Blog

The Clovis Unified School District has a problem. School administrators in this small town in California’s Central Valley can’t seem to stop punishing students for being themselves. But this week, the school board took a brave leap into the 21st century and amended the dress code – bringing it into compliance with California law for the first time in recent memory. Read More

Where we spend our money says a lot about our priorities. That’s why California’s legislature must reject the governor’s plan to spend $250 million more taxpayer dollars to build new jails. Read More

This week, we’re attending the “Color of Surveillance” conference in Washington, D.C., meeting leaders and activists from across the country who are shining a light on discriminatory surveillance. When technology advances, the tools of surveillance change but the color of surveillance remains the same. Here in California, we’re seeing communities fighting back against the secretive purchase and un... Read More

Today we sent a letter to the Department of Justice. Racist and homophobic texts by SFPD officers again demonstrate why a review of department policies alone—with no enforceability—is not enough. We need a pattern and practice investigation. Read More

One day after Fresno PD’s fourth shooting this year, the department released body cam footage of police killing Freddy Centeno last September and claimed that the shooting was justified. But why is the shooting still shrouded in secrecy? Read More

ACLU lawyers are used to taking on injustice and speaking out on behalf of our clients. This time the discrimination happened to us.We began the evening on a quest for a good karaoke night, and went to a bar called Brig. After waiting for more than half an hour to sing, we started to wonder when our number would be called. We planned to sing a hip hop and R&B hit from the ’90s — TLC’s Waterfal... Read More

Bills sponsored by the ACLU of California would help move us forward.Every year, the ACLU of California sponsors several bills in the California Legislature. What does it mean to sponsor a bill? In most cases, it means we have collaborated with other advocacy groups and the legislative author in drafting the bill and providing our input on the text. We also may lobby legislators, testify in suppor... Read More

In the early hours of March 3, 1991, George Holliday stepped onto his balcony and saw police begin to beat a motorist on the street below. He then pulled out a video camera and filmed an incident that would become synonymous with police violence and misconduct: the beating of a young African American man named Rodney King by several Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers. News stations acro... Read More

When Twitter released its most recent transparency report in late February, users got their first glimpse into the content the company removes for violating its terms of service after it receives formal legal demands. This is a step forward. Read More

Today is not a typical ACLU day for me.I am going to Apple’s shareholder meeting to show my support for a company that is standing up for the privacy and security of people around the country and around the world.The federal government’s order for Apple to create a backdoor into the iPhone is not about just one phone. It is about all of our phones and devices, everywhere.Just like we rely on stron... Read More

Butte County was one of 32 CA Counties that submitted bids for state financing to build new jails. Butte was the only county to try to use Inmate Welfare Fund money to pay the county’s required contribution. Read More

It all started with a t-shirt. I was at the mall, and I saw a shirt I knew I had to buy. It said “NOBODY KNOWS I’M A LESBIAN.” It made me laugh because pretty much everybody knows I’m a lesbian. My school tried to stop me from wearing it. Read More