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NEW ACLU REPORT DETAILS PERVASIVE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA AND FLORIDA
Group Calls U.S. Report to the United Nations a ‘Whitewash’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007
CONTACT: Brandon Hensler, 786 363 2700 or media@aclufl.org
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union today released a comprehensive analysis on persistent racism in America.
The report, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, is an analysis of the pervasive institutionalized, systemic and structural racism in America. The report is the ACLU’s response to the U.S. report to the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released earlier this year. The ACLU called the U.S. report a “whitewash” of widespread racial and ethnic discrimination in this country.
In its “shadow report” to the U.N., compiled jointly by the ACLU’s Human Rights and Racial Justice Programs and based on information provided by ACLU affiliates in more than 20 states, the ACLU’s report documents the U.S. government’s failure to fully comply with CERD in numerous substantive areas affecting racial and ethnic minorities. The report examines policies and practices at the federal, state and local levels that place a disproportionate burden on vulnerable populations – including women, children, incarcerated persons, and immigrants and non-citizens.
December 10th is celebrated worldwide as International Human Rights Day. The ACLU of Florida is kicking off a year of local town hall meetings on racial justice issues in Florida. The first town hall meeting will take on Feb. 21 at 7 PM place at the University of West Florida, Emerald Coast, 1170 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547-5068. More information at: (850) 429-9128.
“This important report highlights issues of race discrimination that persist in Florida – in our laws, policies and practices," said Muslima Lewis, Senior Attorney and Director of the ACLU of Florida’s Racial Justice and Voting Rights Projects. "The ACLU’s CERD report documents how racial injustice is especially perpetuated in law enforcement and criminal justice policies, education and voting rights. The State, as well as local government agencies in Florida, are bound by the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination to dismantle the institutional causes of race discrimination and remedy its effects. The people of Florida deserve nothing less. The ACLU of Florida will continue to press government agencies to achieve the ideals of justice and equality for all, the cornerstone of this society.”
Many of the racial injustices identified in the national ACLU CERD report reflect the everyday realities of Floridians throughout the state including the following:
- The beating to death of Martin Lee Anderson by Bay County Sheriffs, the deaths of four Black men in 19 days at the hands of Miami-Dade Police, the killing of an unarmed mentally-ill Black man at the hands of Ft. Myers police, and the handcuffing of two kindergarten-aged Black girls in public schools in Avon Park and St. Petersburg are just some of the instances of excessive use of force by law enforcement officers throughout Florida;
- Mass disfranchisement of nearly one million Floridians with former felony convictions, but who have completed all non-monetary terms of their sentences. This historic Florida policy has a disproportionate impact on people of color, impeding re-entry for ex-offenders and diluting the voting strength of communities of color;
- Failure to provide quality educational opportunities for Florida children, particularly children of color, as evidenced by low graduation rates, and high discipline and drop-out rates;
- Local law enforcement agencies embracing enforcement of federal immigration laws, which undermines their ability to implement effective policing;
- Racial disparities in Florida continue in all aspects of the war on drugs – from arrests to sentencing and incarceration – the government has turned the war on drugs into a war on communities of color.
FROM MIAMI:
"Both arrests and aggressive police programs target individuals and communities of color, said Max Rameau, ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter board member. “The result is that people of color are disproportionately incarcerated and victimized by police brutality. In addition, the Federal and local governments played a significant role in assisting the "housing boom" with strategic programs and policies, such as sub-prime lending programs and government assistance to developers building condos. While those policies assisted developers and others by increasing the value of their properties, those same policies made housing even more difficult for low income people to attain. The government's efforts to assist low income people in housing did not keep pace with the negative impacts of the government programs.”
FROM PINELLAS:
“Unfortunately Tampa Bay is not immune from the issues raised in the ACLU CERD Report.” Pinellas ACLU chapter board member Norman Brown recalls a four-year-old girl who was handcuffed and detained in a police car for, essentially, acting up in school. “Treating young children like dangerous criminals raises the concern that children of color are too often singled out for punishment and criminal sanctions for behavior that would otherwise be handled as a disciplinary matter.”
FROM TAMPA:
Another racial problem exists on both sides of the bay – racial profiling of Hispanics. “We’ve received reports, particularly in rural areas, of Hispanics being targeted for traffic stops,” said Mike Pheneger, President of the Greater Tampa ACLU Chapter. Reports of “bus raids” in Pinellas County are also troubling. Immigration lawyers have reported that officials take buses to apartment complexes, beat on people’s doors, and haul them off for detention in immigration facilities,” said Pheneger.
FROM ORLANDO:
“Racial profiling and overly aggressive police tactics such as the unnecessary use of Tasers and pepper spray create fear and distrust in Orlando communities of people of color,” said George Crossley, ACLU of Florida’s Central Chapter Chair. Police have respond to high crime statistics in the predominantly black Parramore neighborhood by sending heavily armed police to arrest scores of people, with reporters in tow, instead of working with the community to find innovative, community-based solutions to crime. “Of course people in Parramore want to be safer, but we shouldn’t push methods of police intimidation while neglecting ways to reduce crime through non-policing solutions,” Crossley concluded.
FROM MELBOURNE:
“This report is of the utmost importance from the national level right down to the most local level here in the Space Coast,” said Glenn Pinfield, ACLU of Florida Brevard Chapter President. “Even with all the progress we’ve made spreading the word of tolerance in this country, racism is unfortunately still far too prevalent. From nooses left on a Cocoa Beach employee’s desk to confederate flags and swastikas in our schools – we must combat racism at every turn and make this great country, and county, a better place for everyone.”
FROM JACKSONVILLE:
"Unfortunately, racial discrimination does still exist in America as documented in the CERD report. Racial discrimination also exists in the Greater Jacksonville area,” said Ken Hurley, ACLU of Florida Greater Jacksonville Chapter President.
Today’s report, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, can be found online at: www.aclu.org/cerd
National ACLU’s news release can be viewed at: http://www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/33071prs20071210.html
About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.
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