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For Immediate Release
January 15, 2007
As we reflect on the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the ACLU-NJ is proud to reaffirm our commitment to racial equality by announcing the launch of our new Racial Justice Program.
Through this program, we will bring together New Jerseyans across the state to conduct targeted advocacy in the interest of eliminating long-standing practices of discrimination and barriers to participation for racial minorities. Our racial justice priorities include issues concerning criminal justice, police practices, voting rights, education and prison conditions.
The ACLU-NJ's first step was to hire a dynamic Racial Justice Organizer, Jeremiah Grace, who has a successful track record as a social justice activist and campaign worker in northern New Jersey. Grace has served as Political Action Chair for the Elizabeth NAACP branch and as a member of the Economic Development Corporation for the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark. He also has been active with the People's Organization for Progress, the MLK Commemorative Committee and AmeriCorps.
"Since the early beginnings of the civil rights movement, the ACLU helped lead the fight for racial justice," said Grace. "However, more than 40 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, in New Jersey we're still fighting racial profiling by police, disparities in the criminal justice system and barriers to voting for minorities."
The time has come to invest in change and the ACLU-NJ is launching a long-term strategic effort to eliminate racially discriminatory practices in New Jersey. The ACLU-NJ has a strong history in the racial justice arena, leading the state in litigation and advocacy on behalf of victims of discrimination. Some highlights of this work include:
| Racial Profiling |
The ACLU-NJ sued the state of New Jersey on behalf of 12 individuals who had been targeted based on skin color while driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. The case was successfully settled in 2003.
We also work against racial profiling by advocating for the passage of bills in the state Legislature that address police practices issues, such as data collection policies, protection for police whistleblowers and improved systems for police accountability. |
| Discriminatory Policing |
The ACLU-NJ has sued the Manalapan Police Department for its discriminatory treatment of three African American youths who were harassed by the police while their white friends were told by the officers to go home. This case is ongoing. |
Whites-Only
Swim Club |
The ACLU-NJ settled a lawsuit in 2004 against the Le Terrace Swim Club, a privately owned swimming pool in Nutley that would not allow non-whites to become members or use the facilities as guests. The pool owners paid $1 million to settle the case. |
| De Facto School Segregation |
The ACLU-NJ filed an amicus brief in a case concerning the expansion of the Red Bank Charter School, arguing that expansion of the charter school would significantly contribute to de facto segregation. |
| Voter Disenfranchisement |
The ACLU-NJ sued the State of New Jersey to challenge the Denial of the Right to Vote for people on probation and parole. We argued that because of the vast overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system -- with more than 70 percent of our prison population being racial minorities -- denying people not incarcerated the right to vote violates the New Jersey Constitution's guarantee of Equal Protection under the law. The court ruled against us in this case, and we are now seeking a legislative change to address the issue. In addition, the ACLU-NJ conducts public education and outreach to educate former prisoners about their right to vote and why it is important. |
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