A federal lawsuit has been filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center against the state of Mississippi, arguing that the state is violating a 150-year-old law that requires it to provide a “uniform system of free public schools” for all students. The SPLC lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the parents of four minor children, claims that Mississippi has deprived black students of the “school rights and privileges” guaranteed in its 1868 constitution.

According to the lawsuit, evidence of the unfair treatment of African-American students in the state can be seen in the ratings that the schools receive. The SPLC points out that of the state’s 19 worst-performing school districts, thirteen have more than 95 percent black students. The other six have somewhere between 81-91 percent black students. In contrast, the state’s top five highest-performing school districts mostly have white students.

The plaintiffs’ children go to two schools that are among the worst in the state–Webster Elementary and Raines Elementary. The plaintiffs described horrible conditions at those schools, including a lack of basic necessities like toilet paper. Raines Elementary serves lunches with spoiled fruit and rotten milk.

To understand what’s going in Mississippi, a little history is necessary. In order to be brought back into the United States following the Civil War, terms were set by Congress that included that the state ratify a constitution that provided equal education to its citizens. Specifically it required the “uniform system of free public schools” regardless of pupils’ races. But in the years that followed and the onset of the Jim Crow era, those requirements were watered down. At one point, Mississippi fought against the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

And the state’s education woes don’t stop with this recent lawsuit–another lawsuit is currently underway, brought by two state legislators. It claims that the governor should not be able to make mid-year budget cuts, because it infringes on the legislative branch’s power. Some of the cuts that are being contested include serious blows to education funding in the state. And currently, Mississippi’s schools are struggling as a whole–the state ranks 50th in national rankings of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Congressman Steve King was heavily criticized this weekend after sending out a tweet that implied a support for white nationalism. The tweet was sent out in praise of Geert Wilders, a far-right Dutch politician who has made a name for himself with strong anti-Islam and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017

As Elliot Hannon of Slate very concisely pointed out: “it is hard to read that any other way than it was written. It is an apparent, explicit call to protect white ‘culture and demographics’ from immigrants. It’s the type of rhetoric that you might find at a Klan rally.”

Speaking of the Klan, King was almost immediately applauded by a former Imperial Wizard of the KKK, David Duke:

GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!! #TruthRISING https://t.co/oDFel8JDrP

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) March 12, 2017

In the wake of the 2016 elections, white nationalism has been on the rise, or at the very least, coming out of the shadows. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there has been a “resurgence in white nationalism.” Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC, explained:

Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country. Several new and energetic groups appeared last year that were almost entirely focused on Trump and seemed to live off his candidacy. The country saw a resurgence of white nationalism that imperils the racial progress we’ve made, along with the rise of a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The number of hate groups in the U.S. in 2016 doubled for the second consecutive year, reaching an almost historic high, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual census of hate groups and other extremist organizations. The SPLC points to Donald Trump’s rise to power as the main culprit.

“Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country,” said the SPLC.

Trump’s way of talking about immigrants; the selection of openly racist, anti-LGBT, and anti-Muslim appointees for his cabinet; the tweeting of inaccurate facts; and his threats to ban Muslim immigration are all contributing factors, says the SPLC.

According to the nonprofit civil rights organization, the radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year than it has been in almost 50 years. In 2016 there were 917 documented hate groups, which is only about 100 fewer than the all-time high of 1,018 that was recorded in 2011. Unsurprisingly, most of the hate groups created were specifically anti-Muslim–from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year, a 197 percent increase.

The most dramatic growth in the number of hate groups was the near-tripling of anti-Muslim hate groups: from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year pic.twitter.com/4NKwfbHW3h

— SPLC (@splcenter) February 15, 2017

Immediately after the election there was also a surge in hate crimes; 1,094 incidents were reported in the first 34 days of the Trump Administration. Approximately 37 percent of those incidents directly referenced either Donald Trump, his campaign slogans, or his remarks about sexual assault. Noticeably, the largest share of Trump-related incidents by far were anti-woman at 82 percent.

Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, told NBC News that hate groups have been on a steady rise since 2014. According to Beirich, it’s easy nowadays to find the groups thanks to the internet, and the fact that they want to spread their message.

On the topic of Trump’s immigration ban, Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said, “What used to be a fringe, extremist ideology of anti-Muslim ideology has now moved from the fringe of society to the center of powers in the White House.”

“With a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists, extremists think they finally have a voice in the White House” pic.twitter.com/Sm1IrZTDXO

— SPLC (@splcenter) February 15, 2017

The survey also found that schools were also negatively affected by the campaign. After the election, the group’s researchers interviewed 10,000 educators and found that eighty percent said they had noticed more fear and anxiety among their students, particularly immigrants, Muslims, and African Americans. Many teachers reported that students used slurs, derogatory language and extremist symbols in school as well.

Only time will tell what the long term effects of Trump’s politics and presidency will be, but the short term ones are already proving to be quite scary.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Even if Donald Trump is not successful in November, his legacy of questionable rhetoric will live on in the lives of young American children.

Educators around the country have been sharing their experiences with students participating in a wide range of discriminatory actions, even students as young as third graders. These actions range anywhere from students telling others that they will be deported to quoting Trump’s infamous “Build the wall!” phrase to predominantly Hispanic groups of kids.

The Southern Poverty Law Center came out with a comprehensive report in April detailing what it calls the “Trump Effect.”

The report found:

It’s producing an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color and inflaming racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom. Many students worry about being deported

Other students have been emboldened by the divisive, often juvenile rhetoric in the campaign. Teachers have noted an increase in bullying, harassment and intimidation of students whose races, religions or nationalities have been the verbal targets of candidates on the campaign trail.

In a statement, the National Education Association said, “Since Trump entered the race for president last year, educators have witnessed a steady increase in bullying and harassing behavior that mirrors his words and actions on the campaign trail.”

In Fairfax County, Virginia, a mom took to Facebook to talk about her third grade child’s experience at school.

Evelyn Momplaisir wrote on Facebook:

I just got a call from my son’s teacher giving me a heads up that two of his classmates decided to point out the ‘immigrants’ in the class who would be sent ‘home’ when Trump becomes president. They singled him out and were pointing and laughing at him as one who would have to leave because of the color of his skin. In 3rd grade . . . in Fairfax County . . . in 2016!

Her claim was confirmed by Fairfax County school officials, according to the Washington Post, and they are working to address the situation.

In Indiana, students from predominantly white Andrean High School shouted “Build the wall!” at students from heavily Hispanic Bishop Noll Institute during a basketball game. Students from Andrean HS also waved a picture of Trump.

This newfound freedom to express pent up bigotry has been shown by adults at Trump rallies screaming at peaceful protesters and minorities. It is also shown by Trump himself, who can often be heard shouting “Get ’em out!” or singling out minorities in the audience at his events. And now it is bleeding into schools. The SPLC identified many cases of hateful speech directed at students, like a teacher’s report of a fifth-grader saying “that he was supporting Donald Trump because he was going to kill all of the Muslims if he became president!” Additionally, a Latino kindergarten student reportedly asked his teacher if the wall has been built yet because his classmates have told him that he will be deported and trapped behind it.

These instances have prompted the NEA to launch an ad campaign against Trump, particularly focusing on his role in the discrimination and bullying of students in schools around the country.

While kids may not be watching all of the debates, or even closely following the campaigns, this has shown that Trump’s rhetoric is having an impact on the way America’s kids treat one another.

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy group focused on fighting against hate groups and intolerance in American society, recently announced that there was a surge in hate groups in 2015, as well as a rise in “patriot” groups. The SPLC reported that there were 892 active hate groups in 2015, a 14 percent increase from the year before. These findings track well (and depressingly) with the contentious–and in some cases, hateful–rhetoric being consistently employed in the current 2016 primaries.

This reported rise actually comes after the number of hate groups has been steadily decreasing for some time, roughly the last decade or so. The SPLC warned that this growth in hate groups comes in part from the events of 2015–including several highly publicized terrorist attacks and the issues of national security, racism, and policing that have been front and center in the 2016 primary debates. The report stated:

The demonization of Muslims, Latinos, immigrants and others became commonplace in 2015. Presidential candidate Donald Trump made headlines with a call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and his description of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers. He even cited a bogus ‘poll’ by the Center for Security Policy that falsely claimed that a quarter of American Muslims support violent jihadists such as the members of the Islamic State.

There are a wide range of groups included on the list, from all sides of the political spectrum, including “neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, Klansmen and black separatists.”

SPLC releases new count of hate groups operating in America via @getgln https://t.co/pGkZ2dEZhE pic.twitter.com/3NcSTwImuE

— dorothy cook (@jcbme) February 18, 2016

There has also been more attention on “patriot” groups, which the SPLC reported are growing as well. Earlier this year, a “patriot” group took over a wildlife refugee in Oregon and conducted a roughly month-long standoff with federal authorities.

Check out fellow Law Streeter Mike Sliwinski’s explanation of the Oregon situation here.

While SPLC’s report is helpful, and certainly concerning, it is worth noting that it isn’t necessarily able to fully summarize the spread of hate in the United States. Many people are being radicalized online–a group to share or act on your views may not be necessary when there are chat rooms and blogs readily at your disposal. The SPLC recognizes that, however, pointing out to Dylann Roof as an example of someone who was radicalized without being part of a physical group. Heidi Beirich, the SPLC’s Intelligence Project Director has stated, “It could be that in 10 years a hate map, a hate list, doesn’t make any sense because people aren’t in groups anymore.”

But for  now, the SPLC continues to track hate groups across the U.S.–and given the fact that they appear to be growing, it’s certainly a laudable undertaking.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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