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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.
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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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Federal Appeals Court to Hear Two ACLU of Michigan Cases This Week (04/19/2005)
DETROIT -- An appeals court will hear two cases this week that were filed by the ACLU of Michigan. In the first case, the ACLU is arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs in a racial profiling lawsuit known as ""Bicycling While Black;"" the second case is a challenge to a city ordinance that makes it a crime to engage in a public protest unless a permit is obtained at least 30 days before the event.
Research Shows Racial Profiling Persists in Rhode Island Traffic Enforcement; ACLU Plans Response (03/31/2005)
PROVIDENCE, RI-The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today expressed concern over a Northeastern University study released this week showing that African American and Hispanic drivers in Rhode Island continue to be subjected to disparate treatment by law enforcement. The study suggests that little has changed since a 2003 report by the same researchers found widespread racial disparities in Rhode Island traffic enforcement.
California Judge Finalizes Historic Education Settlement in ACLU Lawsuit (03/23/2005)
SAN FRANCISCO - A judge today finalized the historic settlement in a class action education lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations. Advocates say that the lawsuit is a critical first step toward ensuring all California public schools have the means to provide equitable learning conditions for all students.
New Report Shows Texas Police More Likely to Stop Blacks and Latinos (02/24/2005)
AUSTIN, TX -- A new study released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and other civil rights groups reveals that Texas police stop and search blacks and Latinos at significantly higher rates than whites, even though whites are at least as likely to be found with illegal drugs or weapons when stopped by police.
Rhode Island Police Settle ACLU Racial Profiling Lawsuit (02/03/2005)
PROVIDENCE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced the settlement of its racial profiling lawsuit against the Scituate Police Department, which charged that an officer unlawfully stopped, questioned and ticketed a man of Cape Verdean descent because of his race.
In Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement, Arizona Law Enforcement Agents Agree to Major Reforms (02/02/2005)
PHOENIX-In response to a class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and local attorneys, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has agreed to make sweeping reforms to prevent racial profiling by patrol officers along the state's highways and streets.
Noted Scholar Kimberle Crenshaw Begins Two-Year Fellowship at ACLU (01/24/2005)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that noted legal scholar and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw began her tenure today as an Ira Glasser Racial Justice Fellow. Crenshaw is one of six inaugural recipients of the Fellowship, which is designed to address enduring racial inequalities, including social and economic inequalities caused by historical and current discrimination. The Fellows Program provides support for individuals whose work will advance the ACLU's longstanding commitment to racial justice. Crenshaw was awarded the Fellowship in March of 2004.
ACLU of Rhode Island Urges Governor to Reject Unconstitutional Roadblocks (01/05/2005)
PROVIDENCE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today urged Governor Donald Carcieri to reject calls to review a 1989 state Supreme Court ruling, which found that random sobriety roadblocks violate the state constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Cincinnati Police Failed to Reform Discriminatory Practices, ACLU Charges (11/19/2004)
CINCINNATI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today asked a federal court to order city officials here to comply with agreements made in the ACLU's landmark
2001 police reform case, which charged the city with a pattern of racial profiling
by police.
ACLU of Massachusetts Challenges Use of Behavioral Profiling at Logan Airport (11/10/2004)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a so-called ""behavioral assessment"" program adopted by the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts state police to stop and detain people for questioning at Logan Airport.
ACLU of New Jersey Sues Manalapan Police for Targeting African American Youths (08/25/2004)
NEWARK -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Manalapan Police Department on behalf of three African American teenagers who said that officers searched them without justification and called them names while the boys' three white friends were told to go home.
ACLU and California Officials Reach Settlement in Historic Equal Education Lawsuit (08/13/2004)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union and California officials today announced they had reached a settlement agreement in the class action education lawsuit Williams v. California.
Rhode Island Judge Rejects Police Department's Attempt to Throw Out ACLU Racial Profiling Lawsuit (08/10/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- A federal judge today rejected attempts by the Scituate Police Department to dismiss a racial profiling lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island on behalf of a Pawtucket resident, who is of Cape Verdean descent.
After Latest Data Release Controversy, ACLU Urges Census Bureau to Create Privacy Advisory Committee (08/05/2004)
NEW YORK--In a letter sent today to the Director of the Census Bureau, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) expressed consternation over the Bureau's provision of detailed data on individuals of Arab descent to the Department of Homeland Security, and urged the Bureau to create "a new outside body to advise the bureau on privacy and civil liberties issues."
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