Civil Rights
Diversity initiatives within Missouri agencies run into GOP attack on ‘woke’ government
High employee turnover has plagued Missouri’s Department of Social Services for years. The department’s staffing woes have contributed to a range of problems — from foster children languishing in state care for longer than they should be to disabled residents waiting months to receive federal food benefits to investigators unable to keep up with child […]
Missouri Democrats once again filibuster ban on medical procedures for transgender minors
The Missouri Senate returned from its spring break Monday with Democrats resuming their filibuster of a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender children. The Senate reconvened to debate legislation sponsored by Sen. Holly Thompson-Rehder, R-Scott City, that began as a ban on transgender girls participating in school sports but was expanded to include […]
Disability-rights advocates decry planned cuts to transit service in St. Louis County
The St. Louis region’s public transit agency plans to “improve customer service” by making cuts to its paratransit system serving those with disabilities. It’s a move disability rights advocates have decried as a “cruel” solution to a real problem. Metro Transit’s paratransit system, which is called Call-A-Ride, provides services for those with disabilities in St. […]
In Selma, President Joe Biden vows to continue work on voting rights
President Joe Biden on Sunday praised the courage of civil rights activists and condemned efforts to restrict voting and attack the election process in a speech commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In his 20-minute address delivered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a law enforcement posse attacked […]
Mizzou students launch project to provide bilingual news to state’s Latino communities
Their project, called De Veras, aims to increase the accessibility of information about immigration legal services, education and health to Missouri’s Latino community, among other services.
Black leaders rally to speak out against bills to take away local control from St. Louis
Black legislators and community leaders stood on the Missouri Capitol steps Wednesday to rally against GOP-backed bills seeking to expand state control over the police and prosecutor in St. Louis. The group of nearly 100 people gathered in Jefferson City — which included lawmakers in the Legislative Black Caucus alongside leaders of various organizations — […]
Lamar Johnson to be set free after decades in Missouri prison for murder he didn’t commit
After spending nearly 30 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, a St. Louis judge on Tuesday ruled Lamar Johnson should be set free. “I spent quite a bit of time on this, and these questions are not easy,” said St. Louis Circuit Judge David Mason, when he announced his decision in the […]
Kanakuk abuse survivors urge Missouri lawmakers to extend statute of limitations
Several survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including from Kanakuk and Boy Scouts of America, testified at a House judiciary hearing Monday night in support of a bill that would extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
House passes bill to allow for state takeover of Missouri prosecutor offices
Missouri lawmakers advanced a proposal Thursday that would give the governor the ability to strip the authority of any elected prosecutor to handle violent crime cases. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor for five years if the number of homicide cases in any prosecuting […]
Missouri committee debates transgender sports, healthcare, drag shows for nine hours
The Neiss family drove from St. Louis to Jefferson City on Tuesday, a trip they’ve made many times over the past four years. The reason is always the same: Legislation they fear will harm their transgender son. On the agenda Tuesday night in the House General Laws Committee were a litany of bills aimed at […]
Drag performers at Columbia event push back against Missouri Republican attack
A drag performance last week at a diversity event attended by Columbia middle schoolers was “high-brow and innocent,” not the salacious sexual display alleged by Missouri Republicans, the marketing director for the group behind the performance said Sunday. At the annual Columbia Values Diversity Breakfast, timed to be near the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, […]
Lawsuit seeks to overturn Missouri abortion ban as violation of religious rights
When Missouri lawmakers put the words “Almighty God is the author of life” into the section of law stating the General Assembly’s intent for abortion regulations, they crossed the line separating church and state, a lawsuit filed Thursday in St. Louis charges. Thirteen Christian and Jewish leaders are suing the state and six elected prosecutors […]