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The Voting Rights Act’s work isn’t Finished

The Washington Post editorial, “The Voting Rights Act’s work isn’t finished,” lauds the Act as “one of this country’s foremost accomplishments.”  The editorial also recognizes that the VRA’s objective — to “stamp out the varied and shifting strategies local officials used to prevent African Americans from voting” — includes blocking continued efforts by officials to dilute minority voting […]

The Voting Rights Act At 50 Brochure

The U.S. Department of Justice rightly sues to block Texas’s Voter ID law

Statement from Ryan Haygood, Director of the Political Participation Group at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: The Department of Justice stepped up its efforts to stop the State of Texas from making it harder for Black and Latino voters to cast ballots on Election Day. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund applauds the Department of […]

The Truth Behind Crime Statistics: Avoiding Distortions and Improving Public Safety

Thurgood Marshall Institute Report The Truth Behind Crime Statistics Avoiding Distortions and Improving Public Safety By Kesha S. Moore, PhD • Ryan Tom • Jackie O’Neil Like in previous eras, current politicized discussions of crime ignore or distort crime data to intensify public fear, heighten racial tension, and undermine criminal justice reforms that promote long-term, […]

The Truth About Trust and Police

By Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Thurgood Marshall Institute Senior Fellow What would you do if you innocently witnessed an act of violence, but feared the police might hurt you when they arrived? Would you call them? Would you run when they showed up? Or would you worry that both were dangerous, and fill with anxiety as […]

The Trump Administration’s Attack on the Department of Education: What Parents and Students Need to Know

Policy Advocacy: Education The Trump Administration’s Attack on the Department of Education, Explained What Students and Parents Need to Know Source: Shutterstock.com Every student’s right to access education fairly and fully is crucial to a functioning multi-racial democracy. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has long been a pillar of our society, ensuring fair, safe, […]

The Times-Picayune: Road Home could be smoothed by court rulings

Because Mark and Romy Samuels had jobs and insurance on their Gentilly home that was totaled by Hurricane Katrina’s flooding, they got nothing from the Road Home. They made too much money to get a low-income grant. Insurance covered the equity they had in the house, but not the larger costs estimated by the Road […]

The Times Picayune: Breaking Down Barriers for Black Terrebonne Parish Voters

Later this month, the fight for genuine diversity and for equal electoral voting opportunity will continue when civil rights advocates go to trial against the governor and attorney general of Louisiana in federal court in Baton Rouge to challenge the use of at-large voting to elect judges of the 32nd Judicial District Court, the state […]

The Thin Blue Line Act Widens a Thick Divide

By Todd Cox, LDF Policy Director This week, law enforcement throughout the country will observe National Police Week to honor and thank fellow officers who have died in the line of duty. One officer that will be honored is Montrell Jackson, the Baton Rouge police officer who was killed less than a week after the police-involved […]

The Struggle Continues 59 Years after ‘Brown v. Board of Education’

On May 17, 1954, the United State Supreme Court decided a case that changed the course of American history.  In Brown v. Board of Education, which was litigated by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a unanimous Court declared segregated education systems unconstitutional, marking the beginning of the end of America’s racial caste system.  […]