News & Commentary

This month marks a year since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police, which outraged the world and sparked unprecedented domestic and global protests calling for racial justice and transformative change. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict should have been an inevitable accountability measure, yet even though the horrible display of brutality was caught on camera in broad daylight, the outcome was far from guaranteed. The uncertainty leading up to the verdict illustrates the normalization of impunity for police in the criminal legal system. C

One in four Americans are unbanked or underbanked. This is in part because because banks across the country are closing branches, or penalizing those who don’t have large savings. This means that 64 million Americans — disproportionately Black and Brown people — can’t easily access basic financial services and are forced to pay thousands a year in fees for alternatives. B

The ACLU condemns the bald-faced lies that President Trump repeatedly propounded after decisively losing the Nov. 4 election, and we called for his impeachment for his concerted effort to subvert our democratic process, leading to the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. We also recognize that Facebook is a private entity with its own First Amendment rights to control the content it publishes. But Facebook’s decision to ban Trump nonetheless illustrates serious shortcomings in its content-related decision making — as its own Oversight Board (OB) properly declared yesterday in reviewing the decision. Facebook exercises quasi-monopoly power over a critical forum in our marketplace of ideas, and for many of the same reasons that we would be suspicious of a central government authority controlling what can and cannot be said, we have concerns with Facebook exercising such unchecked power. T

In the election for Philadelphia District Attorney, make sure you’re informed about a name that isn’t on the ballot —- the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police. T

This article was first published on Just Security. O

This year, more than 30 states introduced laws banning trans students from participating in school sports. This is part of an ongoing assault on trans youth — particularly transgender girls — that has been brewing for years. In 2020, Idaho became the first state to pass such a law and the ACLU quickly filed suit along with Legal Voice and Cooley LLP. Yesterday, my colleague Chase Strangio argued in the first case about a law banning trans women and girls from sports to reach an appeals court. The decision in this case will be pivotal as other states adopt similarly discriminatory laws. S

Equal access to housing is a civil right, but systemic racism within our housing institutions has long kept communities of color from accessing fair housing opportunities. The Fair Housing Act with its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision (AFFH) is a critical piece of legislation that aims to address our country’s legacy of systemic racism, by dismantling housing discrimination and segregation. But during Trump’s presidency, they came under attack. Now, the Biden administration must work to restore important housing protections to ensure all people have equal access to fair housing. T

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that has huge implications for the free speech rights of students. The case involves then 14-year-old Brandi Levy, a cheerleader at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania, and her post on the social media platform Snapchat. One of her cheerleading coaches saw the post, which used an expletive, and suspended her from the team for a year — even though Brandi had posted on a weekend, while off of school property. B