Civil Rights · Oct 4, 202648 Hours of Racial Justice News: Redistricting, Campus Racism and a DOJ Fight Over Admissions

Special Report · Racial Justice · October 4, 2026, 12:09 PM CDT

Key Facts

• Mississippi’s joint committee heard its final public redistricting hearing on October 1. Most speakers who were quoted opposed new maps; the governor may call a special session before January.^[2]
• Black voters are 36% of Mississippi’s eligible voters, the second-highest share in the country after the District of Columbia, according to Pew Research Center.^[3]
• The Justice Department announced on October 1 that UCLA Law discriminated against white and Asian applicants. That is an agency finding, not a court ruling.^[1]
• The FBI counted 10,881 hate crime incidents in 2025, and race, ethnicity or ancestry drove 55.6% of the single-bias incidents.^[6]

Between October 1 and October 3, five separate stories showed the same pattern: who holds power, who is targeted, and whether institutions answer when they are. This report reads each one from its own sources, then puts the numbers beside them.

The stories come from a 48-hour news brief covering October 1, 10:26 p.m. through October 3, 10:26 p.m. Central. We went back to the original reports for each one. Where a detail did not hold up, or we could not open the source, we say so.

1. Mississippi: the last hearing before the maps are drawn

On the night of October 1, Mississippi’s Joint Committee on Redistricting and Reapportionment held the last of eight public hearings at the state Capitol in Jackson.^[2]

The session ran three hours. Speakers got two minutes each. Committee Chair Sen. Dean Kirby set a 9 p.m. deadline and offered written comments to anyone who could not speak.^[2]

The hearings began after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision, which WTOP reported “weakened minority voting protections.” The committee hired attorneys from the firm Butler Snow and scheduled hearings in eight areas over two months.^[4]

“The Delta deserves better leadership than Bennie Thompson.” State Auditor Shad White, a Republican, urging lawmakers to take up congressional redistricting^[2]

White’s target is the state’s only Black member of Congress.^[4] Supporters of new maps, including speaker Connie Davis, asked that district lines not be drawn to meet racial targets.^[2]

Most of the speakers quoted by the Magnolia Tribune were opponents. State Rep. Chris Bell, a Democrat, urged lawmakers to wait for the 2030 Census. Jackson State University student Keyari Davis said the effort risked a return to the history of weakening the Black vote. Tredrick Johnson, state president of Omega Psi Phi, called redistricting “a scam.”^[2][18]

Here is why the stakes are concrete. Pew’s analysis of the 2026 electorate found that Black eligible voters were 36% of Mississippi’s electorate in 2024. Only DC, at 41%, is higher.^[3] Nationally, Black voters are 12% of eligible voters, about 31 million people.^[3]

What happens next. Gov. Tate Reeves has signaled a special session is possible before the next regular session. Candidate qualifying closes February 1, 2027, so legislative maps must be final before then. Congressional maps would presumably wait for the 2027 regular session.^[2][18]

Whether new maps would reduce Black representation is opponents’ prediction. No finished map or voting-rights analysis exists yet to prove it either way.

2. Harrisburg: a disputed account about Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta

This story rests on one account, and the people in it disagree. Here is what is on the record.

PennLive reported that Republican state Rep. Aaron Bernstine went on a “homophobic tirade” at McGrath’s Pub in Harrisburg on a Tuesday night, using a slur about Democratic Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who was not there. The source was Michael Ford, secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council. Ford said Bernstine referred to Kenyatta, who is Black and gay, as “gay, Black” and used a homophobic slur, and that he falsely said Kenyatta lost weight “because he has AIDS.”^[8][17]

Bernstine denies it.

“The allegations attributed to me are false. This is a political attack.” Rep. Aaron Bernstine, in a statement^[7][8]

He says trades council members confronted him and made threats, including “I know where you live” and “I’ll kill you.” He says he reported that to law enforcement and that his office is “exploring all available legal remedies.”^[8]

The only other person identified by name who confirmed details was Republican Rep. Jamie Walsh. He told WESA: “Grown men had a disagreement and an argument, and I don’t believe there was anything physical.”^[7]

Kenyatta called for the resignation. “When you use language that demonizes people, that belittles people, it’s never about one person,” he said, adding that “that behavior must not be tolerated.” NBC10 reports that the Legislative Black Caucus and the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus joined the call; WESA says their leaders condemned the alleged conduct. Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said Bernstine “should, at a minimum, face censure from his colleagues, if not outright expulsion from the legislature.”^[7][8]

House Republican leaders said through a spokesperson that the alleged conduct was “troubling and does not comport with the values and professionalism Pennsylvanians expect.” They did not say it happened.^[7]

3. Los Angeles: the Justice Department says UCLA Law used race

On October 1 the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that UCLA Law discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its 2023, 2024 and 2025 admissions classes.^[1]

The release says that after the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students for Fair Admissions ruling, the school’s application prompts were designed to draw out applicants’ race, and that staff told applicants how to reveal it. It says white and Asian applicants with the same LSAT scores as admitted Black and Hispanic applicants were rejected, and that in 2024 and 2025 half of admitted Black applicants scored at or below the 90th percentile of admitted white applicants.^[1]

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin.” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, Civil Rights Division^[1]

DOJ says it will seek voluntary compliance through settlement talks and will litigate if the school does not comply.^[1]

UCLA disputes it. The law school said: “Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based review process that considers each applicant’s achievements and experiences. We are confident in our process.”^[16]

One caution. This is the government’s own conclusion, not a judge’s, and it has not been tested in court.

The public is split on the underlying question. In Pew’s spring 2023 survey, half of U.S. adults disapproved of colleges considering race and ethnicity in admissions, and 33% approved. Black adults were the group most likely to approve, at 47%.^[5]

4. Three campus and school cases, one question about response

Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Keegan Carlisle Wilson, 45, pleaded guilty to assault and disorderly conduct. The sentence is a 60-day suspended jail term, 12 months of probation and mental-health treatment, WUNC reported on October 2. WUNC spells his surname “Carlislie”; UNC Police gave the name as Keegan Carlisle Wilson.^[9][19]

The case stems from August 31 at Greenlaw Hall, where about 80 students, mostly Black first-years, were at a watch party. A man entered, and students said he shouted slurs and displayed an aerosol canister before reaching into a bag. Black Student Movement president Makhi Nash said, “that’s when it was assumed that he had a weapon.” Days earlier, Taiwanese student association members were harassed during a campus tour.^[9][19]

The plea closes the criminal case. It does not close the argument about the university’s response. Professor Sharon Holland told WUNC: “You got to take care of folks. To say ‘hey, this happened to you. I’m so sorry.’” Mental-health treatment was part of the sentence, but it does not explain racist conduct.^[9]

Santa Barbara County, California. Four female students at San Marcos High School posted an image with artificially darkened faces, copying a meme based on an AI-generated image of four young Black boys in school uniforms. It was reported through the school’s “Safe to Speak Up” system about two weeks before Principal Dare Holdren announced on a Friday that the school had “instituted consequences,” without saying what they were.^[12]

This was not a new event in the last 48 hours. The Santa Barbara Independent reported it on September 28, and the Los Angeles Times followed on October 2 under the headline that the NAACP is calling for “systemic change.”^[12][14] The Independent places it after a substitute teacher was removed in October 2025 for reading the N-word aloud, and after Black students told the school board in June that slurs and harassment persist.^[12]

Ruston, Louisiana. Ruston police arrested two Louisiana Tech students, Taylor Guerrero of Shreveport and Jackson Gilbert of West Monroe, and charged them with disturbing the peace. The case began with a widely shared social media video in which racial epithets can be heard over an amplification device, from an incident over the weekend before October 1.^[13][15]

“This was an egregious act that disrupted our community and warranted an appropriate, decisive response from law enforcement.” Ruston Police Chief Eric Watson^[13][15]

The charge is disturbing the peace, not a hate crime. Both men are presumed innocent, and the police investigation remains active.^[13][15]

5. Glenside, Pennsylvania: a playground and a town’s answer

On Saturday morning, October 3, police in Abington Township began investigating hateful graffiti at the Weldon playground at 2209 Parkdale Avenue. CBS Philadelphia reported swastikas on playground equipment and the blacktop and a racial slur on the playground sign. 6abc reported anti-Black and antisemitic messages on a plaque, a sign, equipment and the parking-lot concrete.^[10][11]

Sgt. Troy Hummel told CBS Philadelphia, “We do believe this is an isolated incident.” Police have not ruled out classifying it as a hate crime. Debris at the scene, including convenience-store trash, cans and toilet-paper rolls, led investigators to think juveniles may be responsible. They are reviewing surveillance footage and have named no suspect.^[10][11]

Volunteers came with cleaning supplies after word spread, and police briefly held up the cleanup to collect evidence. Hummel told 6abc, “Abington is a loving community. It’s a place where all are welcome.” Anyone with information can call Abington Township Police at 267-536-1100.^[10][11]

6. The numbers behind the headlines

Single events can feel isolated. Survey and crime data show the wider pattern.

The survey ran in October 2021 and was published in August 2022.

On the crime side, the FBI’s figures for calendar year 2025 were released on August 14, 2026. Agencies reported 10,881 hate crime incidents involving 13,438 victims, down from 11,679 incidents in 2024, a drop of about 7%. Race, ethnicity or ancestry accounted for 55.6% of single-bias incidents.^[6]

Reported counts depend on which agencies report and which incidents people bring forward. A decline in reported incidents is not the same as a decline in incidents.

What’s Disputed or Unconfirmed

• Glenside motive. Police call it isolated and suspect juveniles, but the messages named Black and Jewish people and a hate-crime classification is still open. The brief we worked from dates the discovery to October 2; both news reports say Saturday, October 3.^[10][11]
• Kenyatta and Bernstine. One named union official made the allegation. Bernstine denies it and makes counter-allegations. Ford’s account includes both a racial reference and a homophobic slur. All of it is his account, and Bernstine says it is false.^[7][8][17]
• UCLA Law. DOJ’s conclusions have not been tested in court, and UCLA says its process is merit-based. The 90th-percentile comparison comes from the DOJ release, and we could not check it against the underlying data.^[1][16]
• Mississippi. The effect of any new map on Black representation is a prediction until a map exists.
• Louisiana Tech. The KSLA and KNOE reports do not name the fraternity, the ages of the students, or any statement from the university. The brief names a Sigma Nu house and gives ages of 20 and 18, citing KTBS and the Shreveport Times; we could not open either page, so we left those details out.^[13][15]
• FBI anti-Black counts. Secondary sources gave conflicting 2025 totals for anti-Black incidents, so we do not cite one.

How to Verify This Yourself

• Read the Justice Department release in full, then UCLA’s reply.^[1][16]
• Open Pew’s two reports and read the survey questions behind the percentages.^[3][5]
• Check the FBI release on the Justice Department’s hate-crime statistics page.^[6]
• Compare the Bernstine accounts in WESA and NBC10 side by side.^[7][8]

What You Can Do Right Now

• Mississippi. Write to the joint redistricting committee and to your own state senator and representative before a special session is called.
• Glenside. If you know anything about the playground vandalism, call Abington police at 267-536-1100.
• Schools. Ask your school board or campus how it warns, supports and informs students after a racist incident, and ask to see the written procedure.
• Before you share. Use “police say” and “alleged” where facts are still in dispute, and leave out minors’ names.

Kemetic Minds Analysis

Read together, these stories are about who answers when someone is targeted. A hearing room in Jackson, a pub in Harrisburg, a campus in Chapel Hill and a playground in Glenside all ended in the same open questions: who will be held responsible, and who will be heard.

The data says the stakes are not abstract. Four in five Black adults told Pew they had personally faced discrimination. Race is the biggest category in the FBI’s hate crime counts. And in Mississippi, 36% of eligible voters are Black, so a line on a map is a decision about whose vote counts for how much.

The strongest claims here are the ones with documents behind them: the DOJ release, the hearing record, a plea and a sentence. The weakest are the ones resting on a single account. A reader should weigh them that way.

References

1. U.S. Department of Justice, “Justice Department Finds UCLA Law School Discriminates Based on Race in Admissions,” October 1, 2026 (updated October 2). Primary (agency announcement). justice.gov
2. Pittari, J., “Lawmakers conclude redistricting hearings with final public comment session at the Mississippi Capitol,” Magnolia Tribune, October 2, 2026. Secondary (local news report with named speakers). magnoliatribune.com
3. Pew Research Center, “The U.S. Electorate’s Changing Racial and Ethnic Makeup,” September 10, 2026. Primary (survey and Census-based analysis). pewresearch.org
4. “Mississippi lawmakers launch redistricting process after Supreme Court ruling,” WTOP, August 2026. Secondary (news report). wtop.com
5. Pew Research Center, “In Affirmative Action Debate, Half Disapprove of Using Race and Ethnicity in College Admissions,” June 8, 2023 (survey March 27–April 2, 2023, 5,079 panelists). Primary. pewresearch.org
6. U.S. Department of Justice, Hate Crime Statistics page, citing FBI data for 2025 released August 14, 2026 (10,881 incidents, 13,438 victims; race/ethnicity/ancestry 55.6% of single-bias incidents); 2024 comparison of 11,679 incidents. Primary. justice.gov
7. WESA, “Calls grow for Pa. Republican Bernstine to resign after allegation of homophobic slurs,” October 2, 2026. Secondary (public-radio report; quotes from the officials named). wesanews.org
8. NBC10 Philadelphia, “Pa. Democrats want state representative to resign after reported use of homophobic slur,” October 2, 2026. Secondary (cites PennLive). nbcphiladelphia.com
9. McGhee, K., “‘Omission of care’: UNC-Chapel Hill community members still pushing for administrative action after racist campus incidents,” WUNC, October 2, 2026. Secondary (public-radio report). wunc.org
10. CBS Philadelphia, “Offensive playground graffiti under investigation in Glenside, Pennsylvania, police say,” October 3, 2026. Secondary (TV news report quoting police). cbsnews.com
11. 6abc Philadelphia, “Police investigate anti-Semitic, racist graffiti at Glenside playground,” October 3, 2026. Secondary (TV news report). 6abc.com
12. “Blackface incident roils San Marcos High School,” Santa Barbara Independent, September 28, 2026. Secondary (local news report). independent.com
13. KSLA, “Two Louisiana Tech students arrested, charged following racial slur incident,” October 1, 2026. Secondary (TV news report quoting police). ksla.com
14. Castleman, T., “High school in Santa Barbara rocked by blackface TikTok post. NAACP calls for ‘systemic change,’” Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2026. Secondary. Headline only; we could not open the page. latimes.com
15. KNOE, “Two Louisiana Tech students arrested, charged following racial slur incident,” October 1, 2026. Secondary (TV news report quoting police). knoe.com
16. LAist, “Justice Department finds UCLA Law School illegally used race in admissions,” October 2026. Secondary (news report carrying UCLA’s statement). laist.com
17. The Advocate, “Aaron Bernstine accused of smearing Malcolm Kenyatta,” October 2026. Secondary (reports Michael Ford’s account and Bernstine’s denial). advocate.com
18. Mississippi Free Press, “Shad White says Mississippi Delta deserves better than Bennie Thompson at final redistricting hearing,” October 2026. Secondary (local news report with named speakers). mississippifreepress.org
19. “UNC students recount chaos at campus event when stranger enters area,” ABC11, September 2026. Secondary (TV news report naming the man as identified by UNC Police). abc11.com

Investigative methodology: each story was checked against the original reports linked above. Quotation marks mark wording as it appears in those reports. Claims by officials and parties are attributed to them. Survey and crime figures come from Pew Research Center and the Justice Department’s publication of FBI data. Where we could not open a source, we say so. Photo: public-domain file photo of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Rachel Hendrix, 2018 (Wikimedia Commons).

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