News & Commentary

Although it has received scant media attention, a lawsuit filed in late June by members of Detroit’s school board, activists and parents could undo the controversial education system Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature have created for the city.

ACLU at the Michigan Capitol – The Week of July 11, 2016

DETROIT –A federal judge today signaled that the first federal safe drinking water case on the Flint water crisis could proceed over protests from the City of Flint and Michigan state officials.

EXCERPTED FROM THE METRO TIMES

Monday will go down in history as day of celebration. In a total victory for reproductive freedom, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decisive ruling on Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, the most important abortion rights case before the high court in over 20 years. 

ACLU at the Michigan Capitol – June 27, 2016

The number of Americans who say they know a transgender person is on the rise but, “knowing” a transgender person and being familiar with their lives and the challenges transgender people face every day are two vastly different things. To make that difference tangible to non-transgender people and especially to those who make policy and report about us in the news, transgender people must effectively engage with lawmakers, the media and the public around them.

If, as expected, the Detroit Public Schools legislation recently passed by the Michigan House and Senate is signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder, the hijacking of democracy that has been underway since the district was taken over by the state in 2009 will continue with no foreseeable end in sight.

A while back, the ACLU of Michigan joined with other organizations and law firms to challenge the constitutionality of the discredited emergency manager law. The emergency manager law, also known as Public Act 436, is at the root of the poisoning of Flint’s water supply as well as a variety of other evils across the state. The ACLU of Michigan’s participation in this case is only natural given its commitment to the eradication of all forms of discrimination and the political disenfranchisement of communities. The case is now pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals because the trial court dismissed all but one of the claims raised in the lawsuit.