It is Sunshine Week, an annual observation of the need for government transparency.

In Indiana, voting-rights groups said transparency was needed in the state's redistricting process, which they claim largely disregarded public input. Redistricting wrapped up last October, but civic-engagement groups argued the new maps will have adverse impacts on communities of color for years to come.

Jalyn Radziminski, founder of the group Count US IN, said many public hearings were either held weekdays during working hours, or were largely inaccessible to working-class and BIPOC voters.

"A lot of the hearings were done before the census was released," Radziminski pointed out. "It would be very difficult even for the community to have time to process and give input, because it was just done so fast without the adequate information."

Republicans countered the maps sought to keep districts as compact as possible. According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2020 Census undercounted Black, Hispanic and other minority groups, while over-counting whites. Undercounting of Hispanics, in particular, roughly tripled compared to the 2010 Census.

Voting-rights groups contended the GOP's new voting districts dilute the power of predominantly BIPOC communities in Fort Wayne, Gary and Indianapolis. The Associated Press described Fort Wayne as being "cracked" and folded into several Republican-leaning districts.

Radziminski added people with disabilities also faced difficulties accessing the public hearings.

"There's people who identify with the deaf community that would have needed interpreters at these meetings to be able to participate, as well as spacing for people who need access via wheelchairs," Radziminski explained.

Per last week's census report, whites were overcounted by more than 1.6%. Even with the overcount, census figures for Indiana indicated the state's white population shrunk by 4.1 % from 2010 to 2020.

Mississippi voting rights advocates said their fight is not over, even after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging the state's lifetime voting ban for people with certain felony convictions.

The decision in Hopkins v. Mississippi leaves in place a provision of the state's 1890 Constitution, originally designed to disenfranchise Black voters.

Paloma Wu, deputy director of impact litigation at the Mississippi Center for Justice, called the ruling a setback, but said it reaffirms the long-term commitment to restoring voting rights.

"With the poll tax and the understanding clause, the literacy test, this was all part of the same 1890 Constitution and it is still achieving its goal," Wu argued. "Black people in Mississippi under our current felony disenfranchisement scheme are still disenfranchised at twice the rate as white Mississippians."

Wu pointed out Mississippi is one of only three states to permanently bar people with certain felony convictions from voting unless the governor grants them clemency, or a bill to do so is passed individually by two-thirds of the state legislature. Wu stressed it would take a constitutional amendment or omnibus suffrage bill for lasting change.

With legal options exhausted, advocates are shifting their focus to legislative action. House Concurrent Resolution 3 has been introduced to ease barriers to restoring voting rights. However, Wu cautioned statutory changes alone cannot fully undo the damage of Mississippi's constitutional voting restrictions.

"We need automatic re-enfranchisement," Wu contended. "You know you end up in this kind of really messy horse-trading where people say, 'Well, I want to add a couple disenfranchising crimes, and then I'll take away a couple disenfranchising crimes.' Well, it might look OK on its face, but when you really start crunching the numbers, you might be really not talking about getting that many people's right to vote back."

Despite the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case, Wu insisted the conversation about voting rights in Mississippi is not over. Thousands of Mississippians are still barred from voting, for reasons their advocates say unjustly punish people long after they have served their sentences.


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Bloomington is among the Indiana communities kicking off Black History Month over the weekend.

Historian Carter G. Woodson launched what was initially Negro History Week in 1926 - to honor the contributions of Black educators, inventors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and artists.

Martin Luther King III is the only surviving son of the late civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

As a human rights activist and third chairman for the Drum Major Institute, King said he is dedicated to continuing his father's works. He said giving people opportunities every day is the path to creating a legacy.

"It's about building something every day - hopefully, something that can make a difference in our community, in our society," said King. "It doesn't have to be massive. It can just be something small, but it's what you do to make a contribution in life."

Reaction nationwide from President Donald Trump's executive order to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs is producing mixed opinions.

King acknowledged the importance of recapturing civility in the current political space. He said the country has to recreate dignity, respect and the treatment of people as human beings where everyone is included.

Congress first designated Black History Month in 1986. King said despite this national recognition over the years, the U.S. is still a divided nation.

He noted that on a trip to India with his wife and daughter to visit the Dalai Lama, their numerous questions to the spiritual leader were met with the same answer - everything is connected.

"We have to understand that message, that we are one," said King. "Whether we are Christian, or whether we are Jewish, or whether we are Muslim, or whether we are Buddhist or Hindu, or whether we are even atheist or agnostic - when we start from the point of We Are One, then we're automatically connected."

In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy delivered the news of Dr. King's assassination at a downtown Indianapolis park. Kennedy-King Park now serves as a gathering spot for local Black History Month observances.

King's granddaughter is making her own history. At age 16, Yolanda King is an author and speaker on issues like gun violence, climate change, women's rights, discrimination and education reform.

State data show that hate-crime reports almost doubled between 2019 and 2023 - so the Civil Rights Division is promoting its new CA vs Hate hotline. Since its launch in May 2023 - the hotline has received more than 1,000 reports of hate incidents - but almost none from rural counties such as Del Norte, Sutter and Mariposa.

Kevin Kish, director of the California Civil Rights Department, said the state is partnering with community groups to increase trust.

"We know that when people are afraid, when they feel isolated, it is unlikely for them to turn to government, at least not without a trusted intermediary who helps them do that," he explained.

Kish added that people who fail to report hate incidents may worry they won't be taken seriously, they may have a language barrier, or fear contacting the authorities. The hotline number is 8-3-3-8-no hate. It is open Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m.to 6 p.m. or you can report on the website, CA vs hate.org.

Gaonou Vang, communications and narrative manager with the grassroots organization Hmong Innovating Politics, said the Trump administration's focus on mass deportation worries many in the Hmong community.

"This continues to really deeply affect our communities, further perpetrating stigmatization, stereotypes and extreme xenophobia that we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic and beyond," Vang said.

The hotline connects people to legal services, counseling and mental health resources, financial assistance and community-based organizations. It will only refer people to law enforcement upon request, and callers are not asked for immigration status.


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