Civil Rights

Kirsten Gillibrand and Joni Ernst Can Pass Their Military Sexual Assault Bill — They Just Need a Senate Vote

The senators have a bipartisan measure to put independent prosecutors, not military commanders, in charge of serious crimes.

  • Amanda Becker, The 19th

Why It Matters That CDC Declared Racism a Public Health Issue

The move draws attention to long-ignored racial gaps in health care.

  • Paul K. Halverson, The Conversation

To Close Gender Gap, Fight Pay Secrecy

"An emerging body of research finds that pay secrecy policies... disadvantage women in particular."

  • Sarah Savat, Futurity

GovExec Daily: How the Vaccine Rollout is Leaving out Communities of Color

The Center for Urban and Racial Equity's Dr. Judy Lubin joins the podcast to discuss the inequality still present in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

GovExec Daily: Using Evidence-Based Policy to Further Equality

Grant Thornton's Robert Shea joins the podcast to discuss how the government can use policymaking to promote, diversity, equity and inclusion.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

Biden Picks Merrick Garland and Three Women to Lead Justice Department

Biden’s picks for deputy attorney general, associate attorney general and assistant attorney general for civil rights are all women.

  • Ko Bragg, The 19th

The Trump Administration’s Final Push to Make It Easier for Religious Employers to Discriminate

Last-minute policies on religious freedom clear the way for employers to hire on the basis of faith. Some of the changes won't be easy for Biden to undo.

  • Lydia DePillis, ProPublica

Donald Trump Pardons Former Border Patrol Agent Gary Brugman, Who Was Convicted of Violating a Man’s Civil Rights

Brugman’s case drew national attention among conservative figures who hailed him for working to secure the U.S. border.

  • Alex Samuels, The Texas Tribune

The Government Promised to Return Ancestral Hawaiian Land, Then Never Finished the Job

Native Hawaiians are still waiting for state and federal officials to fulfill the promises of land legislation that was signed into law 25 years ago. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” said one former governor.

  • Agnel Philip and Rob Perez, ProPublica

DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors to Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-standing Policy

In an internal announcement, the Justice Department created an exception to a decades-long policy meant to prevent prosecutors from taking overt investigative steps that might affect the outcome of the vote.

  • Justin Elliott and Robert Faturechi, ProPublica

Microaggressions Aren’t Just Innocent Blunders – New Research Links Them with Racial Bias

White people are often defensive when they're called out for these subtle snubs and insults. But researchers have found that microaggressions correlate with racial bias.

  • Jonathan Kanter, The Conversation

GovExec Daily: Trump's and Biden's Leadership in Times of Racial Strife

Katherine McIntire Peters and Tom Shoop join the podcast to discuss the management and leadership aspects of the two major-party candidates in the shadow of the 2020 protests.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

GovExec Daily: Federal Police Militarization and Presence at Protests

Dr. Angelica Durán-Martínez joins the podcast to discuss federal agency police at demonstrations in Portland through the lens of her research.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler
Featured eBooks
The Post-Covid Workforce
Toward the AI-Enabled Fight
The State of State and Local Budgets

Black Women Are Promoted at Far Lower Rates Than White Men, Report Finds

The report, released by Lean In, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s foundation, also found that Black women are underrepresented in top leadership positions.

  • Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th

The Federal Government Gives Native Students an Inadequate Education, and Gets Away With It

The Bureau of Indian Education has repeatedly neglected warnings that it is not providing a quality education for 46,000 Native students. Once called a “stain on our Nation’s history,” the school system has let down its students for generations.

  • Alden Woods, ProPublica

Will COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Reflect America’s Diversity?

The pressure to produce an effective COVID-19 vaccine could impede recruitment of volunteers in high-risk populations.

  • JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News

After a Year of Investigation, the Border Patrol Has Little to Say About Agents’ Misogynistic and Racist Facebook Group

The Border Patrol vowed a full accounting after ProPublica revealed hateful posts in the private Facebook group. Now congressional investigators say the agency is blocking them and revealing little about its internal investigation.

  • A.C. Thompson, ProPublica

National Guard Commander To Testify ‘Excessive Force’ Used on White House Protesters

Officer on the scene saw spent tear gas canisters, contradicting key details of Attorney General Barr’s account of the controversial night.

  • Katie Bo Williams

Analysis: 4 Lawsuits that Challenge Trump’s Federal Agents in Portland Test Issues Other Cities Will Likely Face

The lawsuits filed in Portland sparked by the presence of federal law enforcement agents sent there by President Trump are a preview of the legal battles to come in cities across the U.S.

  • Sarah J. Adams-Schoen, The Conversation

When Feeling American Requires Leaving America

For some Black U.S. diplomats, the moment they feel most American is when they are abroad.

  • Jennifer Koons , The Atlantic

DHS’ Portland Stunt Could Undermine the Agency For Years, Former Officials Warn

"This is well outside the bounds of what the intent is of the federal protective services' mission," one says.

  • Patrick Tucker