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

Gomez v. Coleman

ACLU-WA & NWIRP are representing a man suing Spokane Police Department for 4th Amendment Violations

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State v. Sum

The case implemented a new requirement that race be considered when determining whether a person feels reasonably free to leave during an interaction with police.

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State of Washington v. Jarvis

Amicus brief discussing the racialized history of the use of shackling in the criminal legal system.

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Criminal Justice

Due Process

Racial Justice

Smith v. Wasatch Property Management

A management company violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused to consider an application because its blanket screening policy disproportionately harms African-Americans, particularly African-American women.

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Economic Justice

Racial Justice

State v. Tesfasilasye

Discriminatory use of peremptory strikes compounds racial disparities and violates GR 37

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Criminal Justice

Racial Justice

United States v. City of Seattle

In 2011, the ACLU-WA and 34 other civil rights and community-based organizations asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether the Seattle Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of civil rights.

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Policing

Racial Justice