Racial Justice

The ACLU of Northern California’s Racial Justice Project uses a combination of legal and legislative advocacy, public education, and organizing strategies to advance the cause of civil rights for communities of color. Established in 1998, the Project has waged campaigns on a range of issues and engaged in both local and statewide advocacy efforts. The Racial Justice Project’s priorities are eliminating racial bias in the criminal justice system and achieving educational equity.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, a new book by former ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project Director Michelle Alexander. Alexander now holds a joint appointment at the Moritz College of Law and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University.
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Securing Educational Equity for California's Students
Throughout the nation, vulnerable student populations are facing policies and practices that make it more difficult for them to attend school, let alone receive an education. In California, the newly released high school graduation rates show that our state is failing to provide a high school to diploma to an alarming number of children, particularly African American and Latino students. ACLU-NC’s Racial Justice Project is to ensure educational equity in California schools.
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Every Vote Counts: ACLU-NC's Work to Restore Voting Rights to the Wrongfully Disenfranchised
Felon disenfranchisement laws remain the most significant means of preventing people of color from having a voice in the political process. Almost 2 million African Americans were barred from voting in the November 2004 election due to a felony conviction. In California, individuals with felony convictions are only disenfranchised while in prison or on parole. However, because felony disenfranchisement laws vary by state, many Californians who are eligible to vote do not know they are eligible or are denied access to the vote. ACLU-NC's Every Vote Counts Campaign seeks to inform Californians with felony convictions about their right to vote.
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Disproportionate Minority Contact a Problem Throughout the Criminal Justice System
Racial disparities in the criminal justice system is a longstanding phenomenon. At every step of the criminal process, people of color are subject to disparate treatment, making them more likely to be charged, convicted and to serve longer sentences than their white counterparts. Although some attention has been given to the impact these disparities have on juveniles, the ACLU-NC believes that understanding and addressing the causes of disproportionate minority confinement is key to creating a criminal justice system that truly provides justice for all.
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ACLU Report to CERD: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice
The American Civil Liberties Union today released a comprehensive analysis of the pervasive systemic and structural racism in America. The report, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, is a response to the U.S. report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released earlier this year. The U.S. report, which the ACLU called a whitewash, swept under the rug the dramatic effects of widespread racial and ethnic discrimination in this country.
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