December 8, 2011
Let me explain. I’m a graduate of Wesson Attendance Center Class of 2010. I loved my high school. I had great friends, I got good grades, I played soccer and was in the band, and I got along well with my teachers. I stayed out of trouble. My high school experience was pretty unremarkable, actually, until it came time for senior year portraits.
I’ve never been what you’d call a girly-girl. I feel uncomfortable in dresses and am much happier wearing T-shirts and khaki shorts. I always find clothes that I like in the boys’ section, rather than the girls’. But this was never an issue at school at all. Nobody ever made me feel weird or outcast. I was just Ceara.
For senior portraits, the school said that boys must wear a tuxedo and girls must wear a drape that made them look like they’re wearing a dress. I tried on the drape, but I just felt so uncomfortable. Imagine forcing a typical “jock” guy to wear a ball gown, and have that be the defining image of him in his high school years forever. That’s how I felt wearing the drape. It was humiliating to me to pretend to be something I wasn’t.
I really wanted to wear a tuxedo. No one flipping through the yearbook would notice anything amiss…I would blend right in with the other kids in formal wear. So we took the picture that way, and I even checked with the superintendent to make sure it was okay. He said it was, though the school board still threatened to not print the picture.
I tried to reason with school officials throughout the year, but when we got our yearbooks that spring, I was crushed to see that not only was my senior portrait removed from the yearbook, but my name wasn’t even in the senior section as “not pictured.” It was as though I didn’t exist in my senior class.
I didn’t want to pick a fight with my school, but what they did wasn’t fair. So, with the help of the ACLU of Mississippi, I filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school. This week, the school agreed to change its policy so that all students will be wearing the same cap and gown in their portraits. What’s more, they’ve agreed to change their anti-discrimination policy to emphasize that everyone has the right to equal protection under the Constitution.
Public schools should never make a student feel like an outcast just for being who they are. LGBT kids and gender-nonconforming kids deserve to feel welcomed and safe in school. The yearbook is a significant rite of passage. Anyone who’s been to high school can relate to the excitement of cracking the spine for the first time and flipping to see their picture. The yearbook is a keepsake to be treasured with family and friends, so your kids and grandkids and nieces and nephews can see what you were like when you were their age.
Posted in Op-Eds
December 7, 2011
JACKSON, Miss. – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi reached an agreement today with the Copiah County School District in a dispute over the exclusion of student Ceara Sturgis’ photo from the senior portrait section of the yearbook because she posed in a tuxedo. The district has agreed to adopt a policy that will require all students to wear a cap and gown, rather than require boys to wear tuxedos and girls to wear drapes.
As part of the agreement the school will include Sturgis’ photo featuring the tuxedo in her class’ composite picture hanging in the school library.
“I am thrilled that my photo will join my classmates on the wall of our school library,” said Sturgis. “It’s important that nobody else will be forced to wear something that doesn’t reflect who they are.”
The school will also amend its anti-discrimination policy to add language affirming its commitment to following the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“Hopefully no other students will be excluded from this important rite of passage simply for expressing themselves,” said Bear Atwood, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Copiah County School District has done the right thing by changing the yearbook policy so nostudents have to feel as if they’re out of place.”
Sturgis was an honor student at Wesson Attendance Center in the district, where she attended school from kindergarten through her senior year. At home and at school, she dresses in clothing that is traditionally associated with boys and had previously not encountered any problems from her peers or teachers. When she had her formal senior portrait taken, she opted to wear a tuxedo, rather than a drape that gives the appearance of wearing a dress or a blouse. Because of her attire, the school refused to publish her photo and name in the senior portrait section of the yearbook.
“We’re glad that a resolution has been reached and that Ceara’s photo will be included in the school library along with the photos of the rest of her classmates,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “All students deserve to attend school in a setting that lets them be comfortable being themselves.”
Attorneys on the case include Joshua Block and Christine Sun of the ACLU LGBT Project, Atwood of the ACLU of Mississippi and Norman C. Simon, Joshua Glick, Jason Moff and Lee Strock of Kramer LevinNaftalis & Frankel LLP.
More information on this case can be foundhere: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/sturgis-v-copiah-county-school-district
Posted in Press Releases
December 6, 2011
The ACLU of Mississippi has joined with the Mississippi NAACP, Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, the Steps Coalition and Mississippians United Against Voter ID to gather 1 million signatures telling U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to reject the state’s voter identification requirement.
Initiative 27, which requires voters to present government-issued ID at the polls, was approved during the Nov. 8 general election. The measure is unnecessary and could lead to tens of thousands of Mississippians being stripped of their constitutional right to vote.
Help us defeat the plan by sending Holder a postcard, urging him to reject voter ID in Mississippi.
Posted in Press Releases
November 18, 2011
GULFPORT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi filed suit Friday on behalf of a Gulf Coast woman, challenging her 2010 arrest for her peaceful protest of the BP oil spill.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Gulfport on behalf of Sandra Howard of Long Beach. The suit alleges Howard’s constitutional rights were violated when she was prevented from engaging in a protest in a traditional public forum. It also alleges she was subjected to unlawful detention and seizure, and that her right to due process was violated.
The suit names the city of Long Beach, the Long Beach Police Department and Officers Shawn Johnson and Melissa Peterson.
The incident occurred June 12, 2010, after Howard walked onto a sidewalk in front of the Kangaroo Express gas station in Long Beach holding a sign in protest of BP. Shortly after Howard began her protest, Johnson and Peterson arrived, apparently in response to a complaint from the gas station manager. Although Howard had a permit to protest, the officers asked her to end her demonstration. When she refused, Howard was handcuffed and arrested as her husband and young son watched.
Howard was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey the order of an officer. She was transported to the Harrison County Detention Center. Her bond was set at $665 but her family couldn’t afford to pay it so she spent the night in jail. She had no previous arrests.
Howard said she had a right to protest BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, which led to the largest off shore oil spill in U.S. history.
“As the oil gushed out of the broken well into the beautiful Gulf waters, all I could think about was the devastation it was causing to my home and my community,” said Howard. “ I wanted to be sure that BP was held accountable for the damage. I wanted to show my son that we could make a difference. Instead he learned that it was not safe to exercise our most basic First Amendment rights. I am filing this lawsuit to make sure that no one else gets arrested for speaking out against injustice.”
ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Nsombi Lambright said Howard’s arrest shows the need for law officers to be trained on what constitutes disorderly conduct and on the elements of constitutionally-protected demonstrations.
“Our First Amendment rights are fundamental to our democracy,” said Lambright. “It is our hope that this lawsuit will push Mississippi municipalities to engage in a serious review of their policies and practices as they relate to a citizen’s right to engage in peaceful protest.”
Howard’s case was remanded to the file on appeal due to lack of evidence.
Bear Atwood, ACLU of Mississippi legal director, said the officers had no cause to arrest Howard.
“She didn’t violate any city ordinances. She didn’t trespass on BP property. She didn’t obstruct traffic on the public sidewalk,” Atwood said. “She was improperly detained by the officers and arrested without probable cause.”
The suit seeks an injunction restraining officers from interfering with a citizen’s right to peacefully protest in exercise of First Amendment rights. The suit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages and expungement of Howard’s records.
Posted in Press Releases
November 11, 2011
By Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director
Tuesday was a very emotional day for me. I began my work that day by voting. I always measure voter turnout (and potential problems) by what’s happening at my own polling place. That went smoothly. I then went to campaign headquarters to find out what neighborhoods needed canvassing in order to make sure that people were “getting out to vote.” Rabbi Debra Kassoff and I spent most of the day canvassing the communities surrounding Brinkley Middle School and Johnson Elementary School in northwest Jackson. These neighborhoods are joined by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. While canvassing these neighborhoods, we saw many things. We witnessed poverty and government neglect, but we also witnessed family and community connectivity. We saw generations of families living under one roof. Grandma, daughter and granddaughter were all going to vote at the first home that we visited. Unfortunately, granddaughter never received her voter registration card although she’d registered multiple times at the WIC office. We talked to many grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, mothers and fathers who assured us that the family had voted against Initiatives 26 and 27 that day. We also had the opportunity to speak to young brothers who didn’t understand what the initiatives were about. Working directly in communities still brings me as much joy today as it did almost 20 years ago when I started organizing. It centers me and reminds me what this work is all about. The folks that I work with always remind me of my family and they remind me that even though I have a job that pays me to do this work, I am not disconnected from the communities that we serve. These are my people, whether I run into them at a meeting, a family reunion, church or the grocery store. I am privileged to do this work and will keep fighting!! Little Sister, I’ll be back to make sure that you get your registration card this time!
Posted in Op-Eds
November 11, 2011
The time that you have been waiting for is here! The first MS Youth Hip Hop Summit Quarterly Youth Leadership Meeting is set for Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the STEPS Coalition Building – DeMiller Hall (formerly the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer), 610 Water St. – Biloxi, MS. Join the broad-based coalition of social justice organizations as Mississippi’s youth continue to learn how to work for change. We will continue what we started in Jackson this summer as we build skills to be effective youth justice activists. The time is now to make your voices heard and push for real changes in your communities! The ACLU of MS, NAACP MS State Conference, Children’s Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center and the Coalition for Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse are continuing their collaboration to move this project forward.
The Quarterly Youth Leadership Meetings will continue the MS Youth Justice Movement we started in Jackson this July and push it forward to even greater heights! The state is divided into five regions, with the coastal area and surrounding towns/cities (Hattiesburg/Forrest County south) being the Southern Region. The day’s activities will consist of excellent, rewarding, and fun workshops and activities designed to make you an effective activist.
The interactive workshops include:
- Effective communications, outreach, and student assembly.
- Know your rights: How to handle harassment from those in authority: police, teachers, administrators, etc.
- Creating the first edition of the MS Youth Hip Hop Zone.
- Art (music, visual, dance )
- MS Student Bill of Rights drafting (see attached draft from the summit)
- Action: Taking it to the streets!
*AND MUCH MORE!
Lunch and refreshments will be provided free of charge.
Even if you didn’t attend the 2011 MS Youth Hip Hop Summit in Jackson, you can still be part of the Quarterly Leadership Meeting.
We want you to join in the fight of making your schools, homes,and communities better places! YOUR voice is critical in making the rightchange MS needs; we CANNOT do it without YOU!
We look forward to seeing YOU again or for the first time on Sat., Nov. 12 in Biloxi! Please contact us with any questions and/or concerns. We can’twait to see YOU in Biloxi!
PLEASE – RSVP to the MS Hip Hop Summit Facebook events page: \\Quarterly Youth Leadership Meeting (facebook.com/MS.hiphopsummit)
Posted in Event Announcements
November 10, 2011
Posted by Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Reproductive Freedom Project
The people have spoken: Twice in South Dakota; twice in Colorado and now in Mississippi. Red state, blue state — it doesn’t make a difference. The message to government is clear: Women’s lives matter. Respect for women, respect for their decisions about their health and families, respect for their basic rights, matters. So keep out of our bedrooms, our doctors’ offices, and our personal lives and do your @##@$*#& job already.
In case you missed it, the people of Mississippi voted yesterday to reject a so-called “personhood” amendment that would have criminalized all abortions without exception, including treatment for ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, as well as some of the most common forms of birth control. No one believed they could do it and we owe this landmark victory–and a huge debt of gratitude–to the people of Mississippi who fought tirelessly and against all odds to defeat this extreme and dangerous initiative. Mississippi, reputed to be the most conservative state in the nation, now joins South Dakota (which has twice voted to reject abortion bans) and Colorado (which has twice voted to reject a “personhood” amendment) in saying enough is enough—stop playing politics with women’s lives.
Indeed, while this is a huge win for Mississippi, the effects of their victory will and should be felt nationwide. This past year saw an unprecedented legislative attack on the reproductive rights and health of women and families around the country. We saw bans on insurance coverage for abortion; laws that tried to strip any and all public funding from organizations that provide, or even talk about, abortions; and a law that would require any woman seeking an abortion to visit a crisis pregnancy center to be lectured by anti-abortion activists about why her decision is wrong. If anything, the vote in Mississippi tells us there is a huge disconnect between these politicians and the people they are supposed to represent. Yesterday’s vote should make it crystal clear that the American people do not support this extremist, anti-woman, anti-family agenda. The American people trust women, and it’s about time their elected representatives do so, as well.
Posted in Op-Eds
November 2, 2011
Republican Gov. Haley Barbour said on Nov. 2 he’s concerned about Initiative 26, an extreme measure that could have unintended consequences.
“I believe life begins at conception. Unfortunately, this personhood amendment doesn’t say that,” Barbour said on MSNBC. “That ambiguity is striking a lot of pro-life people here as concerning.”
Barbour also made comments to Fox News and local media. For the full story, read here.
Posted in Press Releases
October 14, 2011
Oct. 18 Community Forum and Discussion
American Association of University Women, Cleveland Branch
Delta State University Alumni House in Cleveland, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Oct. 19 Save The Pill Rally!
Independently sponsored
Oxford Courthouse Lawn, 5 p.m.
Oct. 20 Forum on Initiative 26 and Initiative 27
Sponsored by the Biloxi Branch of the NAACP
Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, 6 p.m.
Oct. 20 Election Forum
Tougaloo College Pre-Law Society, 6 p.m.
500 West County Line Road
Tougaloo, MS 39174
Oct. 25 Personhood and You: Implications of Initiative #26
Barnard Observatory, 7 p.m.
Student Union Dr. and North Lane, adjacent to the Grove in Oxford
Oct. 25 Amendment 26: Exploring the Implications of MS’s Personhood Initiative
Mississippi College School of Law, 6 p.m .
151 E. Griffith St., Jackson
Oct. 31 Ballot Initiatives Town Hall
New Hope Baptist Church in Greenville, 6 p.m.
Nov. 1 Vote No To Amendment 26 Dance In!
Drill Field @ Mississippi State University
Starkville, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 1 Community Forum on the Legal Consequences of Proposition 26
The University of Mississippi School of Law, Room 1078 at 5 p.m.
Nov. 3 Ballot Initiatives Town Hall
Mound Bayou Community Facilities Building in Mound Bayou, 6 p.m.
For more information about the events, contact Nancy Kohsin-Kintigh, 601 354-3408. None is sponsored by the ACLU of Mississippi.
Posted in Uncategorized
September 30, 2011
Oct. 13, 2011
A townhall meeting was held at Jackson State University to discuss Initiative 26. More than 150 came out as ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Nsombi Lambright and others talked about the dangers the proposed constitutional amendment would have on women and families if it is passed on Nov. 8.
The initiative, which attempts to give legal rights to fertilized eggs, would ban some commonly used forms of birth control, in vitro-fertilization and abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. The measure has been publicly opposed by medical associations and other organizations. Lambright explained to the gathering that the initiative would allow government intrusion in decisions that should be made by women and their families.
The implications of the measure are serious. The initiative would force women whose lives are at risk to carry a pregnancy to term or risk criminal charges. The threat of criminal charges also would loom over doctors who must consider whether to perform life-saving treatments on women. Lambright urged participants to educate others about the perils of Initiative 26, and to vote “No” on Election Day.
The event was sponsored by the Jackson State University School of Social Work.
Posted in Uncategorized
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