News & Commentary

NEW YORK — In the wake of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sworn testimony of sexual abuse at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh, the American Civil Liberties Union has announced its opposition to his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

By Amber Malone, ACLU of MS Social Justice/Public Policy Intern

By Udi Ofer, Deputy National Political Director and Director of Campaign for Smart Justice, ACLU

In response to the Nike ad campaign featuring NFL player and activist Colin Kaepernick, some state and local government officials in Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Louisiana have sought to discourage or prohibit the purchase of Nike products in various ways.While everyone is entitled to have their own opinion about the ads — including public officials — government efforts to boycott a company based on hostility to its political expression violate the First Amendment. That’s because one of the most fundamental precepts of the First Amendment is that the government can’t act to suppress one side of a public debate.In 2016, Kaepernick famously kneeled during the national anthem to protest police violence against minority communities, provoking vigorous debate about the relationship between protest and patriotism, the place of politics in sports, and free speech in the workplace. In the ads, Nike asks people to “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”Kaepernick has indeed sacrificed enormously for his beliefs, as his protests

Nike recently featured Colin Kaepernick prominently in a new advertisement campaign. Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem to bring attention to the lack of accountability of law enforcement officers who kill unarmed black men and boys. President Donald Trump has tried to divide our country by re-framing the lawful protest as unpatriotic and disrespectful of the military and an assault on law enforcement. In response to Nike’s ad, Commissioner of Public Safety Marshall Fisher and Governor Phil Bryant  joined President Trump in his divisive culture war by implementing and supporting a ban by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety on the purchase of Nike products. The below quote can be attributed to ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director and retired U.S. Army Colonel Jennifer Riley Collins:

CONTACT: Inga Sarda-Sorensen, 347-514-3984, isarda-sorensen@aclu.org

Mississippi is moving in the right direction with smart justice policies. Lawmakers and Governor Phil Bryant have recognized that Mississippi’s obsession to mass incarceration is too heavy a burden on communities, families, and taxpayers’ pockets. While criminal justice reform bills like HB 585 from 2014 and this year’s HB 387 help to reduce the prison population and make Mississippi safer, we still have a long way to go.

Governor Bryant wants a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that exempts transgender people from federal civil rights protections in hiring discrimination. This statement can be attributed to ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jennifer Riley Collins:

UPDATE: As of August 30, 2018, two more prisoners have died. The governor has called for an investigation. We are monitoring this situation very closely.