As the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection approaches, we are reminded that democracy requires regular practice from all of us, and media literacy is vital to that practice. We offer our first new resource of the year, our Media Literacy Resources page, which provides guidance for introducing these essential skills to children and young people.
We should never take for granted our rights and our responsibilities to engage in civic action and vote in every election — local and national.
The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) is a landmark federal law and a significant victory of the Civil Rights Movement. Enacted to remove the barriers of racist Jim Crow era policies, the VRA affirmed the right to vote for millions of African Americans. Enforcement of this law has expanded political opportunities for Black Americans and other people of color.
School vouchers are currently a popular topic among politicians and interest groups pushing to defund public schools and shift taxpayer funds to private for-profit or religious institutions. “By funneling public taxpayer money away from public schools, [vouchers] whittle away the ability to provide a high-quality education that is free at the point of service to all children in a community. This allows continued claims of a failing public education system. Yet, what is truly at stake is the future of a system that operates for the common good.”