Race and Civil Rights

July 12, 2013 - Hundreds of Eastern North Carolina residents plan to sue pork giant Smithfield Foods over the company's hog farm pollution, which they say has infringed on their property rights. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are finalizing an ALEC model bill designed to discourage such farm nuisance suits.

July 12, 2013 - South Carolina is the latest state where politicians' tales of dead voters casting ballots have been proven false, but restrictive voting laws are still being passed in response to these myths. Perhaps it's time for a law to ban such false claims as a form of voter fraud?

July 10, 2013 - A three-judge panel has ruled that North Carolina's GOP-drawn voting districts should stand despite charges of gerrymandering. What does it mean for voters of color -- and for voters in general?

July 8, 2013 - With another Moral Monday protest getting underway at the North Carolina General Assembly, a group affiliated with the tea party movement offers a satirical song for the occasion titled "Marxist Mondays."

July 5, 2013 - North Carolina has repealed its groundbreaking law targeting racial discrimination in administration of the death penalty, but Republican lawmakers looking for a speedy return of executions are likely to have their hopes dashed in the courts.

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?

June 28, 2013 - A website publicizing details about people arrested in nonviolent protests at the N.C. legislature expanded this week to include salaries of arrestees who are public workers -- and suffered a setback when local officials said they'd no longer take arrestees' mugshots. Meanwhile, private data-gathering efforts in another state are generating controversy over their use for political retaliation.