Voters of color in Texas will have to wait until this fall for the outcome of a discrimination lawsuit against the state. At issue are the voting-district maps for state legislative and congressional races. The current lawsuit will go to trial in September. .
In the past two years, Iowa has adopted or proposed policies that stoke debate on whether the state is moving away from prioritizing the rights and civil liberties of certain populations. Such things as enacting voting restrictions, limiting race curriculum, and proposed book bans in schools are among platforms championed by Republican leaders in Des Moines. This is in contrast key milestones in Iowa s history, according to Lea VanderVelde, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. .
One hundred years before Rosa Parks ignited a 13-month bus boycott, Elizabeth Jennings led the way for New York. A presentation this evening at a Hudson Valley museum aims to share Jennings legacy in the Empire State. In July 1854, Jennings - a Black school teacher - refused to leave a streetcar designated for white passengers only in New York City and was assaulted by the conductor. .
A program is looking for Montanans to represent people in courts on tribal reservations, who often lack access to legal assistance when they need it. The Tribal Advocate Incubator Project wants to train lay advocates - that is, people who are not lawyers by profession - to represent folks in tribal courts across the state. "Tribal lay advocates will represent tribal members in tribal court regarding civil legal matters," said Valerie Falls Down, tribal advocacy coordinator for the Montana Legal Services Association, "including divorce and custody, landlord-tenant disputes, wills and probate, real estate and land issues." Montana s seven reservations are mostly rural, and a 2017 study found the poverty rate was 30% on the state s reservations. " .