Civil Rights Issues
Witnesses testified on the work of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Topics included electoral redistricting in Texas and its effect on representation of minorities, religious...
View Article[No Fear]
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo talked about her book, which recounts her case against the Environmental Protection Agency, her former employer, which attempted to quell her claims that a corporation was...
View ArticleSame-Sex Marriage
Political strategists and University of California students talked about same-sex marriage. Topics included California's Proposition 8, the economic benefits of marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act...
View ArticleCultural Diversity: A World View
Thomas Sowell was honored as the recipient of the American Enterprise Institute's Francis Boyer Award for 1990. Sowell addressed the American Enterprise Institute about the importance of cultural...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Loving v. Virginia]
Patricia Sullivan reported by telephone on the death of Mildred Loving on May 1, 2008. Mrs. Loving was a principal in [Loving v. Virginia], the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized interracial...
View Article[Mississippi v. Edgar Ray Killen], Day 6
The verdict was returned in the trial of Edgar Ray Killen for the June 21, 1964, murders of 3 civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi. The reputed Klansman was indicted for slaying three...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Mismatch]
Law professor Richard Sander and former [New York Times] correspondent Stuart Taylor talked about their book, [Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts the Students It's Intended to Help, and Why...
View ArticleCivil Rights and National Security
Sahar Aziz talked about the work of the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and she responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. The Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is...
View ArticleHerman Cain on Sexual Harassment Accusations
Republican 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain spoke with reporters in response to sexual harassment accusations against him made by several women. He denied all charges against him.
View ArticleAfter Words Susan Herman
Ms. Herman asserts that anti-terrorism laws such as the Patriot Act have damaged the lives of many citizens. Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union president believes that President Obama has...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Manufacturing Hysteria]
Jay Feldman reported on the curtailment of civil liberties for minorities during times of war and strife in the United States. Mr. Feldman argued that throughout American history, government officials...
View ArticleTaking of Private Property for Public Use
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights heard from scholars and civil rights on eminent domain abuses. The Justice Department recently brought a lawsuit against the city of Joliet, Illinois, accusing...
View ArticleQ&A with Mick Caouette
Producer Mick Caouette talked about his documentary on former Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The film is the story of his life with emphasis on his leadership role in the passage of the...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Root and Branch]
Rawn James profiles Charles Hamilton Houston, the first African American on the Harvard Law Review and dean of Howard University Law School and his student Thurgood Marshall, valedictorian of his class...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [The Death of Common Sense]
Mr. Howard discussed his recent book, [The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America], published by Random House, which describes a plethora of nonsensical laws and regulations that are...
View ArticleMurdered Civil Rights Workers
A series of recorded telephone conversations between President Johnson and F.B.I. Director Hoover was aired about the murder in Mississippi of three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [The Execution of Willie Francis]
Gilbert King, author of [The Execution of Willie Francis], told the story of Willie Francis, who was sentenced to death, strapped in the electric chair and electrocuted, but didn't die. In the book,...
View ArticleCommander in Chief Powers
Panelists talked about presidential powers in wartime and the impact of executive decisions on civil liberties. Among the issues they addressed were the history of the Constitutional power given to the...
View ArticleDepartment of Justice Oversight
Attorney General Mukasey testified at a Department of Justice oversight hearing about a number of issues including national security programs and operations, voting rights enforcement and preparations...
View ArticleJena Six Case
Witnesses testified about the "Jena Six" case in which six black teenagers were charged with the beating of a white student soon after nooses were hung from a tree on a high school campus. They...
View ArticleBork Nomination Day 2
The Senate Judiciary committee questioned United States Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Judge Bork's hearings lasted 30 hours over 5 days, taking place in September of 1987. Committee members took...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Slavery By Another Name]
Douglas Blackmon talked about his book [Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II], published by Doubleday. He talked about the laws enacted...
View Article[Shelby County v. Holder] Oral Argument
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in [Shelby County v. Holder]. The case concerns Congress' 2006 re-authorization of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act under the pre-existing coverage formula...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Mendez v. Westminster]
Philippa Strum discussed [Mendez v. Westminster], the first case about school segregation to be successfully challenged in federal court. She spoke at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C.
View ArticleThe State of Civil Liberties
Justice Scalia and Professor Strossen discussed civil liberties and the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Topics included the flag-burning case, police use of infrared detection,...
View ArticleEconomic & Political Status of Blacks in America
Prof. Walters and Prof. Williams give often differing views on topics such as the impact of slavery on current economic and social conditions of blacks.
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Preferential Policies]
Mr. Sowell discussed his book [Preferential Policies: An International Perspective], published by William Morrow and Company. The book addresses the effects of government-mandated affirmative action...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [The New Jim Crow]
Michelle Alexander talked about her book, [The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness], in which she argues that the "get tough on crime" policies that began in the early 1970s...
View ArticleEric Holder Remarks on Voter Rights
Attorney General Eric Holder gave the keynote address at the inaugural Faith Leaders Summit on Voting Rights. He talked Justice Department's efforts to enforce voting rights in reaction to state laws...
View ArticleAttorney General Eric Holder on LGBT Issues
Attorney General Holder talked about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights issues. He talked about the Obama administration's pro-equality successes including the Justice...
View ArticleFirst Lady Michelle Obama at Bowie State University Commencement
First lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address to the graduating class of Bowie State University. She talked about the importance of education, the history of the struggle of black people...
View ArticleHillary Clinton at American Bar Association
At the annual American Bar Association conference, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received the highest award of the ABA, the 2013 ABA Medal, for conspicuous service in the cause of American...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Price Waterhouse v. Ann B. Hopkins]
The attorneys who argued the case discussed [Price Waterhouse v. Ann B. Hopkins], the Court's most recent decision on sexual discrimination in the workplace. In its decision, the Court stated that the...
View ArticlePrivacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Policy Perspectives
Critics talked about the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs leaked to the press by Edward Snowden. The legality of the programs was challenged. Several options for improving...
View Article[Plessy v. Ferguson] Re-Argument
Distinguished jurists heard a re-argument of [Plessy v. Ferguson], the 1896 Supreme Court case in which the Court found that Louisiana did not discriminate against Homer A. Plessy when it refused to...
View ArticlePresident Obama at Civil Rights Summit
President Barack Obama gave the keynote address at a three-day Civil Rights Summit hosted by the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of President...
View ArticleNative American Lands and the Supreme Court
Angela Riley spoke in the Supreme Court chamber about the history of the Supreme Court and Native American lands. The lecture, which took place in the Supreme Court chamber, was one in a series hosted...
View ArticleDepartment of Justice Division on Civil Rights
William Yeomans talked about the role of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in light of the Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting of an unarmed black teenager. He also provided a background...
View ArticleMinority Students and College
Panelists talked about the amount of debt that minority students accrue in order to finance their college educations. Sara Goldrik-Rab, who co-authored a paper titled "The Color of Student Debt," in...
View ArticleProtecting Children from Sex Offenders
Mr. Allen and Ms. Strossen debated the efficacy and justice of laws such as "Megan's Law," which require variations of registration of sex offenders and notification of residents when such persons move...
View ArticleBook Discussion on [Power Concedes Nothing]
Civil rights attorney Connie Rice recounts her life and legal career. Ms. Rice, the second cousin of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalls her upbringing and education as well as her...
View ArticleMichigan Same-Sex Marriage Oral Argument
A three-judge panel for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in [April DeBoer, et al. v. Richard Snyder, et al.] The case involved a same-sex couple who initially challenged the...
View ArticleCrime Victims' Rights Act
Justice Department officials and experts testified about the Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004 and urged lawmakers to increase funding for state and federal measures to benefit victims of crimes.
View ArticleCriminal Justice and Policing Practices
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights held a hearing on criminal justice and policing practices after recent protests around the country in the wake of deaths of unarmed black men....
View ArticleState of Same-Sex Marriage Laws
Brian Brown and Susan Sommer talked about the state of same-sex marriage laws in the U.S. and speculated on the U.S. Supreme Court's next actions. They commented on a video clip of Supreme Court...
View ArticleGovernor Mike Pence News Conference
Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) spoke to reporters about the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which he signed into law the previous week. He asked the state legislature to amend the law to...
View ArticleNewsmakers with Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins talked about political and business reactions to the Indiana and Arkansas religious freedom laws, as well as the role of conservatives in the 2016 campaigns. Mr. Perkins talked by remote...
View ArticlePaula Jones News Conference
Paula Jones' attorneys spoke with reporters following the filing of a suit asking for damages in excess of $700,000 charging former Governor Clinton with sexual harrassment. The suit is in response to...
View ArticlePrivacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Legal Perspectives
Legal experts talked about legal and constitutional questions about the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs leaked to the press by Edward Snowden. "Legal/Constitutional Perspective"...
View ArticleGays in the Clergy
The Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop elected to the episcopate, talked about the effect morality has on legal rights for sexual minorities. He also talked about his background, personal...
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