NAACP

• Atlanta, GA., June 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The King Center announces the passing of King Family matriarch, Dr. Christine King Farris at the age 95.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., and Mrs. Alberta Williams King and the sister of the late Rev.
• She also wrote the first intermediate-level textbook on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. Farris served as the first director of The Martin Luther King, Jr.
• In 2015, The King Center established The Christine King Farris Distinguished Legacy of Service Award, as one of its Salute to Greatness Awards.

• The state's deeply troubling Black maternal mortality rates , and many other health disparities, also rank among the country's worst.
• The UW Health Board and administration need to live up to their professed values by establishing Juneteenth as a paid holiday this year."
• "2 Frontline registered nurses at UW Health, through their union, have also urged the health system's management to establish Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
• 1 DEI Program Strategic Plan Update, UW Health, Dec. 2022
  3 DEI Program Strategic Plan Update, UW Health, Dec. 2022
  4 UWHCA audited financial statements, 2020-22.

• In a surprising ruling on June 8, 2023, the conservative leaning U.S. Supreme Court threw out Republican-drawn congressional districts in Alabama that a lower court had ruled discriminated against Black voters and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• At issue in the case that was before the court, Allen v. Milligan, was whether the power of Black voters in Alabama was diluted by dividing them into districts where white voters dominate.
• Black residents make up about 27% of the state’s population, and voting rights advocates argued that they deserved not one but two political districts.

What does the decision mean for Black voters in Alabama?

• The decision means that Black voters in Alabama, and across the country, will retain the last remaining voter rights protections.
• Specifically, Alabama lawmakers will need to redraw their legislative districts to include two districts that reflect the Black population.
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to prohibit racist practices by Southern states that were used to prevent Black people from voting.

Why was this decision considered a surprise?

• In his opinion for the majority, Roberts traced the importance of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
• He explained how racially motivated voter suppression after the Civil War led to the initial passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
• “States shouldn’t let race be the primary factor in deciding how to draw boundaries but it should be a consideration,” Roberts wrote.
• “The line we have drawn is between consciousness and predominance.” Roberts went further by citing the repugnant racial history of Alabama.

Is the Voting Rights Act still under attack?

• While a breath of fresh air for voting rights activists, this ruling does not mean that white conservatives will cease their attack.
• GOP-controlled congressional maps diluting or eliminating Black districts have been drawn in multiple states, including Louisiana, Georgia, Ohio and Texas.

What are the remaining obstacles to full Black voting power?

• Across the country, there has been a concerted effort to restrict voting and control the election machinery and even the outcome of these votes.
• Dozens of Republican-controlled states have passed a series of laws that will curtail voting of Blacks and many other Americans.

How do these laws typically affect Black people?

• As many as 42 restrictive voting-rights laws in 21 states have been passed since 2021.
• Among these, 33 contain at least one restrictive provision that will impact elections in 20 states.

• Memphis, TN, June 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum will host the second of four hybrid, national convenings entitled “The Resolve: Eliminating Systemic Racism and Toxic Cultures” on June 7 at 6:30 pm Central.
• Howard Henderson is a professor of criminal justice and founding director of the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University.
• A Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Howard’s research focuses on structural and cultural predictors of criminal justice system disparities.
• The National Civil Rights Museum is committed to being a convener of understanding and positive change.