Published:
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
<- Back to Washington in Action Winter 2023 Newsletter - Table of Contents
Liberty. Equality. Due process. Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. Freedom of speech and thought. The ability to participate in shaping our democracy.
These are the promises of the U.S. Constitution, but whether you experience them depends largely on who you are.
I am thrilled to announce the launch of the ACLU of Washington’s new five-year plan, which focuses on ensuring the promises of the Constitution for everyone in our state. We seek to disrupt legalized oppression and build a thriving democracy that invests in the health and wellbeing of its communities and expands the protections of liberty and freedom. We will do this using all the tools at our disposal: litigation, legislation, electoral engagement, media advocacy, and public education.
We will advance key priorities in four areas:
I am proud of our plan not only for what it prepares us to accomplish, but for how its creation models the change that we want to see in the world. We collaborated closely with partners, advocates, and activists to find out what the communities we serve need and the solutions that they would like to see. We did intensive research, engaging everyone on our staff, to determine how we can use our expertise in law and public policy to advance these key initiatives. And we looked for opportunities to expand our knowledge, capacity, and relationships to enable us to engage in work in new, exciting, and community-centric ways.
The resulting plan acknowledges a stark reality and embraces a radical vision – the United States’ founding documents promote the ideals of freedom and equality, but the country was built upon the systemic theft of land from and attempted genocide against Indigenous people, the systematic exploitation and dehumanization of Black people, and the systemic exclusion and suppression of communities of color, women, and queer people. To undo that history requires more than a return to our founding principles, but also repair to address the continuing impacts of our historic failures to live up to them.
The ACLU of Washington’s plan forges a path forward by focusing on the interplay between injustices – exclusion from democracy, under-investment in the resources that support personal autonomy and wellbeing, the growth of the carceral state, and the perpetuation of racial and economic injustices – that are historically rooted and longstanding. Our work in each of these issue areas is necessary to secure our ultimate vision of a future where everyone in Washington, particularly those who have been historically and systemically marginalized, lives with dignity and equity, unimpeded by racial and economic injustice and other forms of oppression.
The road ahead is challenging. With this program plan and our partnerships, the ACLU of Washington is ready.
<- Back to Washington in Action Winter 2023 Newsletter - Table of Contents
Liberty. Equality. Due process. Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. Freedom of speech and thought. The ability to participate in shaping our democracy.
These are the promises of the U.S. Constitution, but whether you experience them depends largely on who you are.
I am thrilled to announce the launch of the ACLU of Washington’s new five-year plan, which focuses on ensuring the promises of the Constitution for everyone in our state. We seek to disrupt legalized oppression and build a thriving democracy that invests in the health and wellbeing of its communities and expands the protections of liberty and freedom. We will do this using all the tools at our disposal: litigation, legislation, electoral engagement, media advocacy, and public education.
We will advance key priorities in four areas:
- the criminal legal system,
- individual and personal rights and autonomy,
- racial and economic justice,
- and democracy.
I am proud of our plan not only for what it prepares us to accomplish, but for how its creation models the change that we want to see in the world. We collaborated closely with partners, advocates, and activists to find out what the communities we serve need and the solutions that they would like to see. We did intensive research, engaging everyone on our staff, to determine how we can use our expertise in law and public policy to advance these key initiatives. And we looked for opportunities to expand our knowledge, capacity, and relationships to enable us to engage in work in new, exciting, and community-centric ways.
The resulting plan acknowledges a stark reality and embraces a radical vision – the United States’ founding documents promote the ideals of freedom and equality, but the country was built upon the systemic theft of land from and attempted genocide against Indigenous people, the systematic exploitation and dehumanization of Black people, and the systemic exclusion and suppression of communities of color, women, and queer people. To undo that history requires more than a return to our founding principles, but also repair to address the continuing impacts of our historic failures to live up to them.
The ACLU of Washington’s plan forges a path forward by focusing on the interplay between injustices – exclusion from democracy, under-investment in the resources that support personal autonomy and wellbeing, the growth of the carceral state, and the perpetuation of racial and economic injustices – that are historically rooted and longstanding. Our work in each of these issue areas is necessary to secure our ultimate vision of a future where everyone in Washington, particularly those who have been historically and systemically marginalized, lives with dignity and equity, unimpeded by racial and economic injustice and other forms of oppression.
The road ahead is challenging. With this program plan and our partnerships, the ACLU of Washington is ready.
<- Back to Washington in Action Winter 2023 Newsletter - Table of Contents
