civil rights

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Michigan Department of Corrections officers and officials for using active body cameras to record Natalie Forrest during childbirth and postpartum care, an experience her attorney said left her traumatized.

A Michigan Supreme Court case heard this week is testing the limits of state civil rights law.It involves a former social work professor at Calvin University whose contract wasn’t renewed after he officiated a same-sex wedding for a colleague. His lawyers argued that amounted to sex-based discrimination by association.

Observers watching federal immigration enforcement in Maine who were told by agents they were "domestic terrorists" and would be added to a "database" or "watchlist" are now part of a new federal class action lawsuit.

First, the life and legacy of civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson. Then, the director of Calls From Home, a film documenting how a radio show connects inmates to family, joined Stateside to tell us about her work. Also, we learned more about the attempted lynching of Ossian Sweet, a Detroit doctor, and the self-defense trial which followed.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was a lifelong civil rights advocate until his death Tuesday at the age of 84.

We marked the 100-year anniversary of Dr. Ossian Sweet’s act of self defense that led to his acquittal in an historic murder case that highlighted the anti-Black violence of redlining in 1920s Detroit. And we visited Kalamazoo’s first-ever city mural festival.

An amendment and a related package of legislation include limits on how long people can be held by law enforcement without being charged with a crime.

Lift Every Voice and Vote is an initiative to encourage every eligible Black voter in Detroit to register to vote — and follow through by voting in every election.

The Legislature debates a bill package around transgender youth in sports. Then, one person’s journey to become the first person to kayak around the Great Lakes. Plus, the impact of the EPA delaying setting guidelines for PFAS.

Hundreds of federal civil rights cases were put on hold after President Donald Trump took office in January. Parents of students with disabilities and those who experience racial discrimination or sexual violence in schools are uncertain of the fate of their federal complaints. Many say they have not gotten updates on their cases since the regional offices closed.