have ever thought that marriage equality for gays and lesbians would be the dominant news story today? The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has again rejected the state of Utah's request for an emergency stay of the U.S. District Court decision in favor of marriage equality in Utah. The New York Times reports, Appeals Court Refuses to Halt Same-Sex Marriages in Utah:

A federal appeals court cleared the way on Tuesday for same-sex marriages to continue across Utah, denying an emergency request from state officials to halt a flood of unions that began after a lower-court judge declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.

Advocates of same-sex marriage cheered the ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, while the Utah attorney general’s office said it would ask the United States Supreme Court to temporarily halt same-sex marriages in the state until the legal battles could be resolved.

Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog reports, Utah marriage case on way to the Court:

In a two-page order, a two-judge motions panel of the Tenth Circuit found that a stay was not warranted, expressing some uncertainty that the state’s position against same-sex marriage would ultimately prevail in court. The judges set the case (Kitchen v. Herbert (Circuit docket 13-4178)) for expedited review, with a briefing schedule to be issued shortly.

10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Utah’s motion for stay of marriage equality ruling

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Steve Benen reports, Appeals court allows Utah marriages to continue:

Late Friday, a federal district court ruled that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Judge Robert Shelby . . . did not issue a stay with his decision, which meant that on Friday afternoon, marriage equality was the law of the land in Utah – a reality that many same-sex couples were eager to quickly take advantage of.

Over the weekend, state officials sought emergency relief from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. That didn’t go well.

A federal appeals court on Sunday declined to stop officials in Utah from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples following a judge’s ruling last week that overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert asked for an emergency stay to prevent marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples after U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby on Friday ruled the ban unconstitutional.

In this case, state officials basically tried to move things along more quickly – they went to the 10th Circuit over the weekend so they wouldn’t have to wait until this morning to try again with Judge Shelby. The 10th Circuit effectively told the state that there was no actual emergency so there’s no reason to short circuit the normal procedure.