Civil Rights News: Health Care Repeal, School Integration, Gay Rights Controversy
In N.C., a new battle on school integration
Washington Post
Controversy is rising over North Carolina’s Wake County, which in the 1970s developed an innovative system of socioeconomic diversity throughout its schools.
But the new majority-Republican, tea-party backed school board has abolished this system in favor of neighborhood schools, and civil rights leaders are speaking out. The NAACP has filed a civil rights complaint arguing that this policy has increased racial segregation, violating federal anti-discrimination laws.
Wade Henderson, president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, submitted the following letter to the editor in response to this article:
“This article labors to show an unbridgeable division within the African-American community as to whether the gay-rights movement is a movement for civil rights. The premise is false. The LGBT and African-American communities are both pillars of the same civil-rights movement, which recognizes that discrimination in all forms is wrong. We’ve worked together to pass expanded hate-crimes legislation, confirm federal judges, and increase equality in education. And while we don’t agree on every issue, we’re united in the conviction that people of all backgrounds are entitled to full equality under the law.”
House GOP to resume health-care repeal effort, but with more civil tone
Washington Post
After the temporary hiatus in legislative affairs after last Saturday’s tragic shooting of Rep. Grabrielle Giffords and 18 others in front of an Arizona shopping mall, Republicans are gearing up for a debate and vote on the health care repeal next week. But there are concerns that maintaining civility could be a challenge in the debate around such a divisive issue.