
Blog
We can be pretty sure that each new day will bring two things: new threats to our civil liberties, and new stories of people standing up for their rights and winning. Behind every court ruling is a person. Behind every landmark law is a movement. Read the stories and hear the voices that ground our work.
We Take Baseless Defamation Accusations Seriously. Here’s Why.
May 03, 2018
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California is committed to fighting against spurious legal claims that threaten free speech. Especially when corporations and other powerful entities attempt to strong-arm people who have less resources at their disposal. This is exactly what happened to Claudia Rossi, a Bay Area school-board member and trustee, when she raised concerns about a private charter ...
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BREAKING: Another Local Victory for California Values
May 01, 2018
Central Valley residents in Porterville spoke truth to power and defeated an anti-immigration resolution that was up for a vote at the city council.
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LGBTQ-Inclusive Sex Ed Would Have Meant the World to Me
May 01, 2018
My local school board will soon decide whether to adopt a sex ed curriculum that makes it clear: LGBTQ+ people are equally deserving of respect and love.
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In Its Zeal to Deport Immigrants, the Justice Department Scraps Due Process
Apr 20, 2018
In the past month, the Department of Justice has issued a series of stunningly senseless, wasteful, and cruel immigration policies
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California Can Reduce the Number of Police Shootings. Here’s How.
Apr 16, 2018
A bill in the state legislature would help ensure that police officers use deadly force only as a last resort.
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Now is the Time for California Families and Communities to Advocate for Strong Sanctuary Policies in K-12 Schools
Apr 06, 2018
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra provided California public school leaders with policies they must adopt by July 1 to protect students from immigration enforcement while at school. We must demand that school leaders adopt all of these policies.
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Californians Are Winning the Fight Against Secret Surveillance
Apr 05, 2018
As the Trump Administration exploits local surveillance systems to target immigrants, California residents are fighting for legislation and reforms that protect all residents from invasive surveillance.
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50 Years After MLK’s Assassination, We Remain Two Societies, ‘Separate and Unequal’
Apr 04, 2018
On April 4, 1968, I was 11 and growing up in Memphis when the news came that Martin Luther King had been murdered. My parents couldn’t hide how bad it was – they were angry. They were afraid. And most memorably to my childhood self, they were crying. I couldn’t articulate it at the time, but I know now that I was afraid that killing the dreamer could kill the dream.
Exactly one year earlier, in...
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After the Facebook Privacy Debacle, It’s Time for Clear Steps to Protect Users
Mar 23, 2018
We learned last weekend that a trove of personal information from 50 million people — one in three U.S. Facebook users — was harvested for an influence and propaganda operation led by Cambridge Analytica, a company later used by the Trump campaign. Was Facebook hacked? Nope. All of this personal information was accessed through the Facebook “app gap,” a major privacy hole in Facebook’s app platfor...
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The Government’s Case Against California’s ‘Sanctuary’ Policies Is on Weak Legal Ground
Mar 12, 2018
ACLU response to AG Sessions' weak lawsuit challenging California's new 'sanctuary' laws.
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Cultural Incompetence: My Son was Kicked out of Class Because of His Hair
Mar 08, 2018
When my son recently brought home a certificate for making honor roll at his middle school, I was so proud. That quickly faded the next day when I received several calls from my child informing me that he had been pulled out of class. Because of his hair.My 14-year-old son’s Tenaya Middle School teacher sent him to the vice principal for his hairstyle on a Friday. He was told he had to get it “fix...
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Facial-Recognition—A Powerful Tool for Authoritarian Surveillance
Mar 06, 2018
Companies developing facial-recognition software need to consider how their products enable dragnet surveillance, discriminatory enforcement, and abuse.
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