Billy Corriher

Soul City by Thomas Healy

18. But let me wind this down with the forgotten foray in North Carolina.

Floyd McKissick was the fiery leader of CORE during the Black Power Era, but decided that maybe our freedom lay in independence, and he got his chance.

Soul City.

Really worthwhile project about a justice who *must* be reelected this year if democracy will ever be restored in North Carolina.

In 2025, state supreme courts continued to play a pivotal role in protecting democracy.

As the country gears up for an exceptionally active electoral cycle in 2026, the process of selecting state supreme court justices remains a key focus.

REPORT: afjactioncampaign.org/2025stateofjustice

Anita Earls is one of the most important state supreme court justices in the country. Help Billy get her story out!

(And donate to her campaign if you can: earls4justice.com)

Justice for the People - The Anita Earls Story From a humble orphanage to the halls of power, this modern-day civil rights hero defies the odds every time defeat appears inevitable.

Just got some exciting feedback from the first person to read my new book!

It’s a biography of my hero, Justice Anita Earls. This is an inspiring story that needs to be told. You can read the (revised) first chapter and help me tell this story. www.kickstarter.com/projects/206... #ncpol

New @brennancenter.org report on the 2023-24 judicial election cycle shows that independent groups outspent candidates for the first time. And MOST OF THAT MONEY came from progressive groups, including repro rights advocates. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

There’s been far too little focus on what the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act would do below the congressional level.

Republicans in several Southern states may be able to gerrymander quasi-permanent legislative supermajorities and wipe out Black representation across local governments

it took an expensive, coordinated effort & a lot of people saying “this doesn’t matter” to get from a bathroom ban costing one state $400 million & a gubernatorial race to “trans people must turn in their documents which become invalid in a few hours or face fines & potential jail time” in 10 years.

it's 2016: north carolina introduces a bill to ban trans people from using bathrooms safely. there's a national outcry; companies withdraw business up to and including the NCAA cancelling a publicized game. the bill fails.

it's 2026: kansas passes a law nullifying trans people's licenses. crickets.

State Auditor Dave Boliek's defense of his partisan behavior as the overseer of the NC Board of Elections basically amounts to him saying, "I know you are, but what am I?" #ncpol

(The guy at the far left of the table is Brian LiVecchi. He worked as Mark Robinson's chief of staff.)

U.S. citizens arrested by Border Patrol in Charlotte file lawsuit to stop abuses Five people in N.C. who were either United States citizens or a visa holder were attacked or detained without probable cause, a lawsuit alleges.

U.S. citizens arrested by Border Patrol in Charlotte file lawsuit to stop abuses. The plaintiffs allege in federal lawsuit that immigration agents attacked or arrested them last year without warrants or probable cause. (Via Ryan Oehrli) www.newsobserver.com/news/politic... #ncpol

The victim was an immigrant. But that doesn’t fit Trump’s racist worldview.

A Better Wisconsin Together Applauds New Lawsuit to Fund Public Schools Lawsuit filed this week that could help put an end to Wisconsin Republicans’ decades-long starvation of local public schools

🚨NEW: A lawsuit filed this week could help put an end to Republicans’ decades-long starvation of Wisconsin public schools.

This is a tremendous step forward in protecting Wisconsin kids and taxpayers from being used as political pawns by GOP lawmakers.

Why Alamance County’s Pro-Trump Sheriff Iced Out ICE Sheriff Terry Johnson stopped holding immigrant detainees just before a sweeping federal enforcement operation in North Carolina.

For years, Alamance County NC sheriff Terry Johnson—a Republican who claimed immigrants were "raping our citizens"—held ICE detainees at his jail in return for millions of federal dollars. Then, in November, he ended the agreement with ICE. @jacobbiba.bsky.social @theassemblync.bsky.social #ncpol

Just a reminder as Trump spews complete lies about voter fraud that he put the full weight of his first administration into proving some of this bullshit and they came up completely empty.

Dear Friends, Today marks two years since the North Carolina Supreme Court reheard arguments for the Leandro case, and over three years since Leandro funding was halted. I was part of the majority on the Court in 2022 that upheld the lower court’s order requiring the state to meet its constitutional obligation to provide every child the opportunity for a sound based education in a uniform system of public education.

In 2023, the Court flipped and put a stop to that order. Now, three years later, the funds for public education are in limbo as there has been no ruling in the case. In my public dissent to the Court’s Order in 2023 I wrote: “Today's order abandons the concepts of respect for precedent, law of the case, stare decisis, and the rule of law all in the name of preventing the State from complying with its constitutional duty to provide a sound basic education to the children of this state.”

A remarkable message from Justice Anita Earls on her colleagues taking years—YEARS—to rule on a crucial school funding lawsuit #ncpol

For decades, justices from both parties upheld the constitutional duty to provide every child with a sound, basic education. That changed when Republicans took control and reversed long-standing rulings, siding with their political party instead of NC’s children. #ncpol #leandro

It’s been two years since the most recent case has been heard, and the Republican majority on the NC Supreme Court has refused to issue a ruling, meaning that schools, families, and children are still without the funding support they need. #ncpol #education #leandro https://bit.ly/4tHO48h

Football brought Jesse Jackson to Greensboro. His time there molded him into a civil rights leader. Jackson, who died last week at age 84, was once the quarterback at North Carolina A&T. His position on the field was a foreshadowing of his singular role in American life.

Here is the story of Jesse Jackson, football player: www.ncrabbithole.com/p/jesse-jack...

Republicans Have Mastered This One Weird Trick For Dealing With Judges They Don’t Like In several states, GOP lawmakers are pushing proposals to route high-stakes cases to judges who are friends of the conservative movement.

2/2 👉“Whether by expanding supreme courts, stacking judicial selection commissions, or changing judicial selection mechanisms altogether, these red states have become innovators in ensuring that only Republican priorities receive the protection of the law.” @skennedy2504.myatproto.social

Senate G.O.P. Faces Pressure to Force ‘Talking Filibuster’ for Voter I.D. Bill

i say let them do it. if i were a senate democrat i would relish the opportunity to let the country know that republicans don't think you should vote if you are a married woman www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/u...

That issue is at the Supreme Judicial Court this term in a pair of cases.

Failure to appear is supposed to be a willful standard. Judges should only issue a warrant when someone is intentionally evading prosecution. Not when a rogue federal government abducts the person and detains them elsewhere!

I remember people laughing at Bush for saying “nucular,” instead of nuclear. Now I hear people say it like that all the time.

Republicans Have Mastered This One Weird Trick For Dealing With Judges They Don’t Like In several states, GOP lawmakers are pushing proposals to route high-stakes cases to judges who are friends of the conservative movement.

1/2 🏛️🛑Conservative supreme courts have emerged as a surprising obstacle to Republicans’ extreme political agendas. Republican-controlled legislatures are pulling all the stops to bring these courts to heel writes @skennedy2504.myatproto.social

SBI probing Kentucky distillery tour taken by NC lawmakers and lobbyists Wake DA Lorrin Freeman requested the investigation into “potential” lobbying and ethics violations.

Gotta love N.C. legislators & their inept grift.

“The trip in April 2024 may not have become public knowledge if the entourage hadn’t shown up at a distillery drunk and unruly, which a distillery employee described on a Reddit post.”

www.newsobserver.com/article31477...

An NC advocacy group reports youth in solitary confinement. The state denies it. • NC Newsline Disability Rights NC said five of the state's 13 juvenile detention centers hold residents in solitary confinement, which administrators deny.

Five juvenile detention centers in North Carolina keep youth locked in cells nearly all day, according to a new report from the advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina. ncnewsline.com/briefs/an-nc... Story by @lbonner.bsky.social #ncpol #nc

In key NC Court of Appeals primary, Democrats compete to reverse six-year losing streak • NC Newsline The Democratic primary in N.C.'s 4th Congressional District isn't the only one that highlights the conflicting priorities of Democratic voters seeking to recover from key state and federal losses in r...

For Democrats, the stakes are enormous. The party has lost every Court of Appeals race in the state since 2020 — two years prior, the party won all three seats up for grabs. Story by @kingdollar.bsky.social #ncpol #WakeCounty

Court says Duke Energy fuel rate approval violated law; customers will see no refunds Court says regulators misapplied law in Duke Energy’s 2024 fuel rate hike. Customers won’t get refunds after lawmakers changed the statute while the case was pending.

If you live in NC, you know Duke Energy increased your rates last year.

What you may not know is that DUKE ILLEGALLY OVERCHARGED NC customers by $1 billion.

Even worse? NC Republicans passed a law to block refunds. SO WE'LL GET NOTHING BACK FROM THESE THIEVES! #ncpol

www.wral.com/news/state/c...

The Leandro Plan calls for a $445 million increase in the Children With Disabilities allotment. This would mean more teachers, therapists, and psychologists in our schools, as well as specialized curriculum in the classroom to better support students with disabilities. #ncpol

Amid new GOP-led restrictions, North Carolina students lead a fight to vote during the midterm primary “There’s nothing that the board of elections is going to do to stop me from voting,” one student said.

A must read about how North Carolina Republicans targeted college students and how they are fighting back. You will be glad you read it. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/nor...