A Constitutional Case Against Felony Disenfranchisement Laws

by Brentin Mock on December 14 2012, 10:12AM

Obama’s recent court victory on early voting may have carved a legal path for fighting down felony disenfranchisement laws.

Topics: 2012 Election, Voting Rights 2012, Politics

10376 Comments

The School-to-Prison Pipeline Gets Its First-Ever Airing in the Senate

by Julianne Hing on December 13 2012, 9:54AM

Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing comes on the heels of a Justice Department suit against Meridian, Miss., where school officials are charged with routinely locking kids up for petty offenses.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Schools & Youth

10367 Comments

Post-Election, State GOP Leaders Still Push Drug Testing the Poor

by Seth Freed Wessler on December 12 2012, 10:12AM

The wave of laws that have swept the country since 2010 has clearly not crested, despite court challenges and evidence that drug testing dramatically increases costs.

Topics: Economy, Politics

10356 Comments

Never Mind the Fiscal Cliff, the ‘Reverse Subsidy’ Is the Real Crisis

by Imara Jones on December 11 2012, 10:19AM

Imara Jones argues that the core problem with how government taxes and spends is that the poor are actually the ones subsidizing the rich.

Topics: Economy, Fiscal Cliff

10354 Comments

Undocumented Youth Tell Their Own Stories in New Book

by Jorge Rivas on December 11 2012, 9:55AM

“Papers: Stories By Undocumented Youth” includes 30 stories by undocumented youth who range in age from 10-32.

Topics: Immigration

10353 Comments

How Far Could You Stretch A Food Stamp Budget? [Reader Forum]

by Nia King on December 10 2012, 9:48AM

Colorlines readers advise Mayor Cory Booker how to eat on a food stamp budget.

Topics: Economy

10339 Comments

A Fast Food Nation Fights for Living Wages—Against Long Odds

by Seth Freed Wessler on December 7 2012, 10:16AM

Saavedra Jantuah joined last week’s strike of New York City fast food workers, the latest in a string of efforts to organize the new service economy’s low-wage workers. She knows she now has a long road ahead.

Topics: Economy

10333 Comments

CNN Contributing Producer Probes Lingering Pain of the ‘One Drop’ Rule

by Akiba Solomon on December 7 2012, 9:43AM

CNN’s upcoming “Black in America 5” wades into the deep of black identity and skin color politics. Here, Dr. Yaba Blay, a Ghanain-American scholar whose independent work sparked the special, talks about the nuances of a topic often considered too hot TV.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, History, Media

10332 Comments

Voting Rights Icon Lawrence Guyot’s Death Animates Fight Over Future

by Brentin Mock on December 6 2012, 10:54AM

Guyot’s memorials prompted a Wall Street Journal op-ed writer to insist that the civil rights past is irrelevant to the Voting Rights Act’s future.

Topics: Voting Rights 2012, Politics

10328 Comments

What’s Really at Stake as We Stare Down the Fiscal Cliff [Infographic]

by Hatty Lee, Imara Jones on December 6 2012, 9:24AM

Fiscal policy can be confusing, all the more so when everyone’s spinning misinformation. So Hatty Lee and Imara Jones offer a visual explanation of this latest debate.

Topics: Economy, Fiscal Cliff

10323 Comments