al mcsurely
April 21, 2023 -
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Moral Monday Movement's launch, and to mark the occasion Facing South democracy reporter Benjamin Barber spoke with Rev. Barber, his father, about the movement's historic roots and accomplishments, and what keeps him hopeful about progressive change today.
December 14, 2017 -
Attorney and civil rights movement veteran Al McSurely serves on the steering committee of the newly-launched Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. He shares the lessons he learned organizing in Appalachia during the original Poor People's Campaign launched by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago.
August 5, 2016 -
Recent legal victories over voting restrictions in North Carolina and other states point to the danger in being ahistorical when passing voting laws. Particularly in the South, where discrimination has deep roots, it is necessary to remember past discrimination when crafting present-day legislation.
June 23, 2016 -
This week, 52 years to the day after three young men were murdered in Mississippi while working to expand voting rights to African Americans, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a challenge to North Carolina's restrictive new voting law that disproportionately impacts African Americans.
September 1, 2015 -
It's been a year since the body of an African-American teen named Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, N.C. under circumstances that have led many to question the official suicide ruling. At last week's memorial service for Lacy, state NAACP officials provided updates on the still-open case, offering hope that the truth will be revealed.
September 16, 2014 -
The civil rights group has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections and a local district attorney over a TV ad sponsored by the campaign of state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger that suggests citizens need to show a photo ID to vote -- even though the ID requirement doesn't take effect until 2016. In North Carolina, misrepresenting election law to discourage voting is a felony.
September 1, 1983 -
This article originally appeared in Southern Exposure Vol. 11 No.
