On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that President Trump's firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without cause was lawful. In doing so, the Court overturned a 91-year-old precedent that had prevented presidents from removing members of independent agencies at will. The decision represents the most significant expansion of presidential power over the federal government in nearly a century. Independent agencies were designed by Congress to fu

Legacy admissions have become one of the most quietly debated features of American higher education. The conversation tends to flare up around Supreme Court decisions and admissions scandals, then fade. But the policy is still very much alive, and the students it displaces are real. The Where Legacy admissions exist in all states except California, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, and Virginia. California and Maryland have enacted statewide bans covering both public and private

The First Amendment says Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press. That sentence has been interpreted by courts for over two hundred years. What is happening right now is not a repeal of that sentence. It is a quiet, systematic redefinition of what it protects, who it protects, and when its protections apply. Text from the First Amendment highlighting fundamental freedoms, including religion, speech, press, assembly, and petitioning the governmen

The week of May 11 through May 17, 2026, produced a set of civil rights developments that, taken individually, each warranted serious coverage. Taken together, they describe something more alarming: a coordinated, sustained effort to weaken the federal government's role in protecting racial equality. Voting rights took a hit. DOJ enforcement activity against civil rights violations slowed. Immigration policing expanded in ways that civil rights organizations and international

In March 2026, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Priscilla Villarreal, a citizen journalist in Laredo, Texas, who was arrested in 2017 for asking a police officer a question. That is not a metaphor. She was arrested for asking a question. Villarreal, who operates under the name La Gordiloca, published news stories about a border agent's suicide and a car crash after contacting law enforcement sources for information. Texas prosecutors charged her under a state st

A protester in Kansas City marches with students from Crossroads Preparatory Academy in 2022. On Thursday, City Council repealed a ban on so-called conversion therapy, a scientifically discredited practice that seeks to “convert” LGBTQ+ minors to a heterosexual lifestyle. On March 31, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors violated the First Amendment. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion. Justice Ketanji Br

The Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into a private women's college for admitting trans women. Legal experts are baffled. The implications go far beyond one campus.

The Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's majority-Black district as an 'unconstitutional racial gerrymander.' The timing, right before the midterms, is not accidental.

Unfortunately, this year’s Black History Month marks a somber point of regression in racial justice: what was once a period of celebration has become a period of survival and battle for remembrance, awareness, and group integrity. The battle between Civil Rights advocates and groups against conservative institutions & governments has been waging on for decades, centuries even. The actions of this administration, however, have been exceptionally critical of DEI policy and raci

On February 23, the United Nations Human Rights Council opens its 61st regular session in Geneva. By February 20, much of the diplomatic positioning has already taken place. The Council is often portrayed either as symbolic theater or as moral authority. In reality, it is a negotiation arena. States defend policies, civil society groups document abuses, and resolutions are drafted with language that can echo for years. What happens in Geneva does not automatically transform c

On December 31st of 2025, justice prevailed in the San Francisco Federal District Court. That was the day Judge Breyer officially rejected this administration’s justification for their use of the National Guard, which some have described as an “intimidation” of LA residents. The administration argued that exigency for the federalization of the National Guard is only needed in the initiation of the process. Their argument implies that, once federalized, the National Guard is a

It was a typical Sunday morning at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Warm greetings, handshakes, and friendly banter filled the room. Outside, however, tension was brewing. A group of protesters gathered, intent on making their voices heard. As the service began, protesters marched into the building and disrupted it with loud chants. Their slogans echoed off the church walls and drowned out all other noise. "Justice for Renee Good,” "ICE out,” and "Hands up, don’t shoot"