Civil Rights

Civil rights mean equal protections and opportunities under the law, and are a vital part of human rights and for the functioning of a democracy. They include liberties such as the right to vote, the right to a trial, and the right to access government services and education.

Profiles in Courage: Jocelyn Samuels and the Fight to Save the EEOC

PUBLISHED 5/19/2025 by and

Ms.‘ Profiles in Courage spotlights women in the Department of Justice, federal agencies and the military whose careers have been defined by integrity, resilience and reform. Their quiet heroism—often at personal cost—reaffirms the enduring role of public servants who choose justice over self-interest. Through their stories, Ms. pays tribute to a tradition of service that safeguards democracy and inspires the next generation to lead with courage.

As a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Jocelyn Samuels spent a lifetime defending democracy and workers’ rights. Now she’s fighting to protect the agency she helped lead.

Why Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Is Actually Anti-Motherhood

PUBLISHED 5/9/2025 by

This Mother’s Day, for the 111th year in a row, families across the nation will gather to celebrate all the love, care and work provided by the mothers in their lives. Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a federal holiday nearly a year after he established the basis of today’s modern income tax system, allowing him to lower tariff rates on many of the basic necessities American families relied on in 1914.

It is darkly ironic that more than a century later, the Trump administration is attempting to reverse these pro-family policies, while at the same time promoting a pronatalist agenda aimed at creating more mothers and larger families. 

Despite promoting motherhood, Trump’s policies threaten the economic stability of the 45 percent of mothers who are primary breadwinners—especially single moms and women of color.

‘You Only Get What You’re Organized to Take’: On Sustaining Social Change From the Bottom Up

PUBLISHED 5/8/2025 by

Mainstream media, conservatives and politicians want people to believe that the poor will always be with us. But it’s a lie.

In You Only Get What You’re Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty, Presbyterian minister and long-time anti-poverty organizer Liz Theoharis and writer-organizer Noam Sandweiss-Back deconstruct this fallacy and present dozens of examples of organizing by poor people to win affordable housing, accessible healthcare, high-quality public education, a living wage, nutritious food and most importantly, dignity.

Trump’s Attack on the Education Department Will Disempower Parents

PUBLISHED 4/23/2025 by

In a North Carolina coastal community, an elementary school may be forced to end its free monthly dinners where parents come together with teachers to talk about their children’s academic progress, as well as their mental and physical health.

In a rural corner of Texas, local high schools may have to stop participating in a partnership connecting students with local colleges, trade schools and career opportunities—even though parents insist that college and career readiness is the biggest need for their kids.

In Idaho, an elementary school may be forced to stop its after-school program, which parents named as a major help.

These parent-empowering initiatives are now under threat because each of these schools receives federal dollars from the Education Department for their “community school” programs—federal dollars that are now on the chopping block.