Archive

Federal and local law enforcement have historically targeted Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities, which may face scrutiny, surveillance, intrusive interviews, and unwarranted investigations. The civil rights community is here to support AMEMSA communities. Read More

You can't be stopped from using a restroom or other sex-segrated facility in California based on your perceived gender. Know your rights. Read More

FRESNO — On Saturday, the children of Hugo Hernandez, an undocumented Fresno resident who was arrested during a traffic stop and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, will lead community members in a march to raise public awareness about ICE continuing to terrorize and traumatize immigrant families. ICE officers pulled Hernandez over on Nov. 5, while he was taking his ... Read More

MADERA — Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California reached a settlement agreement with Chawanakee Unified School District that calls for new school policies to protect LGBTQ students. The ACLU initially filed suit in March on behalf of two then-Minarets High School seniors, Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa. Their pro-LGBTQ yearbook quotes were removed from their senior yearbook by an a... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the San Juan Unified School District on behalf of a student and parent who were censored and retaliated against by school officials for expressing support of Black Lives Matter. A teacher singled out and prohibited Black Lives Matter posters that were created in an art class about activism. The letter argues that the D... Read More

There is a story we tell ourselves about being American. Much of it is a lie. Two dates that students throughout the country are required to memorize to inform an American identity are 1492, when Columbus supposedly “discovered” America, and 1776, when the United States claimed sovereignty from England and through the Declaration of Independence declared: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, ... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU NC), KQED, the California Historical Society, and the Equal Justice Society today launched “Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California,” a public education campaign that exposes chapters of California’s history that may come as a surprise, if not an outright shock, to many people. Little known is the fact that, while California en... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Court of Appeal ruled today that Secretary of State Alex Padilla erred when he issued a directive to county election officials in 2017 that deprives tens of thousands of California voters of the language assistance to which they are entitled under state law. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – ... Read More

A core aspect of human autonomy and dignity is to be able to make decisions about our own bodies. But each year, doctors around the country continue to perform medically unnecessary, harmful surgeries on intersex infants and children, just to “normalize” their bodies. What this means is that doctors are forcing infants and young children to undergo medically unnecessary genital surgery simply to f... Read More

When our oldest child came out to us as transgender, my wife and I faced a steep learning curve. As part of this learning process, we discovered that transgender adolescents have significantly higher rates of depression and suicide than other teens. Learning about the struggles of those with untreated gender dysphoria—the condition of experiencing a conflict between one’s assigned gender and ge... Read More