Latest NAACP News
DeSantis purposely dismantled a Black congressional district, attorney says as trial over map begins
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — On the same day Alabama Black voters scored a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal trial opened in Florida in which lawyers say Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the U.S. Constitution by deliberately dismantling a congressional district that favored Black...
Hollis Watkins, who was jailed multiple times for challenging segregation in Mississippi, dies at 82
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Hollis Watkins, who started challenging segregation and racial oppression in his native Mississippi when he was a teenager and toiled alongside civil rights icons including Medgar Evers and Bob Moses, has died. He was 82. Watkins — who also sometimes went by...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces Black leaders' anger after racist killings in Jacksonville
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ron DeSantis scoffed when the NAACP issued a travel advisory this spring warning Black people to use “extreme care” if traveling to Florida. The leading civil rights group argued that the state's loose gun laws and the Republican governor's...
White supremacist banners appear in Louisiana's capital city
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In Louisiana’s predominately Black capital city of Baton Rouge, banners promoting a white nationalist hate group seemingly appeared overnight. Community members from Baton Rouge’s NAACP chapter removed four banners, hanging above busy roads and highways...
Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. says it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration's “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies towards African Americans. ...
Civil rights groups condemn 'Soul Fest' concerts at Georgia park with giant Confederate carving
ATLANTA (AP) — Civil rights groups and other advocates denounced a concert series with Black performers dubbed “Soul Fest” that is being held at a Georgia park replete with Confederate imagery, including a giant carving of Confederate leaders. Stone Mountain Park just outside...
Virginia says governor weighs circumstances of crimes in deciding on restoring felons' voting rights
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — As Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin weighs whether to restore the civil rights of convicted felons who have served their time, he is considering at least some of the circumstances of their crimes, his administration said Monday in a letter to the state NAACP. The...
Mississippi discriminates against Black residents with appointed judges, Justice Department says
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A new Mississippi law discriminates against residents of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson by requiring the appointment of some judges in a state where most judges are elected, the U.S. Justice Department said in court papers filed Wednesday. The...
Activists spurred by affirmative action ruling challenge legacy admissions at Harvard
WASHINGTON (AP) — A civil rights group is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University, saying the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost to the mostly white children of alumni. The practice of giving priority to the children of alumni has...
