The GOP is enacting the greatest assault on voting rights since the end of Reconstruction

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( June 2, 2021 Hi all, Ari Berman here. You probably saw the news over the weekend that Texas Republicans tried to pass some of the country's [harshest voting restrictions](, making it much harder for communities of color to vote and easier for Republicans to overturn elections. Well, I've got a [cover story in the new issue]( of Mother Jones looking at the striking similarities between the GOP's current assault on voting rights and the Jim Crow–era voter suppression laws that disenfranchised Black voters at the turn of the 20th century. The overthrow of Reconstruction was a stark reminder of the fragility of progress on voting rights. After nearly 100 years of disenfranchisement, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to enfranchise Black and Brown voters. But the vicious white backlash that has followed Joe Biden's victory and Democratic wins in states like Georgia—an attempt to overturn the election, an insurrection at the US Capitol, a record number of bills to restrict voting rights—has all the makings of a concerted attempt to end the second Reconstruction. I hope you'll read the story to learn more about how history is repeating itself today. —Ari Berman Advertisement [PRH Unraveled]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Jim Crow Killed Voting Rights for Generations. Now the GOP Is Repeating History.]( More than a century later, another generation of Black lawmakers is battling a familiar enemy. BY ARI BERMAN SPONSORED POST [Sponsored Content]( [How Climate Change Challenges Farmers Producing the Food You Eat]( Fairtrade collaborates with farmers to adapt to escalating conditions THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [FAIRTRADE AMERICA](. [Trending] [A January 6 conspiracy case just got even worse for this group of pro-Trump extremists]( BY MARK FOLLMAN AND DAN FRIEDMAN [Are progressives finally ready to throw their weight around?]( BY KARA VOGHT [“We take care of travelers”: Inside the vaccine tourism of Brazil’s superrich]( BY ISABELA DIAS [Meet the Shot in the Eye Squad]( PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY WIL SANDS Advertisement [PRH Unraveled]( [The Mother Jones Podcast] [Special Feature]( [We need to understand how we got to January 6 before we can move forward]( The Mother Jones podcast explores how the Capitol attack was a recruitment event. BY FERNANDA ECHAVARRI [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [Winning Beats From the First Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards]( “Thousands of artists and fans got a chance to connect and share Indigenous hip-hop culture,” Chris Sharpe, an organizer of the first International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards, [told]( Indian Country Today’s Vincent Schilling after pulling off the global ceremony virtually. “We’re already planning the second” awards show. The inaugural awards, after a pandemic year that’s disproportionately upended Native communities, touched all aspects of hip-hop as a human rights movement: creative, cultural, political, personal. Canadian First Nations duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids won best album; producer David Strickland scored three awards; duo Mike Bone hosted the ceremony; and performances were given by Emcee One, Yellowsky, Zia Benjamin, and many others. Catch the full winners list and dive deeper into the growing diaspora of Indigenous hip-hop in Schilling’s [recap](. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755