This decision and the backlash that followed has shown clear divisions in Arizona Republicans over support for abortion restrictions, and has highlighted how abortion has been a political vulnerability for republicans since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by court case Dobbs v. Jackson, even in conservative states. Citizens express concern over abortion clinics being under threat of stopping again due to the 1864 ban, and how it would threaten patient’s health. Concerns regarding being sued for providing abortion care, as well as the distance patients would have to drive to get an abortion, had also been raised.

The Florida supreme court approved a referendum that would give rights to abortion care, this decision expected to promote participation in the 2024 presidential election. This would undo recent abortion bans, which are in place for abortions 15 weeks after pregnancy, and a recent one banning abortions 6 weeks after pregnancy. The Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion, known as Amendment 4, would preserve the right to abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment secured almost 1 million signatures, far more than required to put a vote on the 2024 ballot. 

This amendment has been challenged by republican state Attorney General Ashley Moody, as well as anti-abortion groups such as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, claiming it uses vague wording such as “viable” and “health care worker”. However, Florida’s seven justices approved the amendment, meaning that Florida, along with other republican states such as Kansas and Ohio, joined a list where advocates put reproductive rights issues on the ballot in hopes of protecting them.

This article discusses the conviction of Brett Hankison, an officer involved in the fatal raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment in 2020. Hankison fired 10 bullets through Taylor’s apartment during the raid in Louisville, Kentucky. His prosecution ended in a mistrial, as the jury claimed it could not reach a verdict on civil rights charges. The two other officers, both white, fatally shot Taylor, a black emergency room technician, sparking massive protests against racism and police violence. 

Hankison was fired after the shooting, but had been charged with violating the rights of Taylor and the family next door. Prosecutors argued that he did not have the legal right to use deadly force, but, as Taylor’s boyfriend fired a shot back, believing the officers were intruders, Hankison was able to defend himself, saying he felt frightened and someone was continuing to fire at his officers. Three other officers were charged with knowingly spreading false information to get a judge to approve the raid. This case has become a main point in arguments for civil rights activists, sparking discussions about police brutality.

This article talks about a town in Alabama named Lowndes County which suffers from extreme sanitation issues as the government fails to offer any help to the residents living in hazardous conditions. It brings up the fact that in 2019, there were an estimated 2 million people that lack access to clean water, Black Americans nearly doubling the probability of not having clean plumbing as White Americans. In August of 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency and its Administrator Michael Regan provided some plans to help this town. However, the main focus of this article is the ‘resilient system of oppression’ that has been deeply rooted in the nation’s history that allowed these communities to reach such extreme conditions. According to the article, poor people of color don’t have much political power and even when the federal government decides to help these communities, they leave the money in the hands of the state and trust them to distribute the money. This causes a plethora of issues as local resistance to attempts for racial justice can quickly shut down the fair distribution of money, especially in the deeply conservative states. This article shows one of the many issues that people of color face in their daily lives due to deeply entrenched racism.

Half a dozen universities, including Columbia, Cooper Union, and Cornell, are under discrimination investigations by the federal government after complaints about anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim harassment after the Israel-Hamas war. After the start of the war on 7 Oct, 2023, the US Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office opened inquiries for schools such as Wellesley College, University of Pennsylvania, and Lafayette College. These investigations were opened by the Biden administration as part of the efforts to address the rise in antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and other forms of discrimination. 

The office is investigating some possible violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects students in programs that receive financial aid from discrimination on basis of race or national origin. These investigations have been said to stem from 5 complains of antisemitic harassment and 2 of anti-Muslim harassment. Protests done by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups on college campuses have increased tensions, and universities have struggled to contain blowback as students and faculty raised concerns over security and free speech. New York has especially been torn over the war; a student at Cornell was arrested for making violent antisemitic threats, and at Cooper Union, pro Palestinian students banged on doors and windows where Jewish students were in a confrontation between opposing sides. 

• Some common methods of advocating for Equality have been widespread protests, such as the Montgomery bus boycott, the marches for women’s suffrage, also the creation of organizations such as the NAACP and NOW who fought legal battles for civil and political rights. Protests helped movements gain more popularity, and organizations like the NAACP worked towards major civil rights change in court cases like Brown v. Board of Education.

• Due to publicity, gained a lot more traction and popularity and started making more and more progress towards equality as people started working towards common goals.

• Over time (post-1900s —> now), there was a focus on expanding equal rights to everyone in things such as the EEOA, EHA, ADAPT, while expanding on things like women’s rights with the #MeToo movement and Roe v. Wade.

• While the pre-1900s seemed to have a lot of events that were detrimental to the movement towards civil and social equality, led by racist and prejudiced beliefs at the time, the post-1900s movements seem to reverse a lot of it and cause major social change due to a shift in mindset and common goals.