racism
April 7, 2023 -
This week the Republican-controlled Tennessee House voted to expel two young, Black Democrats who from the chamber's floor had joined a vocal protest calling for stricter gun laws following a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school. We share the powerful Easter-themed statement Rep. Justin Pearson delivered to the chamber before his expulsion.
February 2, 2023 -
The recent deaths of Black men at the hands of police in Memphis, Tennessee, and Raleigh, North Carolina, show that hiring more Black officers and chiefs does not change an inherently biased system.
December 14, 2022 -
Workers who handle customer service for Medicare and the Affordable Care Act marketplace are fighting to improve their lot at a call center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, operated by Maximus, a Virginia-based government services contractor. Documentarian Jason Kerzinski recently visited with the workers to collect some of their stories.
September 15, 2022 -
In recent years, the North Carolina Supreme Court has addressed persistent injustices in the criminal legal system, including racism in jury selection. But the court could reverse course if Republicans win a majority this November.
May 24, 2022 -
A U.S. House subcommittee recently held a hearing into ongoing efforts to limit discussion in public school classrooms on American history, race, and LGBTQ+ issues — and to punish teachers who broach those topics. Among those who testified was James Whitfield, a high school principal from North Texas who lost his job after sending students an email in response to killings of Black people by police and white vigilantes that acknowledged systemic racism and called education "a necessary conduit to get liberty and justice for all."
May 19, 2022 -
The racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims elites are trying to replace the current electorate with immigrants has been tied to numerous domestic U.S. terror attacks, including the recent massacre of Black people inside a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. We look at some of the elected officials who promote the idea — and the corporate contributions flowing to their campaigns.
April 22, 2022 -
The recently released "Poor People's Pandemic Report" details how counties with larger percentages of poor people — the vast majority of which are in the South — have been more likely to experience higher death rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
