The sweeping law that Georgia’s legislature passed on Thursday to restrict voting rights — part of a proliferation of such efforts Republicans are pushing in statehouses across the country — is shameful. I always thought it was tragic that comparatively few American citizens took seriously their right to vote. Now, rather than celebrating after the…
(JTA) Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner are about the closest American Jews have to secular saints. The two Jewish civil rights workers traveled south for the Freedom Summer campaign of 1964, joining the African-American activist James Chaney in canvassing black churches. All three were kidnapped and murdered by a lynch mob. Forty-three years ago next Friday, Aug. 4,…
After narrowly losing a Senate race in deep-red Missouri, Jewish politician Jason Kander is heading back to the ballot box, this time as the head of a new group protecting voting rights. The organization, Let America Vote, will fight so-called “voter identification laws,” passed in red states to fight the almost non-existent problem of voter…
I happened to be in Australia on July 2 when that country went to the polls to elect a new national government — and I ended up getting a civics lesson in a different form of democracy. As we decry the disgracefully low turnout in American elections and wonder what we can do about it,…
After sounding a collective oy vey over the Republican landslide, Jewish communal activists began looking for ways to make lemonade out of what they perceive as lemons delivered by voters in the midterm elections. Hopes of liberal-leaning activists to see comprehensive immigration reform, voting rights legislation or increased funding for safety network programs have been…
Last night, in my musical post in memory of the three civil rights workers slain in Mississippi 50 years ago, I argued that too little had been done to incorporate their martyrdom into our narrative of American Jewish history. It’s only fair that I take note of those Jewish organizations that did act to remember…
Bend the Arc and a foundation named for slain civil rights activist Andrew Goodman are teaming to help protect voting rights and promote civic engagement. The Andrew Goodman Foundation and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice launched their partnership this week to increase Jewish participation in a national, multiracial, interfaith and intergenerational coalition….
“… whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” —U.S. Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 It’s funny how watching the news can take you to new places and remind you how alike we are under the skin. Take this…
