Racial Discrimination

Singled Out in Alabama Schools

By Molly Kaplan, ACLU at 2:07pm

The ACLU is on the ground in Alabama documenting the impact of H.B. 56 on farms, families and schools. We're finding evidence of racial profiling and discrimination.

Mapping the FBI: Documents Show Widespread Racial and Religious Profiling by Government

By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 5:12pm

Yesterday, the ACLU unveiled a new initiative — Mapping the FBI — that exposes the ways in which vastly expanded FBI investigative authority has resulted in the unconstitutional investigation of American communities and individuals based on who they are and what they believe.

Through Freedom of Information Act requests in 31 states and Washington, D.C. (enforced by lawsuits in Michigan, New Jersey and California), ACLU and its affiliates uncovered and analyzed thousands of FBI documents. These documents reveal that the FBI is gathering intelligence on and mapping communities based on the association of a certain race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion with the propensity to commit various crimes.

New Call for Internal DOJ Investigation of FBI’s Targeting of Religious and Ethnic Groups for Intel Gathering

By Ateqah Khaki at 3:02pm

Today we sent a letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General asking him to investigate the FBI’s improper collection of intelligence about American Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities, and compilation of records describing community members’ First Amendment protected speech and activities in violation of the Privacy Act.

A Mother’s Story: It Is Not What We Say to Black Boys and Men, It Is What We Do to Them

By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 9:36pm

I feel deeply for Travyon’s mother; she’s living my worst fear.

S.B. 1070 at the Supreme Court: What Will America Tolerate?

By Elizabeth Beresford, ACLU at 12:44pm

How we respond to laws like S.B. 1070 will have an enormous impact on the direction America takes.

The Long Path Ahead: People of African Descent and the Realization of Human Rights

By Chandra Bhatnagar, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Human Rights Program at 3:59pm

Last Monday, our country commemorated the life and work of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who fought tirelessly for racial and economic justice.

Last Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) — part of the Organization of American States — issued a report on “The Situation of People of African Descent in the Americas.”

The Economic Crisis Isn't Colorblind

By Dennis Parker, Director, ACLU Racial Justice Program & Larry Schwartztol, ACLU Racial Justice Program at 9:51am

As the presidential election season heats up, the candidates will clash over how the country should climb back from the 2008 economic slump.

A Shameful Race-Based System of "Justice"

By Brian Stull, ACLU Capital Punishment Project at 1:29pm

Studies consistently show that the best predictor of who the State executes is the color of the victim's skin.

Stop Discrimination: House Judiciary Subcommittee Takes Up Racial Profiling

“To Protect and Serve” is the longstanding motto of many American police departments. But it fails to ring true when a law enforcement officer subjects a citizen to humiliating interrogation, search and detention — simply because of how the person looks.

When police engage in racial profiling, they are not only violating the Constitution, they are also hindering their ability to keep communities safe.

A Post-Racial America? Not Quite Yet.

By Elizabeth Beresford, ACLU at 5:10pm

In a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Ward Connerly, a long-time foe of affirmative action, repeats his call for the end of race conscious decision making. Connerly points to the race of the president and other elected officials throughout the country as “evidence” that the United States has achieved a color-blind society. He effectively pronounces discrimination and inequality dead.

Statistics image