Videos of “Kars,” who lose their cool in stores and on airplanes, tend to feature more women than men – but why?
Social commentators suggest white people lose their temper because they feel anger towards the state of the world and their own perception. Other possible explanations for such behaviors include mental health issues, entitlement issues or disenfranchisement.
The National Lawyers’ Guild
The National Lawyers’ Guild is the oldest and largest progressive bar association in America. As its first racially integrated bar association, it provides legal assistance to civil rights, anti-globalisation, environmental, and labour rights movements across America.
The NLG is a collective of lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers and legal workers that come together in chapters and committees to take on issues too large for individual members to tackle alone. Through this alliance of Guild lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers and workers they act as an effective political force for good in society while serving the people’s needs.
In 1937, the Guild was established as America’s first racially integrated bar association to protect constitutional, human and civil rights. Today it boasts nearly 50 local chapters and 100 law school-based student chapters across America.
NLG members stand up against racial discrimination and hostile police violence, providing legal aid to black people in prison as well as those seeking the abolition of the death penalty. Furthermore, NLG supports affirmative action, gender equity, sexual orientation equality, sex rights and age justice within workplaces and society at large.
NLG actively supported nonviolent protests during the civil rights era in Mississippi, provided legal assistance to Freedom Riders and organized defense teams for Wounded Knee and Attica. Furthermore, it opposed US military intervention in Vietnam as well as Palestinian self-determination rights and apartheid in South Africa.
Its national committees and projects focus on issues such as defense of demonstrators, international human rights, environmental justice, prison policy and drug policy, immigration enforcement, police abuse, housing rights and labor rights. Furthermore, The Guild advocates for animal rights and ecosystems over property interests.
Since the 1990s, NLG has supported environmental and animal rights movements by taking legal action against both governmental agencies and private corporations. For instance, they have been involved in defending those opposed to Keystone XL pipeline, shielding water protectors and indigenous legal workers as they stand up to government agents. Furthermore, the NLG collaborates with environmental justice groups on initiatives that address pollution-related impacts and toxic criminalization among communities of color.
The American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to upholding and safeguarding individual rights that are guaranteed in the United States Constitution. Funded through dues and contributions from members, as well as grants from private foundations and individuals, the ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities throughout America to uphold these fundamental liberties.
The ACLU is one of the most renowned and influential civil rights organizations in America, having long been a champion for African Americans’ and women’s civil liberties.
In the 1970s, ACLU leaders began to pay more attention to racial issues when it became evident that the Voting Rights Act would soon expire. As a result, they launched the Campaign for Justice in the South – an initiative which brought together hundreds of civil rights organizations across America in support of extending the Voting Rights Act.
In the 1960s and ’70s, the ACLU played a pivotal role in legal reform within criminal justice systems. For example, it helped win cases that guaranteed indigent defendants access to legal representation during trials, as well as prohibiting police from using evidence obtained through illegal searches or seizures in court proceedings.
Today, the American Civil Liberties Union remains dedicated to upholding the rights of people around the world and in America. They strive to eradicate discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability and religious belief.
The ACLU also advocates for economic justice and equality. Through their Racial and Economic Justice program, they aim to repair the historic harm caused by racial inequality and segregation while giving people of color a voice in society. To do this, they create genuine, intentional relationships with affected communities in order to deploy resources where needed and create lasting systemic change.
The Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center was established in the late 1960s and remained a leading civil rights organization until its founding leader Morris Dees was forced to resign in 2006. Since then, there have been multiple sexual harassment allegations leveled against its leaders; former employees claim some of them inappropriately touched their subordinates.
The law center, which advocates for people of color, has been the primary plaintiff in numerous legal battles against hate groups. It has achieved notable victories against the Ku Klux Klan such as one for seven million dollars in 1987 and a thirty-eight million dollar verdict in 1998.
Due to its work, it has become increasingly engaged in partisan political advocacy. Over the last two years, they have opposed marriage equality, equal-rights legislation, and hate crimes laws.
But the organization is guilty of making false allegations against LGBTQ people based on discredited research and junk science. It has advocated for state and international bans on conversion therapy for minors, opposition to drag performances, and the revival of long-debunked pedophilia myths.
Though the center has always advocated for social justice, it has taken a more left-wing position in recent years. It has lobbied against numerous issues like repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and helped craft one of the most anti-LGBTQ platforms in Republican Party history.
CNN reports the center has lost its president and top legal strategists due to alleged workplace culture issues. These departures came after Meredith Horton, an associate legal director, resigned due to discrimination against women and staff of color within the organization.
According to reports, Tony Perkins, president of the Center for American Progress, has supported a plank in the GOP platform that advocates conversion therapy for minors. Furthermore, he has been an outspoken opponent of federal government LGBT anti-discrimination policies.
The law center has long been criticized for a lack of transparency and making false claims against people of color, leading to a range of issues. But the recent revelations regarding its leadership demonstrate that much work needs to be done before people can trust it again.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is one of America’s oldest and most influential civil rights organizations, established in 1909 to provide leadership and institutional backing in the fight for racial equality.
In the early years, the NAACP focused mainly on legal battles to challenge laws prohibiting lynching, enslavement, discrimination in employment and education, as well as racial segregation. Furthermore, they promoted labor organizing and boycotts against businesses that discriminated against Black people.
During World War I, the NAACP joined other organizations in fighting racial discrimination within the military and defense industries. Their campaigning led to federal legislation outlawing discrimination within these services and other armed services.
The NAACP also promoted the idea of a Black nation and was actively involved with discussions with the Nation of Islam. Unfortunately, their work became the target of anti-Semitism; William E. Du Bois himself was ultimately forced to resign as a member in 1939 due to his public endorsement of Communist Party ideas.
By the late 1930s, the NAACP had turned away from legal challenges to lynching and other civil rights matters to focus on economic justice for Black Americans. During the Great Depression, it collaborated with Congress of Industrial Organizations in order to help secure jobs for African Americans.
Another significant area of activism for the NAACP was political action, including lobbying and shaping public policy. They successfully advocated for civil rights legislation in multiple states and even convinced U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to condemn lynching in 1918.
Finally, the NAACP also worked to increase awareness about racial discrimination through its official journal The Crisis. Edited by Du Bois and serving as a primary source of news and analysis for nearly twenty-five years, The Crisis served as an outlet for activists across America.
The NAACP is America’s oldest and largest multiracial civil rights organization, boasting approximately 300,000 members who have been an influential force in the fight for racial equality for over a century.
