vol. 73, no. 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

BECAUSE

San Roan

eo Se.

FREEDOM

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CANT PROTECT rset ft

VOLUME LXXIII ISSUE 2

-Meet Our New

Executive Director

Death Penalty

Tipping Point

DESEGREGATION VICTORY

ince the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, advocates for racial

equality have struggled to protect-let alone advance-voluntary

desegregation in our state's schools. Despite clear federal and state

obligations to desegregate, school districts have been plagued by the

question of how to do so without violating Prop. 209's prohibitions on

granting preferences based on race.

Now a landmark ACLU-NC case may be paving the way-

and offering a national model as well. In March, a California

Appellate Court ruled that Berkeley Unified School District's

plan to voluntarily desegregate its schools does not violate

Prop. 209. In so doing, the court affirmed the value of a race-

conscious approach, albeit a limited one, as a step towards

equity in education.

The district's plan, which is designed to achieve socioeco-

nomic and racial diversity in all of the district's schools, takes

into account several neighborhood demographic factors in

school assignment decisions. An individual student's race is

not considered; instead, the policy considers the average house-

hold income and education level in a neighborhood, as well as

multi-year data on the racial composition of K-5 students.

The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights are among the legal ad-

Non-Profit

Organization

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San Francisco, CA

ate anaes aes e

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vocacy groups that represented Berkeley parents in support

of the district.

"I'm very happy about the ruling," said Berkeley parent

Alison Bernstein. "What my kids get from learning with kids

from different backgrounds is, in my mind, as critical as any

other part of their public education. It's how they learn to par-

ticipate in a diverse democracy."

`The ruling has national implications as well. The U.S. Su-

preme Court recently struck down student assignment plans

in Seattle and Louisville that expressly considered the race of

individuals, but the Court allowed for the use of demographic

data to achieve diversity and desegregation.

"School districts throughout California-and now, through-

out the U.S.-have been caught on a tightrope between ensur-

ing that they take steps to eliminate segregation and that they

don't use race to discriminate or grant preferences," said Jory

ALIHM 0 VIF9NV

Steele, ACLU-NC Managing Attorney. "This ruling allows a

pathway towards achieving equality."

Other groups representing the parents include the ACLU

of Southern California and the NAACP Legal Defense

Fund. The District is represented by attorneys at Keker and

Van Nest. The Berkeley school district's desegregation policy

came under fire in 2006, when the Pacific Legal Foundation

filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging that its plan

violated Proposition 209.

As of this writing, the Pacific Legal Foundation has submit-

ted a petition for review to the California Supreme Court. @

THIS YEAR, THE

ACLU-NC TURNS 75!

It's time to take stock of our legacy. Since our founding in San Francisco in 1934,

the ACLU-NC has worked tirelessly to defend and protect the freedoms

and fundamental rights of all Californians.

This July, ACLU members will help commemorate our 75th anniversary by hosting

ACLU-themed parties in homes and backyards across Northern California.

To learn more about hosting or attending an event in your community, contact

Shayna Gelender at 415.621.2493 ext. 384 or sgelender(daclunc.org.

i'We see

through

justice

ABDI SOLTANI TAKES THE HELM

By Isobel White

t was on a dusty road outside Kettleman City, CA that the

ACLU-NC's new Executive Director Abdi Soltani altered

his view of leadership.

"Up until then-all through high school and my first year

of college-I had believed that I would create change by ad-

vancing myself as far as I could and then advocating for the

issues I cared about," says Soltani.

But as he took part in a protest against a planned incinera-

tor in this small Central Valley farmworker town, he saw the

power of collective action. People from all over the southwest

had come to help fight the incinerator. And they succeeded.

"T saw that by working together, regular people can face down

enormous power, whether it's corporate or governmental." This

experience led Soltani to become a community organizer.

And now it has led him to the ACLU-NC-. Soltani takes the

helm after serving successfully as executive director of three

nonprofits: Californians for Justice, the Campaign for College

Opportunity, and PARSA Community Foundation, the first

Persian community foundation in the U.S. After an extensive

national search, the Board of Directors chose him for his pas-

sion for civil liberties and civil rights, and

his managerial acumen, political savvy, and

- fundraising smarts.

A card-carrying member of the ACLU for

several years, Soltani specializes in leading

campaigns that integrate the ACLU-NC's

core strategies-public education, legisla-

tive advocacy, litigation and community RIG

organizing. And he has extensive experi-

ence with statewide ballot initiatives. As a E

leader in the No on 54 campaign in 2003,

he worked alongside ACLU-NC leaders

Dorothy Ehrlich, Maya Harris, Quinn Del-

aney and Michelle Alexander to help defeat

a proposition aimed at significantly weak-

ening racial equality by barring state and local government

agencies from collecting vital data on race, ethnicity, color or

national origin.

Soltani understands well that rights on paper aren't enough.

At the Campaign for College Opportunity he spearheaded

"Save Me a Spot in College," an effort to pass legislation com-

mitting a spot in college and financial aid to students starting

in middle school. The measure entailed no new funding; its

power lay in raising expectations-a power he likens to the

work of the ACLU. "It was one thing to have freedom of

speech written into the Bill of Rights, but it's taken the work

of the ACLU to bring it to life."

This respect for civil liberties stretches back decades to

Soltani's childhood in Iran before and after the Iranian Revolu-

tion. He vividly remembers knowing at age 7 that he couldn't

speak freely over the phone, because of the very real fear that

government agents could be listening in.

"This fear squelches freedom of speech and assembly," says

Soltani. "Ultimately, it stifles basic civil rights and liberty. I

know that every social movement and every exercise of our

democratic rights is drawn from the guaran-

tees of freedom that the ACLU safeguards.

I'm looking forward to an inspired collabo-

M ration with the ACLU-NC Board, staff, and

EW chapters to uphold our mission and expand

our impact."

F Soltani takes the reins as the ACLU-NC

nears its 75" anniversary, reaching back to cel-

ebrate history while looking forward to new

challenges. "I have an unbelievable amount

of respect for the previous generations who

created this organization and worked for the

level of rights that we enjoy today," he says.

"At the same time, we have to do everything

we can to develop the next generation of

AHdVUSOLOHd SNVISH 408

leaders who will make as strong a commitment to the cause as

our predecessors."

This intergenerational collaboration is nothing new to

Soltani, who lives in Berkeley with his wife Grace, sons Cyrus

and Juno (one Persian name and one Korean name, reflecting

their heritage), Grace's mother, Abdi's parents, and his brother.

"Whether at work or at home," Abdi says with a laugh, "I love

breaking down barriers that divide people. I relish getting ev-

eryone pulling in the same direction towards a common goal."

It's a spirit that will serve him well at the ACLU-NC. @

IN MEMORIAM

Richard DeLancie, 1915-2009, served as

Chairperson of the ACLU-NC Board from

1973 -1977. He also became a delegate to

the National ACLU Board in 1974.

| NMR

THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Membership ($20 and up) includes a subscription to the

ACLU News. For membership information call

(415) 621-2493 or visit www.aclunc.org

Nancy Pemberton CHAIR

Abdi Soltani - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Laura Saponara_ EDITOR

DESIGNER AND

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Gigi Pandian

39 Drumm Street, San Francisco, CA 94111

(415) 621-2493

2 | ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF

ali iventulicanutat cleat ecircianl

STRAUSS V. HORTON: MARRIAGE EQUALITY

AND THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION

By Elizabeth Gill

A year ago, the Court's questions and comments

during oral argument inspired us to hope for marriage

equality in California. And indeed, in its decision

in the Marriage Cases, the Court surpassed all of our

expectations-eloquently concluding not only that

the California statute limiting marriage to a man and

a woman violated the due process, privacy, and equal

protection rights of gay and lesbian Californians, but

that any government discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation must be subjected to the most rigorous

level of review, or "strict scrutiny." Since the issuance

of the decision in May 2008, two other state supreme

courts-Connecticut and lowa-have gone on to rely

on the decision's reasoning in striking down their own

states' statutory marriage bans.

By contrast, our arguments in Strauss were met with

palpable hostility. As of this writing, we await the de-

cision. But if the Court's questions and comments are

indicative of the outcome, then we are likely to lose-at

least on our argument that Proposition 8 is a revision to

the constitution, not an amendment, and as such could

not be accomplished through the initiative process. The

Court did seem likely to find that Proposition 8 does not

apply retroactively to the 18,000 couples who married

between June 2008 and November 4, 2009.

The Court' likely upholding of Proposition 8 going

forward is profoundly disappointing-and not just because it

sets us back in terms of marriage equality. Our argument in

Strauss is that by depriving a single minority group, gay and

lesbian Californians, from a fundamental right, Proposition 8

ACLU-NC staff attorney Elizabeth Gill, ACLU LGBT and

AIDS Project Director Matt Coles, and ACLU Executive

Director Anthony Romero, on their way to the

March 5 oral arguments.

so undermines the equality guarantee in our state constitution

as to result in a change to the very structure of our govern-

ment. If Proposition 8 is upheld, our California Constitution

could be amended to eliminate the fundamental rights of any

minority by simple majority vote.

LEGAL and LEGISLATIVE BRIEFS |

_ By Rebecca Farmer

ovo ING Par D OWNS at 49-ERs GAMES

AASTOOM T3VHSIN

n March 5, 2009, a year and a day after the oral arguments in In re Marriage Cases, the California

Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Strauss v. Horton. The case, brought by the ACLU along with

NCLR, Lambda Legal and others, sought to invalidate Proposition 8.

It may be that the Court tries to mitigate the effect

of a decision to uphold Proposition 8 by, for example,

holding that the "nomenclature" of marriage is not

what constitutes the fundamental right to marry (which

would sadly undermine the Court's own decision in

the Marriage Cases). But even so, the very existence of

Proposition 8 broadcasts the ability of a simple majority

to exert direct control over the fundamental rights of

minorities-undermining the efficacy of both our state

constitution and our state courts.

As the Iowa Supreme Court so aptly put it a few

months ago, "the very purpose of limiting the power

of the elected branches of government by constitu-

tional provisions like the Equal Protection Clause is

to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of

political controversy, to place them beyond the reach

of majorities and officials and to establish them as le-

gal principles to be applied by the courts." (Varnum v.

Brien, No 07-1499, pp. 13-14 (Iowa S.Ct. filed April

3; 2009)

Thus, while we may win marriage equality back in

California politically-we lost Proposition 8, after all, by

a mere four percentage points, as opposed to our loss in

2000 of twenty-three percentage points on Proposition 22.

But the California Supreme Court's upholding of Proposi-

tion 8 in Strauss could do much more lasting damage.

Elizabeth Gill is a Staff Attorney with the

ACLU-NC and the National ACLU's LGBT and

AULD S lerovieet

PUTTING TORTURE ON TRIAL STEMMING TECH THREATS: BIOMETRICS :

_ _Inan historic decision, on April 21, 2009, the U.S. Court ACLU members were oo. in stemming a 1 hi

is. __ of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated our landmark the

ne lawsuit against Boeing eupemary pps DataPlan Inc,

ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF | 3

"WORK IT OUT WITH THE ACLU"

MY 21 YEARS AS AN ACLU LOBBYIST

By Francisco Lobaco

contributions tendered.

I've been a lobbyist with the ACLU for 21 years. In that

time, I've worked on just about every civil liberties issue under

the sun, from police accountability to protecting the rights

of immigrants to ridding ourselves of the McCarthy era loy-

alty oath. In just the past few years, legislation we sponsored

has helped to raise the issue of racial profiling to political

prominence, clarify homeowners' rights to post political signs,

ensure that students get unbiased and medically accurate sex

education, make our state's abortion laws consistent with the

principles established in Roe v. Wade, and ban the covert use

of radio frequency identification tags.

Affirmative legislation like this is an important part of my

job. But equally crucial is the work I and my fellow ACLU lob-

byists do each day to watch out for troublesome legislation.

Last session there were over 5,000 bills introduced. Each of

those bills and every amendment land on my desk. I read them

all. Our small staff in Sacramento typically monitors close to

1,500 bills per session and take an actual position on about

250 to 300 bills.

Without opposition, a bill generally has an easy ride to

the Governor's desk. By contrast, ACLU opposition means a

bumpy road confronts an author. I like to view this part of my

work as laying down "civil liberties speed bumps."

Take just one small example. Toward the end of the ses-

sion last year, a bill was amended permitting school authori-

ties to suspend or expel students for engaging in "cyberbul-

lying'-using the Internet or text messages to harass fellow

students. My due process radar always goes on alert when I see

[

DEATH PENALTY TIPPING POINT?

By Natasha Minsker and Isobel White

hat do we get for all the money we spend on the death penalty-

and how else could we use that money to make our communities

safe? Over the past few months, these questions have gathered

steam in legislatures and among newspaper editorial boards as states

struggle to patch gaping holes in their budgets.

This focus on the true cost of the death penalty has been

a centerpiece of our work at the ACLU-NC. Last year, our

comprehensive research on the full budgetary impact of the

death penalty informed the work of the California Commis-

sion on the Fair Administration of Justice, a bipartisan panel

of criminal justice experts appointed by the state Senate. The

Commission found that the death penalty costs our state more

than $137 million each year above the cost of permanent im-

prisonment. Commissioners also concluded that to make our

system fairer and functional on the most basic level, California

taxpayers would have to spend more than $100 million per

year beyond current costs.

`The financial argument for replacing the death penalty is

resonating far beyond California. The Governor of Maryland

recently led an effort to repeal the death penalty, resulting in

substantial limitations on its use in that state. In Montana,

a bill to end the death penalty passed the Republican-con-

trolled Senate in February. In Kansas, a Republican lawmaker

introduced a repeal bill, arguing that the state could no long

afford to waste public safety resources on its failed system.

And most significantly, New Mexico became the 15" state

in the country to end the death penalty in April, replacing it

with permanent imprisonment. Governor Bill Richardson,

a life-long supporter of the death penalty, chose to sign the

bi-partisan bill because, after serious reflection and consider-

ation, he concluded that years of experience had proven the

death penalty too flawed to fix.

Unprecedented legislative scrutiny has caused equally un-

precedented media attention to the death penalty's high cost.

An Associated Press story in February highlighted the Califor-

nia Commission's findings, and quoted retired Judge Donald

McCartin, once known as the "hanging judge" of Orange

County, stating: "It's a waste of time and money.... The only

thing it does is prolong the agony of the victims' families."

Similarly, on February 24 the New York Times ran a front

page story on how the death penalty's high cost is impacting

the current policy debates. A letter to the editor describing our

research appeared on March 1. Our research was also recently

featured in a news story on the CNN website, comparing the

costs of a death penalty and a non-death penalty trial. Finally,

on May 7, the editorial board of the Stockton Record for the

first time took an editorial position in favor of replacing the

death penalty with permanent imprisonment, citing our re-

search. The editorial said:

`There is little justice surrounding the death penalty. It is

always delayed and delayed and delayed, condemning the vic-

tim's family to twist in a sort of penalty purgatory. And there

certainly is no justice for the taxpayers, who are paying the

multimillion expense every condemned person represents.

Through our research, organizing and media work, the

ACLU-NC's death penalty project is moving California and the

nation closer to the day we end the death penalty for good. @

See www.aclunc.org/deathpenalty for links to the

articles mentioned above.

law enforcement lobbyist in Sacramento recently commented to me that the ACLU provides

"honest" policy arguments. I knew exactly what he meant-because unlike many of my lobbying

colleagues, our ability to influence decision making is not colored by the amount of campaign

amendments expanding the ability to suspend students. We

immediately contacted the author and Education Committee

staff to explain that we oppose the proposal's vague definition

of cyberbullying, and the overly broad language that would

permit suspension for off-campus comments posted on the

Internet. The author agreed to limit the bill only to on-cam-

pus acts. At the Education Committee hearing, I thanked him

for his amendment and proceeded to inform the Committee

members that we still had concerns, as the bill failed to ad-

equately define cyberbullying. The Chair turned to the author

and said "work it out with the ACLU."

A couple of days later the author agreed to define cyberbul-

lying consistent with existing law - a statute, by the way, that

the ACLU had helped narrowly craft many years previously.

We removed our opposition and the bill passed and was signed

by the Governor.

`This is the type of work I do day in and day out. It may

be true that the public regards lobbyists as among the least

honest and ethical professions, even below car salesmen and

telemarketers. But when I am asked what I do for a living, I

proudly answer, "I'm a lobbyist for the ACLU."

Francisco Lobaco is the ACLU's Legislative Director

in California.

Anti-death penalty activist training in April in

San Leandro.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Join us in Sacramento. Attend the Day of Action to

End the Death Penalty, June 30. Following the hear-

ing, we will proceed to the Capitol to tell lawmakers

to save $1 billion in five years by ending the death

penalty. To RSVP for this event, visit www.aclunc.

org/deathpenalty

Details on the public hearing:

2 a.m. 10 3 p.m.

Department of Health Services

The Auditorium, 1500 Capitol Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95814

2. Submit written comments that express your per-

sonal opinion about why you object to the lethal

injection procedures. Objections may be rooted in

the tremendous financial costs of the death penalty;

unnecessary restrictions on media access to execu-

tions; violations of the religious freedom of the con-

demned; and many other civil rights and civil liber-

ties concerns. For instructions on how to comment,

visit www.aclunc.org/deathpenalty

AGOIVE JIT

4 | ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF

GIG) PANDIAN

PRIVACY 2.0: JOIN THE DIGITAL PRIVACY REVOLUTION!

By Rebecca Farmer

X Jithin the past month I've posted pictures to an online

photo sharing web site, made a purchase on eBay,

and communicated with friends on Facebook. Who has been

tracking that information, and what can they do with it? As

more of us rely increasingly on the Web and digital technol-

ogy in our daily lives, the need for high-tech privacy protec-

tions also increases. For all our clicking and uploading, we

often don't realize that information we share online is also

compiled, stored, sold, and otherwise used in a number of

ways that we don't control. Technology has evolved quickly.

Laws haven't. Most of the laws and seminal court cases estab-

lishing privacy rights were decided before the Internet as we

know it even existed.

New technologies are fun and convenient. But we

shouldn't be forced to pay for them by handing over control

of our personal information. Enter the ACLU of Northern

California's work to ensure that we have the same privacy and

free speech rights in our online activities that we do in the

offline world.

"Our personal information is just that, personal, whether

it's in our wallet or in a Web database," said Nicole Ozer, the

ACLU-NC's Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director.

"Government officials must ensure that legal protections keep

pace with innovations. And businesses need to understand

that it's in their best interest to protect their customers' privacy

and free speech."

PRIVACY and

FREE SPEEGH:

iv's GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Unfortunately, businesses have a spotty record of protecting

user rights. Here are a few examples:

@ Facebook has triggered waves of protest by revealing users'

activites on other Web sites to their Facebook friends and

by making it extremely difficult for users to delete their

profiles.

@ AT T and Verizon remain locked in legal battles about

their role in the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program.

B Yahoo! was slammed for handing over information about

dissidents to the Chinese government.

`These actions haven't just generated bad press; they have

affected customer trust, ruined business relationships, and re-

sulted in massive legal costs and fines. Companies that fail to

protect privacy and free speech see the consequences in their

bottom line.

A key part of ACLU-NC's digital privacy initiative in-

volves working with the tech business community. Ozer and

her team created a first-of-its-kind primer, Privacy and Free

Speech: Its Good for Business, which offers hands-on tips for

how companies can make customer privacy part of their busi-

ness model as well as dozens of case studies examining the

benefits of protecting user rights and the costs of failing to do

so. The publication is available online at dotrights.org/busi-

ness/ primer.

`The primer is the first step in a broader effort by the

ACLU-NC to upgrade current privacy laws to match our

modern online world. Learn more, join the campaign, and

help us spread the word at www.dotrights.org. @

"AN AMERICA WE CAN BE PROUD OF"

any ACLU members are cautious and optimistic that under the Obama Administration, we will

be able to reaffirm our country's commitment to the Constitution, restore honesty and openness

in government, and demonstrate to other nations that we are people of integrity. ACLU News

asked a handful of provocative thinkers to respond to an important question for our time:

"When you

think of the phrase `an America we can be proud of,' what comes to mind?"

Integrity

"To keep one's own integrity," the poet Robinson Jeffers wrote,

"be merciful and uncorrupted and not wish for evil, and not

be duped/By dreams of universal justice or happiness. These

dreams will not be fulfilled."

An America of which we can be proud, for me, would be an

America in which integrity has been restored on every level-

not just in international, national and local affairs but, more

importantly, on a personal, individual level. If we are to regain

the civil liberties lost in the panicked legislation after 9/11,

assert the basic right of same-sex couples to marry, outlaw the

death penalty, stop extraordinary rendition and torture-these

and other needed changes will come from our integrity: the

compassion we feel for others, our duty to

act civilly, our willingness to seek the good

in others, all with the recognition that we

can never eradicate the ills that plague our

society and our world.

-Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts, Chair,

Monterey County Chapter, ACLU-NC

Genuine Democracy

I am proud of an America that acknowledges the equal

voice, power, and importance of all its citizens-an Amer-

ica that is truly of and for all people. By any definition,

a genuine democracy grants all its citizens equal access

to power and allows them universally accepted rights and

liberties. A democratic America respects the rights, ideas,

and lives of all people. It is an America that accepts re-

sponsibility for its mistakes, takes corrective measures and

strives to learn from those errors. It honors its promises

and constantly strives to set precedents we can be proud of.

It is flexible and able to adapt to the changing needs of the

communities it shelters.

Such an America is not possible without the courage, dedi-

cation, and hope of its citizen members. Together and alone,

we bear the responsibility to nurture these

democratic principles of inclusion and

optimism. From that, pride in America oc-

curs naturally and freedom truly rings.

-Sterling Larnerd, Chair, Santa

Clara Valley Chapter, ACLU-NC

Separation of Powers

In my professional work, I have argued that core constitu-

tional values require extensive judicial oversight of modern

law enforcement surveillance. That means that the same

extensive procedural constraints we place on government

wire tappers must also restrict the executive branches' use

of modern surveillance tools that monitor our electronic

movements and activities. Judges must make sure that elec-

tronic surveillance takes place only when justified, and the

courts must provide meaningful relief to victims of unjusti-

fied surveillance. Congress must make sure that rules stay

current with technologic innovations. We need to ensure

that electronic dossiers are not used to stifle free speech or

consolidate power. I can be proud of an America whose

government remembers the importance

of having each branch oversee the other

whenever important constitutional val-

ues are at stake.

-Susan Freiwald, Professor of

Law, University of San Francisco,

former Board Member, ACLU-NC

Freedom

Our government has a chance to come back in line with

American values by restoring respect for all people-from

underprivileged people seeking a chance to improve their

lot to unpopular people hoping to express their ideas, from

prisoners attempting to reintegrate into society to people in

love trying to marry each other without preapproval from the

government. The United States was founded on the principle

of respect for the individuals' freedom to define our lives as we

see fit, within reasonable limits.

In recent decades, conservatives have recast that freedom as

the ability of the strong to make any choices they wish-even

those that impose significant costs on others. That is not a

notion of freedom that can sustain society, nor is it the real

freedom that forms the foundation of our country.

We see the costs of this dogmatic, unrealistic, extreme

version of freedom today-in the form of an embittered

populace, a growing chasm between rich and poor, degra-

dation of the environment, torture of American and for-

eign prisoners, and governmental efforts to dictate family

relationships.

I hope that the Obama Administra-

tion, Congress, the courts, and the media

will take steps to return us to a saner and

more workable vision of freedom-one

that is more faithful to our heritage as

Americans.

-Jahan Sagafi, Attorney,

Board Member, ACLU-NC

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF | 5

THE 2009 ACLU YOUTH RIGHTS CONFERENCE:

IS EDUCATION A RIGHT OR A PRIVILEGE?

By Gigi Pandian

undreds of young people from throughout northern California came together on March 19 for the

2009 ACLU Youth Rights Conference, titled Is Education a Right or a Privilege? Exploring Educa-

ional Equity and Racial Justice in Our Communities. The date held special significance. March 19

marked the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq, a war that has drained funding for education.

"Our goal for this conference is to give everyone a chance to

think about their communities and schools," Ilham Awad of

the Friedman Education Project's Youth Activist Committee

(YAC) told the packed house. "Our thoughts and opinions are

important. Let that sink in."

A group called BAY Peace: Better Alternatives for Youth

kicked off the conference with a skit illustrating the effects

of military recruitment on campuses, as well as the toll the

military budget takes on struggling schools. "We could send

every student to college for free," Navy veteran and war resister

Pablo Paredes said, "for the cost of the Iraq war."

Derrick Smith, co-director of the June Jordan School for

Equity, a public school in San Francisco where a majority of

students are first-generation and college-bound, spoke about

the intersection of collective action and individual responsi-

bility. "While collective action is an important part of social

change, you can't forget the most important action you can

take: Your own individual actions," Smith offered.

Smith returned to the theme of the conference to ex-

press that while education

L is indeed a right, it is also a

privilege. "Not everyone has

the privilege that you in the

room have," he said, encour-

aging participants to take

advantage of the opportuni-

ties afforded them. "Push the

bar higher."

After the empowering opening session, the youth activists

were given a wide range of workshops to chose from, ranging

- from understanding the No Child Left Behind Act and the

Williams court case to discussing sexism and bias in schools.

The conference was held at San Francisco State's Cesar

Chavez Student Union. Young people active in the YAC fa-

cilitated a number of the workshops, engaging their peers in

opportunities to build knowledge and change.

"We are incredibly proud of the YAC," said Bruin Runyan,

Co-Director of the Friedman Project. "They have been working

NVIGNVd 1919

Ilham Awad and Danny Khuu of the

Youth Activist Committee.

since January, planning and writing curriculum, studying

popular education and the best way to motivate and engage

their peers, and having critical conversations about issues sur-

rounding educational equity and racial justice. It is an honor

and a privilege to support young people dedicated to improy-

ing their communities and speaking truth to power." and

Gigi Pandian is the ACLU of Northern California'

Graphic Designer and Publication Production Manager.

the Howard A. Friedman First - Amendment

Education Project was established by the ACLU-NC

in 1991. The project works with young people, ages

13-19 to improve their understanding of the core

principles underlying the Bill of Rights, to make

connections between these rights and the issues in

their lives and to build power and leadership among

young people so they may take leadership on issues

affecting them and their communities. To learn more

about the project, visit www.aclunc.org/youth.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WORKSHOPS

AT THE 2009 YOUTH RIGHTS

CONFERENCE

m How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole Go?

School to Prison Pipeline

m No Tolerance for Zero Tolerance: Finding

an Effective Solution to School Violence

m X's and Y's Dictating Our Lives:

Sexism in School

m Only God Can Judge Me:

Criminalization and Youth

m The Gilded Truth of Military Recruitment

mw What Are You Worth?

Quality Education and the Williams Case

m The Truth Behind the Act: Understanding

No Child Left Behind

m The Constitution Isn't Just For Old

People: Your Rights in School

GIFT RECIPIENT INFORMATION

de OMr Ms. a Mrs. O Miss QO) Dr.

| If you're looking for a special graduation gift, consider the gift of ACLU membership. Share your commitment to civil rights and liberties with your graduate as she or he steps

| out into the world and invite them to join in protecting these freedoms.

To give a gift membership, fill out the coupon below. Send with your check made payable to the ACLU to ACLU Membership, 39 Drumm Street, San Francisco, CA 941 1

M EM BERSFIP (Please note: Membership gifts and dues are not tax-deductible.)

| O $20 individual Membship UW Other ($5.00 minimum):

| DONOR INFORMATION (c)

| Name

- Street 1: Name:

| `Street 2: Street 1:

| : City, State, Zip: _ Street 2:

| Phone Number: City, State, Zip: -

| Phone Number:

CS .C0x2122-0x2122-CT.. .....--- ._..._._._--- ._--.._.ChCeF

6 | ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF

NVIONVd 1919

CIA WA

LOBBY DAY IN

SACRAMENTO

n April 26 and 27, approximately 100 ACLU-NC

board members, chapter leaders, donors, activists,

members, and staff gathered in Sacramento for the 2009

Activist Retreat and Lobby Day.

`The retreat, held on April 26, included a moving 75th An-

niversary panel between staff and board members tying the

organization's future to its past. Other workshops focused

on organizing around technology and privacy, abolishing

the death penalty, and marriage equality. The evening ended

with a keynote address from the inspiring Assemblymember

Bill Monning (D-Carmel).

The lobby day kicked off with an address from ACLU

California Legislative Director Francisco Lobaco, who em-

phasized the importance of criminal justice reform in Cali-

fornia. Attendees then broke into groups based on legislative

district and hit the Capitol to lobby their legislators on key

civil liberties issues. @

Ve hope you'll join us for the

San Francisco

Contact organizingid@aclunc.org

or (415) 621-2439 x372

jor more information or if you

would Like to participate in our

parade contingent.

"AN AMERICA WE

CAN BE PROUD OF"

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Freedom of Speech

As a community organizer volunteering with the ACLU and

Code Pink: Women for Peace, I treasure the First Amend-

ment's protection of the "freedom of speech" and "the right of

the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern-

ment for a redress of grievances." The ACLU protects the First

Amendment, and Code Pink uses the heck out of it. The past

eight years presented many challenges to those trying to exer-

cise these important rights, including heightened surveillance,

monitoring of political groups, no-fly lists, increased use of

non-deadly force by law enforcement, and free speech zones.

Fortunately, these techniques have been exposed and some

have already been reversed, thanks to the work of the ACLU

and other organizations.

An America that I can be proud of is

full of concerned individuals participating

in civic engagement fueled by the rights

delineated in the First Amendment.

-Natalie Wormeli, Attorney, Board

Member, ACLU-NC

ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF | 7

ACLU FORUM

Diana Tate Vermeire

WHAT DREW YOU

PERSONALLY TO WORK

ON EDUCATION ISSUES?

I believe that education is the

key to exercising and defend-

ASK THE EXPERTS!

SCHOOLS FOR ALL

s Racial Justice Project Ditector, Diana. Tate

Vermeire heads up Schools for All, a multidisci-

plinary campaign to ensure that all children attend

schools that are inclusive and welcoming. Here, Diana

addresses the school bias and pushout problem.

But the real issue is that there

isnt consensus on the ultimate

goal of education. Is it simply job

preparation, merely to teach ap-

propriate behavior? I would argue

that the fundamental purpose of

education is to prepare the next

generation of thoughtful, engaged

citizens who are able to consider

choices and feel responsible for

their

ing all of our other rights.

Without education, access to

the political process is quite often limited. So it's important

to me that every child have the opportunity for a good

education.

Before coming to the ACLU-NC in the fall of 2007, I

worked with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. I

had several cases where I watched students who wanted to

go to school and wanted to learn face unbelievable harass-

ment. I saw students who stopped wanting to go to school

because of the treatment they were receiving.

One of the stories that stays with me was an African-

American student, the only one in his class, whose teacher

thought it would be an educational exercise to recreate a

slave auction and have this student stand in the middle of

the classroom while his white peers bid on him. Not sur-

prisingly, this student did not want to set foot in his school

ever again. I worked with his parents to help educate the

school district and get this student back on track. This was

a particularly ugly example, but that kind of harassment

based on race or other difference is unfortunately not that

unusual in our schools.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT "PUSHOUT" IS?

Pushout occurs when students choose to leave or are forced

out of school because their school environment is unwel-

coming or even hostile. For example, students may experi-

ence unfair, harassing treatment by other students, teachers

or administrators, and the situation may be so difficult that

the student simply chooses not to attend. Or students may

be subjected to such unjust treatment by teachers or admin-

istrators that they are excluded from school or pushed into

the juvenile or criminal justice systems. For many students,

pushout is a more accurate term than dropout.

Pushout happens at schools throughout our state. As a

result, children are deprived of the opportunity to learn and

we as a society are deprived of their contributions.

IN WHAT WAYS IN PARTICULAR ARE

CHILDREN OF COLOR BEING PUSHED OUT?

Children of color experience pushout in a variety of ways,

but unaddressed bias and harassment that then leads to

behavior problems is one of the big issues. Studies show

that children of color receive harsher discipline for similar

behavior as their white peers.

In addition, young people are being disciplined and

punished for a wider array of transgressions. Behavior that

a generation ago would have been considered typical for

teenagers can now lead to a referral to the police, particu-

larly for students of color.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ADDRESS BIAS

AND PUSHOUT IN OUR STATE'S SCHOOLS?

The Schools for All campaign aims to stem the pushout

and bias problem through education of the public, imple-

mentation of better policies and practices, and by holding

schools accountable through our legal system. `The reality is

that most teachers and administrators are well-intentioned

and interested in serving children and their families, but

they need to better understand the crucial role of a posi-

tive school environment. They need better tools and best

practices to create schools that are welcoming and inclusive

for all students.

WHAT IMPACT HAS NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

HAD ON SCHOOL BIAS AND PUSHOUT?

No Child Left Behind has put teachers and administrators

under enormous pressure. They don't have enough funding

and they don't have enough resources to meet account-

ability standards. In some school districts, an extension of

"teaching to the test" is a desire to push out anyone who

isnt making the grade.

community. `That's why,

when students are prevented from

getting an education-due to lack of resources or due to

bias-there's a ripple effect throughout our communities

and throughout our nation.

It's important to emphasize that as stretched as our

schools are, we must ensure that all students are educated

without bias. It's state law and it's a matter of basic respect.

THE SCHOOLS FOR ALL CAMPAIGN

HIGHLIGHTS PUSHOUT AS A PROBLEM

FACING STUDENTS OF COLOR, LGBT

STUDENTS, ENGLISH LEARNERS, SPECIAL

EDUCATION STUDENTS, FOSTER YOUTH,

AND PREGNANT AND PARENTING TEENS.

WHY 1S IT IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER ALL

THESE GROUPS TOGETHER?

At both the Lawyers Committee and the ACLU, I've had

the experience of working with a school district to help them

grapple with and craft policies and procedures around a par-

ticular issue like LGBT harassment, for instance, and then

finding out two or three years later that that same district was

experiencing egregious cases of race-based harassment. The

school districts were creating immediate stop-gap measures

but weren't thinking through how the changes we worked on

should translate into other types of bias.

So the Schools for All campaign is about saying enough

is enough. There's no place for targeting or ostracizing any

group of students. For any of these students, education is

their best shot at a better life. So if we're denying any stu-

dent an education, the impact is long-term and far reaching

and it's just not acceptable. =

Diana Tate Vermeire is the ACLU-NC Racial Justice

Project Director.

8 | ACLU BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF

ye are pleased to present you with our year in review, an

overview of where and how we have invested the energy,

brain power, and grassroots action that your contributions

enable in Northern California.

2008 was as dynamic, challenging and fruitful as ever. Here are a handful of highlights:

= Westood up for freedom of speech, whether for the rights of Olympic torch protestors in

San Francisco, library users in San Jose, or seekers of truth on the Internet.

AHdVUSOLOHd ONVISH 808

= We defended the right to privacy by passing legislation to protect our personal data from

high tech thievery, and by challenging FBI snooping in library records.

= Wetooka stand for fair treatment and equal opportunity by exposing the racial profiling of Latinos in Sonoma and San Jose and the

harassment of African American families in Antioch.

= We protected the rights of the most vulnerable by winning a landmark victory on behalf of homeless individuals in Fresno who had their rights

and their dignity violated by the police.

We could not be more proud of our part in the historic victory in the California Supreme Court establishing marriage as a fundamental right

belonging to all Californians. This is one chapter in the long story of full LGBT equality.

And we are gratified by our successful defense of the reproductive rights of teens through the solid defeat of Proposition 4. (Truth be told, we

are also frustrated that we were forced to fight parental notification for the third time in four years.)

Our donors are incredibly loyal and generous, and we are most grateful. Your contribution to the ACLU stretches far and wide, across the

entire country. Because the national ACLU and ACLU-NC share every dollar contributed from our community, you play a direct role in making

possible the work of the ACLU in other states-like Ohio, Florida and Mississippi-where resources for defending civil rights are extremely

scarce.

Throughout the year, leaders of our 23 local ACLU chapters across Northern California did their part by shining light on threats to civil liberties.

Many chapters, including those spearheaded by undergraduate students and law students, worked long hours mobilizing opposition to

Propositions 4 and 8.

It's hard to overstate what a difference it makes for us to be doing what we do best in the new building-a home we could not have dreamed

of just eight years ago. Everything we need is here, allowing us to focus on the work at hand, and to convene our partnerships and coalitions in

a setting that is both efficient and welcoming.

2009 is the year that we celebrate the 75" Anniversary of our affiliate. We hope that you will join us in looking back and looking forward as we

celebrate the commitment we share: to see justice through with courage and perseverance, in times of scarcity and prosperity, caution and

optimism.

Sincerely,

Abdi Soltani, Executive Director Nancy Pemberton, Board Chair