Category Archives: civil rights

The twilight of LGBT discrimination

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Bennett Minton

The June 15 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (Georgia) has a sweeping logic that, if applied to other areas of law, will mean the end of legal discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ. Justice Neil Gorsuch, … Continue reading →

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As a sunflower bending toward the light

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Bennett Minton

As horrific as is this moment of our political derangement, I participated in two lectures on Sunday that left me feeling that we will survive, thanks to the example set by two individuals I learned about. In the afternoon, at … Continue reading →

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Woke is not enough

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Bennett Minton

The Reverend Dr. William Barber was in my neighborhood last night. For those who would like an introduction: Dr. Barber is the pastor of a North Carolina church and former head of the state NAACP. In 2014 he founded Repairers … Continue reading →

Posted in civil rights, Uncategorized, Voting | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Desmond Meade: Restoring the franchise – and justice

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Bennett Minton

Last November Florida voters amended the state constitution, automatically restoring voting rights to ex-felons who had completed “all terms of sentence including parole or probation.” The amendment was expected to affect more than 1.4 million Floridians, but the newly elected … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizenship, civil rights, Uncategorized, Voting | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What I ponder at the Lincoln Memorial

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Bennett Minton

What have I learned in 60 years? Take little for granted, other than that I will (likely) return home from a bike ride. At dawn I took my customary solstice/birthday pilgrimage to the Lincoln Memorial and faced the Washington Monument, … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, civil rights, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

A 100-days report card

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Bennett Minton

Any list of President Trump’s accomplishments will reflect the biases of its creator. Justice/Immigration/Civil Rights Trump signed two executive orders banning immigrants from seven, and then six, countries. The January order was halted by a federal appeals court. The March … Continue reading →

Posted in civil rights, climate change, Congress, environment, LGBT rights, Uncategorized, Voting Rights Act | Tagged | 2 Comments

Jim Crow makes a last stand in the Old Dominion

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Bennett Minton

“Don’t boo. Vote.” – President Obama at the Democratic Convention The struggle to do just that goes on, as illustrated by three recent court decisions. In two federal cases, appeals courts struck down voter ID laws in Texas and North … Continue reading →

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Donald Trump gives the GOP its comeuppance

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Bennett Minton

Upon signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Bill Moyers related decades later, President Johnson said, “I think we just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come.” It’s a popular story (though its truth … Continue reading →

Posted in civil rights, election campaign, gerrymandering, Uncategorized, Voting Rights Act | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Civil Death”: Florida’s Criminal Disenfranchisement

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Bennett Minton

The Honorable Rick Scott Tallahassee, Florida Dear Governor Scott: Belated congratulations on your reelection in November. I don’t write to every governor, but as a non-resident, property-tax-payer who spends about half the year in the Sunshine State (summers too – … Continue reading →

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A wake – or awake? – in Baltimore

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Bennett Minton

After riots broke out in cities across the country in the summer of 1967, President Johnson appointed the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. Known as the Kerner Commission after its chairman, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, it issued a 426-page … Continue reading →

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