Racial Justice
** The next Racial Justice Taskforce Meeting will combined with our Immigrant Rights Project for a joint meeting at the ACLU office on June 30th at 5:00pm. For more information, please contact Holly by email or at 816-756-3113 ex. 234.
The ACLU Racial Justice Program aims to preserve and extend the constitutional rights of people of color. Committed to combating racism in all its forms, our advocacy includes litigation, community organizing and training, legislative initiatives, and public education.
The ACLU Racial Justice Taskforce, named for long-time ACLU director Dick Kurtenbach, educates and takes action on racial justice issues. If you are interested in the Racial Justice Taskforce, contact us for more information. The taskforce focuses on a few issues on which we can make a difference in our region. Those issues include:
- Immigrants Rights
- Abolition of the Death Penalty
- Safety with Dignity in Public Schools
- Supporting and Enhancing Affirmative Action Programs
- Voting with a Criminal Conviction
- Driving While Black or Brown
Death Penalty:
The death penalty is the ultimate denial of civil liberties. To date, 135 inmates were found to be innocent and released from death row. The ACLU of Kansas and Western missouri is fighting for the end of the death penalty by supporting moratorium and repeal movements through public education and advocacy. We are engaged in systemic reform of the death penalty process, and case-specific litigation highlighting some of its fundamental flaws.
In Kansas, we work with the Kansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (KCADP). In Missouri we work with Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP).
The Right to Vote: Felon Enfranchisement Project is part of the ACLU Racial Justice Program. Felony disenfranchisement is the set of policies and practices that bars citizens with felony convictions from voting.
The ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri is working with the national ACLU and with allies from the election reform, criminal justice, faith and correction communities in our area to educate election officials, parole officers and the general public about the law in Kansas and Missouri regarding voting with a criminal conviction.
What is the law in
- In
- Once individuals with felony convictions have completed their full sentences, they can register to vote just like anybody else.
- Individuals convicted of a misdemeanor only lose the right to vote during incarceration. These individuals can vote upon release from confinement.
- Individuals convicted of any crime having to do with election laws are permanently disfranchised unless pardoned by the Governor.
- Over two-thirds, the vast majority, of those impacted by
- 2.18% of
What is the racial impact of felony disfranchisement?
- Felony disfranchisement disproportionately impacts people and communities of color.
- Nearly 1.5 million—or one in seven—African-American men are disfranchised due to felony convictions, seven times the national disfranchisement rate.
- If incarceration rates hold steady, three in ten of the next generation of black men can expect to be disfranchised at some point in their lives.
- In
What can be done about this in
- Educate people about the law so that all those who are eligible exercise their right to vote. You can achieve this through websites, town hall meetings and in outreach to impacted communities.
- Distribute palm cards to everyone you know with a felony conviction, and to organizations – churches, re-entry organizations, probation and parole offices - who work with this population.
- Tell people that if they have completed their sentences, they are eligible to vote. While felony disfranchisement laws legally bar well over five million Americans from voting, millions more are kept from the polls because they received inaccurate information regarding their right to vote.
- Register to vote if you are eligible, and make sure you vote on November 4th.
- Make your voice heard. Tell your elected representatives you support voting rights for people with felony convictions.
- Get involved.
Learn more about ACLU's national Racial Justice Program.