May 26, 2021

With so much at stake for women and for equality, Ms. will be reporting on policy initiatives and progress within Congress and the Biden-Harris administration—as well as tracking the backlash to equality. Every Wednesday, we will keep you updated, informed and ready to push forward!

Kristen Clarke Becomes the First Black Woman to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division [[link removed]]

BY SOPHIE DORF-KAMIENNY | In a long-awaited move—and on the one year anniversary of the death of George Floyd—the Senate confirmed Kristen Clarke to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division. Clarke will be the first Black woman to serve in the role since the department was established in 1957. The final vote was 51–48, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as the lone Republican joining Democrats as the tie-breaking vote.

“We fought a long and challenging battle to make this confirmation happen,” said Damon Hewitt, acting president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in a statement after the vote. “Kristen faced racist and sexist attacks as a nominee, despite being among the most qualified people to ever be nominated for the position. … The road was tougher than it should have been. But we never backed down in the fight for progress.”

This will be Clarke’s second time serving in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, where she began her career prosecuting hate crimes, human trafficking and police misconduct, in addition to protecting Americans’ voting rights.

In accepting her nomination, Clarke vowed to “turn the page on hate and close the door on discrimination by enforcing our federal civil rights laws,” citing leaders like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as key influences. (To read the full article, click here. [[link removed]])

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The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act Would Ensure Equal Protections in the Workforce [[link removed]]

Asylum Seekers, Advocates Urge Garland to End Trump’s Cruel Policies Towards Survivors [[link removed]]

I Already Know the Impact of Texas’s Abortion Ban—I Lived It [[link removed]]

The Change Women Need: Systemic Reforms Power the Path to Equality [[link removed]]

There Has Never Been a Black Woman Governor. Will Virginia Change That? [[link removed]]

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Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]].

In Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, we center Breonna Taylor: We say her name, revisit her story and reflect on what comes next.

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