Meet Loretta Lynch, Our New Attorney General: Where She Stands on 5 Big Issues
Get to know Loretta Lynch, the first black woman to ever hold the office of Attorney General.
criminal justice reform
Victories for Justice on Civil Asset Forfeiture, NY Solitary Confinement and Police Transparency
Statements and changes on a number of important fronts came from the Attorney General and from Rikers Island this week.
Rebel Girls: Police Violence Happens to Black Women, Too
This is a women’s issue because our sisters are being impacted directly, and because they’ve been harassed, beaten, raped, and killed by cops for centuries.
Horrifying 80% of Central American Women Sexually Assaulted While Coming to US
This statistic is based on the reports of migrant shelter directors, though it is possible the number is even higher due to underreporting.
Oklahoma Man’s Gruesome Execution Highlights Death Penalty System’s Failures
The state should be a rational actor, not a vengeful creature. Nothing about the current system — its high cost, its failure as a deterrent, its racist application — stands up to rational argument.
How “Real” Is “Orange Is The New Black”? Comparing The Show To The Memoir To The Numbers
A look at the stories behind the stories and the humans behind the characters and the numbers behind those stories in everybody’s favorite lezalicious prison dramedy.
Real-Life Sophia Bursets: Transgender Women Face a Nightmare in Men’s Prisons
“For trans* women who are locked up, getting access to medical care and safety from the guards and inmates is a serious problem. But the problem starts when they are put in prisons designed for men.”
At Last, Obama Gives America Some Real Talk On Racism
On what Obama said (and didn’t say) this morning when he surprised everybody with a speech expanding on his thoughts about the Trayvon Martin ruling.
Things I Read That I Love #84: What If We Acknowledged Those Fears?
Topics include Walter White, manic pixie dream girls, economics, shyness, Kerry Washington, shyness, Jonestown, racism and mercy, the future of journalism, affirmative action and more!
Obama Wants Same-Sex Immigration Reform, Congress Prefers to Just Argue About It Forever
A Canadian’s take on how backwards the struggle to get immigration reform for same-sex couples has turned out to be.
When Will The US Abolish Cruel, Unusual And Inhumane Solitary Confinement?
Is the closing of Tamms Correctional Center — where even non-violent criminals are locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, deprived of all human contact, for years at a time — a harbinger of things to come?
It’s Your Gun Culture: The Autostraddle Roundtable
On growing up with (or without) guns.
Immigration Reform is a Queer & Trans* Human Rights Issue
“The only way that we as queer and trans* activists can fight against homophobia and transphobia as it impacts the most vulnerable members of our community is through working in coalition with other social justice groups to fundamentally change and dismantle these unjust systems.”