Pauli Murray: The American Hero You Never Learned About (And the Federal Government Doesn’t Want You To)

A few years ago, I went searching for Pauli Murray.

By that point, the poet, civil rights activist and pioneering legal scholar had been dead for 35 years. But in researching her life for the book I was working on, I’d learned about the profound impact that her work had had on the very fabric of America and particularly on the country’s legal system. I was convinced that because of everything Murray had done—the extent to which she had shaped movements and laws and lives—she would have to be remembered prominently and publicly. It was probably just my own fault, I reasoned, that I hadn’t previously heard of her.

NIL Was Supposed to Be Fair. Why Is It Still a Boys’ Club?

Watkins and Paige Bueckers, a fifth-year senior guard at the University of Connecticut, along with a select few other female student-athletes can hold their own against high-profile male student-athletes in one-on-one NIL action. But the rest of the women in college sports find themselves playing on a very uneven playing field green-lit for colleges and universities by President Donald J. Trump’s new administration. 

Coretta Scott King’s Influence on the Civil Rights Movement: An Excerpt From ‘King of the North’

An excerpt from King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South:

“Women have been the backbone of the whole civil rights movement,” Coretta Scott King stressed in a 1966 interview with New Lady magazine. The national media, like most politicians and pundits of the time, had trained the spotlight on the male leaders like her husband, missing the many women that had envisioned, led and organized the movements burgeoning around the country. They could not conceive of Coretta Scott King as Martin Luther King’s political partner. She later lamented how she was “made to sound like an attachment to a vacuum cleaner, the wife of Martin, then the widow of Martin, all of which I was proud to be. But I was never just a wife, nor a widow. I was always more than a label.”  

While Trump Sows Division, Women Leaders Chart a Path Forward for Democracy

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During the same week as the president’s address to Congress, RepresentWomen held our annual Democracy Solutions Summit. This solutions-oriented event allowed us to imagine what our democracy could look like with better policies and better representation. As the U.S. faces threats towards democracy, policy changes and civic participation are crucial. A healthy democracy is one where people of all backgrounds and perspectives can have a seat at the table.

When the U.S. Turns Its Back on Aid, Women Pay the Price

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The justification is always the same: fiscal responsibility, foreign policy recalibrations, shifting political winds. But on the ground, the reality is much more cutting. When aid disappears, people die. Not theoretically. Not eventually. Immediately.

Aid is not a line item to be slashed when convenient. It is a commitment: to humanity, to protecting women, to the belief that no life is worth less simply because it exists beyond our borders. It is the difference between Judith finding safety and Nyamal being forced to return to her abuser. It is, quite literally, life or death.

Sabrina Carpenter Gets to the Point of Sexual Expression: Fun and Enjoyment

Sabrina Carpenter’s “sexual revolution” is not unprecedented; in fact, it has been paved for her. Yet, there is still something refreshing—and controversial—about her sexual expression that uniquely contributes to the constant effort of normalizing and embracing female sexuality through art. And perhaps it boils down to a simple truth: Carpenter is making it explicitly clear she enjoys sex, and she’s having fun with it.

‘Adolescence’ Is a Cautionary Tale of the Male Rage and Isolation Fueled by the Manosphere

Adolescence is a powerful cautionary tale about the destructive forces of the manosphere and the isolation many young boys face today. Through the lens of Jamie’s tragic journey, the show illuminates the profound impact of online misogyny, social media and a culture that discourages vulnerability in young men. As both a fictional story and a reflection of the real lives I’ve encountered, it serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for adults—teachers, parents and communities—to guide boys through the confusion of adolescence and protect them from harmful online influences.

If we fail to act, the tragedy we see in Adolescence may become a reality for more young men.

‘I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again’: From the Daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, a New Memoir on Surviving Private Rape and a Public Rape Trial

Caroline Darian is Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter. Throughout the highly publicized trial in France, which ignited a global conversation about sexual assault and submission, Darian was a forceful advocate for her mother and for the rights of sexual assault survivors the world over.

An excerpt from I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again, Darian’s new memoir: “Our family has been torn in two. … I’ve heard nothing from Mum since Christmas. I miss her. I decide to give her a call. When I hear her voice, I start crying. She soon follows suit. Tears have become our default language, because what we’re going through is beyond words. Eventually, I manage to express myself: I want to be with her, to stand by her. We talk for the next two hours. At the end, we promise each other we’ll stick together from now on. And that neither will sit in judgement of the other.”

A Dangerous Rollback: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Student Civil Rights

Betrayal would be the simplest way to describe the Trump administration’s open disregard for the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights.

A betrayal of the department’s initial mission to advance education equity, a betrayal of the vital oversight the department was built to provide, and—perhaps worst of all—a betrayal of the countless students, families, and communities who continue to entrust the department to respect and protect students’ rights and well-being.

Our collective work remains anchored in the powerful vision and strategies we’ve been building for decades. Communities across the country are simultaneously defending vital protections while implementing transformative approaches to schooling that center belonging, equity and student well-being.