ACLU of Northern California

On behalf of Marin County activists, today we filed a lawsuit against the Marin County Sheriff for illegally sharing millions of local drivers’ license plate and location data, captured by his office's network of cameras, with ICE and other outside agencies. Sheriff Boyle is breaking multiple state laws, exposing the people of Marin, and the people who pass through its borders, to mass surveillance in violation of their civil rights. This has especially alarming implications ...for immigrants and people of color: two communities that are traditionally the targets of excessive policing, surveillance, and separation from loved ones and community through incarceration or deportation. This illegal practice must end. Immigrants are at the heart of our community, and Sheriff Boyle should not be helping federal agencies tear apart families. See the press release here:

Why talk about reparations in a so-called "free state" like California? Because the state’s founding went hand in hand with official government policies that sanctioned slavery and genocide.

Abortion bans that prevent people from making the best decisions for themselves and their families are just one part of a larger network of laws compounded by systemic racism baked into other areas like criminal justice, child welfare, and economic security. These laws are a direct threat to the health and lives of Black women, other people of color, and those struggling to make ends meet.

Criminalizing houselessness is a cruel attempt to shift the blame for our broken housing system onto the people who suffer from it most.

"The local tribes, including the Pomo, the Wappo, and the Coastal-Miwok, saw their populations drop by 90% in the 25 years after Europeans made contact, part of efforts to add another mission to the northern Bay Area," Toledo said. Colonizers caused this drastic decline in population by murdering Indigenous people outright and through methods like trading smallpox-infected blankets and arsenic-laced bread.

Beginning in the 1850s, the US government paid millions of dollars to white settlers in exchange for the murder of Indigenous people. "Bloody Island also known as the Clear Lake Massacre, was one of many government-sanctioned slaughters of Native Americans under California’s official policy of extermination. This #IndigenousPeoplesDay let's get educated on the true history of our state's founding.

"Before reparative work can begin, the burden often falls on Native people to educate non-Natives on the last 150 years of California history." This #IndigenousPeoplesDay let's all get educated on the true history of our state's founding.

On this #IndigenousPeoplesDay we invite you to join us in our commitment to Indigenous Justice. We are committed to working alongside Indigenous peoples and following their lead as they work to uphold their sovereignty, dignity, and identities. We encourage members of our community to acknowledge the land and recognize the ancestral people of the place where we each live today.

Words carry meaning. White colonizers used the word sq**w for over 200 years to refer to Native American women in degrading and dehumanizing ways. When people are systematically dehumanized, it sends the message that their lives are not worth protecting. While we can’t change the painful history that remains embedded in the s-word, we can change how future generations of Indigenous people are treatedand it starts by acknowledging the violent history of this word and retiring it for use as a place name. #Indigenouspeoplesday

Our government should be listening to the calls for racial justice, not trying to silence them through surveillance. And technology should be a resource the connects and empowers us instead of controlling us.

In 2017-18, students at Pittsburg Unified with disabilities were three times more likely than their peers to be suspended. And more than one-third of all Black students with disabilities were suspended or expelled. We're suing.

As San Franciscans, we know our city needs to repair the criminal legal system. After decades of extremely harsh policies that disproportionately filled our jails and prisons with Black and Brown people, many of whom were only children, we finally elected a District Attorney committed to justice and healing. The effort to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin threatens to undo all the progress we’ve made. Don’t sign the petition to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. We can keep people safe while leading with our values.

The election maps we use determine the leaders we have. Right now, they're being redrawn. We must make them fair and representative.

We made it to 2021, but it's no time to slow down. We now get to realize what we all worked so hard for - countering the last four years of cruelty with justice. Biden-Harris: here's your to-do list.

We are outraged on behalf of Jacob Blake and his family, but not surprised. The criminal legal system, from police to prosecutors, is functioning exactly how it was designed: to ignore the humanity of Black people and deny them justice.

Make no mistake about it, today’s events at the Capitol are acts of domestic terrorism meant to overthrow a democratic election that rejected Donald Trump, after record voter turnout. Think about it: Imagine the police response had Black and Brown people stormed the Capitol in similar fashion? A peaceful transition to President-elect Biden is the only path forward.

The Santa Clara District Attorney still tries kids, mostly Black and Brown boys, as adults. The Santa Clara DA still seeks "life without parole" sentences that equal "death by incarceration." The Santa Clara DA still resists calls to prosecute police and end mass incarceration. ... Reform is coming. The Santa Clara DA needs to listen.

Alicia Kuhl, her partner, and her young children live in their RV. Alicia grew up in Santa Cruz County and has lived there for the past 5 years. People often call the police on her family when her toddlers cry or make noise, escalating an already difficult situation. Police and Santa Cruz residents regularly wake her family up and make them move their vehicle. There are no safe and legal places to park.

The Fremont USD Task Force, formed after the murder of George Floyd, found that school police traumatize students, derail their education, and target black & brown children. Their recommendation: remove the police, and replace them with counselors & restorative justice programs. The school board is meeting tomorrow and we strongly urge them to vote to adopt their own Task Force's recommendations WITHOUT DELAY. Our students deserve to feel safe and cared for at school.

"Why is it so difficult for Native students? It's because the curriculum disempowers them, it disempowers their stories. But we could make a curriculum that empowers Native youth, that teaches about resilience and moves into revitalization and resurgence."

It's time to rescind the Muslim ban once and for all. And we can't wait to add the final chapter to our timeline.

The election is over and guess what? Organizing works. Let's keep using the power we've built. Here's a round up of what's going on in the next few weeks (including a series of post-election huddles):

Together, we’ve made our voices heard, again and again in the courts, in the streets, and at the legislature. We will keep working toward a more perfect union and keep fighting to hold all our leaders and institutions accountable, as we have always done.

Over the past four years we’ve witnessed some of the cruelest policies in our nation’s history, but we’ve also rallied, as We the People, to flood the streets, the airports, and the courts to fight for freedom and equality.

The ACLU’s national Election Protection coalition is a year-round, national and non-partisan effort to protect the right to vote. Much respect to everyone who volunteered their time to work as poll observers on Election Day.

Facts are crucial. Help us text ACLU supporters and invite them to a post-election huddle where we will regroup and plan next steps.

Say it with us!

This is our democracy and voters decide the winner. Tell your representative to publicly support counting every vote before calling the election.