Law

In the years before the Civil War, New York police officers sold free Black Americans into enslavement.

The So-Called 'Kidnapping Club' Featured Cops Selling Free Black New Yorkers Into Slavery

Outright racism met financial opportunity when men like Isiah Rynders accrued wealth through legal, but nefarious, means

Singer Jenny Lind was widely known as the "Swedish Nightingale."

When Opera Star Jenny Lind Came to America, She Witnessed a Nation Torn Apart Over Slavery

Born 200 years ago, the Swedish soprano embarked on headline-grabbing tour that shared the spotlight with a political maelstrom

“Armed with a fierce intelligence and a love of analytical reasoning, Ginsburg (by Everett Raymond Kinstler, 1996) fought passionately for all Americans to have equal representation under the law and inspired women in particular, to believe in themselves to make positive change,” say Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery.

Nation Mourns Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Who Broke Barriers and Became a Feminist Icon

The Supreme Court justice, who died at 87, "inspired women to believe in themselves," says the Smithsonian's Kim Sajet

Smoke billows over Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921.

Lawsuit Seeks Reparations for Victims of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Led by a 105-year-old survivor of the attack, the plaintiffs detail almost 100 years of lasting harm

A photo from the statue's unveiling in Central Park on Wednesday, August 26

Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It's Controversial

Today, New York City welcomed a public artwork honoring three suffragists. But some scholars argue that the statue obscures more than it celebrates

The age-of-consent campaigns of the 1880s and 1890s represent a vital yet little-known chapter in the history of suffrage.

What Raising the Age of Sexual Consent Taught Women About the Vote

Before many women could vote in the United States, they lobbied male legislators to change statutory rape laws and gained political skills in the process

Bruno Dey, a former SS watchman at the Stutthof concentration camp, hides his face behind a folder as he arrives for a hearing in his trial on July 23.

Former Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Convicted as Accessory in 5,230 Murders

Defendant Bruce Dey, now 93, oversaw prisoners at Stutthof in Poland from August 1944 to April 1945

A group of activists, including Judy Heumann (center, with yellow stockings) protest for the enforcement of Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, in April of 1977. Later that month, the protesters would occupy a federal building in San Fransisco in protest in a sit-in that lasted more than 25 days.

The ADA Was a Monumental Achievement 30 Years Ago, but the Fight for Equal Rights Continues

A look back at the fight for disability rights comes with the reckoning of the challenges left unsolved

The patio at the Laurent House.

This Frank Lloyd Wright Home Was a Trailblazing Example of Accessible Design

The Laurent House in Rockford, Illinois, was built 40 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act became law

The Supreme Court building in Washington, DC

What a New Supreme Court Decision Means for Native American Sovereignty

The landmark ruling upholds the sanctity of treaties between the United States and American Indians—to a certain point

A cartoon by illustrator Thomas Nast shows a member of the White League and a member of the Ku Klux Klan joining hands over a terrorized black family.

Created 150 Years Ago, the Justice Department’s First Mission Was to Protect Black Rights

In the wake of the Civil War, the government’s new force sought to enshrine equality under the law

Raymond Burr as detective Perry Mason in "Case of the Deadly Toy."

What Perry Mason Taught Americans About the Criminal Justice System

How one of the first courtroom dramas has shaped what we watch and how we see the law

Over 800 corten-steel monuments, one for each county in the United States where a racial terror lynching took place, on display at the National Memorial For Peace And Justice

Nearly 2,000 Black Americans Were Lynched During Reconstruction

A new report brings the number of victims of racial terror killings between 1865 and 1950 to almost 6,500

Michael B. Jordan (left) and Jamie Foxx (right) star in Just Mercy as civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson and falsely accused death row inmate Walter McMillian, respectively.

'Just Mercy' Is Streaming for Free This Month to Educate Viewers on Systemic Racism

The 2019 film, which chronicles criminal justice reform in Alabama, stars Michael B. Jordan as lawyer Bryan Stevenson

Signs on the floor encourage social distancing.

The New Normal of Dining Out

Restaurants and bars worldwide are instituting unique safety measures against the spread of COVID-19. But will they be effective?

This photo shows part of the display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a memorial to honor thousands of African-Americans killed in lynchings.

Legislation Declaring Lynching a Federal Crime Hits New Roadblock

Sen. Rand Paul has stalled a measure passed by the House in February

The plaintiffs argue that the online library’s offerings are theft.

Publishers Sue Internet Archive for Copyright Infringement

The online library loosened restrictions on its collection of scanned books at the end of March in response to the pandemic

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

The 1924 Law That Slammed the Door on Immigrants and the Politicians Who Pushed it Back Open

Decades of xenophobic policy were overturned, setting the United States on the path to the diversity seen today

More than 300 (and counting) universities, libraries and individuals in related fields have signed a statement in support of the National Emergency Library.

Why the National Emergency Library Is So Controversial

The Internet Archive describes the downloadable collection of more than one million books as a library, but critics call it piracy

New Yorkers use an estimated 23 billion plastic bags every year.

New York Says Goodbye to Plastic Bags

A statewide ban prohibiting the distribution of single-use plastic bags went into effect on Sunday

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