equality Lisa Khan <span>Lisa Khan</span> <div class="field field--name-field-shr-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"><div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="https://www.guttmacher. By sramashwar March 27, 2026 1 min read Lisa Khan sramashwar March 27, 2026 HR Generalist
Patti LaBelle Honored At Star-Studded Black Excellence Brunch During ESSENCE Festival WeekendOne of the most star-studded events returned to New Orleans during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture to continue giving flowers to those the Black community adores while they can be seen, heard, and felt.EssenceJul 11resilience
Stop Pulling Your Hair Out: Low-Tension Styles Are InThis summer, I am retiring my extra small knotless braids in exchange for creative low-tension styles. I knew it was time to reset when, this summer, I found a small bald spot, aka traction alopecia, at the crown of my head from back-to-back tight styles.EssenceJul 11activism
From Maine to Idaho, From the Senate to the Supreme Court: How Survivors Changed the Conversation This WeekIt’s been quite a week. I’m guessing, like me, you saw a connective thread in the headlines: Accountability rarely arrives on its own. It comes because people refuse to stay silent. The post From Maine to Idaho, From the Senate to the Supreme Court: How Survivors Changed the Conversation This Week a…Ms. MagazineJul 11choice
Poems Wherein the Bullet Speaks: A Review of Heidi Kasa’s ‘The Bullet Takes Forever’You might not be advised to buy a book for its cover, but the same can’t be said about its title. Consider the title of Heidi Kasa’s first book of poetry, published by Mouthfeel Press: The Bullet Takes Forever.Ms. MagazineJul 11resilience
Op-Ed: The Parents Of Nolan Xavier Wells Need Support, Not JudgmentNolan Xavier Wells deserved to see his 19 th birthday next month. The 18-year-old deserved to continue his studies and athletic career at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he was a star wide receiver for the school’s football team with a major in general business.EssenceJul 10global
What Democracy Looks Like When Women LeadIn This Edition: Milestones: Charlene Mitchell became the first Black woman presidential nominee (1968); Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (1981); 14th Amendment was ratified (1868); Wyoming joined the Union and its state constitution granted wom…Ms. MagazineJul 10politics
If You’re Alone on the Prairie, Would You Rather Meet a Man or a Wolf?It would be easy to be cynical about a remake of Little House on the Prairie . At a moment when "tradwife" nostalgia and gender politics dominate so much of our cultural conversation, the series arrives as an unexpected relief—and maybe just what we need today.Ms. MagazineJul 10empowerment
How the new housing law could open up homeownership for single Black mothersFor decades, single mothers have been kept from homeownership by a market that was not designed to deliver them the American Dream. That could all be about to change thanks to a bipartisan unicorn: A massive housing bill — the largest this century — that passed Congress and is about to become law.The 19thJul 10activism
Men found ‘Love Island.’ Then they started betting on it.“Love Island” is the rare dating show that offers a cash prize at the end, and with brand deals and commercial spots, the contestants can hope to make even more money after leaving the villa. Now, the audience can also cash in.The 19thJul 10resilience
The man and the movement: a Q&A with Peter Canellos on his biography of Samuel AlitoPeter S. Canellos is a prize-winning journalist and the author of Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement , which Publishers Weekly called “a razor-sharp” dissection of one of the most controversial justices on the Supreme Court, whose decisions are resh…SCOTUSblogJul 10global
High court mysteriesOne might argue that Supreme Court justices are more visible today than ever before. Six have published books and Brett Kavanaugh is apparently working on one to become the seventh. Several have recently given television interviews, others have not shied from making public statements.SCOTUSblogJul 10politics
From ‘Love Island’ to Election Day: How Close Is the U.S. to Deciding Elections by Phone?Five nights a week, millions of Americans vote on Love Island USA with just a few taps on their phones. Yet when Election Day arrives, most still stand in line, mail absentee ballots or travel to polling places.Ms. MagazineJul 10politics
More Than a Makeover: How Create To Heal Brought Restorative Beauty Services To NOLA NativesNo matter where she’s from, every Black woman knows the beauty salon has never been just a place to get her hair done. It’s where confidence is poured back into you until you walk out standing a little taller than you walked in.EssenceJul 10resilience
The rarity of Supreme Court do-oversYesterday marked 158 years since the ratification of the 14th Amendment . The amendment, which, among other things, guarantees citizenship to “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” was in the spotlight during the 2025-26 term, in large part…SCOTUSblogJul 10politics
The Funniest Posts From Women This Week (July 4-10)"does anyone know how much kindness it takes to kill someone"HuffPost WomenJul 10equality
Best Beach Reads: Bodice-Rippers EditionIs it time to cancel the term “bodice ripper,” for its connotations of aggressive, potentially non-consensual sex? Some readers think so . But, thankfully, not all bodice rippers fall under that brand anymore.Rewire News GroupJul 10global
He’s Suspected of Hiring a Venezuelan Gang for a Political Killing. Trump Officials Still Work With Him.The widow, son and sister of Venezuelan dissident Ronald Ojeda attend his burial service in Santiago, Chile, on March 8, 2024. The former military officer was kidnapped, killed and buried under cement in a slum.ProPublicaJul 10immigration
SZA’s autism diagnosis is a familiar story for many autistic Black womenThis week Grammy-winning singer SZA, née Solána Imani Rowe, shared that she had received a formal autism diagnosis. In a now-deleted Instagram post, she joked that the diagnosis meant she was “smarter than u.The 19thJul 10breakthroughs
Women’s Sports Were Built by Letting Girls InWhen the Supreme Court says, as it did earlier this month in West Virginia v. B.P.J. , that banning transgender girls from school sports is about protecting the safety and fairness of women's and girls' sports, I hear that claim against everything I actually lived.Ms. MagazineJul 9lgbtq
Making Americans Smokers Again: Trump Administration Cuts Anti-Tobacco ProgramsIn May, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported one of the greatest public health victories of the past 50 years. A government survey found that cigarette smoking among U.S.Ms. MagazineJul 9activism
The fight over teaching race and gender in college classrooms is escalatingA pair of consecutive court actions this week brought renewed attention to policies in Republican-led states to control lessons and conversations on gender and race in public colleges and universities. A group of legal advocates sued the Texas Tech University system Wednesday over curriculum restric…The 19thJul 9activism
Graham Platner was ‘electable’ — until he wasn’tAfter President Donald Trump gained ground with young men and rode his ascendant, aggressive brand of masculinity into a second term in the White House, a group of progressive Democratic strategists bet big on a new kind of candidate: aesthetically masculine men who could run economic populist campa…The 19thJul 9politics
When Culture And Community Collide: An Exclusive Look Inside The Celebration Of Culture’s CuratorsWhat happens when a legendary actress and producer, world-renowned chef, iconic television producer and writer, and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist come together to not only curate the ESSENCE Festival of Culture but also grace the cover of the newly imagined ESSENCE magazine? You get a once-in-a-…EssenceJul 9resilience
Becoming The Canvas: My Beautycon Moment With Teyana TaylorWhen I was asked to be a model for the Teyana Taylor Makeup Challenge at Beautycon during this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture , I thought I understood the assignment. As an intern, I’d spent days on the move, completing a myriad of tasks before and during the festival.EssenceJul 9breakthroughs
Michelle Buteau Brings ESSENCE Into Final Season Of ‘Survival Of The Thickest’On July 2nd, Survival of the Thickest released its third and final season on Netflix, and the show is definitely closing out on a fashionably high note. This season, Mavis truly steps into her own, on her own terms, and has some major career breakthroughs.EssenceJul 9resilience
Planned Parenthood survived ‘defunding’ — just in time for electionsA year ago, abortion opponents were celebrating one of their biggest victories under the Trump administration: Planned Parenthood, the movement’s arch-villain, had been temporarily kicked out of Medicaid, one of the nation’s largest health insurance programs.The 19thJul 9politics
Why Are We Taking These Conservative Freaks Seriously? (Podcast)In this solo episode of B*tch, Listen, Imani Gandy argues that the best political humor doesn’t just get laughs—it changes what people think deserves respect. From The Daily Show, to Abortion Access Front’s campaign against Anthony Comstock, to Tim Walz calling Republicans weird, Gandy explores how …Rewire News GroupJul 9choice
House Democrats want Americans to know their 14th Amendment rights are at riskRep. Analilia Mejia knew when she joined Congress in April that she wanted to use her post to highlight what she believes is an existential threat to everyday freedoms: attempts to erode and redefine the 14th Amendment.The 19thJul 9politics
Trump wants court to rehear birthright citizenship caseThanks to all who joined us at our term-in-review event yesterday at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., which was presented by the ACLU. Scroll to the Closer Look section below for a brief overview of the discussion.SCOTUSblogJul 9education
After Watching Their Moms Fight To 'Have It All,' Gen Z Women Would Rather Be DadsTwo Gen Z women who research gender equity unpack the "aspiration gap" in their generation's parenting desires.HuffPost WomenJul 9equality
I Drafted Clarence Thomas’ Birthright Citizenship Dissent. It Was So Bad I Quit: SatireRewire News Group has granted the author anonymity because he signed a confidentiality agreement, and also because his law school classmates still think he still works there. My name is Brad. I’m not going to give my last name.Rewire News GroupJul 9global
Will the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians mean a caregiving crisis?Originally published by PolitiFact . The U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians could create a caregiving crisis, lawmakers from both political parties said.The 19thJul 9breakthroughs
Georgia: New Laws Devastate Independent Civic GroupsClick to expand Image Protesters gather outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 26, 2026. © 2026 Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via AP Photo Georgian authorities are using repressive laws, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle independent…Human Rights WatchJul 9activism
Georgia: New Laws Devastate Independent Civic GroupsClick to expand Image Protesters gather outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 26, 2026. © 2026 Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via AP Photo Georgian authorities are using repressive laws, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle independent…Human Rights WatchJul 9activism
Can You Believe They Put This in Writing? The Wildest Quotes From Heritage’s ‘Project 2026’The Heritage Foundation has once again taken it upon itself to craft a plan for how to supposedly save America. The report—"Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years"—focuses on marriage, family and the American Dream, and has become widely known as "Project 2026," a f…Ms. MagazineJul 8choice
Pure Joy: Photographer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn Captures Her First ESSENCE Festival Of CultureAs a documentary photographer and photojournalist , my life has kept me on a perpetual global track. For years, when summer rolled around, I was simply out of the country. One year, I was attending intensive workshops in Cape Town .EssenceJul 8global
A Single Abortion Clinic Closing Rarely Makes Headlines. What Happens When None Are Left?Picture a map of the United States. It’s 2022, and in southern states like Texas and Tennessee, there are clusters of black dots that represent independent clinic closures. These are abortion care black holes: communities where it’s no longer possible to get an abortion at a nearby clinic.Ms. MagazineJul 8choice
Contraceptive Implants: Access and Coverage in the U.S.The contraceptive implant is the most effective method of birth control available, and while it’s use is still low compared to other methods, its provision and use are increasing.KFF Women's Health PolicyJul 8contraception
WerQFest Is Back For Year Seven, And JT, Onya Nurve, And Infinite Coles Are HeadliningWerQfest, St. Louis ‘s premier Black queer arts and culture festival, is back for its seventh year, and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be its biggest yet. On July 11, the festival returns to The Atomic Pavilion by Jamo with a headlining lineup that brings together some of the most exciting names …EssenceJul 8resilience
Why is gynecology still using a Civil War-era tool?This article was copublished with Truthdig . Taylor Townsell remembers her OBGYN reassuring her that her IUD insertion would feel like “just a pinch.” The pain came a split second later. The 32-year-old described it to Truthdig in still-vivid detail: “Bright, electric, as if my body had become nothi…The 19thJul 8breakthroughs