the nation

November 19, 2015 - Join us on Friday, Nov. 20 in Durham, North Carolina for an event with journalist Ari Berman, author of a widely-acclaimed book looking at the 50-year struggle to expand and defend the right to vote.

July 15, 2013 - A new poll finds that the majority of North Carolina residents oppose fracking, but their elected state representatives are aggressively pushing to fast-track the controversial gas drilling technique in the state. Could a backlash be brewing?

July 4, 2013 - This Independence Day, we revisit one of our favorite holiday-themed readings: the brilliant speech by abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass reminding us of the unfinished work of guaranteeing liberty and justice for all. So what's your favorite reading for the 4th?

October 24, 2012 - As corporate money pours into the presidential race, workers have to fight for their own rights -- and they're doing just that at Walmart and a Louisiana salt mine.

August 31, 2012 - A key provision of the nearly half-century-old Voting Rights Act has been instrumental in reversing new restrictions on voting in the South. But the measure's days may be numbered.

July 5, 2012 - A year ago, it looked like the war over voting was a once-sided rout for lawmakers pushing photo ID and other new voting restrictions. But through organizing and litigation, voting rights advocates have forced a draw in key Southern states -- and in some cases, scored big victories.

March 1, 2012 - A new strategy to advocate for workers' rights at Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart is utilizing what has been called "pre-New Deal unionism" -- and it is showing some real gains.