Racial Justice
The ACLU of Michigan’s Racial Justice Program aims to preserve and extend the constitutional rights of people of color. Despite enormous progress, the promise of fair and equal treatment for people of color remains elusive. The ACLU is committed to combating racism in all its forms. Through our advocacy, which includes litigation, community organizing and training, legislative initiatives, and public education, we strive to educate and empower the public.
ACLU Lawsuit Charges ICE Illegally Detained and Assaulted U.S. Citizen and Legal Permanent Resident
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 19, 2012
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of a U.S. citizen and his mother, a legal permanent resident, who were illegally handcuffed and assaulted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last year even though they produced driver’s licenses to prove their identities. > Full Story
ACLU Urges State Police to Investigate Racial Profiling Incident
U.S. citizen of Mexican origin illegally detained and turned over to border patrol by state police officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:March 21, 2012
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- In a letter today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged the Michigan State Police (MSP) to investigate a racial profiling incident in which an officer illegally detained a United States citizen and turned him over to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) because of his appearance and language skills. The Grand Rapids resident had his car impounded and was handcuffed until CBP officers arrived even though he produced a valid license and repeatedly insisted he was a citizen. > Full Story
Full Appeals Court Hears Arguments Challenging Michigan’s Ban On Race-Conscious Admissions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:March 7, 2012
"Proposal 2 removes race from the vocabulary of our democracy in favor of preferences for alumni and every other conceivable group, diminishing forever the mosaic that is unique to our nation,” said Mark Rosenbaum, the ACLU attorney who argued the case. “It forcibly silences our great national debate over the relevance of racial identity."
> Full Story
FOIA Documents from FBI Show Unconstitutional Racial Profiling
Government Linking Various Criminal Behaviors to Certain Racial and Ethnic Groups, Documents Obtained by ACLU Reveal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2011
NEW YORK – The FBI has been targeting American communities for investigation based on race, ethnicity, national origin and religion according to documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates that were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The documents show that FBI analysts across the country are associating criminal behaviors with certain racial and ethnic groups and then using U.S. census data and other demographic information to map where those communities are located to investigate them. > Full Story
ACLU, NAACP, LDF Oppose AG’s Request to Rehear Proposal 2 Case
A statement by the ACLU of Michigan, Detroit Branch NAACP, the Michigan State Conference NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), and the national ACLU.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:July 28, 2011
DETROIT – The ACLU, NAACP and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) announced today that they oppose the Michigan Attorney General’s request to convene a special 16-judge panel to reconsider the court’s decision this month striking down Michigan’s Proposal 2. The attorney general expressed his plans to request a rehearing by the full court of appeals today.
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ACLU Sues For Records About FBI Collection Of Racial And Ethnic Data In Michigan
FBI's Claimed Authority To Track And Map Racial And Ethnic "Behaviors" And "Lifestyle Characteristics" Of American Communities Invites Racial Profiling
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:July 21, 2011
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan today sued the FBI and Department of Justice for records related to the FBI's use of race and ethnicity in conducting assessments and investigations of local communities in Michigan.
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Affirmative Action in Michigan Upheld by Appeals Court
ACLU lauds decision as major victory for equality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 1, 2011
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today applauded an appeals court decision allowing public universities and public employers in Michigan to continue to use affirmative action to ensure a diverse student body and workforce. The 2-1 decision strikes down a 2006 amendment to the state constitution, which prohibited all affirmative action policies including those previously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. > Full Story
ACLU Seeks Records About FBI Collection Of Racial And Ethnic Data in Michigan
FBI’s Power To Track And Map “Behaviors” And “Lifestyle Characteristics” Of American Communities Raises Alarm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 27, 2010
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today asked the FBI to turn over records related to the agency’s collection and use of race and ethnicity data in local communities. According to a 2008 FBI operations guide, FBI agents have the authority to collect information about and map so-called “ethnic-oriented” businesses, behaviors, lifestyle characteristics and cultural traditions in communities with concentrated ethnic populations. While some racial and ethnic data collection by some agencies might be helpful in lessening discrimination, the FBI’s attempt to collect and map demographic data using race-based criteria for targeting purposes invites unconstitutional racial profiling by law enforcement, says the ACLU.
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Civil Rights Organizations Urge Appeals Court to Strike Down Ban on Affirmative Action in Michigan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:November 17, 2009
DETROIT – A group of civil rights organizations asked a panel of appeals court judges today to reverse a lower court’s decision and strike down Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan. The groups argued that the ban unconstitutionally discriminates against students of color by removing race from consideration in admissions, while allowing the consideration of virtually all other non-academic factors.
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Army Veteran Subjected to Intrusive Body Search By Detroit Police Settles Case
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:January 22, 2009
DETROIT—The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it has settled its lawsuit against the City of Detroit on behalf of an army veteran who was subjected to an illegal and intrusive body search by two police officers at a local gas station. The settlement comes on the same day that a trial was set to begin.
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ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Racial Discrimination in Eastpointe School
IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 9, 2009
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit last night charging East Detroit Public School officials with failing to protect two African American students at East Detroit High School from being taunted with racial epithets and slurs on a daily basis and from being physically attacked in the school cafeteria.
> Full Story
Executive Summary: The Legal Challenge to Proposal 2
Cantrell v. Granholm
On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, at 2:30pm at the U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, Federal District Judge David Lawson will hear oral argument on the constitutionality of Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan. The case, Cantrell v. Granholm, (Case No. 2:06-cv-15637) was filed in December 2006, soon after Proposal 2 was adopted, by a diverse group of students, prospective students and faculty at the University of Michigan. They are being represented by a legal team comprised of the Detroit Branch NAACP, ACLU of Michigan, the New York law firm of Cravath Swaine and Moore, U-M Law Professor and ACLU Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe, the Michigan State Conference NAACP and the national office of the ACLU. A separate but related lawsuit, filed by an organization known as “BAMN,” will be argued at the same time.
> Full StoryNew ACLU Report Details Pervasive Racial Discrimination in America
Michigan Takes World Stage as ACLU Calls U.S. Report to U.N. a Whitewash
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007
Detroit – In honor of International Human Rights Day, the national American Civil Liberties Union released a report today about the pervasive institutionalized, systemic and structural racism in America and finds that discrimination in Michigan permeates all areas of education, employment, immigration and access to justice.
> Full StoryACLU Settles "Biking While Black" Case, Teens Finally Given Closure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 30, 2006
DETROIT— Eight years after the “bicycling while black” lawsuit was filed in district court on behalf of black teenagers, it has finally been settled in an out of court agreement.
> Full StoryACLU Files Brief
Civil Rights Organizations Ask State Supreme Court to Allow Investigations of Fraud
February 24, 2006 - Press Release
DETROIT — Today the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend of the court brief in support of litigation asking the State Supreme Court to reverse a lower court opinion that ordered the State Board of Canvassers to place on the November ballot a measure that would ban affirmative action. The Board complied with that order on January 20. The brief was joined by the NAACP, Detroit Chapter, Detroit Urban League, National Bar Association, and ACCESS.
> Full StoryFederal Appeals Court Rules in Racial Profiling Case
Court Voices Intolerance for Racial Discrimination
June 8, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT— A federal court today ruled that there is enough evidence of racial discrimination and illegal searches by a suburban Detroit police department to take the case to a jury, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan which argued the appeal of a racial profiling lawsuit filed in 2001.
> Full StoryU.S. Court of Appeals To Hear ACLU Cases This Week
April 19, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT – The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear two cases this week that were filed by the ACLU of Michigan. On Tuesday, the ACLU-M will argue on behalf of the plaintiffs in a racial profiling lawsuit known as “Bicycling While Black” filed against the City of Eastpointe. On Wednesday, the Court will hear a case filed against the City of Dearborn challenging the constitutionality of a city ordinance that makes it a crime to engage in a public protest unless a permit is obtained at least 30 days before the event.
> Full StoryMichigan School District Takes Action To Stop Racism After Student Is Attacked
May 19, 2004 - Press ReleaseDETROIT – As the country focuses on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended government imposed segregation in public schools, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today announced the settlement of a complaint filed on behalf of an African American student who was the victim of racial harassment and attacked by white students in a so-called “game of KKK.” > Full Story
ACLU Lauds Landmark Supreme Court Decisions Upholding Affirmative Action
June 23, 2003 - Press Release
NEW YORK- The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Supreme Court's decisions today upholding the principle that public universities may continue to use affirmative action to ensure a diverse student body. In two landmark rulings, the Supreme Court upheld the race-conscious admissions policies of the University of Michigan's law school while rejecting as unconstitutional the undergraduate school's "point system."
> Full StoryAnalysis of the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Program
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT
Third Cohort (High School Class of 2002)
Donald E. Heller
Associate Professor and
The
Revised
ACLU Urges Supreme Court To Uphold Affirmative Action
March 31, 2003 - Press Release
DETROIT — In a landmark case being argued tomorrow before the Supreme Court, the American Civil Liberties Union will urge the Justices to uphold the admission policies of the University of Michigan, which seeks to promote a diverse student body by employing affirmative action programs.
> Full StoryAffirmative Action Case Goes to the U.S. Supreme Court
December 6, 2002 - Press Release
> Full StoryStereotyping creates false sense of safety; focus instead on behavior
January 20, 2002
Should airports engage in terrorist profiling?
Kary Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan says "No: Stereotyping creates false sense of safety; focus instead on behavior."
By Kary L. Moss / Special to The Detroit News
As the nation tries to find the best ways to improve airport security, it is crucial that we resist grabbing onto strategies that only create a sense of false security but not real security. Racial profiling is a key example.
University of Michigan Affirmative Action Case Heard in U.S. Court of Appeals
December 7, 2001 - Statement by the ACLU of Michigan
The ACLU of Michigan contends that affirmative action is necessary to both:
(1) achieve educational diversity at the university; and
(2) level the playing field for students of color by offsetting the other discriminatory aspects of U-M's admissions process and by addressing the hostile environment on campus.
> Full StoryLawsuit Over Race Discrimination in State Scholarship Awards Gains Ground
November 28, 2001 - Press Release
DETROIT-- In a move forward for a civil rights lawsuit challenging Michigan's use of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) High School Test to award college scholarships, a federal judge today rejected the state's attempt to dismiss the case, which was brought by a coalition including the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
> Full StoryACLU of Michigan Applauds Introduction of Legislation to End Racial Profiling
May 31, 2001 - Statement
DETROIT -- As the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and as vice-chair of ALPACT, Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, a coalition of civil rights organizations, national, state and local law enforcement agencies, and community organizations that has been meeting for over two years on this issue, I applaud the introduction of Representative Buzz Thomas' legislation that will hopefully be the beginning of the end of racial profiling.
> Full StoryACLU Joins Racial Profiling Lawsuit
April 10, 2001 - Press Release
DETROIT-Acting on behalf of 21 young African-American men who were stopped by the police while riding their bikes, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today joined in a racial profiling lawsuit against Eastpointe officials and police officers.
> Full StoryConyers moves to stop 'Driving While Black' violations
It’s called DWB -- Driving While Black. And while it is not a crime, too many police officers treat it as if it were.U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, and others say officers stop an unwarranted number of blacks and Hispanics for alleged traffic violations, hoping to find evidence of other criminal activity. The practice is known as racial profiling.
> Full StoryDriving While Black: What it is and Why it's Important
Almost every African-American or Latino can tell a story about being pulled over by the police for no apparent reason other than the color of his or her skin, especially if he or she happened to be driving in the "wrong place" at the "wrong time" or even driving the "wrong car." Victims of these racially motivated traffic stops rarely receive a traffic ticket or are found guilty of any violation of the law. It’s a practice called Driving While Black and it is emerging as a seminal civil rights issue. > Full StoryDWB: What the ACLU is doing
The ACLU has established a national toll-free hotline to report incidents of racial profiling of motorists. Calling 1-877-6-PROFILE will allow callers to begin a registration process that will help the ACLU compile the statistical data it needs to fight Driving While Black violations. People who have been the victim of DWB violations in Michigan can download a complaint form now and mail it to the ACLU of Michigan. > Full StoryDiversity in Education
December 13, 2000 - Press Release
Citing Value of Diversity, Federal Court Upholds University of Michigan's Affirmative Action Policy
DETROIT--Saying that diversity in higher education is a "compelling government interest," a federal judge today rejected an attempt to dismantle the University of Michigan's affirmative action program.
> Full Story
