Democracy
This week, North Carolina Republican lawmakers began posting draft versions of new congressional maps online, with several of the maps visibly indicating that GOP leaders are yet again drawing districts that give their party an advantage in future elections. Local community members, activists and Democrats called out the GOP’s efforts during redistricting public hearings on…
Read MoreToday, Progress NC Action launched the True Reporting of Underfunding Education (T.R.U.E.) Portal, a website for parents, educators, and community leaders to submit testimonies of challenges facing our cash-strapped schools. For years, the Republican-led legislature has systematically violated the constitutional rights of children across the state by failing to provide a sound basic education as…
Read MoreWith eight out of the 13 public hearings on redistricting completed, North Carolinians are sending a strong message to legislators, particularly Republicans; we need a fair, inclusive and transparent redistricting process. Historically, Republicans have consolidated power through voter suppression laws and gerrymandering — making it difficult for Black and Brown North Carolinians to cast their…
Read MoreOn Friday, a state court struck down North Carolina’s voter ID law noting that the Republican-backed law, “was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters.” In the Holmes v. Moore case, two of the three trial judges declared the December 2018 law unconstitutional — making it the second…
Read MoreIn March, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson launched his very own right-wing outrage driven initiative dubbed F.A.C.T.S. (“Fairness and Accountability for Teachers and Students)”. Mirroring the controversial steps taken by Joe McCarthy, Robinson touts the task force’s website as a tool to snuff out indoctrination that is occurring in North Carolina’s classrooms. As one veteran public…
Read MoreLast week kicked off the first bout of public hearings on redistricting, which will redefine the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts for the next ten years. Lawmakers are traveling to 13 locations throughout the state, giving North Carolinians a chance to protect their communities’ representation by demanding fair maps. Historically, politicians have manipulated the…
Read MoreMirroring the well-funded, coordinated effort by the GOP across our country, in recent months top North Carolina Republicans have focused on racialized fearmongering to distract from their continued effort to underfund K-12 public education and the state’s university system. Most notably, one cog within the manufactured crisis comes from North Carolina’s Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s…
Read MoreNAACP and SELC (Southern Environmental Law Center) have asked State Supreme Court Justices Phil Berger Jr and Tamara Barringer to recuse themselves from their lawsuit that contests the 2018 constitutional amendments on Voter ID and the income tax cap. Both groups have asked Justice Berger Jr. to remove himself from ruling on the lawsuit due…
Read MoreThis Friday, August 6, marks the 56th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which enabled hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised Black Americans to register to vote. Enacted in 1965, the Voting Rights Act has long been hailed as the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever passed by the U.S. Congress.…
Read MoreAmid a time when corporations generated record profits during a pandemic that caused financial devastation for millions of Americans, NC Republicans passed a bill last month that would protect corporations profits further by eliminating the corporate state income tax. According to a recent poll, North Carolina voters across party lines overwhelmingly oppose such a bill,…
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