(2018-10-03). Mom Fears Her Autistic Son Is Being Abused at School. District Does Nothing. aclu.org A Northern California school district is creating a hostile environment for a Black student with disabilities in violation of the law. | School just got back in session, but one school district in Northern California already needs a lesson in how to create a welcoming and safe environment for Black students with disabilities., , A 5-year-old Black student with autism and speech and language impairments suffered for months, including suffering injuries that needed to be treated by a hospital, all because of the inadequate oversight of Hayward Unified School District's staff. In a time when Black students are regul…
(2018-10-03). State Ballot Initiatives Challenge Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression. truthout.org Florida voters will consider a ballot initiative this November that would restore voting rights to an estimated 1.6 million people with a felony conviction — including one out of every 13 Black voters in the state. A ballot initiative in Maryland would allow people to register to vote at the polls on Election Day. | In Michigan, a sweeping ballot proposal w…
(2018-10-03). Why the ACLU Opposes Brett Kavanaugh's Nomination to the Supreme Court. aclu.org The ACLU board concluded sexual assault allegations raised enough doubt to warrant opposing a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. | On Friday, Sept. 28, following the Senate Judiciary hearing at which both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh testified, the ACLU decided to depart from its usual policy in order to oppose the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. | It was not a decision we took lightly. As a matter of policy, the ACLU does not endorse or oppose presidential nominations. We have made exceptions, but those exceptions are few and far between. In our 98-year history,…
(2018-10-03). The U.S. Detention of Children Is Only Getting Worse. progressive.org No longer forcibly separating families at the border, the Trump Administration has merely changed the way children are harmed.
(2018-10-03). Mothers Should Not Be Jailed and Separated From Their Kids Before Trial. aclu.org Despite not having been convicted of a crime, mothers in Oklahoma are routinely jailed before trial with devastating results for their families. | Tanisha (a pseudonym) is a 25-year-old mother of four who was arrested in Oklahoma in 2017 following a domestic dispute with her boyfriend. Three of her children, a toddler and twin infants, were present. Once jailed, Tanisha's bail was set at $61,000. She couldn't afford to pay it, so she stayed behind bars, separated from her children. | This is wealth-based family separation perpetuated by the criminal justice system. | A new joint report from the ACLU and Human Ri…
(2018-10-02). Trump Admin Sends 1,600 Kids to Texas Tent City as Number of Detained Children Hits Record High. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration is transferring detained migrant children from shelters across the country to a barren tent city in West Texas. The New York Times reports that hundreds of children are being sent each week from shelters to the tent city, which currently houses 1,600 children. The facility reportedly has no school, and children have only limited access to legal services. The U.S. government is now detaining a record 13,000 migrant children. We speak with Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the ACLU, who says, "We have more children in detention now than ever before."
(2018-10-02). Action Alert Update: Contact Your Senators NOW — Urge Them to‚Ä® Vote "No" on Kavanaugh, Full Senate Vote May Occur as Early as this Friday, October 5th. naacp.org 
Senate Judiciary Committee Sends Kavanaugh Nomination to Senate Floor with a Provision Calling for a Limited FBI Probe into Accusations of Sexual Abuse Contact Both of Your Senators to Urge a Full FBI Investigation of All Sexual Abuse and Drunken Misconduct Allegations Against Judge Kavanaugh Before a Full Senate Vote Urge Members of the Senate […]
(2018-10-02). No One Should Be Detained Without a Hearing While Fighting Deportation. aclu.org The government's sweeping interpretation of a 1996 law has expanded mandatory detention far beyond what Congress intended. | In May of 2013, Astrid Morataya, a legal permanent resident, woke up to a knock on the door. Looking outside the window, she saw law enforcement agents with bulletproof vests encircling her home in Illinois. | "They must have the wrong house," she thought. But they were, in fact, there for her. The government waited 15 years to attempt to deport Astrid for a low-level drug conviction that she received in the late '90s, during a period in her life when she was the victim of ongoing sexu…
(2018-10-02). ACLU Formally Opposes Kavanaugh, Citing Credible Sexual Assault Allegations & Partisan Temperament. democracynow.org 
The American Civil Liberties Union has come out against the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. It is only the fourth time in the organization's 98-year history that its national board of directors has voted to oppose a Supreme Court nominee. ACLU President Susan Herman said in a statement, "As a nonpartisan organization, the ACLU does not oppose Judge Kavanaugh based on predictions about how he would vote as a Justice. We oppose him in light of the credible allegations of sexual assault against him." The ACLU has now launched a $1 million ad campaign across four states urging key swing-vo…
(2018-10-01). Protests hit mass detention of immigrant children in Texas tent camp. wsws.org The barren tent camp in the desert on the Mexican border is built to house up to 3,800 children.
(2018-10-01). Watch Webinar: How to Conduct GOTV Voter Registration, More. naacp.org Watch Civic Engagement webinar number one of the 2018 midterm elections season, featuring presentations from NAACP Vice President of Civic Engagement Jamal Watkins and special guest Shavon Arline-Bradley of R.E.A.C.H Beyond Solutions. Get information here about conducting GOTV voter registration efforts, where to get state-by-state information resources—and join/register for our next webinar on Wednesday, October 3rd at 6: 00 pm Pacific/9: 00 pm […]
(2018-10-01). A Judge Just Reminded CBP That the Border Isn't a Rights-Free Zone. aclu.org A federal court ruled in favor of an American family suing over their abusive detention at the U.S.-Canada border. | An American family that underwent a harrowing detention at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection can now seek some measure of justice. That's the result of a recent ruling by the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit we filed on behalf of…
(2018-10-01). How Jeff Sessions is Attacking Immigration Judges and Due Process Itself. aclu.org The attorney general is abusing his power to force immigration judges to issue more deportation orders. | When the government believes that someone should be deported, it usually has to prove its case in an immigration court. And although the immigration courts have long been plagued by due process problems—including the lack of any right to an appointed lawyer, even for kids—those courts have at least held out the promise of neutrality: a neutral immigration judge hears the case, and the losing party may appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. | But Jeff Sessions is aggressively working to make t…
(2018-09-30). Africa-America Institute 65th Anniversary Awards Gala. naacp.org President Derrick Johnson Prepared Remarks New York, New York September 25, 2018…
(2018-09-28). Supreme Court to Decide Whether States Can Impose Excessive Fines on the Poor. aclu.org The Eighth Amendment protects people from the devastation caused by state and local fines they can't reasonably pay. | When it reconvenes this fall, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution can help stop state and local authorities from using people who come in contact with the justice system as their piggy banks. The case has ramifications for communities across the country, finally settling a question about whether the Constitution's prohibition on excessive financial penalties only applies to the federal government or to all public authorities. | The court will hear…
(2018-09-28). Federal Court Victory for Migrant Farmworkers Protects Their Right to Organize. aclu.org 
The court ruled that a North Carolina law targeting a farmworkers union likely violated the 14th Amendment. | Farmworkers play a vital role in North Carolina's multibillion dollar agriculture industry, providing essential labor in a state that produces much of the nation's sweet potatoes, tobacco, Christmas trees, and many other crops. | More than 90 percent of these workers are Latino. Many are migrants working seasonally under temporary visas, and they are among the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in the state. They face high risks to their health and safety, substandard living conditions, and abuse and…
(2018-09-28). Laws Targeting Israel Boycotts Fail Again in Court. aclu.org For the second time this year, a federal judge has ruled that anti-boycott laws likely violate the First Amendment. | A new wave of state laws that try to limit Americans' constitutional right to engage in political boycotts is now 0 for 2 in federal court. | On Thursday night, a federal court blocked Arizona from enforcing a law requiring state contractors to certify that they are not participating in boycotts of Israel. The court agreed with the ACLU that the law likely violates contractors' free speech rights under the First Amendment. | "A restriction of one's ability to participate in collective calls to opp…
(2018-09-28). Action Alert Update: Contact Your Senators NOW — Urge Them to ‚Ä®Vote "No" on Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Nomination Now Moves to Full Senate Vote in One Week, After FBI Investigation. naacp.org Senate Judiciary Committee votes 11-to-10‚Ä® to move Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Nomination to the full Senate for a vote in one week, after completion of an FBI investigation Urge Members of the Senate Judiciary to Vote "No" on Kavanaugh The Issue: After four days of routine hearings which began on Sept. 4, and one day […]
(2018-09-28). NAACP Statement Regarding Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. naacp.org NAACP President Derrick Johnson issued the following statement after Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court The NAACP condemns today's Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. There is no question he lacks the impartiality, integrity, and temperament to serve on the Supreme Court. […]
(2018-09-27). Action Alert: Contact Your Senators NOW — Senate Judiciary Committee may vote on Kavanaugh's Nomination as early as Friday, Sept. 28. naacp.org Senate Judiciary Committee may vote on Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Nomination as early as Friday, Sept. 28 Urge Members of the Senate Judiciary to Vote "No" on Kavanaugh The Issue: Judge Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court on July 10, 2018. After four days of routine hearings which began […]
(2018-09-27). Trump Administration Claims Preventing Young Immigrants from Accessing Abortion is Constitutional. aclu.org The Trump administration persists in banning access to abortion for young immigrants in government custody. | We were in a Washington, D.C., appeals court on Wednesday facing off yet again with the Trump administration over its patently unconstitutional policy of obstructing young immigrant women from accessing abortion. | Last September, a 17-year-old woman known as Jane Doe arrived in the United States and discovered she was pregnant. Even though she repeatedly made it clear that she wanted an abortion, had received a decision from a state court judge waiving Texas's requirement that she first obtain parental c…
(2018-09-26). NAACP Releases Toolkit—"In the Eye of the Storm: A People's Guide to Transforming Crisis and Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum" naacp.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact: Malik Russell mrussell@naacpnet.org BALTIMORE (September 26, 2018)—Today, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announces the release of In the Eye of the Storm: A People's Guide to Transforming Crisis and Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum Toolkit. The "eye" refers to how some communities, due to pre-existing vulnerabilities, find themselves more in the crosshairs […]
(2018-09-26). NAACP President Calls on White House to Withdraw Kavanaugh Nomination. naacp.org Baltimore, MD — The nation's foremost civil rights organization issued the following statement regarding its call for the withdrawal of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the US Supreme Court. "Today, new allegations have been made regarding Brett Kavanaugh's abuse and violence toward women and girls. The Senate Judiciary Committee has committed a grave breach of the […]
(2018-09-25). NAACP Ramps up Voter Outreach Campaign on National Voter Registration Day. naacp.org NAACP Ramps up Voter Outreach Campaign on National Voter Registration Day Power of 5 Campaign Looks to Translate Personal Networks into Votes during Midterm Elections BALTIMORE (September, 25, 2018)— NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization, is looking to mobilize personal networks, activists and supporters to energize its base ahead of the 2018 midterm elections on […]
(2018-09-21). Michael Moore: Are We Going to Be Like the "Good Germans" Who Let Hitler Rise to Power? democracynow.org 
In his new documentary "Fahrenheit 11/9," filmmaker Michael Moore interviews the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, Ben Ferencz, who describes President Trump's policy of family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and the large-scale detention of immigrant children as a "crime against humanity." Moore also looks at the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany and compares it to the rise of Trump in the United States.
(2018-09-20). American Prison: Shane Bauer Traces History of U.S. For-Profit Prisons from Slavery to Today. democracynow.org 
"American Prison." That's the name of the new book by award-winning journalist Shane Bauer, who dives deep into the profit-earning motives of U.S. prisons, from convict labor in colonial-era settlements all the way to present-day mass incarceration, including Bauer's own stint as an undercover prison guard at the privately owned Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana. We speak with Shane Bauer in New York City.