Fifty years ago, the Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery, Ala., and were viciously beaten by a violent mob because they dared test federal laws designed to end segregation at bus terminals. On Saturday, a bus of college students retracing the steps of the Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery, where they visited the Civil Rights Memorial Center.
Protecting students from anti-LGBT bullying requires school-wide efforts that include specific anti-bullying policies as well as a focus on nurturing school climates where respect for differences is an integral part of school life, the SPLC told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in written testimony submitted for a public briefing today.
Georgia fell into a costly trap by following the ill-fated footsteps of Arizona when Governor Deal signed harsh anti-immigrant legislation. The bill, H.B. 87, will not only set the state back years of progress in civil rights but will also add to Georgia’s already burgeoning deficit.
The Mobile County (Ala.) Public School System has violated the constitutional rights of students by suspending them for months at a time over minor misbehavior without giving parents and guardians an opportunity to defend them, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the SPLC.
Some 1,500 supporters gathered at the SPLC's Montgomery, Ala., office to celebrate the organization's 40th anniversary and look ahead to the challenges of the future. They came from across the country – a community of people united in their commitment to equality and justice and dedicated to pursuing those ideals through the SPLC and in their own lives.
A federal judge today denied the Louisiana Department of Education's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the SPLC on behalf of thousands of New Orleans students with special needs.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today filed suit against Signal International, LLC, accusing the company of abusing hundreds of foreign guestworkers lured to work in the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This government action reinforces the trafficking and abuse claims we brought against the company three years ago.
Carina, an immigrant woman who spent a half dozen years working in the fields, recently spoke about her experiences during congressional briefings in Washington as part of the Southern Poverty Law Center's national campaign to raise awareness about the sexual exploitation of immigrant women in the food industry.
The bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students is a severe, nationwide problem – one made more difficult by the reluctance of many school districts to take strong steps to prevent it. Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment in 2009, according to a survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which sponsors the National Day of Silence.
The SPLC sent a letter to the Durham Public Schools superintendent today on behalf of more than 6,000 students with limited English proficiency (LEP) and their families. The letter describes pervasive discrimination against Latino students throughout the district.
