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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Mississippi tour participants hear hard truth about rural water insecurity
The town of Utica, Mississippi, is small, with a population that dropped from 966 in the 2000 census to 636 in the 2020 count. But even small towns, especially those in largely rural areas of the South, can have big problems. Resident Angela Stamps Burleigh said the issues with the water infrastructure in Utica rise…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Truth, poverty and democracy on display as tour gets underway in Mississippi
The morning of Sept. 30 in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, was beautiful. It was also uplifting as some three dozen “pilgrims” began the second annual Truth, Poverty and Democracy Tour at the Mississippi State Capitol. The tour, organized through the efforts of Waikinya Clanton, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi state office and her…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
How youth organizers built a powerhouse for historic change in Georgia
The relentless flashpoints of 2020 ignited a searing flame that laid bare injustice and lit a path for collective resistance. For Yana Batra, then 16, it was a moment that sparked a movement. “That year in 2020 and everything that came with it was so pivotal,” said Batra, now a senior at Georgia Tech. “You…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
SPLC Denounces Trump’s Threat to Limit Americans’ Voting Access
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) condemns President Trump’s call over the weekend to intentionally limit Americans’ access to the ballot box. This latest threat to voting rights will harm rural, Black and Brown voters, exclude eligible voters from our elections and further threaten American democracy. “With the ongoing wave of gerrymandering…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Georgia Justice Project’s work to enfranchise voters receives SPLC grant
Last year, the Georgia Justice Project (GJP) began placing yard signs around the state with a simple message: “Felony sentence complete? You can vote.” A man driving past a gas station in Conyers saw the sign, pulled over and immediately phoned GJP. “He’s like, ‘Is this true?’” said Ann Colloton, policy and outreach coordinator for…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Court Agrees Alabama’s State Senate Districts Violate the Voting Rights Act
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – In a mixed ruling on Alabama’s state Senate redistricting case, a federal court has found that the state’s map violates the Voting Rights Act in Montgomery but upheld the current map makeup in the Huntsville area. The decision is an important victory for Black voters, though advocates stress that Alabama still has…
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- 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…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Federal Court Orders Mississippi Supreme Court District Lines Be Redrawn
Ruling stems from lawsuit charging those lines unlawfully dilute the voting strength of Black residents OXFORD, Miss. — A federal court today ruled that Mississippi’s Supreme Court district lines must be redrawn to ensure Black voters have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), American Civil Liberties…
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- 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…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Alabama Youth Council students make their own rules while learning to lead
Rebecca Solaque was after something she couldn’t quite name. Then she found it this spring — in the Jefferson County branch of the Alabama Youth Council, a group of about 10 high school students that meets biweekly at the Hoover Public Library. “I was looking for a sense of community,” said Solaque, a 16-year-old high…
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