Deborah N. Archer, New York University’s Jacob K. Javits professor of clinical law, was elected as the new president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday, Feb. 1. Archer becomes the ACLU’s eighth president since 1920 but will also be the first Black president to lead the nonprofit…
Tag: ACLU
ACLU Outlines Community Alternatives to Policing for Mental Health Crises
When Rochester, New York’s Joe Prude called 911 in March after his brother, Daniel Prude was experiencing a mental illness episode and under the influence of PCP, he never expected the encounter would end in tragedy — the death of Daniel Prude, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of…
ACLU Files Lawsuit Against DHS on Behalf of Journalists for Tracking, Interrogating Them
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of five freelance journalists against the Department of Homeland Security for allegedly following and interrogating them. All five are U.S. citizens and were working on a story about a group of migrants making their way to the border…
ACLU Data Finds High Racial Disparities in New Jersey Marijuana-Related Arrests, Calls for Legalization
Though polls show most people in New Jersey agree that marijuana should be legalized, there has been an increase in marijuana arrests in the state in recent years, the ACLU of New Jersey’s most recent data reports. Out of these arrests, racial disparities between Black and white suspects are high….
Cuban Asylum-Seeker Dies by Apparent Suicide in ICE Detention Center
A Cuban asylum seeker who spent months in the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana died by apparent suicide on Oct. 15, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE officials confirmed that Roylan Hernández-Díaz, 43, was brought to the center in May after being caught at the El Paso Port…
Detroit Approves Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology With Limits
After controversy over whether police should be able to use facial recognition technology, the Board of Police Commissioners in Detroit approved its use but imposed certain limits. Debates surrounding the use of this technology are steeped in both claims of privacy violations and racism. While Detroit police celebrated the move,…
Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins Repeals Saggy Pants Ban
In the mid-2000s, cities in the South went on a spree criminalizing “saggy pants” and instituting bans. Ultraconservatives have made up the false narrative that the practice of “sagging” is linked to gangs. In February, Shreveport Police in Louisiana tried to stop Anthony Childs because of his saggy pants. As…
Church Flies Black Lives Matter Banners, Loses Its Polling Place Designation
Three months before the 2018 midterm elections, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno, a congregation of about 450 in an affluent and mostly white part of town in California, flew Black Lives Matter banners in solidarity with people of color against police violence. But some white people in Fresno just could not…
Driving While Black in Missouri Is Becoming More and More Dangerous: Study
The latest annual report released by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office found that in 2018, Black drivers in Missouri were 91% more likely to be pulled over than white motorists. The report also shows that people of color are disproportionately stopped and searched by law enforcement. Black and Hispanic drivers were 1.48…
Alabama Abortion Ban Likely to Have Disproportionate Effect on Black Women
A draconian ban on nearly all abortions in Alabama is likely to pass with the approval of Governor Kay Ivey. If signed through, it will be the strictest abortion law in the country, with no allowances for rape or incest. Women and abortion providers would face up to 99 years…