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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

News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Last week, Bellingham voters approved a ban on government use of facial recognition and predictive policing technologies by their city.
News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
NAACP Vancouver Branch 1139, the ACLU of Washington, and several other organizations have formally requested the United States Department of Justice to investigate the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and Clark County Sherriff’s Office (CCSO).
Published: 
Monday, November 8, 2021
Published: 
Monday, November 8, 2021
Our organization and more than a dozen others sent a letter to the United States Department of Justice to formally request the agency investigate the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and Clark County Sheriff's Office. It’s a request we don’t make lightly, but given the situation in southwest Washington, it’s time for a new approach.
Published: 
Friday, November 5, 2021
"Many in the media are reporting the results across the country and in our state as a referendum on change. I am disappointed, but neither surprised nor disheartened – and I do not agree."
Published: 
Friday, October 29, 2021
Black and Indigenous peoples and people of color, in particular, are disproportionately harmed by violent crime, and by highly funded, militarized police departments.
Published: 
Monday, August 9, 2021
As Seattle prepares to head into budget deliberations for the City’s 2022 budget, it is important for decision makers to understand that the Seattle Consent Decree does not stand in the way of making changes to the Seattle Police Department (SPD) budget.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, July 30, 2021
ACLU of Washington reaction to the release of the results of an independent investigation into a complaint over a cotton picking lesson at Sacajawea Middle School in Spokane

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