BU Now » civil rights

MLK Leadership Lecture with GA Congressman John Lewis tonight

Rebecca Loya — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:00:40 +0000

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center is hosting Congressman John Lewis (Fifth District, Georgia) tonight for their annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Lecture. Congressman Lewis is best known for his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s and work as a politician and social activist. He will lecture on his professional experiences and offer insight into his life as “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced.” Civil rights activist Diane Nash will also be installed as the 2010 Coretta Scott King Fellow. Lecture begins at 7PM in the Metcalf Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.

Civil rights in the Bush era

Dick Taffe — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:17:17 +0000

A GAO report to Congress about the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division during Bush years shows a significant drop in enforcement of several major antidiscrimination and voting rights laws compared with the Clinton years. Law Professor Robert Volk says the GAO report substantiates suspicions that the Bush administration had little interest in enforcing civil rights laws and had politicized the DoJ.

“Along with the well-publicized firings of United States attorneys during the Bush administration, as well as the politicization of the hiring process, this report paints a very sad picture of law enforcement during those eight years.”

Contact Robert Volk, 617-353-3156, rvolk@bu.edu

SCOTUS rules on child strip search

Dick Taffe — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:06:36 +0000

On an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court has ruled illegal an Arizona school’s strip search of a teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen. School of Law Professor Tracey Maclin, an expert on civil rights and Constitutional law, can discuss the ramifications of the ruling.

Contact Tracey Maclin, 617-353-4688, tmaclin@bu.edu

N.H. to approve same-sex marriage

Dick Taffe — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:01:48 +0000

With New Hampshire’s governor saying he’ll sign a same-sex marriage bill into law when amended, that state is poised to become the sixth to legalize such unions. School of Law Professor Linda McClain, an authority on family law, says the Granite State’s evolution from approving civil unions to okaying full-fledge gay marriages indicates a legal trend.

Contact Linda McClain, 617-358-4635, lmcclain@bu.edu