Categories
Guest Bloggers

Racial Justice After Fisher and Shelby

In the wake of last week’s Supreme Court rulings in the Fisher affirmative action case and the Shelby County Voting Rights Act case, the post-mortems are in.

Race-based affirmative action in higher education is on its deathbed. Anti-discrimination protections for many voters are imperiled.

For the Court’s majority, two of the proudest achievements of the long Civil Rights Movement have become burdensome and outmoded, like a payphone on a troubled street corner. Even in liberal policy circles, the shibboleth of “class over race” (as if they were mutually exclusive) seems quickly becoming the new common sense.

At their … Read more “Racial Justice After Fisher and Shelby”

Categories
Blog

A Short Note on Ex-Felon Voting Rights

This may be too little, too late for many, but perhaps it will be of use to people in the future, if not in this election cycle.

It’s commonly believed that all incarcerated people and all ex-felons lose their voting rights. This belief holds true even among the formerly incarcerated, elected officials, and elections clerks in states where those with past felony convictions are allowed to vote.

I once worked for a group that was active in 7 states working with incarcerated people, their families and loved ones to stop new prison building and win progressive reforms of state prisons. … Read more “A Short Note on Ex-Felon Voting Rights”