Charles Mitchell, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi and a member of the Overby Center panel of experts, discussed the Voting Right Act and that the U.S. Supreme Court saw that creating racially safe districts has resulted not in unity, as intended, but in division that has manifested in myriad ways.

Terry Mattingly, writer of the national "On Religion" column for the Andrews McMeel Universal syndicate and "Rational Sheep," a Substack newsletter on faith and mass media, writes about membership decline in faith denominations.

Tony Pederson, managing fellow of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics and professor emeritus in journalism at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, writes about the Trump administration placing historic pressures on major news organizations through libel lawsuits and issuing subpoenas.

The rapidly changing world of college athletics will be the focus of a program on Sept. 17 at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi.  “College Athletics: It’s a Whole New Ballgame,” will be co-sponsored by Mississippi Today, the state’s Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit news organization.

Carlos Sanchez, a freelance writer based in McAllen, Texas, writes about the controversy known as The Longoria Affair and how it helped launch Mexican American rights. The catalyst involved a young, decorated soldier named Felix Longoria who was killed in action in the Philippines just three months before World War II officially ended in 1945.

Major League Baseball's warning to several San Francisco Giants pitchers who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps is fueling online debate about the limits of free expression in professional baseball.