Home : Racial Justice

Lead plaintiff Milo Sheff at the time of the 1996 filing and in a recent photograph. Read the case profile >> New Agreement in Hartford Desegregation Case - Courant Urges Approval (4/21/2008) The ACLU, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Center for Children’s Advocacy and cooperating attorneys have struck an agreement with the state of Connecticut to implement compliance with a longstanding order from the state Supreme Court to desegregate Hartford public schools. The agreement, the latest stage in the case of Sheff v. O’Neill, for the first time requires the state to create a detailed roadmap to follow in its effort to end the racial segregation faced by Hartford’s minority schoolchildren. The Hartford Courant has urged the legislature to take action to approve the settlement, citing the numerous benefits of a diverse education. Read the ACLU press release >> Read The Hartford Courant's call to action >> School to Prison.org If you are a legal advocate working on challenges to the school-to-prison pipeline, please visit SchooltoPrison.org, sponsored by the ACLU Racial Justice Program and several of our allies.  Visit SchooltoPrison.org >> Landmark Settlement Reached With Maryland State Police In “Driving While Black” Case After more than a decade of fighting for justice on behalf of individuals who were racially profiled on Interstate 95 in Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, and the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP are pleased to announce that a landmark settlement has been reached today with the Maryland State Police (MSP) to end the “Driving While Black” lawsuit. The agreement provides substantial damages to the individual plaintiffs, a requirement that the MSP retain an independent consultant to assess its progress towards eliminating the practice of racial profiling, and a joint statement by all parties involved in the lawsuit condemning racial profiling and highlighting the importance of taking preventative action against this practice in the future. Learn more >> > Press Release: Landmark Settlement Reached With Maryland State Police In “Driving While Black” Case (4/2/2008) ACLU Sues Over Failed Privately-Run Alternative School In Atlanta (3/11/2008) The ACLU has filed a class action lawsuit against the Atlanta Independent School System and Community Education Partners for violating students’ constitutional right to an adequate public education. CEP is a for-profit corporation paid nearly $7 million a year by the city to run its alternative school, which is among the most dangerous and lowest performing schools in Georgia. Read More About Harris et al. v. Atlanta Independent School System >> Learn More About the Kids At Risk >> Listen to the NPR Story on the Case >> New ACLU Report Details Pervasive Racial Discrimination in America The government report failed to level with the international community about the U.S.'s human rights record when it comes to racial injustice. The ACLU's report details police brutality and racial profiling, voter disfranchisement and skyrocketing rates of incarceration, and wide, corrosive effects of racial discrimination. > Report: Race & Ethnicity in America > 12/10/2007: New ACLU Report Details Pervasive Racial Discrimination in America > 6/13/2007: ACLU Calls State Department Report a "Complete Whitewash" BLOG > 50 Years Since Little Rock: Still More Left to Overcome > More Racial Justice News Thousands Demonstrate in Support of the Jena 6 On a National Day of Action, September 20, 2007, thousands demonstrated in Jena, and around the country to demand justice and a thorough and unflinching inquiry into this and other race-based problems and misconduct in Louisiana's justice system. Learn More >> Dennis Parker, Director of the Racial Justice Program, discusses the Jena Six and larger issues of unequal justice >>

Opponents of Equal Opportunity Seek To Withdraw Their Own Ballot Measure (4/8/2008)
NEW YORK - In a significant blow to a national campaign against equal opportunity in America, backers of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would end equal access and opportunity programs in the state have asked the state supreme court to withdraw the measure from consideration. The move comes after supporters of the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative - spearheaded by Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) as part of a national crusade against affirmative action - failed to collect the signatures needed to get the proposal on this November's ballot. In conceding defeat, Connerly characterized the ACRI's efforts in Oklahoma as a "miscalculation."

ACLU And Civil Rights Lawyers Strike Agreement To Desegregate Hartford Public Schools (4/4/2008)
HARTFORD - The American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the Center for Children’s Advocacy and cooperating attorneys struck an agreement today with the state of Connecticut to implement compliance with a longstanding order from the state Supreme Court to desegregate Hartford public schools. The agreement, the latest stage in the case of Sheff v. O’Neill, for the first time requires the state to create a detailed roadmap to follow in its effort to end the racial segregation faced by Hartford’s minority schoolchildren.

Landmark Settlement Reached With Maryland State Police In Driving While Black Case (4/2/2008)
BALTIMORE -- After more than a decade of fighting for justice on behalf of individuals who were racially profiled on Interstate 95 in Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, and the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP are pleased to announce that a landmark settlement has been reached today with the Maryland State Police (MSP) to end the "Driving While Black" lawsuit. The agreement provides substantial damages to the individual plaintiffs, a requirement that the MSP retain an independent consultant to assess its progress towards eliminating the practice of racial profiling, and a joint statement by all parties involved in the lawsuit condemning racial profiling and highlighting the importance of taking preventative action against this practice in the future.

Dismal High School Graduation Rates Violate Florida Constitution, Says ACLU Lawsuit (3/18/2008)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- Charging that shamefully low high school graduation rates demonstrate a violation of students’ constitutional right to a high quality education, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit today against the Palm Beach County School District. It is estimated that as many as one in three Palm Beach County students does not graduate on time with a regular diploma, a figure that is well below both the state and national averages. This case is the first legal challenge in the country that focuses on the issue of low graduation rates and that requires a school district to graduate more of its students.

ACLU Sues Over Failed Privately-Run Alternative School In Atlanta (3/11/2008)
ATLANTA – In a case with national implications, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia filed a class action lawsuit today against the Atlanta Independent School System (AISS) and Community Education Partners (CEP) for violating students’ constitutional right to an adequate public education. CEP is a for-profit corporation paid nearly $7 million a year by the city to run its alternative school, which is among the most dangerous and lowest performing schools in Georgia.