On September 9, President Trump nominated Steven Menashi to be a U.S. federal judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Menashi's hearing on September 11 and has scheduled his committee vote for October 24. People For the American Way wrote to senators to express our opposition to the Menashi nomination. Read More
Administrator of the Small Business Administration State Senator Milwaukee, WI After defeating an incumbent from his own party during the 2010 fall primary, Larson was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate at the age of 29. Larson bravely left the state in February 2011 to stand up for… Read More
This piece was originally published on HuffPost. Earlier this week it was widely reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was planning “a new project… Read More
On Wednesday morning, a roomful of school children were herded into a congressional meeting room and required to sit through an hour and a half worth of speeches by conservative Members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, Sens. Ted Cruz and Tim Scott, Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Patrick McHenry,… Read More
Back in August, I wrote that getting “back-to-school” this year would also mean getting back to fighting far-right attacks on education. The threats included a rising number of efforts to ban books, and the Right’s efforts to take over local school boards. So how did the Right do in this… Read More
People For the American Way’s recent report, All Safe: Transforming Public Safety, provides concrete policy proposals for the transformation and implementation of public safety programs specifically at the local level. Eliminating police violence and improving public safety are vital to Black communities throughout our country. To better understand where… Read More
Of all the awful acts perpetrated by the Far Right, attempting to prevent certain groups from voting might be the most insidious. Voting is power, and voter suppression is a blatant effort to remove that power from people who would use it for good. Voting affects the issues we… Read More
Right before our last national elections in 2020, thousands of Black voters in Detroit got a call from someone posing as a woman named “Tamika Taylor.” She warned them that if they voted, the government would collect their personal information and come after them for credit card debt, outstanding warrants,… Read More
Washington, DC – As the Supreme Court begins its new term today on the traditional First Monday in October, People For the American Way President Ben Jealous released the following statement: “This is a First Monday like no other. Today we have the tremendous joy and satisfaction of seeing the first… Read More
Introduction With Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court begins its first term with a Black woman justice this fall. For the first time, millions of Black women and girls can look at the nation’s highest court and see someone who looks like them. Justice… Read More
Introduction The Supreme Court has just finished one of its most notable and destructive terms in history. America is a fundamentally different country than it was just a year ago. The Far Right justices have shown just how eager they are to transform our country with their ill-gained… Read More
President Biden's judicial nominees will protect the rights of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful. Read More
Over the last decade and more, Supreme Court decisions have produced important progress for LGBTQ+ rights, including on marriage equality and employment opportunity. Significant dangers lie ahead, however, thanks to the recent addition of three Trump justices. There’s one troubling LGBTQ+ case that the Court has already agreed to consider… Read More
After the new Biden nominee joins the Supreme Court, the Court will continue to hear crucial cases that affect all of us. It has already agreed to hear two cases that far-right advocates hope will result in the complete end of affirmative action. Other important controversies concerning discrimination and racial… Read More
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, voting rights groups announced a major expanded effort to drive thousands of calls daily to the White House to urge President Biden to lead on voting rights by urging the Senate to fix or nix the filibuster and pass voting rights protections immediately. Led by People For the… Read More
This op-ed was distributed by Trice Edney Newswire. Election Day in Virginia was a major defeat for the Democratic Party. It could signal a much bigger disaster in 2022 if Democratic officials do not learn the right lessons and do not deliver on the promises they have made to… Read More
Faith leaders, local and state representatives, national civil rights leaders arrested in series of actions calling on the Biden administration to protect the freedom to vote Watch the live streamed recording of the demonstration, here. Washington, DC — Voting rights activists escalated demands for the… Read More
Washington D.C./Richmond, Virginia — Today, People For the American Way, in partnership with the campaign for gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, announced the latest television ad in a six-figure statewide Spanish language media campaign in Virginia, focused on increasing Latino turnout in support of Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in the state’s gubernatorial election. The new ad features Virginia House of Delegates member Elizabeth… Read More
Introduction The Supreme Court term beginning in October 2021 is likely to be among history’s most notable; indeed, we have never started a Supreme Court term with the Far Right so close to achieving so many of its key goals. This term is a bracing reminder of why… Read More
Washington, D.C./Richmond, Virginia — Today, People For the American Way, in partnership with the campaign for gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, announced the release of the second in a series of Spanish language radio ads focused on increasing Latino turnout in support of Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. Read More