January Index PageCivil Rights Groups Announce Coalition to Protect American CitizenshipWednesday, January 5, 2011 Today, a group of civil and human rights organizations and legal scholars announced the formation of a new coalition, called Americans for Constitutional Citizenship (ACC), to fight efforts at the state and federal level to undermine the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship for all persons born in the U.S. This includes recently announced attempts by a group of state legislators to push state-level legislation to deny the privileges of U.S citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. Categories: Immigration, Discrimination, Americans for Constitutional Citizenship National Education Report Card Gives Nation Low Marks in Achievement and EquityFriday, January 21, 2011 The nation's schools received an average grade of "C" in the latest edition of Education Week's "Quality Counts," the most comprehensive assessment of American education. Categories: Education Civil and Human Rights Coalition Urges Attorney General to Issue Prosecution Guidance on New Crack Cocaine LawMonday, January 24, 2011 The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to "work with some urgency" toward issuing new sentencing guidelines to federal prosecutors in light of the passage last August of the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), which reduced the discriminatory sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. Categories: Criminal Justice System New Coalition Applauds President’s Call for Transportation InvestmentMonday, January 31, 2011 A new coalition dedicated to increasing and improving transportation options for all Americans – particularly those in minority and low-income communities – is applauding President Obama for highlighting the need to invest in transportation to help rebuild America during his State of the Union address last Tuesday. Categories: Transportation Equity Americans for Constitutional Citizenship Denounces Anti-Citizenship ResolutionFriday, January 28, 2011 Americans for Constitutional Citizenship (ACC) is opposing a resolution introduced by Sens. David Vitter, R. La., and Rand Paul, R. Ky., which would deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants. Categories: Immigration, Discrimination, Americans for Constitutional Citizenship Report: Municipal Anti-Immigrant Laws Hurting Economies and CommunitiesTuesday, January 25, 2011 In recent years, states and localities across the country have enacted divisive anti-immigrant legislation that has led to costly lawsuits and sharply divided communities. A newly released Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report examines the economic and community backlash that can follow the enactment of these laws and concludes that the price of such legislation is quite high. Categories: Immigration EEOC Reports Unprecedented Number of Charges of Workplace Discrimination Filed Last YearMonday, January 24, 2011 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported a dramatic increase in charges of private sector workplace discrimination filed throughout all major categories – including race, age, disability, and religion – during the 2010 fiscal year. Categories: Equal Opportunity, Workers' Rights U.S. Supreme Court Rules to Protect Employee’s Family from RetaliationMonday, January 31, 2011 The Supreme Court last week ruled in a unanimous 8-0 decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects employees against job discrimination, forbids an employer from firing the fiancé of an employee as retaliation for her complaining about sexual discrimination. Categories: Civil Rights Enforcement Agencies, Workers' Rights Federal Court Unanimously Upholds University of Texas’ Equal Opportunity Admissions PolicyThursday, January 20, 2011 In a significant victory for advancing equal opportunity in higher education, on January 18, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the constitutionality of University of Texas at Austin's (UT Austin) current admissions policy, which considers race as one of several factors. Categories: Equal Opportunity, Education New Reports Expose Violations of Workers’ Human RightsThursday, January 20, 2011 Two recent reports – "A Strange Case" by Human Rights Watch and "Voices for Change" by TransAfrica Forum – examine violations of workers’ basic civil and human rights at several global branches of Sodexo, a France-based food distribution company. Categories: Human Rights, Workers' Rights Obama Nominates Two to the U.S. Commission on Civil RightsMonday, January 31, 2011 President Obama recently nominated Roberta Achtenberg and Marty Castro to serve on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent advisory commission charged with investigating and reporting on all levels of government to ensure all citizens' civil rights were protected. Categories: Human Rights, Civil Rights Enforcement Agencies Civil and Human Rights Coalition Releases Legislative Priorities for 112th CongressThursday, January 13, 2011 The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations that works to build an America that's as good as its ideals, recently sent a letter to Congress outlining its legislative priorities for the 112th Congress. Categories: The Leadership Conference Civil Rights Coalition Opposes Legislation to Repeal Health Care Reform LawTuesday, January 18, 2011 The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter to the House of Representatives today opposing proposed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which the coalition calls "vital to improving the health of our nation’s most underserved communities." Categories: Health Care Civil and Human Rights Community Urges Senate Vote on Obama’s Renominated JudgesThursday, January 6, 2011 Yesterday, President Obama renominated 42 judges who had been voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the last Congress but had not received a vote on the Senate floor. Categories: Judiciary Americans for Constitutional Citizenship Denounces Rep. King's Anti-Citizenship BillFriday, January 7, 2011 Americans for Constitutional Citizenship (ACC) is calling a bill to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants introduced by Rep. Steve King, R. Iowa, in the House of Representatives yesterday "unconstitutional: and "un-American." Categories: Immigration |