
Hopewatch
Hopewatch amplifies the unwavering commitment of people who tirelessly advocate for racial and social justice.
Get the latest investigative reporting from Hopewatch
-
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Five ways you can continue to fight against the ‘One Big Ugly Bill Act’
On the eve of Independence Day, our Republican-led Senate and House moved at breakneck speed to narrowly pass their one big, ugly budget bill that cut hundreds of billions from Medicaid and SNAP to give massive tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. While President Trump and his supporters celebrate this cruel law that takes…
-
- Dismantling White Supremacy
Intelligence Project leader working for global solutions to hate, extremism at UN opening
A collaborative global effort to prevent the spread of white supremacy — while protecting freedom of speech — is essential. That’s why the Southern Poverty Law Center is working to encourage the United Nations to do more. A Sept. 9 side event during the opening week of the U.N. General Assembly session featured Rachel Carroll…
-
- Dismantling White Supremacy
Trump’s effort to terminate Lisa Cook is a ‘shameful abuse of executive power’
President Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook — a highly experienced economist and trailblazing Black woman — from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is another example of his shameful abuse of executive power. After criticizing and threatening Fed Chair Jerome Powell for months but taking no action, Trump has turned his partisan assault on…
-
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Learning from disaster: The lessons of Hurricane Katrina, 20 years later
The images that come to mind for most Americans of Hurricane Katrina are many and varied. Whether it is the helicopters rescuing people off their rooftops, residents wading through the flooded city in search of shelter or then-President George W. Bush looking down on the city as he flew over, the photos and video only…
-
- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
SPLC forms partnership to make data publicly available in gerrymandering fights
Gerrymandering is one of the most entrenched obstacles to fair and representative democracy in the United States. To fight its spread, experts analyze proposed voting district maps and provide testimony in legal challenges. They identify places with diverse populations where councils or legislatures create at-large districts, pack voters of one ethnic group into a single…
-
- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Louisiana fight for fair voting map is a beacon of hope for Deep South residents
Voting district lines equal political power. This is why communities redistricted after the 2020 U.S. census results were released, creating new district maps to reflect demographic changes. But five years after the census, the city of Abbeville, Louisiana, is still on its first attempt at drawing new districts. As an attorney for voting rights with…
-
- Dismantling White Supremacy
Critical Memory Project explores history and how we can’t avoid the past
As part of an ongoing multinational effort, members of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s leadership toured sites across Germany, including the massive parade grounds in Munich, the Dachau concentration camp, the courthouse in Nuremberg and Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. The trip was the first part of the Critical Memory Project, a program designed to explore…
-
Black Business Month: Remembering to honor historic Black business districts
National Black Business Month, observed in August, was established in 2004 to recognize the lasting impact of Black-owned businesses throughout history and today. The first wave of Black-owned businesses began shortly after the Civil War, when freed Black people turned to entrepreneurship out of necessity. In the following decades, the original historic Black business districts…
-
- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Voting Rights Act anniversary a reminder of people’s power to bring change
Seventy years ago, a coalition of young lawyers, activists, preachers and Americans of conscience joined together for a monumental fight: to secure the right to vote and dismantle segregation across the Jim Crow South. Ten years later, the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which celebrates its 60th anniversary today, transformed Black voter participation.…
-
- Dismantling White Supremacy
Apathy Is Not an Option: They’re erasing Black history. We’re not letting them.
As students across the country head back to school, they’re facing a coordinated campaign to rewrite — or erase — Black history from classrooms. But educators, authors and activists aren’t backing down. In the latest episode of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Apathy Is Not an Option podcast, host Alexandria Beightol speaks with two powerful…