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Racial Justice

The authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which all people would be free and equal. Yet the forced removal of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of those of African descent marked the beginnings of a system of racial injustice from which our country has yet to break free. Despite important gains made by civil rights activism, the school-to-prison pipeline, mass incarceration, and racial profiling and bias in policing are but a few of the racist injustices that mark the distance between America’s reality and the dream we seek to achieve: liberty and justice for everybody.

Resources

Attorneys Should Not Inject Racial Stereotypes in Trials, ACLU Tells Court

News Release, Published: 
Friday, April 23, 2010
The ACLU of Washington has filed an amicus brief urging the court to condemn the attorney’s conduct in State v. Kevin Monday in which a King County prosecutor made appeals to racial prejudice in a criminal jury trial.
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Appeals Court Finds Pervasive Racism in State’s Criminal Justice System

News Release, Published: 
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ground-breaking ruling that pervasive racial discrimination in the state’s criminal justice system results in minorities with felony convictions disproportionately being prevented from voting, violating the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.  
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Ruling Aims to Ensure Jury Selection Is Free of Racial Discrimination

News Release, Published: 
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that the government must provide a race-neutral explanation whenever the last minority member is struck from a jury panel. The ACLU-WA had urged the court to adopt such a bright line rule.
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ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Pasco Zoning Ordinance Barring Community Services for Low-Income People

News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a City of Pasco zoning ordinance that prohibits community services that serve low-income residents from the downtown area.
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Schools May Consider Race in Admissions

News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
A federal court has ruled that Seattle Schools may use race as one of several tiebreaking factors in assigning students to schools. The ACLU filed amicus briefs supporting the case.
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ACLU to Support Seattle School Student Assignment Plan in Case Before Supreme Court

News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court this fall will hear the appeal of a ruling that upheld the Seattle School District’s use of race as factor in assigning students to schools. The ACLU of Washington will file a brief in the case, supporting the district’s policy as a way to prevent racial segregation.
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ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Protect Diversity in Public Schools

News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases on Dec. 4 – including one from Seattle – involving desegregation programs in public schools. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the cases.
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McCleary v. State

Plaintiffs filed this suit to enforce the State’s duty, under the Washington Constitution Article IX, § 1, to provide adequate funding of a “basic education” for all students in public schools statewide.

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