The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog

The Significance of the Education Catastrophe

The Editors — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:14:06 +0000

By John Payton John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., was invited to speak this week on the state of elementary and secondary education at the Centennial Conference of the National Urban League. He followed to the podium Arne Duncan, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Both were introduced by Marc Morial, the President and CEO of the Urban League.

Arizona Immigration Law: One Court Down; Two Courts to Go

The Editors — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:11:58 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
A federal judge this week blocked the central and most controversial provisions of Arizona’s newly-enacted immigration law that took effect Thursday, declaring they improperly interfered with federal immigration enforcement law.

Court Finds “Strong Inference” of Discrimination in Louisiana/HUD Post-Hurricane Recovery Program

The Editors — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:59:26 +0000

The funding formula used to provide grants to New Orleans residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita very likely disadvantaged black homeowners because it was based on depressed property values that result from both current racial isolation and the city’s segregated past, a U.S. District Court judge has indicated.

Cartoon: July 30, 2010

The Editors — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:23:52 +0000

By Kevin Eason
Kevin Eason is a freelance editorial cartoonist and Illustrator from NJ. His brand of satire covers news events in politics, entertainment, sports and much more. Kevin’s work features include: TVOne, NABJ, WBLS_107.5FM, EURweb and various newspapers & magazines throughout the country.

Federal Oversight of New York State Juvenile Prisons: A New Start for Penal Reform?

The Editors — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:50:00 +0000

By The Editors State officials expressed hope that a new agreement giving oversight of four of New York’s most dangerous youth prisons will mark the start of significant reforms of the widely-condemned system.

Science, Sex & Safety: Black Bodies as Proving Grounds, Battlegrounds

The Editors — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:49:24 +0000

By TaRessa Stovall A trio of new products designed to protect against rape and STDs, especially HIV/AIDS, raises questions about the gaps and conflicts between scientific progress, lifestyle logistics and human nature. These recent developments also call into question the age-old role of Black bodies as test sites for potential progress.

Slavery Alive and Well in the Gulf

The Editors — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:47:53 +0000

By Stacey Patton Since Louisiana has the highest rate of incarceration of any state in the country – of which 79 percent of its 39,000 inmates are black – it ’s no surprise to hear that BP is using prison labor to clean up the largest oil spill ever in U.S. history.

Larry Johnson

The Editors — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:28:10 +0000

Larry Johnson spent over 18 years in a Missouri prisons for a rape he did not commit. The victim described a clean-shaven African American male, but identified Johnson at a lineup, even though he had a mustache. He was convicted in 1984 based largely on the cross-racial identification. In more than half of wrongful convictions involving eyewitness misidentification, the eyewitness and defendant were of different races. Johnson first contacted the Innocence Project in 1995, but it took six more years, and repeated motions, before a Missouri court allowed DNA testing on the remaining biological evidence. The results conclusively excluded Johnson as the perpetrator, and he was officially exonerated eight years ago this week.

Whites Are The New Blacks: Shirley Sherrod and the Fable of White Victimization

The Editors — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:50:45 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels The racist fable that Andrew Breitbart and that loose clique of conservative confederates in the media tried to spin about Shirley Sherrod underscore a point historian Barbara W. Tuchman made years ago about the ethics of her profession. “Leaving things out because they do not fit,” she wrote in her 1982 book, Practicing History: Selected Essays, “is writing fiction, not history.”

Old Wounds and New Pain: The Oscar Grant Tragedy

The Editors — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:33:06 +0000

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad In the wake of Oakland transit cop Johannes Mesherle’s recent involuntary manslaughter conviction for the on-duty shooting death of unarmed, 22 year-old Oscar Grant, the injury of his death and so many black men before him is as raw and bloody now as it was the day they were killed.

America’s Unemployment Crisis: Every Moment Counts

The Editors — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:32:13 +0000

By The Editors After weeks of deadlock in Congress, the Senate and House this week quickly passed legislation extending unemployment benefits to millions of Americans who’ve been out of work for six months or longer.

The Trouble with Shirley: Race, Power and the Elephant in the Room

The Editors — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:18:54 +0000

By Nicole Mason The trouble with Shirley Sherrod is that she told the truth. In a small town speech before an even smaller NAACP chapter, she grappled publicly with the discomfort of what happens when power and decisions that can impact the lives of ordinary Americans are in the hands of individuals who have traditionally been shut off from power or not had access to resources.

Johnny Briscoe

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:29:03 +0000

After 23 years in Missouri prisons for a rape he didn’t commit, Johnny Briscoe was exonerated four years ago this week when DNA tests proved his innocence. Briscoe was convicted of raping a suburban St. Louis woman in 1982. The rapist stayed with the victim after the attack, reportedly smoking a cigarette and telling her that his name was Johnny Briscoe. The victim identified Briscoe at a live lineup, where he was the only person wearing an orange jumpsuit. After his conviction, Briscoe continued to proclaim his innocence. Through the work of Centurion Ministries, investigators eventually discovered the cigarette butts left by the perpetrator. DNA testing on one of the butts revealed the profile of a man Briscoe knew who was already incarcerated. It's likely that the man was trying to frame Briscoe for the rape. Briscoe, then 52, was vindicated, and he walked out of prison on July 19, 2006.

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Kagan Nomination

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:37:35 +0000

By The Editors Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama’s second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, moved a step closer to confirmation Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send her nomination to the full Senate.

New Discovery In AIDS Research Promises To Sharply Reduce HIV Infections in Women and Girls

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:37:08 +0000

By The Editors Researchers in South Africa announced this week the development of a vaginal microbicidal gel that in clinical trials has sharply reduced the possibility of women contracting H.I.V. from infected partners.

Senate Approves, Finally, Unemployment Extension Benefits

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:36:48 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels Breaking a two-months-long partisan deadlock, the Senate Tuesday voted to restore unemployment benefits to the more than 2 million jobless workers who have been out of work for at least six months.

‘A Small Act’: HBO Documentary Spotlights Dilemma of Education Funding

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:36:21 +0000

By Tarice L.S. Gray The Hilde Back Educational Fund is a small organization, with the mission of promoting educational development through sponsorship. The film documents their small yet significant impact in Kenya. But the tiny village in Kenya can be looked at as a microcosm for much of the rest of the world.

Vernon Baker: American Hero 1919 – 2010

The Editors — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:21:18 +0000

By The Editors Like many, perhaps most of the awardees of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Vernon Baker lived the life of an ordinary individual both before and after those moments when service to his country and the cause of freedom demanded an extraordinary jettisoning of regard for his own life.

The Trials of Caster Semenya

The Editors — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:01:49 +0000

By Pamela Scully On July 6, 2010, nearly a year after the first public questions were raised about her gender, the IAAF stated that it had determined that Semenya, is female, and can now compete in local and international competitions.

University of Texas Regents Order New Name for Simkins Hall Dormitory

The Editors — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:47:43 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels The name of William Stewart Simkins, an early twentieth-century law professor once officially held in high esteem at the University of Texas at Austin, will now live on in shame.

Detroit Diary: Detroit Red and the Untouchables

The Editors — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:46:33 +0000

By Desiree Cooper It’s interesting that while the black Civil Rights Movement looked to Gandhi as a model of social change, Dalits look to African-American militant movements.

The Mortgage Crisis: Rich Defaulters are “Strategic;” Blacks and Low-Income People are Irresponsible

The Editors — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:44:38 +0000

By Stacey Patton Now, as the country braces for the possibility of a double-dip recession, additional spells of unemployment, and yet another wave of home foreclosures, a recent report by the New York Times found that the bulk of those dumping their mortgages are rich people. They call it “strategic defaults.”

Steven Toney

The Editors — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:20:45 +0000

Steven Toney was wrongfully convicted of a 1982 rape in Missouri after the victim identified him in both photo and in-person lineups. After his 1983 conviction, Toney filed multiple appeals arguing ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial lawyer had repeatedly refused his requests for DNA testing. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with him in 1996, and later that year biological evidence was tested through the help of Centurion Ministries. The results proved Toney’s innocence and he was exonerated 14 years ago this week after spending over 13 years in prison.

Six New Orleans Officers Indicted In Connection With The Shooting; Four Could Face The Death Penalty

The Editors — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:00:39 +0000

By The Editors Six New Orleans police officers were indicted on federal charges for having participated in a police shooting at the city’s Danziger Bridge days after Hurricane Katrina struck which left two unarmed civilians dead and four wounded.

Facing Fears: Many Minorities Need Encouragement to Get in the Swim

The Editors — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:02:40 +0000

By Tarice L.S. Gray While at a swim meet two weeks ago in Canada, World Record Holder and 2008 US Olympic Swimmer Cullen Jones got some heartbreaking news: Another child of color had drowned in his United States.