Each month, the blog will bring you a monthly roundup of the highlights in national and local news relevant to social justice topics. Our goal is to hit major news, but also include a few pieces that you may have missed.
First, the YWCA made the news with Camp Anytown. NBC 13 ran this piece about the social justice leadership camp sponsored by the YWCA and NCCJ of Birmingham. If you missed our blog posts about Anytown, you can go back and read them here.Â
Next, the military released its plans to open combat positions for women over time.
And this past week, the Supreme Court saved some of the more controversial rulings for the end of their term. The rulings were a mixed bag. First, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which required states with a history of discrimination to get approval before changing election laws. Then the courts took on two gay marriage cases, finding the Defense of Marriage of Act unconstitutional and finding that the petitioners in the California’s Proposition 8 case didn’t have standing to bring the suit, effectively leaving the definition of marriage up to states. Finally, the Supreme Court returned Affirmative Action back to lower courts, requiring the highest level of scrutiny for student diversity initiatives in higher education.
And while House leadership says it will not take up the bill, the Senate passed an immigration bill yesterday that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and increase border security.