racial discrimination

April 28, 2014 - Prisoners' advocates call the reforms a step forward, but they don't address discrimination in presidential pardons or apply to everyone serving harsh sentences from outdated guidelines.

March 5, 2014 - In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states and local governments with a history of discrimination no longer needed to submit new voting laws for federal approval. Now, voting rights advocates are trying to put them back under oversight using the courts and Congress.

December 23, 2013 - A look ahead to the changes in election procedures residents of Southern states can expect to see in the new year.

October 25, 2013 - In an interview with The Daily Show about North Carolina's restrictive new voting law, the Republican Party precinct chair made a number of racially charged remarks. The GOP scrambled to distance itself from him, but his ideas about the law follow the party line.

October 1, 2013 - The Justice Department wants to subject the entire state to preapproval for any elections changes under Section Three of the Voting Rights Act -- not just the 40 counties previously covered under the law's now-defunct Section Five.

September 25, 2013 - The North Carolina-based banking giant has been ordered to fork over back pay to African Americans unfairly denied entry-level jobs at the company's Charlotte operations.

September 19, 2013 - The Texas chapter of the NAACP and the state's Mexican American Legislative Caucus are the latest groups to challenge the state's voter photo ID law as racially discriminatory. The Texas fight is likely to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, where other states like Mississippi and North Carolina that recently passed similar laws will be watching closely.