Go to church or go to jail. That’s the unfathomable choice that a parole officer gave our client, Mark Janny, after he was released from a Colorado prison in 2014. When Mr. Janny, an atheist, refused to attend worship services at the Christian mission …
Every four years, the Olympic Games showcase the best of the best. Athletes defy odds, break records, and achieve unimaginable feats. But this year, the games have consistently made headlines for the wrong reasons, particularly for the mistreatment and …
Last fall, we sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and other federal agencies demanding the release of critical information about their failed response to COVID-19 in federal jails and prisons. After a year of stonewalling, the documents slowly trickling in …
Still wet from the river and held outdoors under the Anzalduas International Bridge overnight, the mother of a 6 year old pleaded with Border Patrol agents to help her sick child and others. “They’re not going to die,” replied one agent, according to a …
The assault on the practice and ideology known as Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been a wildly successful propaganda campaign. As of this week, 27 state legislatures and 165 national and local organizations have made efforts to restrict education on racism …
During Donald Trump’s presidency, our country repeatedly suffered his administration’s attacks on the First Amendment, including freedom of the press. Now, the Biden administration Department of Justice is quietly taking up the Trump mantle to fight free …
On July 12, Texas House Democrats headed to Washington D.C. in a last resort attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they needed to pass restrictive voting measures during a special legislative session. The Democratic exodus not only stalled the GOP-led …
The single action of a governor or president can reset people’s lives and send them on a journey of liberation and healing. This should be done more often in every state. “This is a very strange feeling, tomorrow’s the first day of the rest of my life. The …
This piece was first published in TechCrunch. Maine has joined a growing number of cities, counties and states that are rejecting dangerously biased surveillance technologies like facial recognition. The new law, which is the strongest statewide facial …
If you’ve been to a restaurant lately and scanned a QR code rather than order from a physical menu, you likely paid for that meal with not just your money, but your privacy and security too. Businesses are taking advantage of the rise of touchless services …
This legislative session, Arkansas lawmakers passed 20 abortion-related restrictions — tying Louisiana’s 1978 record for the most restrictions passed in a single year. These attacks reached their peak with the passage of Act 309 in March, which bans nearly …
On any given day across the country, millions of Americans have had their drivers’ license suspended — not because of unsafe driving or other safety concerns but because of a government imposed debt they can’t afford to pay. It doesn’t have to be this way. …
Over the past several years, we have witnessed a heightened demand for marginalized communities to be better represented in the media, in boardrooms, and every sector of society. While some progress has been made, representation of people with disabilities …
Face recognition technology may sound futuristic, or perhaps too abstract to seem harmful. But we are already living in a reality in which face recognition and other forms of biometric surveillance pervade our daily lives. These technologies threaten our …
All young people should have equal access to an education that includes learning the complete history of this country, including the experiences and viewpoints of marginalized communities. Unfortunately, in the United States, too many public schools fail …
In the days after his nomination, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signaled his willingness to make a decisive break from Donald Trump’s racist and anti-immigrant policies. Mayorkas is the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead the …
I stumbled upon the ACLU’s National Advocacy Institute by total coincidence. A friend mentioned that she attended the institute in a previous year, and I happened to see a post about it on my Instagram feed. I took a chance and decided to apply, but never …
More than one year after the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, it is clear that international accountability is critical to complement and bolster domestic efforts to dismantle systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States. …
With 233 mass shootings so far this year, the issue of gun violence in the U.S. is all too familiar. Tragic events like the Pulse nightclub and Parkland shootings go from being media spectacles to quotidian events at an alarming rate in a country that …
Earlier this week, Texas Democrats fled the state in a last-ditch effort to prevent the passage of a restrictive new voting law by the Republican-controlled legislature. At the same time, Hervis Rogers, a 62-year-old Black man, was recently charged with …
