State Medicaid Decisions Impact People of Color

By Fred Kammer, S.J.

An Equal Justice Initiative analysis shows how the 50^th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Gideon decision demonstrates ongoing problems in indigent defense.  Only 24 states have public defender systems and too often are hampered by inadequate funding and “crippling caseloads” for public defenders.  Just last year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Maples v Alabama, criticized Alabama’s failure to provide legal assistance to death row inmates, as too many must rely upon volunteers or no defense at all during the post-conviction process. 

The 50th Anniversary of the Letter from Birmingham Jail

By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.

In an extraordinary, perhaps definitive occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail on April 15, 2013, ordained leaders of Evangelical, Pentecostal, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions signed a new response to that classic Letter.

In a new report, the Insight Center for Community Economic Development finds that predatory payday loans in 33 states cost the American economy $774 million in 2011 resulting in the loss of more than 14,000 jobs.  These costs, plus the an increase in Chapter 13 bankruptcies linked to payday usage, brought the total loss to nearly 1 billion dollars. 

By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.

Racism is a spiritual wound that afflicts all Americans. No one escapes it. For white Americans to attend to this wound, we will need to pray incessantly for God’s grace and to “see ourselves as others see us.” [1]

Among countless ways that whites might begin to see ourselves as people of color see us, I suggest W.E.B. Du Bois’s critical way of autobiography, including his articulation of “double-consciousness.” While many have examined this wound, few have probed the depth of this wound more insightfully, compassionately, and fully as Du Bois.

On February 27, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the key provision that requires states with a history of denying minority rights to gain approval of the Department of Justice or Federal Court prior to making any changes in voting procedures.
 

In testimony submitted to a Senate subcommittee on December 12, 2012, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described how zero-tolerance policies that heavily use suspension and expulsion and police officers contributes to a “school to prison pipeline” that funnels students into the criminal justice system.  The policies disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities in the Gulf South region.  The SPLC also filed complaints in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  In Meridian, MS, students are routinely arrested and transported to the juvenile detention

On November 3, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute awarded the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award to Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative for bringing public attention to discrimination against racial minorities and being an effective voice for equal treatment in the justice system.   The Fred L. Shuttlesworth Award was instituted in 2002 to honor and extend the legacy of Fred L. Shuttlesworth for voting rights and equality in America.  Previous award recipients include Mr.

A candlelight vigil entitled “We are One Mississippi” was held at the University of Mississippi on November 7, 2012 in response to a campus disturbance against President Obama’s re-election.  The vigil was organized to celebrate the University’s progress for racial equality made since James Meredith was escorted into the University over 50 years ago on October 1, 1962.

On November 9, 2012, the Supreme Court said that it will review the key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the “pre-clearance” provision, that requires states with a history of discrimination to gain approval of the Justice Department or a Federal Court for any proposed changes.  Congress renewed the Voting Rights Act in 2006, by a nearly unanimous vote, finding that ongoing discrimination demanded renewal.  The enduring import of the Voting Rights Act was demonstrated in the 2012 election when 12 states attempted to limit access to voting for many Americans, including minorities.  Th