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Raed Jarrar in his T-shirt.

"We Will Not Be Silent": Lawsuit Against TSA, JetBlue Charges Racial Discrimination and Free Speech Violation
The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against JetBlue Airways and a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official for barring an American resident of Arab descent from boarding his flight until he agreed to cover his T-shirt, which read "We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic script. The passenger, Raed Jarrar, was told that wearing an Arabic shirt to an airport was the equivalent of a "person wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I am a robber.'" The lawsuit alleges that the TSA official and JetBlue Airways illegally discriminated against Jarrar based solely on the Arabic message on his T-shirt and his ethnicity.
>Full press release
> More on this lawsuit.

Complaint Form: Report a race-based traffic or pedestrian stop

Landmark Settlement Reached With Maryland State Police In “Driving While Black” Case
After more than a decade of fighting for justice on behalf of individuals who were racially profiled on Interstate 95 in Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, and the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP are pleased to announce that a landmark settlement has been reached today with the Maryland State Police (MSP) to end the “Driving While Black” lawsuit. The agreement provides substantial damages to the individual plaintiffs, a requirement that the MSP retain an independent consultant to assess its progress towards eliminating the practice of racial profiling, and a joint statement by all parties involved in the lawsuit condemning racial profiling and highlighting the importance of taking preventative action against this practice in the future. Learn more >>
> Press Release: Landmark Settlement Reached With Maryland State Police In “Driving While Black” Case (4/2/2008)

Day of Darryl Hunt's Exoneration, Feb 2004

The Trials of Darryl Hunt ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Reggie Shuford talks with Darryl Hunt, left, and Mark Rabil about Darryl Hunt's wrongful conviction. His case brings up questions of cross-racial eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, inexperienced defense attorneys and racial bias in death penalty cases. Learn more >> MP3 | Podcast

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST RACIAL PROFILING The Racial Justice Program's Campaign Against Racial Profiling fights law enforcement and private security practices that disproportionately target people of color and Muslims for investigation and enforcement.  We represent individuals who have been victims of racial profiling by airlines, police, and government agencies, and our present work also encompasses major initiatives in public education, including the creation of a film, bustcard, “Know Your Rights” brochure, and fact sheets on Hip Hop Surveillance/Racial Profiling, Consent Search Bans, and Highlights in the Fight Against Racial Profiling . Our advocacy also includes lobbying for the passage of data collection and anti-profiling legislation and litigation of egregious airline and highway profiling cases. More about racial profiling >>

Sweeping Homeland Security Investigation Of Muslims Was Unconstitutional And Discriminatory, Says ACLU (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report in today’s New York Times revealed details of a 2004 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) anti-terrorism program that, despite government claims to the contrary, used racial profiling. More than 2,000 Muslim immigrants were investigated in the lead up to the 2004 elections, and many were interrogated right before the November election. Despite the investment of considerable resources, “Operation Front Line” produced minimal results. Most of those investigated were found to have done nothing wrong.

ACLU Condemns New FBI Guidelines (10/03/2008)
Washington, DC – New FBI guidelines governing investigations were released today after being signed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The American Civil Liberties Union quickly blasted the Department of Justice and FBI for ignoring calls for more stringent protections of Americans’ rights. The guidelines replace existing bureau guidelines for five types of investigations: general criminal, national security, foreign intelligence, civil disorders and demonstrations. The ACLU has been vocal in its disapproval of the overly broad guidelines, citing both the FBI’s and DOJ’s documented records of internal abuse.

ACLU Challenges State Department's Refusal To Issue Passports To U.S. Citizens (09/09/2008)
McALLEN, TX - Today nine American citizens sued the federal government, challenging the U.S. Department of State's refusal to issue them passports because of their race and ancestry and because their births were attended by midwives. The class action lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, the international law firm Hogan and Hartson LLP and Refugio del Rio Grande, Inc., builds upon a complaint filed earlier this year.

ACLU of North Carolina and Other North Carolina Civil Rights Groups Launch Investigation Into Johnston County Sheriff's Office After Sheriff Makes Racially Inflammatory Comments About Latinos to the Raleigh News & Observer (09/09/2008)
RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF), along with representatives from other North Carolina civil rights organizations, announced that they were deeply alarmed by racially inflammatory comments attributed to Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell in the Raleigh News & Observer on Sunday, September 7, 2008.

ACLU Releases Report On Racial Profiling In Louisiana (08/06/2008)
NEW ORLEANS - Today the ACLU of Louisiana releases its report entitled Unequal Under the Law, the culmination of a year-long study on racial profiling in Louisiana. The ACLU's Racial Justice Fellow Liza Grote spent a year gathering and analyzing data from local law enforcement agencies and speaking with victims of racial profiling across the state. Grote said: "Throughout the last year I heard innumerable stories about people being targeted by law enforcement because of the color of their skin. Our studies show that in many cases these stories are true, and that people of color are not treated equally by law enforcement."

The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: A Call for Action (01/04/2007)
ACLU of Rhode Island's fourth report examining the problem of racial profiling in the state.

The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: An Update (08/09/2005)

Rhode Island Racial Profiling Report (05/11/2005)

Flawed Enforcement report (05/19/2004)
Flawed Enforcement: Why drug task force highway interdiction violates rights, wastes tax dollars, and fails to limit the availability of drugs in Texas. Report by the ACLU of Texas

Racial Profiling Since 9/11 report (02/26/2004)
Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11

Jarrar v. Harris, et al. - Complaint and Jury Demand (04/09/2008)

Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Maryland State Police Department - Settlement (04/02/2008)

Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Maryland State Police Department - Complaint (09/26/2007)

ACLU of Northern California FOIA Request for Lodi (06/16/2005)

Settlement Agreement in Arnold v. Arizona Department of Public Safety (02/02/2005)
In August 2006, the court approved settlement of an ACLU lawsuit to end racial profiling on Arizona highways

ACLU Letter to Judiciary Leadership Urging an Inquiry into Reports of FBI Use of Racial Profiling (07/09/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, its hundreds of thousands of members and 53 affiliates nation-wide, we write to express concern about recent reports that the Justice Department will issue new Attorney General Guidelines authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to use racial profiling to open and conduct investigations on Americans, and we urge you to vigorously investigate these reports.

Coalition Letter to the Transportation Security Administration Urging the Auditing of Racial Profiling Abuses (04/04/2008)

The ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor and Support the End Racial Profiling Act of 2007 (01/16/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists, members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we strongly urge you to co-sponsor the End Racial Profiling Act of 2007 (ERPA). Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representative John Conyers (D-MI) will introduce ERPA on Wednesday, December 12th and we encourage you to sign on to the bill as an original co-sponsor.

ACLU Letter to Congress Urging Co-Sponsorship and Support of End Racial Profiling Act of 2007 (06/20/2007)

ACLU Letter to Representative Bennie Thompson Regarding the Detention of Muslim Religious Leaders on November 20, 2006 At the Minneapolis Airport (11/28/2006)

Biographies of Plaintiffs in Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Maryland State Police Department (04/02/2008)

Joint Statement of the Parties in Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Maryland State Police Department (04/02/2008)

About the Campaign Against Racial Profiling (03/20/2008)
An explanation of the patterns and practices that constitute racial profiling, who is targeted, and why it's bad policy.

Background: Jena 6 (09/20/2007)

Civic Duty: Special Screening and Discussion (05/07/2007)

ACLU Fact Sheet on New Attorney General Guidelines (10/08/2008)

NYPD in the Subways (04/11/2008)

Fact Sheet: Jena Six Cases (09/17/2007)
The American Civil Liberties Union has serious concerns about the possibility of racially-motivated unequal treatment in the Jena Six cases, in which six black high school students were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder for fighting with a white student last year in Jena, Louisiana.

ACLU Legislative Priorities for 2007 (03/21/2007)

Hip Hop Surveillance Factsheet (01/01/2007)
Think being rich and famous insulates you from racial profiling? Think again.

Brendlin v. California (03/05/2007)
Reviewing whether a car's passenger can challenge an illegal traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment. DECIDED

"Driving While Black" in Maryland ()
ACLU Lawsuits Against the Maryland State Police