We’re hopeful a recent court decision clarified and reaffirmed that right for Black and brown defendants in Washington state.
Read about how we're combining hope and action to create a more just Washington.
ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms reflects on the beauty of Pride and the need to continue fighting alongside 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
While our mission is fueled by individual support, we want today to be about the countless on-the-ground organizations that uplift us all.
Washington can stop punishing people for the same conviction AND help people who have already been hurt by this practice. EHB 1324 without retroactivity leaves people behind.
Sign in PRO and let the Senate know that you support protecting health care providers.
Time: Thursday, July 28 at 3 p.m.
Time: Tuesday, May 24 at 5 p.m.
Happy New Year! Washington became the 21st state to automatically restore the right to vote to all citizens upon release from prison. Starting JANUARY 1, over 26,000 Washingtonians currently on community custody will have their voting rights restored and be able to register to vote and participate in our democracy.
Wednesday, January 5, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
[DEADLINE SOON] The ACLU of Washington’s virtual Lobby Week kicks off January 17, 2022! You’ll learn how to advocate for important civil liberties bills and get the chance to meet with lawmakers.
Communities are calling for diverting funds towards community-based and community-led approaches to public safety - NOT simply moving police budget line items to other city departments but essentially leaving things unchanged.
Continue to demand true divestment and attend the next public hearing to weigh in on what the SPD budget will look like on November 10.
Executive Director Michele Storms moderates a conversation with ACLU-WA staff: Antoinette Davis (Senior Staff Attorney), Enoka Herat (Police Practices and Immigration Counsel), and Jaime Hawk (Legal Strategy Director, Campaign for Smart Justice). Remember to support our beverage partners.
Spokane Family Demands Equitable Changes After Two Black Middle School Students Were Asked to Clean Cotton for Social Studies Lesson
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm
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This series of virtual conversations moderated by Enrique Cerna will explore the racial disparities and inequities in Washington’s public health and policing systems highlighted by COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. State lawmakers are currently in legislative session where these issues, and the budget, are top priorities. Join us to learn how to put equity front and center in the Olympia debates.
TAKE ACTION: Thousands of people from across our state are speaking out against police violence and brutality in solidarity with the families in our communities who have lost loved ones. The time is now. Delays cost precious lives. Urge your lawmaker to support SHB 1054, SHB 1310, and SHB 1202, legislation that will reduce police violence and improve public safety across the state.
BREAKING: The ACLU-WA and the coveillance collective released the Coveillance Toolkit, which empowers people to notice and counter surveillance in their daily lives.
What's in the toolkit? Keep reading.
Coveillance is a proactive approach to the powerful and unprecedented surveillance technologies that dominate public life in 2021.
The Coveillance Toolkit includes four guides for offering workshops that focus on different aspects of surveillance:
1️⃣A history of surveillance workshop explores how surveillance has been deployed to monitor and police people from marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, religious, LGBTQ+ and other communities.
2️⃣A data mapping and stories guide traces the flow of information in a surveillance society to uncover how personal information travels and where it ends up.
3️⃣A virtual walking tour of downtown Seattle helps users practice spotting surveillance tools hidden in plain sight.
4️⃣A countersurveillance yoga workshop offers techniques for using the body to understand how surveillance systems operate and to reduce the physical stress triggered by always being watched.
For members of historically marginalized communities, surveillance is nothing new.
This toolkit aims to give the power back to people and communities.
Everyone deserves to have access to critical health services, regardless of immigration status.
The Role of Collective Bargaining Agreements and Private Arbitration of Police Discipline Appeals
Police union collective bargaining and private arbitration have historically posed major obstacles to accountability.
Example: Seattle spent months consulting with community members and experts to draft one of the best police accountability ordinances in the country. It passed unanimously, but over three years later, important parts of it have been blocked from going into effect.
Why? Because in collective bargaining negotiations, the city agreed to police union demands that parts of the ordinance be scrapped.
This problem is not unique to Seattle. SB 5134 would remove certain accountability measures from collective bargaining so that critical local changes like these could not be undone.
Private arbitration is also a major barrier to accountability. This allows disciplinary action against officers to be overturned or changed altogether.
EX: In 2018, private arbitration led to the reinstatement of Seattle Police Officer Adley Shepherd, who was fired for punching a handcuffed woman in the face and fracturing her eye.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
We support SB 5134 because it is an essential part of the package of bills for 2021 aimed at strengthening police accountability.
Read the full article and learn how you can get involved.
As nationwide protests grew in the wake of George Floyd’s death, a number of Selah residents gathered to demonstrate publicly and placed temporary chalk messages and art in support of racial equality in public places throughout the city.
BUT, in response, Selah city officials made statements and took actions indicating that the exercise of free speech in support of the Black Lives Matter movement was unwelcome, wrongfully singling out the chalk messages for erasure, designating them as “graffiti.”
➡️ But that's not all. Keep reading. ⬇️
City officials also censored public comments, confiscated and destroyed signs, AND encouraged private citizens to remove and destroy the signs. It's clear that the city of Selah is actively trying to silence Black communities.
We shouldn't have to be saying this, but: Free speech is a constitutional right and the city of Selah is responsible for protecting it.
Read the full release below.
https://www.aclu-wa.org/news/selah-alliance-equality-and-selah-residents-file-lawsuit-against-city-selah-censoring-black
Read about each of these violations below:
➡️ Sept. 7: an officer sprayed several retreating protesters in the face with OC spray. The officer approached the protesters from behind while riding a bicycle, and there was no specific imminent threat of physical harm against the officer.
➡️ Sept. 7: an officer threw a blast ball – an explosive filled with pepper spray – indiscriminately into a group of protesters, even though he admittedly did not know who his target was.
➡️ Sept. 22: an officer was ordered to throw a blast ball into a crowd of protesters at a march in Capitol Hill, despite there being no apparent physical threat to officers. According to the court’s order, a desire to create separation between protesters and police does not authorize the use of less lethal weapons.
➡️ Sept. 23: an officer threw a blast ball into a crowd of protesters and Judge Jones determined the officer demonstrated a clear lack of care for where the blast ball landed and that it was an indiscriminate deployment, therefore violating the Court’s orders.
These are a few examples of SPD's blatant disregard for the protection of free speech and freedom of assembly. On Sept. 23, SPD deployed around 30 blast balls – yet the City only provided body cam footage for 2 of the instances.
LET US BE CLEAR: this is retaliation against the nationwide and longstanding call to protect Black lives.
And we have the right to do something about it.
📷of Victoria Plumage by Sharon H. Chang.
This electoral year is like no other, but one thing that hasn't changed is the historical attempt to deny this right with barriers such as poll taxes, felony disenfranchisement, gerrymandering and disinformation campaigns.
We'll be discussing barriers to voting in Washington as well as what can be done about them in this upcoming town hall.
This series will be exploring one approach to ending police violence: divesting from police and reinvesting in communities.
Some issues this series will dig into:
-Why the City budget matters for equity
-SPD's reliance on overtime hours
-The social costs of community policing efforts such as the Navigation Team
-Our efforts to reduce mass incarceration through depolicing and decriminalization
The problem is complex and the urgency is great. We invite you to join us as we explore the reimagining of public safety.
Link to the article in bio.
Danielle Pierce, one of our plaintiffs, owes over $12k in traffic fines that started from a simple speeding ticket - she can no longer drive her car to work or take her daughter to school. Most of these costs are just additional fees, interest, and collection costs.
For Lacy Spicer, a license suspension due to her inability to pay fines and fees from traffic tickets have made it really difficult for Lacy to maintain employment. She was unable to accept a job offer DIRECTLY due to this suspension.
The American legal system is founded on the principle that everyone, regardless of means, is treated the same under the law. Washington’s license suspension laws violate that principle.
(Folks outside of the delivery area – stay tuned for information on deals from restaurants near you.)
Join the ACLU of Washington and critically acclaimed broadcast journalist Enrique Cerna as we examine the racial disparities and inequities in Washington’s public health and policing systems highlighted by COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Michele Storms (ACLU-WA Executive Director), Jennifer Lee (ACLU-WA Technology & Liberty Project Manager), and Sahar Fathi (former ACLU-WA board member) will share a historical overview and explore how this affects Washingtonians today.
Grab a drink (from one of our previous sponsors in our highlights) or beverage of your choice and meet us online.
Tweet your thoughts of the film to @nwfilmforum and @aclu_wa and we’ll send five folks an ACLU prize pack!
An ACLU swag bag full of goodies will be handed out at participating restaurants while supplies last!
Students who are Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Latinx, are disproportionately disciplined, suspended, and expelled from school.
ALL students have a right to education, and we need to work towards more effective approaches to build positive school environments and help students.
Send a message to Virginia Mason and urge them to put the needs of patients FIRST.
#blacklivesmatter