by Ja'han Jones | Jul 3, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion, White House
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary laid waste to the MAGA movement’s bigoted worldview.
It was a speech very reminiscent of Barack Obama and Frederick Douglass, in that Mamdani expressed pride in the nation’s founding principles — as laid out in America’s founding documents, at least — but also frustration over the prejudice that has been, and continues to be, promoted by people in power.
Flanked on Friday by newly naturalized American citizens, and from behind a desk used by George Washington, Mamdani rebuked the hypocrisy of immigrants being demonized in a nation built by immigrants and enslaved people: “As we mark 250 years, what do we see? We see a city of contradictions within a nation of contradictions.”
Mamdani denounced what he framed as influential oligarchs and the federal immigration agents involved in President Donald Trump’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown:
We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world — one where children go to sleep hungry while the world’s first trillionaire hungers for more. We see monopolies that dominate every industry and oligarchs who buy elections. We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans. We see a nation whose immense wealth has been built by those with calloused, dirt-streaked hands — those who toil on factory floors and chisel into stone. And we see a nation that has allowed so much of that wealth to be held instead in the soft hands of a precious few.
Mamdani said immigrants to the United States — including Jewish people escaping pogroms, Italians fleeing poverty
by Ja'han Jones | Jul 2, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion
The state of Florida remains a cesspool for some of the conservative movement’s most virulent racism and xenophobia.
As Republicans have wedded themselves to the Israeli government amid its ongoing bombardment of Gaza — devastation that a United Nations panel has called a genocide — some in the party, especially in Florida, have ramped up their attacks on Muslims.
In recent years, Reps. Randy Fine and Brian Mast have arguably become faces of the Sunshine State’s dark bigotry with their remarks about Muslims and Palestinians, while Florida officials — such as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier — have used their offices to launch illiberal attacks on Muslim people and groups who advocate on their behalf.
These attacks continued Wednesday, when DeSantis officially declared the Council on American-Islamic Relations a terrorist organization. There is no proof supporting this designation, but CAIR, much like the anti-racist Southern Poverty Law Center, has long been targeted by conservatives.
The Miami Herald reported that CAIR has sued Florida over the designation, which DeSantis said he was authorized to make thanks to a new state law that has been described by critics as an assault on free speech. After its passage, I explained how the law aligns with our country’s sordid legacy of white officials targeting civil rights groups known for defending nonwhite people.
CAIR says its mission is to “enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.” Among the other groups DeSantis designated as terrorist organizations are antifa, the amorphous leftist movement for people who oppose fascism.
DeSantis, who has downplayed the severity of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection and faced bipartisan backlash
by Julianne McShane | Jun 30, 2026 | Civil Rights, News, White House
A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Park Service cannot interfere with a protest group’s ongoing demonstration featuring signs accusing President Donald Trump of sexual abuse and a flag with the caption “86 47.”
In a 52-page summary judgment issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote that the activist group Accountability NOW may continue to display those materials at a 24/7 demonstration it is holding in Washington without risking losing its NPS permit. Moss ruled that the relevant materials are protected under the First Amendment and do not fall within the the narrow category of unprotected speech, as the government argued.
“Although the Court’s opinion is lengthy, that does not mean that this is a hard case. It is not,” Moss wrote. “Plaintiff’s signs and flag fall well within the heartland of protected First Amendment speech, and Defendants offer no plausible basis for suppressing Plaintiff’s core, political speech.”
The White House referred MS NOW’s request for comment on the ruling to the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service.
In a statement to MS NOW, an Interior Department spokesperson said that Moss was appointed by President Barack Obama and said, “Flying a flag that is a threat to the Office of the President of the United States should not be permitted under any administration. In what world have we lost all decency to demand that any threat against the President be taken very seriously?”
“As a reminder, we are approaching America’s 250th and we have visitors of all ages coming to our nation’s capital,” the spokesperson said. “This language is not protected under the First Amendment and is not appropriate.”
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by Ja'han Jones | Jun 29, 2026 | Civil Rights, News Analysis, Science
As Americans across the nation revolt against the construction of costly, resource-reliant data centers, one budding story out of Tennessee appears to epitomize the exploitation many people have warned about.
Tennessee is just one of several states across the rural South where technology companies have looked to host their data center dreams. This thirst from Big Tech has spurred lawsuits on behalf of Tennessee residents, including one filed by the NAACP over pollution claims involving data centers operated by Elon Musk’s xAI.
And a new fight appears to be brewing over Fisk University’s plan to build a massive data center on its Nashville campus. Capital B reported that some of the project’s backers see it as a means of raising needed revenue for the university, but that rationale doesn’t seem to have assuaged concerns. Per the outlet:
Tennessee already has 60 data centers. In fact, the Fisk project is coming on the heels of another proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo, upsetting residents across the city.
In the weeks since Fisk’s announcement, students and residents have come out in droves to several public hearings opposing the data center.
On June 10, state Rep. Justin Jones stood with residents and fellow Fisk alumni to call out the potential harm the data center posed. He asked other Nashville residents to oppose the center with the same urgency they are using to oppose the one near the city’s zoo.
“If AI data centers are not good for a zoo, then it’s not good for an HBCU,” Jones said.
The NAACP has taken a stand against harmful data centers with its “Stop Dirty Data Centers” initiative. In a statement to
by Susan Rinkunas | Jun 29, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion
Four years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some abortion opponents are unhappy. Though 19 states have abortion bans early in pregnancy, the number of abortions has actually increased since the Dobbs decision, due in part to the availability of medication abortion. Eight states passed so-called shield laws, which protect providers from criminal or civil investigations if they prescribe abortion pills to people in states with bans, and now nearly 15,000 medication abortions per month are provided under those laws.
A faction of the anti-abortion movement argues that criminal bans for abortion providers aren’t enough. The only way to actually stop abortions in states where they’re banned, these activists argue, is to prosecute women for homicide. This faction, though small, is vocal and gaining influence. On the anniversary of Roe’s fall, a group of more than 60 conservatives shared a resolution calling on lawmakers to “remove legal immunities” for women who have abortions. They said laws to protect life from the moment of fertilization would put fertilized eggs on the same legal plane as the person carrying them.
Prosecuting abortion seekers used to be a third rail in the anti-abortion movement.
But there’s a telling aspect to the list: Of the 24 signatories who lead anti-abortion organizations, just four are women. It appears that, to get more women signatories, they had to branch out to conservative influencers, including anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines and podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey. The gender dynamics at play cannot be ignored when under this framework, pregnant women could be prosecuted for ending their pregnancies or even having a miscarriage.
Prosecuting abortion seekers used to be a third rail
by Erum Salam | Jun 26, 2026 | Civil Rights, culture, News
The Texas State Board of Education on Friday approved a new required reading list for more than 5 million K-12 public schools that includes stories from the Bible.
The list will affect every grade level. Elementary students will be required to read picture-book versions of “David and Goliath” and “Daniel and the Lion’s Den.” Middle school students must read passages from the Sermon on the Mount from the Bible’s New Testament, while high schoolers must read about Adam and Eve and the parable of the prodigal son.
The changes will affectexa 5.5 million public school students in the religiously diverse state, according to enrollment data for the 2024-25 school year.
The reading list, which received preliminary approval in April, drew criticism from parents and educators who decried the infusion of religion in public school curriculum. Critics of the list, including religious freedom groups and other faith groups, argued it centers Christianity in public school instruction, raising concerns about the separation of church and state enshrined in the Constitution.
The required list will take effect in 2030.
A movement to expand the role of religion, specifically Christianity, in schools has taken root in Texas over the past few years. In 2023, Texas became the first state to allow schools to hire religious chaplains as school counselors.
That same year, Texas lawmakers approved a new Bible-based curriculum for elementary schools called “Bluebonnet Learning,” which includes lessons on the “golden rule” and Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. It is not mandatory for school districts to adopt the curriculum but the state does offer a financial incentive of $60 per student if the district chooses to opt in. The curriculum has
