Civil Rights & Social Justice
Philly City Council urges Congress to end forced labor in prisons
'We can’t decarcerate our country unless we eliminate the financial incentive to keep Black and brown, working class and poor people in prison,' Councilmember Kendra Brooks said.
As Harrisburg Republicans craft fall agenda, their allies are asking for more
Abortion opponents, gun right advocates, and spending hawks are all pushing for their proposals to be front and center
Pa. Senate Democrats ask for courts to push back subpoena deadline, block hiring of vendor for GOP election review
Both Senate Republican and Democrats legal efforts will be paid for with taxpayer money.
Perry Co.’s DA could put a homeless man in jail over a Mountain Dew. Is that justice? | Opinion
Prosecutors have broad discretion on whether to pursue cases. Is politics driving this one?
In a city torn by violence, Black Philadelphians are buying guns to respond to crime, racism
“Why would you want the racists to be the only ones with knowledge of firearms?” Philadelphia gun advocate and founder of Black Guns Matter, Maj Toure, recently asked a reporter.
Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments over crime victims’ amendment Marsy’s Law
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments about whether the Marsy’s Law amendment, which appeared on the 2019 general election ballot, should have been presented in separate questions.
It’s past time to make critical investments in public health for communities of color | Opinion
Seventy-eight percent of all COVID-19 cases where patients were hospitalized, needed a ventilator, or died from COVID-19 were in relation to obesity or obesity-related diseases. This directly impacts the Black population, who are 1.3 times more likely to have obesity in comparison to the Non-Hispanic White population.
U.S. Supreme Court schedules Dec. 1 oral arguments in major abortion case
The nation’s top court announced in May that it would take up the Mississippi case. Since that announcement, the justices also voted in a 5-4 decision against preventing a more-strict Texas law from taking effect.
Slim majority sees reckoning over racial history as a positive | The Numbers Racket
More than 400 years after the first Africans were brought to what would become the United States on slave ships, 53 percent of American adults say that increased attention to that history is a good thing for society while 26 percent say the opposite.
No reason to hate the NFL playing ‘The Black National Anthem’ | John A. Tures
There’s a real excitement about the NFL, as fans showed up and tuned in to games, with any talk of a boycott a distant memory. But that doesn’t mean America’s highest rated sport isn’t being attacked for something new. This time, the league is being targeted for playing the so-called “Black National Anthem.” Are the criticisms really warranted?
Did Pa. Supreme Court Justice David Wecht herald the death of God? | Bruce Ledewitz
I have a book coming out in a few weeks that argues that America’s deep divisions are the fallout from the Death of God proclaimed by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in 1882. But, I am asked, how can God be dead when most Americans say that they believe in God and almost half of Americans […]
Half of LGBTQ workers have faced job discrimination, new report finds
The Williams Institute study states that over 8 million workers in the U.S. identify as LGBT. The study stipulates that “Employment discrimination and harassment against LGBT people has been documented in a variety of sources and found to negatively impact employees’ health and well-being and to reduce job commitment and satisfaction.”