Civil Rights & Social Justice
Legal mail policy at Pennsylvania prisons will be revised under settlement
A controversial policy on copying and storing legal mail at Pennsylvania prisons will be revised under a nearly finished settlement between groups that advocate for incarcerated persons and the state Corrections department. In a Friday press release, the Department of Corrections said it will implement a new policy by April 6 that allows incarcerated persons […]
One nation under who? New poll paints perilous picture for American pluralism | John L. Micek
America has a bunch of foundational myths — George Washington and his famed cherry tree; the belief that anyone can get ahead if they just work hard enough; and the stubborn belief that our occasionally sputtering constitutional republic is still more exceptional than any other nation on Earth. They’re core to our conception of ourselves […]
State civil rights commission will host meeting in Carlisle after KKK fliers found
The commission in charge of investigating civil rights violations in Pennsylvania will host at least one meeting in Carlisle after police found fliers seemingly distributed by the Ku Klux Klan. Carlisle Police said in a Feb. 2 tweet they “were made aware of malicious /unsolicited flyers being passed out.” A photo of the flier, shared by […]
Victims’ rights amendment Marsy’s Law moves out of House committee
A bill aimed at protecting the rights of crime victims advanced out of state House committee 19-4 Thursday, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the tally. Marsy’s Law, introduced by Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland, would not create any new rights. Instead, it would amend Pennsylvania’s Constitution to enshrine existing laws that inform victims […]
As U.S. hate group activity hits a new high, the Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 36 hate groups in Pa. in 2018
Pennsylvania-based hate groups ranging from Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis to white nationalists and the Ku Klux Klan all popped up on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s radar last year, providing a fuller picture of hate group activity in the Keystone State. You can view the full list of hate groups active in Pennsylvania here. You […]
‘His legacy lives on’: K. Leroy Irvis, Pennsylvania’s only black House speaker, remembered
K. Leroy Irvis is remembered as “the Lion of Pennsylvania” — a civil rights champion, incorruptible force for good, and the commonwealth’s first black state House speaker. Perhaps less noted is his great sense of humor. Once, while criticizing the death penalty on the House floor, Irvis was accused of being a “do-gooder” by a […]
Latino, community leaders in York announce second annual Latino Health Summit
YORK, Pa. — Political and community leaders, as well as healthcare executives from across this south-central Pennsylvania city gathered Tuesday to announce their effort to address health disparities among Hispanic-Americans in Pennsylvania. The second Latino Health Summit will be held April 17-18 at the York Expo Center. It’s being co-sponsored by the advocacy and professional […]
Attorneys say state prison policy on legal mail has stymied communication with clients
A lengthy back-and-forth on copiers and paper jams isn’t the most compelling courtroom drama, but it gets to the heart of a lawsuit against the state Corrections Department and its new legal mail policy. After a statewide prison lockdown last fall, the Department of Corrections instituted sweeping changes designed to keep drugs out of its […]
Lincoln’s ‘House Divided’ speech teaches important lessons about today’s political polarization | Opinion
Lincoln didn’t claim that perfect equality could be achieved. But he saw broad commitments to the idea of equality as essential to the ongoing work of creating, as the Constitution puts it, a more perfect union – and a freer one for all.
The ACLU is taking Pennsylvania’s corrections department to court over copy-and-save legal mail policy
According to the ACLU, "Pennsylvania is the first and still only state prison system in the country to copy and store legal mail."
President Trump says there’s a crisis at the border. The data says something else | The Numbers Racket
President Donald Trump did an end-run around Congress last week, declaring a national emergency that will enable him to redirect roughly $8 billion from across the government to fund the construction of his much-ballyhooed wall at America’s southern border with Mexico. Key to Trump’s claim is that there is “an invasion of drugs, invasion of […]
GOP’s Down syndrome bill is a reminder that states are the battleground over abortion rights | Opinion
The invasive bill that Klunk and Turzai want to forcibly deliver into law is most likely unconstitutional, practically unenforceable, and undeniably hypocritical.