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Welcome to the (new) Fulcrum



Designing youth civic education for representative civic participation

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Dana Harris

Harris is the advocacy director of Generation Citizen, an education nonprofit that works to ensure young people are prepared to participate in civic life.

As we watch young people around the country stand up for climate change, it is impossible not to consider the power of young people to change our world.

People have been listening to Greta Thurnburg as she speaks on the world's most prominent platforms while droves of young people have been rolling up their sleeves to drive change. Many have been largely overlooked by the media including Mari Copeny, the African-American middle schooler who brought attention to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., and Vic Barrett, one of 22 young plaintiffs suing the government for its contributions to the climate crisis.

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Mississippi's election law designed for racial discrimination, suit alleges

Our Staff

Mississippi, normally as Republican red as any state, is expecting one of its closest gubernatorial races in years. But four African-American voters have sued in federal court to block the conduct of the election under the state's unique system, which they argue is racially discriminatory.

Since the 1890s, governors and other statewide candidates have had to win a two-tiered contest — securing not only a majority of the votes statewide, but also carrying most of the 122 state House districts. If no candidate crosses both thresholds then the state House, now solidly Republican, picks the winner.

The plaintiffs say the records of the 19th century legislative debate make clear that the system was designed explicitly to make sure an African-American could not win statewide, and none ever has.

The suit is being pushed by the National Redistricting Foundation, a political action committee headed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and affiliated with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Bill would designate Jan. 24 as ‘Granny D Day’ in New Hampshire

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A New Hampshire lawmaker has proposed legislation to establish Jan. 24 as "Granny D Day" to honor the beloved political activist.

A Granite State native, Doris "Granny D" Haddock was known across the country for her dedication to campaign finance reform. She died at age 100 in 2010. Friday would have been her 110th birthday.

In 1999, at the age of 88, Granny D embarked on a 3,200-mile walk from California to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the need for campaign finance reform. The journey ended with a rally at the Capitol 14 months later.

Inspiring Poet

Amanda Gorman is not only an inspiring poet, but a civic futurist

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Lisa Kay Solomon

Solomon is on the faculty of Stanford University's design school and a creator of Vote by Design, an educational site designed to promote civic and political engagement among younger voters.

"Now more than ever, the United States needs an inaugural poem," Amanda Gorman told an interviewer a few days before the world got to know her last week. "Poetry is typically the touchstone that we go back to when we have to remind ourselves of the history that we stand on, and the future that we stand for."

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Kamala Harris waiving as she exits an airplane

Kamala Harris waiving as she exits an airplane

Anadolu/Getty Images

GOP attacks against Kamala Harris were already bad – they are about to get worse

Farnsworth is a Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington

Public opinion polls suggest that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is doing slightly better than Joe Biden was against Donald Trump, but Republican attacks against her are only now ramping up.

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Candace Asher

Singer/songwriter Candace Asher

Presenting 'This Country Tis of Thee'

As we approach another presidential election, less than 120 days away, uncivil, dysfunctional behaviors continue to divide the nation. Each side blaming the other is never going to unite us.

As the rancor and divide between Americans increases, we need to stop focusing on our differences. The Fulcrum underscores the imperative that we find the common bonds of our humanity — those can, do and must bind us together.

There are many examples in the American Songbook that brought folks together in previous times of great strife and discord, including “Imagine,” “Heal the World,” “Love Can Build a Bridge,” “The Great Divide” and, of course, “We Are the World.”

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Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has put us on a path to ruin, writes Jamison.

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Preventing the decline and fall of the American republic

Jamison is a retired attorney.

The Supreme Court has jettisoned the time-honored principle that no one is above the law. In its recent ruling in Trump v. United States, the court determined that a president of the United States who solicits and receives from a wealthy indicted financier a bribe of $500 million in return for a pardon cannot be criminally prosecuted for bribery. The pardon power, command of the armed forces, and apparently “overseeing international diplomacy” are, according to the court, “core” powers of the president which can be exercised in violation of the criminal laws without fear of criminal liability.

This is a fire alarm ringing in the night. Here’s why.

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