civil rights

The law, which went into effect July 1, was designed to rapidly remove ineligible voters from registration rolls and restrict the use of voter registration websites. The Republican-led Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto to pass the bill.

Algeria celebrates its independence on July 5, marking the country's formalizing of its vote to break from France in 1962. The Algerian national team's stay in Lawrence has put that history top of mind for Algerian Americans in Kansas.

The Supreme Court has left in place a ruling that strikes down a key tool for enforcing Voting Rights Act protections for voters with a disability or an inability to read or write in seven states, including Missouri.

Some Republicans want to convert the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District into a winnable seat, after successfully carving up Kansas City in order to oust Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. But doing that could place the entire map at risk for a Democratic takeover.

Former Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Office director Andrea Dorch left the office after raising concerns about Kansas City's deal with Meta to build a data center in the Northland. Kansas City settled a lawsuit she filed alongside a $400,000 settlement for a 2022 crash involving a city fire truck.

The court, in a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, ruled that Louisiana's 2024 election map, which created a second majority-Black congressional district, was "an unconstitutional racial gerrymander."

Kansas City previously honored farmworker advocate and union leader César Chávez with murals and a street in his name on the Westside. But some community leaders are reconsidering after a bombshell investigation accused him of sexually abusing multiple girls and women.

Melissa Robinson, a Kansas City Council member, will join the Urban League of Greater Kansas City as president and chief operating officer while the organization seeks Grant’s replacement. Grant will officially step down in one year.

Rep. Melanie Stinnett, a Springfield Republican, sponsored the bipartisan bill that could give voting rights back to more than 53,000 Missourians. It passed the Missouri House 107-36, and is now waiting for action in the Senate.

CUNY constitutional law professor Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, a Kansas City native, will return to her hometown next month for a Rainy Day Books event about her new book “A Protest History of the United States.”

Watkins was a founder of the political organization Freedom, Inc. and one of the Kansas City Council’s first two Black members. He was a vocal opponent of Highway 71 — although parts of the parkway were eventually named after him. An event at the Kansas City Public Library on Sunday, Feb. 15, will remember his full life and legacy.

In "Footeprint," out today, Lindsay Metcalf resurrects the history of Eunice Newton Foote, a 19th-century scientist who discovered carbon dioxide’s heat-trapping properties while fighting for women’s place in science.