Courts & Law

My Friend Mickey and the Gutting of Voting Rights

Robert Reich / Substack May 4, 2026 The Roberts-Alito court has midwifed the rebirth of the Confederacy. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Economic Justice

Martin Luther King Jr. Was Ahead of the Curve on Universal Basic Income

Tarah Williams, Andrew Bloeser / The Conversation Jan 19, 2026 King was an early advocate for direct cash payments by the government to all citizens to help them afford life’s expenses. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Social Justice

‘Wake the Children Sleeping’: James Baldwin at 100

Abby Zimet / Common Dreams Aug 9, 2024 Remembering the novelist, essayist and fiery prophet teacher of the Civil Rights movement. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Opinion

Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and the Culture of Defeat

Tom Engelhardt / TomDispatch Feb 8, 2024 Trump may be nothing but a symptom of the greater disease but we must steel ourselves for further decline whether he wins or loses. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Race

It’s Time to Make MLK’s Dream a Reality

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Chuck Collins / OtherWords Jan 15, 2024 King’s lifetime saw substantial economic progress for Black Americans, but in our century progress has slowed to a crawl. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Julian Bond Was a Radical Long Before MLK

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Feb 28, 2020 A new book shows how the activist's positions on issues like the Vietnam War and environmental justice helped move civil rights leaders left. Dig deeper ( 34 Min. Read )

American Civil Rights Institute Rescinds Angela Davis Honor

JAY REEVES / The Associated Press Jan 8, 2019 Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin cites complaints from the Jewish community, as black activists call for leadership changes and protests. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Chicago Could Blow if Laquan McDonald’s Killer Walks

Paul Street / Truthdig Oct 3, 2018 Decades of segregation and brutal policing have turned the city into one giant powder keg, leading activists to fear for the worst. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

U.S. Reopens Probe Into 1955 Slaying of Emmett Till

JAY REEVES / The Associated Press Jul 12, 2018 The Justice Department told Congress in a report in March that it has new information about the brutal murder of the black teenager in Mississippi that helped inspire the civil rights movement. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Bill Cosby’s Confused Notions of ‘Responsibility’

Glen Ford / Black Agenda Report May 7, 2018 Black America should have denounced the comedian long ago. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Poll: Blacks Think Civil Rights Goals Not Achieved

JESSE J. HOLLAND and EMILY SWANSON / The Associated Press Mar 30, 2018 Fifty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., only 1 in 10 African-Americans think the U.S. has achieved the goals of the civil rights movement he led. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Robert Scheer: MLK Has Been Portrayed as an Innocuous, Benign Figure. He Wasn’t That at All. (Audio)

BLANK Apr 6, 2017 On KPFK's "This Is Happening," Truthdig's editor in chief discusses King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech, an address partly inspired by a Ramparts magazine piece published when Scheer was editor there. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )