Civil Rights & Individual Liberties Archives - Page 4 of 5

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The 14th: Why A Reconstruction-Era Amendment is in the News

February 23, 2021

Now that former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial has concluded with another acquittal, some lawmakers and voters remain unsatisfied with the results.1 Had President Trump been found guilty by the Senate, he would have been barred from holding federal office again in the future. With an acquittal, President Trump remains eligible to run once […]

The Debate Over School Resource Officers and the #CounselorsNotCops Campaign

February 16, 2021

The debates over defunding or reforming the police and addressing the school-to-prison pipeline have merged to focus on the issue of police officers in schools. School resource officers (SROs) are career law enforcement officers who work in one or more schools.1 According to the Department of Justice, SROs are “responsible for safety and crime prevention […]

President Biden’s Policy Priorities: The First 100 Days

January 22, 2021

During his inaugural address, President Joe Biden laid out a number of policy priorities. The clearest theme of his speech was a call for unity and the need to address political divisions in the United States, which came to a head with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.1 However, President Biden also […]

Fallout and Consequences, Part Two: Free Speech and Censorship

January 15, 2021

The fallout continues to mount from the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In previous blog posts, we offered a collection of resources and articles and explored the question of accountability for elected officials. In this post, we examine a thorny issue that is also emerging as institutions respond to riots: the power of private […]

Fallout and Consequences, Part One: Who is Accountable?

January 13, 2021

The events at the Capitol on January 6 are forcing voters and elected officials to face some challenging questions. In a previous blog post, we provided some resources to help you begin to address some of these questions; in an upcoming post, we will examine other questions related to free speech. In this post, we […]

Insurrection at the Capitol

January 08, 2021

On January 6, 2021, Congress convened to certify the Electoral College results of the 2020 presidential election and to affirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Although there has been no evidence of voter fraud, a group of Republican legislators planned to object to the certification process, saying they wanted Congress first to create an […]

Summer Round-Up #3: Protests, Police Reform, and Civil Unrest

September 09, 2020

This summer has been more dramatic and more tumultuous than any other in recent memory. To help teachers and students explore key issues from this summer, we have done a series of summer round-up articles including developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and our review of the 2020 campaigns and conventions. In our third and […]

Enforcing Social Distancing & Wearing Masks

May 27, 2020

In order to combat the spread of COVID-19, people are making many changes in their habits and routines. Two central recommendations of public health officials are that people remain socially distant1 by staying six or more feet from people and avoiding non-essential trips outside the home, and that people wear masks when in public.2 This […]

Should States Continue to Shelter in Place or Begin to Reopen?

April 28, 2020

As COVID-19 has spread across the country and the globe, most U.S. states have taken to issuing shelter-in-place orders to help “flatten the curve.” As of April 20, 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had asked residents to stay at home. However, over the past two weeks, there has been an increase […]

Coronavirus, Prisons, and Detention Centers

March 24, 2020

In the face of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, government officials and medical experts are calling on people all over the world to practice social distancing.1 In general, this means canceling events and gatherings, avoiding large groups and crowds, and, when possible, staying home. Many people are working from home,2 schools have closed or moved online,3 and […]