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Racial Justice
Locking Up Our Children: ACLU Report on Unjust Detention of Youth in Massachusetts (5/12/2008)
A widespread practice in Massachusetts of locking up youth
accused of minor offenses and who pose little or no danger to their communities
is unfair, threatens public safety and wastes public money, according to a
report released in May 2008 by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of
Massachusetts. The report documents the
use of detention by state judges as a rehabilitative tool to frighten youth
never convicted of wrongdoing. The report also addresses the woeful lack of
placement availability in the state's child welfare and mental health systems
that leave detention as the only viable option for youth who cannot safely be
returned to their homes. Locking Up Our Children is a follow-up report to a 2003 report by the ACLU, which documented the disproportionate representation of youth of color in Massachusett's juvenile justice system.
Report: Turning a Blind Eye to 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"
Report: Persistent Racial Disparities in Federal Death Penalty (6/25/2007)
Coauthored by the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project and Racial Justice Program, this report details the persistent racial disparities in federal death penalty sentencing. Mounting evidence suggests that race continues to play a role in who lives or dies in the federal judicial system.
> Read the Report
Broken Promises: Two Years After Katrina (8/10/2006)
Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, devastating the homes and lives of millions of people. The ACLU has been inundated with reports of racial injustice and human rights violations in Louisiana and Mississippi, both during and since Katrina. Broken Promises, a comprehensive report from the ACLU, documents the terrible conditions and dangerous lack of planning at the Orleans Parish Prison, and details other increases in police abuse, racial profiling, housing discrimination, along with other civil liberties violations and the ACLU's continuing response.
Read the report and learn more>>
NYCLU and ACLU Report Calls for End to Over-Policing in New York City Schools (3/18/2007)
Criminalizing the Classroom: The Over-Policing of New York City Schools examines the origins and the consequences of the city's aggressive policing operation in schools. It provides analyses of the results of a broad student survey and profiles of individual students whose experiences illuminate the problems with policing in schools.
> Press Release
> Report
ACLU Fights to End Racial Inequity and Harshness in Cocaine Sentencing (10/26/2006)
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established mandatory minimum sentencing policies that subject people who are low-level cocaine users to the same or harsher sentences as major dealers. The Act also established a 1-to-100 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, making the minimum sentence for 500 grams of powder cocaine - a more expensive drug primarily used by affluent whites - the same as that for just 5 grams of crack - a drug whose primary users are low-income people, many of whom are African American.
This discrepancy remains although there is no medical basis for the difference, and despite repeated recommendations by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to Congress to reconsider the penalties. The ACLU is working to educate the public about these discrepancies and to change these racist and draconian drug policies. Read more at the website of the Drug Law Reform Project >>
A Blueprint for Meeting the Needs of Texas Girls in Custody
Drawing on intensive on-site research, this report describes the conditions of confinement experienced by girls in the custody of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC). In TYC's massive juvenile prisons, a harsh regime of control and punishment not only fails to rehabilitate girls, but exacerbates past trauma and inflicts additional damage on confined children.
Learn More >>
A Bond Forged in Struggle: The ACLU's Historic Alliance with African-Americans in the Quest for Racial Justice
The report recounts the ACLU's ongoing efforts seeking racial equality in America. The ACLU’s decades-long racial justice docket has included victories in many important areas, from discrimination in housing, education and access to public services, to racial profiling and prisoners’ rights. Significant progress has been made, to be sure. But after Katrina’srains subsided, no one could deny that there was still much left to be done.
> Report: A Bond Forged in Struggle: The ACLU's Historic Alliance with African-Americans in the Quest for Racial Justice |
Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Massachusetts (6/2/2003)
As of 2003, although approximately seven out of 10 children confined to Massachusetts' state facilities were youth of color, the state had never collected the data necessary to determine why this was the case. Of the $35 million the state received in from 1998-2003 for youth-related programs, less than .01% was allocated to programs specifically designed to minimize racial disparities. The ACLU documented these shortcomings and disparities in a report entitled Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Massachusetts: Failures in Assessing and Addressing Overrepresentation of Minorities in the Massachusetts' Juvenile Justice System. Since the release of this report, the ACLU has engaged in numerous forums and dialogues with government officials, law enforcement officials, community members, academics and others to address the problem of disproportionate minority contact and its impact on Massachusetts' communities of color.
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Racial Justice
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Press Releases
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ACLU Tells Virginia Beach Bar to Rescind Racially Discriminatory Hair Policy or Face Legal Action (10/05/2006)
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA -- In a letter sent today to Barry Taylor, the owner of Kokoamos Island Bar, Grill and Yacht Club, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia demanded that the Virginia Beach nightspot rescind a policy of barring hairstyles worn almost exclusively by African-American patrons.
From Desegregation to Diversity: Supreme Court to Address Equality in K-12 Education (09/20/2006)
WASHINGTON – This year in two cases from Kentucky and Washington State, the Supreme Court will review constitutional limits on the consideration of race in the context of student assignment to elementary and secondary schools. In so doing, it will necessarily harken back to the assumption articulated in a 1970s-era segregation case that school districts may take race into consideration in creating student assignment plans. The decision will also address the way in which its holdings in the more recent Michigan higher education cases are to be applied to K-12 schools.
Orange County Judge Rejects Challenge to School Integration Plan (08/30/2006)
ORANGE, CA -- An Orange County judge today resisted attempts to hobble integration efforts in California public schools and upheld the Capistrano Unified School District's ability to consider race to avoid segregation at its schools.
South Dakota Ordered to Comply with Voting Rights Act (08/22/2006)
ST. LOUIS, MO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a final federal appeals court decision affirming the redrawing of legislative district lines in South Dakota to ensure there is no discrimination against Native American voters. The decision came in Bone Shirt v. Hazeltine, a case originally brought by the ACLU on behalf of four Native American voters in December 2001, after the South Dakota legislature redrew the boundaries of the state's 35 legislative districts.
ACLU of New Mexico Sues DEA, Police Officers for Roughing Up Amtrak Passengers (08/21/2006)
ALBUQUERQUE – The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a lawsuit today against a federal drug enforcement agent and two police officers who illegally searched and roughed up an Armenian couple last summer while their Amtrak train was stopped in Albuquerque. Today’s lawsuit seeks multiple violations of the civil rights of both individuals.
ACLU of Ohio Calls on Police and Local Communities to Stop Profiling (08/15/2006)
MARIETTA, OH - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today cautioned law enforcement officials and local communities against allowing fears of terrorism to justify ethnic and racial profiling. The statement comes after a week of speculation that two Lebanese-American men arrested in Marietta may have been involved in terrorism because of “suspicious” activities. Yesterday, both men were cleared of all terrorism charges.
Court Approves Settlement of ACLU Lawsuit to End Racial Profiling on Arizona Highways (08/03/2006)
PHOENIX, AZ – U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson today approved a settlement agreement between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Arizona Department of Public Safety to prevent racial profiling by patrol officers along Arizona's highways and streets.
ACLU Supports Investigation Into Civil Liberties Violations by Mayor Frank Melton (07/20/2006)
JACKSON, MS - The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi today announced it’s support for the work of Faye Peterson, Hinds County District Attorney, in investigating allegations that Jackson Mayor Frank Melton has been systematically violating the civil rights of city residents. According to reports from local individuals, Mayor Melton has violated the civil rights of Jacksonians through warrantless searches of homes, vehicles and persons and by violating the due process rights of persons detained and/or accused of crimes.
Colorado Springs Police Refuse to Release Records on Brutal Beating of African American Man, Says ACLU (06/13/2006)
COLORADO SPRINGS -- Seeking to block the release of records from an investigation into charges of serious police misconduct, the city of Colorado Springs has filed a lawsuit against the American Civil Liberties Union, announced the civil liberties group today.
ACLU Names Dennis Parker Director of Racial Justice Program (06/12/2006)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that Dennis D. Parker has assumed the role of Director of the organization's Racial Justice Program. Parker is responsible for overseeing the program's efforts in combating discrimination and addressing other issues with a disproportionate impact on communities of color.
ACLU of Michigan Settles “Biking While Black” Case; Teens Finally Given Closure (05/30/2006)
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that its“bicycling while black” lawsuit, filed eight years ago on behalf of 22 teenagers, has finally been settled in an out-of-court agreement.
ACLU Demands Release of Information on Racial Profiling and Use of Force by New Orleans Police (04/06/2006)
NEW ORLEANS -- In response to news reports of an assault on an African American woman by three white police officers, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today filed a Public Records Act request with the New Orleans Police Department seeking information on racial profiling and police misconduct. The civil liberties group is calling for a swift and impartial response to the assault, and seeks systemic reform of the police department.
ACLU Fights to End Discriminatory Prosecution of Native American Students (03/28/2006)
SIOUX FALLS, SD – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against the Winner School District in South Dakota, charging that the District maintains an environment hostile to Native Americans by, among other things, disciplining Native American students more harshly than Caucasians and by forcing them to sign “confessions” for minor rule breaking, which often leads to juvenile court convictions.
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