Civil Rights
On this day in 1917: Civil rights legend Daisy Elliott was born
On Nov. 26, 1917, Daisy Elliott was born in Filbert, W.V. The Democrat would go on to co-sponsor seminal civil rights legislation in Michigan. Like many, she later moved to Detroit during the Great Migration, a period between 1914 and 1950 when African Americans from the South moved to the Motor City seeking improved employment […]
Jury finds McMichaels, Bryan guilty of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder
A nearly all-white jury in a Glynn County courtroom Wednesday afternoon convicted three white men of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery as the 25-year-old Black jogger ran through their neighborhood in February 2020. Travis McMichael, seen all over the world in a viral video that shows him firing a shotgun into Arbery at close range, […]
Immigration protections in Biden’s social policy bill face a new test in the Senate
WASHINGTON — Nearly 100 House Democrats are pushing the Senate to expand immigration protections in President Joe Biden’s massive social spending and climate bill, and advocates say that it may be a last opportunity for years to advance any reform. The letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and the chairman of the Judiciary […]
Tlaib, Lawrence, Levin join letter urging Senate to add immigration reform to Build Back Better
Three of Michigan’s members of Congress have signed onto a letter led by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) asking U.S. Senate leadership to reinstate a pathway to citizenship within President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” (BBB) Act. The U.S. House passed the $1.85 trillion BBB Act on Friday, which includes a host of social spending […]
Kevin Rinke announces bid for Michigan governor, joins crowded GOP field
Kevin Rinke, a Bloomfield Township businessman, on Monday officially announced his candidacy for governor in a press release. The Republican is a former owner of Rinke Automotive Group, which owns car dealerships around Detroit. The announcement for his 2022 bid comes after Rinke launched a $226,000 cable and broadcast TV ad buy late last week. […]
Black parents push back against right-wing attacks on ‘critical race theory’
Danielle Atkinson recalls being outraged after learning about an incident that took place five years ago at Royal Oak Middle School located in suburban Detroit. It occurred the day after former President Donald Trump’s win in November 2016. A group of Latino children were eating when white students began chanting at them, “Build the wall,” […]
Senate confirms first tribal member in history to lead National Park Service
The U.S. Senate approved by voice vote late Thursday the nomination of Charles F. Sams III as the first confirmed National Park Service director since 2017. Sams, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Ore., will be the first tribal member to lead the Park Service in the […]
Immigrants make last-ditch plea for deportation protections, work permits in Build Back Better
WASHINGTON — Undocumented workers and immigration advocates are pushing for Democrats to keep work permits and protections from deportations in the final version of the $1.85 trillion social spending and climate package that the U.S. House is set to vote on as soon as Thursday night. Those immigration provisions face elimination when the bill moves […]
Day of action in DC for voting rights protections, promised reforms
Hundreds of people marched in Washington on Wednesday, singing songs of struggle and calling for the passage of a voting rights bill by the end of the year. Rev. William Barber II marched alongside other faith leaders, poor and working class Americans and allied elected officials, filling the streets around the White House and demanding […]
Indigenous traditional knowledge to be included in US efforts against climate change for first time
For the first time in history, a presidential administration has committed to incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge into the scientific, technical, social, and economic advancement of the United States. President Joe Biden pledged on Monday during the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit to be the first president to work with the tribes to […]
‘A matter of dignity’: Biden executive order addresses violence against Indigenous people
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday addressing violence against Indigenous communities. “These efforts are a matter of dignity,” Biden said during the opening ceremony for the White House Tribal Nations Summit. “That’s the foundation of our nation-to-nation partnership.” The executive order directs the departments of Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, and Health and […]
Trump endorses Detmer, says Sen. Theis ‘forgot she’s a Republican’
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican real estate manager Mike Detmer in his bid to challenge incumbent state Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) for her seat in 2022. Detmer lost the August 2020 GOP primary to challenge U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) in the 8th Congressional District. Slotkin won reelection in November 2020. However, Trump […]