News Bites From Across South Carolina And The Nation

**ACLU Of South Carolina, ACLU, And NAACP Represent SC NAACP In Lawsuit Challenging South Carolina Court System Ban On Automated Collection of Public Court Records**

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Carolina, and the NAACP filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the South Carolina NAACP. The case challenges South Carolina Court Administration’s categorical ban on automated data collection – known as “scraping” – on the Public Index, arguing that the ban is an unreasonable restriction on SC NAACP’s right to access and record public court records under the First Amendment.

South Carolina is in the midst of an eviction crisis, and the South Carolina NAACP seeks to timely identify tenants in need of services before they are removed from their homes. The challenged ban has impaired South Carolina NAACP’s ability to access and record publicly available housing court records that would, if available, enable it to assist tenants at risk of eviction.

**Statewide Coalition Urges The Passage of Clemente Pinckney Hate Crime Bill**

A statewide coalition is urging the South Carolina Senate to pass a hate crime bill, and they’re calling on small businesses to get involved.

Stamp Out Hate South Carolina is made up of local leaders, organizations, and faith communities who want to see the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act passed.

On last Friday, members of the coalition met on the steps of the Emanuel AME Church, the site of the 2015 shooting that left 9 people dead during a Bible study.

According to State Representative Wendell Gilliard, the Federal government has a backlog of hate crime cases. He said if South Carolina has its own law, the cases could get solved faster. “Whether it’s our Jewish brothers and sisters, our white brothers and sisters, our young black men, hate crimes have no respect to one’s creed or color,” said Gilliard.

**Advocates Say FBI Missing Children Data Misleading; Does Disservice to Black Juveniles**

Missing white children receive far more media coverage than missing Black and Brown children.

A fact advocates often point to when explaining the disparity in attention provided to individuals of color.

But another unsettling fact has emerged with the release of the FBI’s latest statistics on missing children.

The federal agency noted about 346,000 children went missing in the United States in 2020, identifying 125,727 Black juveniles.

In addition, the agency said 197,381 white kids went missing, suggesting that missing white youth outnumber lost young Blacks by more than 71,600.

But a closer look at the statistics revealed a crucial piece of information, that advocates deem misleading.

“Missing from the report is separate data for Hispanic children because the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) combined white and Hispanic children,” said Sherri Jefferson, the executive director of the African American Juvenile Justice Project (AAJJP).

**Michelle Obama’s Brother Files Racial Bias Suit On Wisconsin Private School For Expelling Sons**

It’s almost baffling to think that anyone associated to the Obama family would receive less-than-top-notch treatment in most situations. Unfortunately, Craig Robinson found out the hard way that even being the brother of America’s forever First Lady, Michelle Obama, wasn’t enough to prevent him from experiencing racial discrimination at the former Wisconsin private school of his two sons.

Robinson is currently pursing a lawsuit after his pre-teen boys were expelled from the University School of Milwaukee in response to a complaint he and his wife made about potential racist stereotyping and bias in their homework assignments.

**U. S. Rocked By 3 Mass Shootings During Easter Weekend; 2 In South Carolina**

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend.

The shootings in South Carolina and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded.

No one was reported killed in the violence at Cara’s Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting.