Supreme Court Decision on Map in Alabama Challenged on Voter Suppression Grounds – The Supreme Court has ruled to restore an electoral map in Alabama that a lower court condemned as weakening the power of Black and Latino voters to choose their favored candidates. In response, civil rights advocates filed a series of lawsuits this week aimed at neutralizing Republican plans to restrict voting in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Carolina.
Colleges Serving Latinos Help Low-Income Students Get Ahead – The colleges that offer low-income students the greatest opportunities to move up the social ladder are led by ten universities in California, New York and Texas that serve Latinx students. This is according to a study entitled “Out with the Old, In with the New.” In an interview with Chelis Lopez, Dr. Antonio Flores, leader of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, explains that when public universities invest in attracting low-income students, they do better than elite private institutions. You can hear the full interview in the archives of Línea Abierta for Monday, February 7.
Guatemala Takes the Stand at International Human Rights Court – The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica, began hearing arguments this week against the Guatemalan government, which is accused of systematically repressing indigenous Mayan communities. The case, which also involves a powerful transnational mining company, could set a historic precedent in Latin America regarding the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands.
