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Two containers, one with a U.S. flag and another with Canada's flag.

Just the Facts: U.S.–Canada Tariff War Escalates As Trump Raises Stakes

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Veterans Day Betrayal: ICE Detains U.S. Military Veterans Under Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

An abstract grid wall of shipping containers, unevenly arranged with some jutting out, all decorated in the colors and patterns of the USA flag. A prominent percentage sign overlays the grid.

Tariffs on Trial: The Supreme Court’s Hidden Battle for Balance

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

People voting at booths.

Who Will Be the First American Candidate To Harness AI

What you need to know about the Voting Rights Advancement Act

The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumAug 23, 2021
The Fulcrum
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News

The Voting Rights Advancement Act will be voted on soon. Here's what to know.

Sara Swann

As the House returns from recess this week, Democrats will make their latest push for a major upgrade to voting rights protections nationally.

The long-awaited John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama last week, and House Democratic leaders say a vote on the bill is imminent.

Voting rights advocates believe the VRAA would provide critical protections for minority voters at a time when many states are enacting new limits on voting access. But like the For the People Act, it's unclear how the VRAA will overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

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Debate

Why colleges should invest in civic engagement

Higher education institutions are in a unique position to engage young people, but civic engagement is often seen as beyond the purview of colleges and universities. This is a massive missed opportunity, for both higher ed institutions and our democracy, argues Rachel Konowitz, co-founder and chief operating officer of Motivote.

Podcast: America's foreign policy challenges are evolving rapidly

The takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan; a more aggressive China and Russia; and a newly-elected hardline president in Iran are all major challenges facing President Joe Biden and his administration. On this episode of Let's Find Common Ground, Ned Temko, who writes the weekly international affairs column "Patterns" for The Christian Science Monitor, and Scott Peterson, the Monitor's Middle East bureau chief, discuss the challenges and implications of America's foreign policy.

Community

We the People's Forum: How Can We Fix America's Immigration System?

Join Braver Angels tonight for a fascinating conversation with two immigrants and friends who have much in common -- but also differing perspectives on immigration. During Discussion, anyone with direct experience on this issue may comment, and anyone may ask a question.

Latest news

​U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a television screen
Business & Democracy

Trump 2.0 Policies Clash With Business School Fundamentals, Fortune 500 CEOs Warn

Two people in business attire walking into an office.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

How Do We Become the Gatekeepers?

Two people looking at computer screens with data.
Media & Technology

The Future We’ll Miss: Political Inaction Holds Back AI's Benefits

Pete Hegseth walking in a congressional hallway
Governance & Legislation

Hegseth’s Anti-DEI Actions Are Bad for National Security / The War against DEI Is Gonna Kill Us

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“It’s Probably as Bad as It Can Get”: A Conversation with Lilliana Mason

Liliana Mason

Credit: https://www.lillianamason.com/

“It’s Probably as Bad as It Can Get”: A Conversation with Lilliana Mason

In the aftermath of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the threat of political violence has become a topic of urgent concern in the United States. While public support for political violence remains low—according to Sean Westwood of the Polarization Research Lab, fewer than 2 percent of Americans believe that political murder is acceptable—even isolated incidence of political violence can have a corrosive effect.

According to political scientist Lilliana Mason, political violence amounts to a rejection of democracy. “If a person has used violence to achieve a political goal, then they’ve given up on the democratic process,” says Mason, “Instead, they’re trying to use force to affect government.”

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We Need To Rethink the Way We Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children

We Need To Rethink the Way We Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children

November 20 marks World Children’s Day, marking the adoption of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. While great strides have been made in many areas, we are failing one of the declaration’s key provisions: to “protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.”

Sexual violence against children is a public health crisis that keeps escalating, thanks in no small part to the internet, with hundreds of millions of children falling victim to online sexual violence annually. Addressing sexual violence against children only once it materializes is not enough, nor does it respect the rights of the child to be protected from violence. We need to reframe the way we think about child protection and start preventing sexual violence against children holistically.

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People waving US flags

A deep look at what “American values” truly mean, contrasting liberal, conservative, and MAGA interpretations through the lens of the Declaration and Constitution.

LeoPatrizi/Getty Images

What Are American Values?

There are fundamental differences between liberals and conservatives—and certainly MAGA adherents—on what are “American values.”

But for both liberal and conservative pundits, the term connotes something larger than us, grounding, permanent—of lasting meaning. Because the values of people change as the times change, as the culture changes, and as the political temperament changes. The results of current polls are the values of the moment, not "American values."

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Voting Rights Are Back on Trial...Again

Vote here sign

Caitlin Wilson/AFP via Getty Images

Voting Rights Are Back on Trial...Again

Last month, one of the most consequential cases before the Supreme Court began. Six white Justices, two Black and one Latina took the bench for arguments in Louisiana v. Callais. Addressing a core principle of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: representation. The Court is asked to consider if prohibiting the creation of voting districts that intentionally dilute Black and Brown voting power in turn violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

For some, it may be difficult to believe that we’re revisiting this question in 2025. But in truth, the path to voting has been complex since the founding of this country; especially when you template race over the ballot box. America has grappled with the voting question since the end of the Civil War. Through amendments, Congress dropped the term “property” when describing millions of Black Americans now freed from their plantation; then later clarified that we were not only human beings but also Americans before realizing the right to vote could not be assumed in this country. Still, nearly a century would pass before President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensuring voting was accessible, free and fair.

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