Tag Archives: civil rights

The Washington Post reports: The White House endorsed legislation Tuesday that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, plunging into the next front in the national battle over LGBT rights. Speaking to reporters, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the administration “has been reviewing for several weeks” …

The anonymous author of the vile “Drop The T” petition has conducted an interview with the right wing site The Federalist in which he claims to be a liberal. The petition has drawn support from infamous homocons like Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos. From the interview: Based on comments I’ve seen at various forums around the net, I’m certain that it …

Longtime LGBT ally and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond has died at the age of 75. CNN reports: Bond died Saturday night after a brief illness in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which he served as founding president in the 1970s. “Not only has the country lost a hero today, we’ve lost a great …

From the clip recap: “Sometimes political protests can be really inconvenient. And sometimes they target powerful people who already agree with the protestors! What’s the point of that?” I think we know who he’s talking about.

They are supposedly there to protect a representative of Info Wars. Reuters reports: Four civilians carrying automatic rifles and sidearms patrolled a riot-torn street in Ferguson, Missouri, early Tuesday, saying they were there to protect a media organization but drawing swift criticism from police and protesters alike. The appearance of the four men, all white, quickly drew stares in the …

Via the New York Times: In an address at the scene of what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” Mr. Obama rejected the notion that race relations have not improved since then, despite the string of police shootings that have provoked demonstrations. “What happened in Ferguson may not be unique,” he said, “but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned …

The party that fought the establishment of Martin Luther King Day in multiple states today celebrates. The MLK holiday is still officially shared with Confederate General Robert E. Lee Day in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

“They try to say it’s a communist plot, all I want is equality for my sister, my brother, my people and me. You don’t have to live next to me, just give my equality.”

Via Reuters: President Barack Obama will nominate Brooklyn federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch to replace the retiring Eric Holder as U.S. attorney general and if confirmed, she would become the first black woman to serve in the post, the White House said on Friday. The 55-year-old North Carolina native and Harvard-trained lawyer has deep experience in both civil rights and corporate …

Legendary poet, author, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has died in her North Carolina home at the age of 86. Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines confirmed Angelou was found by her caretaker on Wednesday morning. Angelou had been reportedly battling health problems. She recently canceled a scheduled appearance of a special event to be held in her honor. Angelou was …

Katie Couric interviewed Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, the daughters of late President Lyndon B. Johnson, and asked them about their father’s civil rights legacy in the light of the current battle for same-sex marriage. “I think my father felt very strongly that when there was bigotry anywhere, prejudice anywhere, all of us lose out,” Johnson said. …

“The struggle for civil rights in America as envisioned by Dr. King is ongoing, and I am personally very honored and proud to be able to call some of its greatest leaders my close friends and allies: people like Bishop Harry Jackson, Bishop George McKinney, Bishop David Hall, Pastor Eugene Rivers and so many others. And of course, there is …

Accepting the medals on behalf of their late partners were Tam O’Shaughnessy (Sally Ride) and Walter Naegle (Bayard Rustin). Both presentations were preceded by the off-stage announcer recounting the contributions made by Ride and Rustin to the history of the LGBT movement. The live stream has now concluded.

Via press release: Rap superstar Macklemore today released a video urging people to join the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and get its legendary membership card. In a 50-second spot launched on his Facebook page and promoted via his Twitter feed, the MTV Video Music Award-winning rapper encourages his fans to get the card “that lets my gay friends marry …

The president is slated to begin around 3pm.

“I really think that the civil rights movement in it’s effort to expand has excluded some of the people that it originally designed to help and that’s low income people of all races. I didn’t hear poor people mentioned at all very much [on Saturday]. It was the environmentalists, women, gays, and immigrants. Everybody except poor people. The next frontier …

Civil rights pioneer (and gay man) Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March On Washington, and astronaut Sally Ride, who (at her request) was outed after her death of cancer last year, will be among the recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal Of Freedom awards, the highest honor given to any civilian. Via press release from the White House: This …