vol. 56, no. 1

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Volume LVI

january/february 1992

No. 1

Anti-War Vets Sue Army for Assault,

Detention at Parade

n December 19 the ACLU-NC

filed a suit in U.S. District Court

charging that the First and Fourth

Amendment rights of a group of anti-war

veterans were violated when the veterans

were attacked, seized and searched by

Military Police as they attempted to exer-

cise their freedom of expression at a post-

Gulf War Armed Forces Day parade in

May.

" The plaintiffs, Veterans Speakers

Alliance members Paul Cox, William H.

Eisman, Marc Kiselicka, Robert Leedy,

Keith Mather, Scott Rutherford, and John

Wike are represented by ACLU-NC staff

attorney Alan Schlosser and cooperating

attorneys Tower C. Snow, Jr., Koji E.

Felton, Michelle Bryan Oroschakoff and

Pamela S. Kelly of Shearman and Sterling.

Speaking at a press conference

announcing the suit, attorney Felton said,

"Shearman and Sterling is proud to repre-

sent the Veterans Speakers Alliance as a

cooperating attorney for the ACLU of

Northern California. On this 200th anni-

versary of the Bill of Rights, it is particu-

larly disturbing that members of the U.S.

Army, who swear to protect and uphold

the Constitution, would violate the consti-

tutional rights of the Veterans Speakers

Alliance."

Invited to join

On May 18, the Bay Area Chamber of

Commerce and the Armed Forces jointly

sponsored the City Hall

exhibit, spoke about the

from the Struggle

for Civil Liberties

hen photographer Rick Rocamora first realized 1991

was the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, a series of

images began to develop in his mind. He didn't think

about the piece of parchment put on tour by Philip Morris, about

court cases referenced in law

libraries, or even about the civil

liberties issues currently under

consideration by the United

States Supreme Court.

He thought about the faces

of the people represented by

those battles. "I thought I could

share images behind some of the

ACLU's cases, so others could

realize that people do make

a dillerence, -_ explains

Rocamora.

His inspiration led to

the creation of "The Human

Face of the Struggle for

Civil Liberties," an exhibit

of 11 portraits of people,

who, with the help of the

ACLU of Northern

California, fought for their

San Francisco City Hall exhibit opening

Simone LeVant Rick Rocamora

Yolanda Cortez Rick Rocamora

ACLU-NC Public Information Director Elaine Elinson,

who coordinated the ACLU-NC's multifaceted projects

to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, is

pictured above with photographer Rick Rocamora at the

Laura Trent

Raul Ramirez

meaning of civil liberties

in the everyday lives of

San Franciscans. "We so

often talk about civil lib-

erties in the abstract," he

said. "We forget it is

human beings that lose

their civil liberties."

The photographs also

will be exhibited at the North

Terminal of San Francisco

International Airport during

October and November 1992,

where thousands of travelers

daily will have the opportu- Fred Korematsu

nity to see them.

billboards to videos - were coordinated

by ACLU-NC veteran Public Information

Director Elaine Elinson. Elinson's extraor-

dinary effort in pulling together the tal-

ented volunteers, graduate students, and

artists who have contributed to these pro-

jects enables us to celebrate the incredible

diversity and courage of the people who

have led the battle against forces trying to

erode our civil liberties. Her work will

also enable us to reach out to people who

otherwise might remain unaware of their

rights.

By putting a human face to our

Bicentennial project, we hope to inspire

others to stand up for their civil rights.

That next generation of activists may help

guarantee the survival of personal liberty

for another 200 years.

-Dorothy Ehrlich

ACLU-NC Executive Director

constitutional rights. The exhibit premiered at the ACLU-

NC Bill of Rights Day Celebration on December 15.

Rick Rocamora

Rocamora, whose work has appeared frequently in the

ACLU News, as well as in Image magazine and at the Oakland

Museum and the Eye Gallery, captured the diversity and spirit

of the individuals represented by the ACLU-NC. One of his

Subjects is Larry Brinkin, a gay employee of Southern Pacific

Rick Rocamora

who was denied

the company's

standard funeral

leave when _ his

lover dicd.

Brinkin now

works as a dis-

crimination repre-

sentative for the

San Francisco

Human Rights

Commission.

=f photo-

graphed _-_ Larry

Brinkin standing

with a client in

front of the

Federal Building,

under the words

`United States of America,'" says Rocamora. "It provides a

counterpoint - this man is protected by the U.S. Constitution,

but his rights were violated. Now he works to protect the rights

of others."

A portrait of Chiyuka Carlos, one of the young men

denied entrance to Great America amusement park in 1990

because security guards thought their clothes fit a so-called

"gang profile," also is part of the exhibit. Rocamora photo-

continued from page 4

4. jan - feb 1992

aclu news

continued from page 3

graphed Carlos in

his normal week-

day attire, which

includes a dress

shirt, | suspenders

and tie. "You look

at this young man,

a guy who's so

responsible he

works in the

Financial District

during the day and

as a UPS super-

visor at night, and

WL OLA Od

der case resulted in the

longest running press free-

wonder how he dom case on the ACLU-

Larry Brinkin (r.) with client Rick Clark can be stopped NC's docket.

Rick Rocamora from going into an In the future, Roca-

amusement park mora says he hopes to pho-

just because he's wearing another kind of outfit," says

Rocamora. "Anyone can buy that outfit he wore. If he were

white and wearing that outfit, he probably wouldn't be

stopped."

Rocamora used the same sensitivity and insight to por-

tray others involved in ACLU-NC cases. Among the individu-

als photographed were Fred Korematsu, who fought the World

War II internment of Japanese Americans all the way to the

Supreme Court; Yolanda Cortez, a hospital dietitian who

fought the English-Only rule at the University of California at

San Francisco; Simone LeVant, a Stanford diver who chal-

lenged NCAA drug testing of student athletes; Dick Criley, a

longtime free speech advocate; and Raul Ramirez, a reporter

whose San Francisco Examiner story about a Chinatown mur-

tograph more of the coura-

geous people involved in

significant civil rights cases

of the past few decades, and

gather their portraits in a

book that would be made

available to schools. "It

would be testimony to the

fact that one person can

change the law or the ways

laws are enforced,"

Rocamora says. "People

would see it and be inspired

to make a difference."

San Francisco Supervisior Terence Hallinan (speak-

ing) with ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy

Ehrlich and photographer Rick Rocamora

announces the opening of the photo exhibit at San

Francisco City Hall on January 13. Laura Trent

atmosphere of mistrust and discrimination. "I didn't know any clause

that said freedom of speech in English Only!" says Cortez, with a

broad smile.

A 30-second video featuring Bettye Davis, a Richmond resi-

rainy black-and-white images of

Gi American families,

Video Visions

forced i desol i t

x mx mx mx 6 x camps eae a Se tee a

television screen as a woman's voice describes the mass relocation of

families under the wartime Executive Order 9066. -

Fred Korematsu appears on the screen, describing why he

refused to be put in the camps. "I was stunned, and couldn't believe

what was happening. Then I realized I was an American, I was born

here. ... 1 was put in jail. I was surprised when the guard came and told

me | had a visitor. I didn't know him, but he introduced himself as Mr.

Ernest Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union."

Photos of young people of Japanese heritage, smiling, saluting

the flag. "The Bill of Rights. Celebrate It. Defend It. Use It," followed

by the ACLU logo, flashes on the screen.

This powerful 60-second video, which premiered at the

December 15 Bill of Rights Day Celebration, will soon fill in the gaps

between sit-coms and advertisements for beauty products, dish soap and

new cars. In January, video portraits of ACLU-NC clients will be sub-

mitted to television stations throughout northern California. They will

air as 15-, 30- and 60-second

dent whose home was invaded by police, has a very different

tone. Davis's description of what happened to her family that day

is punctuated by menacing shots that has the camera closing in on

suburban homes. Her final words are "The thing I'm most angry

about is that this can be done. They can just break into your home at

any time."

Film student Matt Heffelfinger, who produced the Davis video

with Andy Meade, said it was exciting to work on something that

would reach people. "It was a complicated subject to get across in 30

seconds, but I tried to convey that what happened wasn't right, and

that it happens to other people too."

Film students shot videos of a diverse group of individuals

who fought for the many personal freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of

Rights: James Camarillo, who sued for an end to the segregation of

HIV-infected prisoners at the California Medical Facility in

Vacaville; Chiyuka Carlos, one of the young men denied entrance to

Great America theme park

Public. Service Announ-

cements, celebrating the

Bicentennial of the Bill of

Rights.

The videos were made |}

by San Francisco State

University graduate film stu-

dents, guided by Steve Kovacs,

Chair of SF State's Cinema

Department and Elaine Elinson,

ACLU-NC Public Information

Director.

"It's unusual to have

such a collaboration," said

Kovacs, whose screen credits

include producing the 1988 fea-

ture film "68." "Film schools

usually work just with their

own students. For the students

to get this kind of hands-on

training is just great."

The film students bor-

because they fit a so-called

"gang - profile"; Simone

LeVant, a Stanford diver who

refused to submit to NCAA-

mandated drug tests; Larry

Brinkin, a gay employee of

Southern Pacific who was

denied the company's standard

funeral leave when his lover

died; Diane Brown, who

fought to keep prayer out of

her graduation ceremony at

Granada High School in

Livermore; longtime _ free

speech advocate Richard

Criley; and Orlando Gotay, a

gay man forced to resign by

the Navy, which then

demanded he pay back his

Naval Academy tuition.

"These personal por-

traits are real drama about the

rowed equipment from Film

and Video Service to create

high-quality video pieces. Two

professional on-line editors, Jennifer Seaman and Darrell Adams,

helped the students turn their footage into broadcast-quality videos.

Teams of students signed up to film one of the courageous peo-

ple who enlisted the support of the ACLU of Northern California to

defend their rights over the past five decades. In addition to Fred

Korematsu, who was filmed by a team led by Karen Davis, nine other

former and current clients participated in both the video and photogra-

phy projects.

Film students Lidia Szajko and Caitlin Manning produced a

lively spot entitled "Down With English Only," which featured

Yolanda Cortez, a hospital dietitian who fought the "English only" rule

at the University of California at San Francisco. Cortez gathered a few

of her co-workers, who spoke out about how the regulations created an

A hospital worker from UCSF on the "Down with English Only" video.

foundations of democracy,"

says Kovacs

"The founda

tions of democracy are based on freedom of the

individual, and here are these individuals confront-

ing it in their own lives. It's a great exercise for the

students, because they had to figure out how best to

capture what those people are going through, how ,

to show that drama in a single quote."

Daven Gee, a second-year graduate film stu- ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1981.batch ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1982.batch ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1984.batch ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1985.batch ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1986.batch ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1987.batch ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1988.batch ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1989.batch ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1990.batch ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1991.batch ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1992.batch ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log

dent who created the video of Orlando Gotay, said his experience

working on the project was invaluable. "It helped me identify what

I'm really interested in - dealing with real issues and real people,

and letting moving images be their voice. That's what I went to film

school to do, but sometimes you get isolated here on the campus, in

our small art-film kind of world." and

Laura Trent

aclu news

jan - feb 1992 5

Le Le

Bi lho d rl 5 of D rivers in northern California money towar.

" will get a Bill of Rights

Rights message this month. Anselm S

wy = es! le =! = = ated above roadways from San _ courts

Dx 6 mx mx 0x00A7 vx Francisco to Sacramento and from _ respons

Twenty ACLU-NC billboards, situ- The figh

Oakland to San Jose during January and February, need to

carry the message, "You Have the Right Not to

Remain Silent." ject off the drawing boards and onto the streets.

The unprecedented billboard project, combined Through the efforts of Lewis Lillian, Vice-

the talent, generosity and hard work of adiverse group _- President of Gannett Shelter Posters, and Steve

of people. Daniel Clay Russ, the project's copywriter, | Shinn, who dirccts the Public Affairs Department

is a Texan who studied to be a rabbi, has a black belt in

martial arts, and performs as a professional comedian.

Russ was named one of the top ten copywriters in the

country by Adweek magazine.

His passion for, and knowledge about, civil lib-

erties drove him to volunteer his time and energy to the

ACLU. "There is no moral decline in America that we

need fear," says Russ. "What we need to fear is the

decline in education and intelligence in American soci-

ety, because it is almost always associated with repres-

sion."

Russ enlisted Mike Bevil, a young art director

who works with him at the Austin-based advertising

firm of GSD M. They proposed a dynamic series of

billboards, print ads and an interactive poster to be

placed in schools, community centers and other public

places. Among the billboard design proposals were a

"Billboard of Rights," listing the first ten amendments

to the Constitution, and one featuring a copy of the Bill

of Rights under the words "The Protection You Don't

Need to Carry in Your Wallet."

Another of the advertising team's inspirations

was a large-size poster, which is mostly blank, except

for an eye-catching message at the bottom: "Celebrate

Freedom of Speech ... Write Whatever You Want. Pick of Gannett Outdoor Company of Northern

up this pen and express yourself. Then pick up acopy __ California, Gannett donated 20 large billboards,

of the Bill of Rights. Because you can't fight for your _illuminated_-at night, that will be on display during

rights if you don't know what they are." the early months of 1992. They will feature the

words "You Have the Right

Not to Remain Silent."

Other -_Russ/Bevil

designs will be incorporated

into print ads donated by

school and community news-

papers throughout northern

California. And the "Write

What You Want" posters will

ROSCOE

The ACLU-NC billboard, pictured here at 15th Street and South Van Ness in San

Francisco, is up at 20 sites throughout northern California. Jean Field

ae Ge be on display at venues rang-

You Hay eo TL ne Rig ht ing from classrooms to night-

rt "ny 4 : `Clubs. More than 800 high

Not 10 Remal school students had a chance

to express their thoughts on

posters at the Friedman First

Amendment. Education Pro-

ject's. first student conference

in December. The Academy of

Art College put up a dozen in

its hallways for its creative stu-

dent body and several Bay

Jean Field Area high school teachers have

posted them in classrooms.

Accompanying the poster are pens and a box labeled These efforts undoubtedly will reach peo-

"You are free to take one," containing copies of the ple who might otherwise remain unaware of the =

Bill of Rights. role the Bill of Rights plays in their lives. That,

But the costs of a billboard campaign almost say the Strausses, makes educational outreach a

curtailed the project. Despite the generosity of Russ, top priority. "It's good to be at a point in your life-

Bevil and GSD M, and the potential of donated bill- time when you can do something like this," says

board space, production costs for even one or two bill- | Fran Strauss. "The response to our idea from

boards would overwhelm the project's budget. friends and family has been incredible."

At that point, longtime ACLU-NC leader Fran

Strauss, who currently chairs the Development

Committee, came up with one of her generous inspira-

tions. "During a working lunch with Marcia Gallo

[Director of the Friedman First Amendment Education

Project], she mentioned the lack of money for the bill-

board project," says Strauss. "As I drove home, I

started thinking about the big bash I was planning in

honor of my husband Anselm's 75th birthday. It was

going to be quite costly, and I thought why not put the

aclu news

jan - feb 1992

Death Penalty Appeal to High Court: "Efficiency or Justice?"

n January 14, attorneys for Robert 0x00B0

Harris filed a petition in the U.S.

Supreme Court asking the nation's

highest court to review the Ninth Circuit's

refusal to overturn his death sentence.

Attorney Michael Laurence, Director

of the ACLU-NC Death Penalty Project

and one of Harris's defense lawyers, con-

tends that key evidence regarding Harris's

impaired mental condition was never pre-

' sented to the jury in the original trial in

San Diego Superior Court.

"Society cannot and should not close

the federal courthouse doors or permit an

unjust execution because a condemned

inmate lacked the funds to present a

defense," Laurence said.

"Despite his mental disabilities,

because of his poverty Robert Harris never

received a minimally adequate psychiatric

examination at trial," charged Laurence.

"It was not until the defense team, at its

Own expense, brought in competent psy-

chiatric examiners in 1990, that the true

extent of Harris's organic brain disorder

came to light."

Such evidence is vital to proving that

Harris was incapable of committing the

crime for which he is sentenced to death"

- premeditated murder. In 1979, Harris

was convicted of first degree murder and

sentenced to death. But because the jur-

ors did not hear evidence that Harris suf-

fered from organic brain damage and

other disorders stemming from fetal alco-

hol syndrome, traumatic birth, and sys-

tematic brutalization as a child, his

attorneys contend that the death penalty

is unjust.

According to the petition filed in the

U.S. Supreme Court, "The evidence pre-

sented to the district court overwhelm-

ingly proves that the jury was presented

with false information conceming

{Harris's] mental condition. Far from

being a `sociopath,' and someone with

`capacity' to make rational decisions

under stressful situations, under the cir-

cumstances of the crime, [Harris's] men-

tal disabilities prevented him from

harboring the mental state necessary for

death eligibility or the culpability neces-

sary for a jury to return a death sen-

tence."

Harris's petition is supported by affi-

davits from ten mental health experts.

Citing psychiatric and psychological

reports and opinions on Harris from as

early as 1969, and two recent batteries of

neuropsychological tests, | Laurence

argues that Harris was incapable of

understanding or controlling his behav-

ior, both prior to and at the time of the

1978 murders.

"The declarations of mental health

professionals and every competent men-

tal health evaluation performed on

Robert Harris since 1978 support the

petitioner's position that he did not pre-

meditate and deliberate or otherwise

have the required mental state, at the

time of the crime, for the state to obtain a

special circumstance finding or the nec-

essary culpability to persuade a jury that

the death penalty was warranted," stated

Laurence. In August 1991, the Ninth

Circuit by a 2-1 vote refused to consider

the powerful, uncontroverted psychiatric

evidence, and invoked a procedural rule

concluding that Harris should have pre-

sented the evidence earlier.

"The Supreme Court is being asked to

decide whether its newly created rules

restricting death row inmates access to

the federal courts are merely case man-

agement devices or whether they will per-

mit federal courts to ensure justice and

fairness in the application of the death

penalty," Laurence said.

In November, 1991, the full Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals voted not to

hear Harris's appeal, according to press

reports on a tie vote.

The petition filed in the Supreme

Court argues that Harris's poverty should

not have been used by the Ninth Circuit

to deny him justice and urges the high

court to hear the case to prevent a "funda-

mental miscarriage of justice." Hl

1991 Legislative Review...

continued from page 2

any documents, including those involving

citizen complaints.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Two-year bill

AB 1417 (Friedman) as introduced,

would have allowed all disciplinary actions

involving police officers to be decided

through binding arbitration. The ACLU

argued that disciplinary actions arising out

of citizen complaints should be exempt

because such complaints should be decided

by persons who are familiar with and sen-

Sitive to the needs of the community. The

ACLU was able to obtain amendments pro-

viding an exemption in the bill for citizen

complaints and removed its opposition.

ACLU position: NEUTRAL, AS

AMENDED

Status: Two-year bill

AB 2067 (Floyd) would reinforce the

code of silence surrounding internal police

investigations of misconduct. Among other

things, the bill requires 24-hour notice to

any police officer by his or her superior

before the officer could be questioned con-

cerning any matter under investigation.

The bill's provisions would make it virtu-

ally impossible for police agencies and

Civilian Revicw Boards to adequately

investigate charges of police misconduct.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Two-year bill

AB 183 (Ferguson) would have prohib-

ited the use of pain compliance techniques

on peaceful demonstrators who are not

resisting arrest. Police groups came out in

force in opposition to the bill.

ACLU position: SUPPORT

Status: Failed in Assembly Ways and

Means Committee

Reproductive Rights

1991-1992 Budget Act/Medi-Cal

Abortion Funding For the second consec-

utive year the state budget was enacted

without any restrictions on Medi-Cal fund-

ing for abortions. Amendments inserting

restrictive language were attempted by

conservative Republicans on the Assembly

floor but were handily defeated.

SB 1232 (Deddeh), SB 858 (Leonard)

were two anti-choice bills that were

defeated. SB 1232 would have prohibited

anyone form performing an abortion for

the purpose of sex selection; SB 858 would

have placed burdensome reporting require-

ments on health care facilities to keep

records regarding abortions.

ACLU position; OPPOSED

Status: Failed in Senate Health

Committee

First Amendment

SB 341 (Lockyer) requires plaintiffs to

establish that they have a substantial prob-

ability of success before proceeding with

lawsuits against persons for acts in further-

ance of free speech on a public issues. The

bill was intended to provide procedural

protection from SLAPP suits.

ACLU position: SUPPORT

Status: Vetoed by the Governor

SB 1115 (Leonard) would specifically

extend First Amendment rights of free

expression to high school and _post-

secondary students in private as well as

public institutions. The bill also clarifies

that schools can impose discipline for acts

of harassment or intimidation that are not

constitutionally protected.

ACLU position: SUPPORT

Status: Two-year bill

AB 1934 (Wyman), AB 184

(Ferguson) were efforts to expand censor-

ship. AB 1934 would have substantially

broadened California's definition of

obscenity by applying a community stan-

dards test instead of statewide standards;

AB 184 would have prohibited the selling

of "harmful" printed matter in vending

machines.

ACLU position: OPPOSED BOTH

BILLS; Status: Failed in Assembly

Public Safety Committee

Privacy

ACA 28 (Leslie) sought to amend the

State Constitution by promoting a specific

definition of "family" and "rights" sur-

rounding the family. Sponsored by the

religious right, this bill would have unrav-

eled almost every aspect of family law

including those laws affecting child abuse,

spousal abuse and spousal rape. It would

have infringed upon privacy rights guaran-

tees by the California Constitution on

issues such as parental and spousal consent

for abortions.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Failed in Assembly Judiciary

Committee

AB 167(Burton) would provide legal

recognition of gay and lesbian marriages.

Such recognition recognizes the legal

equality of lesbians and gay men and

extends to its participants the substantial

legal and economic benefits, rights, and

responsibilities of married persons.

ACLU position: SUPPORT

Status: Failed in Assembly Judiciary

Committee

SB 937 (Watson) is a broad-ranging

effort to regulate surrogate parenting con-

tracts. The ACLU objects to those provi-

sions of the bill which would terminate

all parental rights of the surrogate mother

as a condition of payment under the sur-

rogacy agreement.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Two-year bill

SB 1154 (Bergeson) would prohibit

all local school employees from being

elected to their local governing boards

unless they resign from their jobs. This

measure deprives Californians of the

right to elect representatives of their

choice and effectively denies school

employees their constitutional right to

run for and serve on their local school

boards.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Signed by the Governor

AB 347 (Eaves) provides that employ-

ers require random drug testing for every

motor carrier driver and applicant driver.

The ACLU remains opposed to drug test-

ing as violative of the Fourth

Amendment and privacy rights.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Two-year bill

Due Process

SB 270 (Kopp) would require tenants to

deposit prospective rent in order to defend

unlawful detainer cases. The bill is

strongly opposed by the ACLU and a long

list of tenant organizations as a fundamen-

tal violation of duc process.

ACLU position: OPPOSE

Status: Two-year bill

AB 2140 (Lee) would reform current

student suspension and expulsion statutes

by providing students stronger due process

protection as well as permitting on-going

educational assignments during a suspen-

sion.

ACLU position: SUPPORT

Status: Two-year bill

SB 665 (Petris), as introduced, would

have substantially curtailed the right of

involuntarily committed mental patients to

refuse powerful psychotropic medication.

The ACLU and patients' rights advocates

were able to obtain amendments which

assured that mental patients could not be

forcibly drugged absent a judicial or quasi-

Judicial finding of incompetency or in

cases of emergency.

ACLU position: NEUTRAL, AS

AMENDED

Status: Signed by the Governor @

aclu news

jan - feb 1992 7

n February 19, 1942, President

Franklin Roosevelet issued

Executive Order 9066, an act that

former Senator Sam Ervin called "the sin-

gle most blatant violation of the

Constitution in our history." Within a

matter of weeks, 110,000 Japanese

Americans were forcibly evacuated from

their West Coast homes and sent to

remote internment centers.

One of those desolate camps was Tule

Lake, a bleak and barren volcanic plateau

Japanese American internment camp

A Meeting at Tule Lake

by Hiroshi Kashiwagi

The busride to Tule Lake

in the night over.dark highways

rain through the flatlands

and snow beyond Weed

up, up to the roof of California

was a movement back in time

back to the years 1943, 44, and 45

when | was 19, 20 and 21.

Being among you

sensing your youthfulness

hearing your strong voices

| search for reasons why

| came after 30 some years.

Tule Lake, Tule Lake - that

was a name | dared not mention

spoken warily, always with

hesitation, never voluntarily.

But you have made it

a common name again

of a small sleepy town

that it was

before we came here

before we were confined here

before it became Tule Lake

Relocation Center

before it became Tule Lake

Segregation Center

for disloyal Japanese Americans.

Yes, it's right that we're here

to see first hand where

18,000 of us lived

for three years or more

to see again

the barbed wire fence

the guard towers, the MPs

the machine guns, bayonets

Bitter Memories

SO0th Anniversary of Internment Order

Just south of the Oregon border. Eighteen

thousand Japanese Americans were

interned there in rows of tarpaper shacks.

In 1943, Tule Lake became a segregation

center: the "troublemakers" - those who

refused to serve in the military or swear

unqualified allegiance to the country

which had interned them were removed

from the other camps and sent there.

The conditions at Tule Lake were

harsher than at any other camp. This led

to strikes, violence and martial law.

and tanks, the barracks

the messhalls, the shower rooms

and latrines.

Yes, it's right to feel

the bitter cold

of the severe winters

the warmth of the pot-bellied

stoves and the dust storms

how can we forget

the sand biting into your skin

filling your eyes and nose and mouth

and ears, graying your hair

in an instant.

Yes, it's right to recall

the directives

of the War Relocation Authority

their threats and lies

the meetings, the strikes

the resistance, arrests

stockades, violence, attacks

murder, derangement

pain, grief, separation

departure, informers

recriminations, disagreements

loyalty, disloyalty

yes yes, no no, no yes

Issei, Nisei, Kibei.

These are words now

but they were lived here.

There were deaths and births

and lovemaking in the firebreak

with the warden's flashlight

shining on you.

Yes, and movies, socials,

dances sports, card games

and religion.

Sewing classes, flower

arrangement, doll making,

Former ACLU-NC Executive Director

Ernie Besig went to Tule Lake to investi-

gate and publicize the conditions of pris-

oners who were kept in isolation in the

stockade.

His visit was unwelcome by the camp

officials who ordered him off the prem-

ises. "A guard made sure we departed,"

recalls Besig. "The guards bade us fare-

well by putting two bags of salt in the gas

tank. The result was a stop and go 400

miles to San Francisco."

wood carving

beauty behind barbed wires.

Recreation was big

it was encouraged.

"Keep `em busy

keep `em occupied

keep 'em sane,

for heaven's sake!"

But a Chronicle reporter

observed: "there are

18,000 mental patients living

in confinement at Tule Lake."

So it is right that we are here

itis right that | remember

and tell it.

| wish | could share

the feeling | have now

with the Issei and Nisei

they who lived here

they who do not speak of it

who pass it off

as a good time experience.

Whatever we did here

. the commitments we made

loyal or disloyal

compliance or resistance

yes or no

it was right!

Because the young people

make it so

because they seek the history

from those of us who lived it.

So we must remember

and tell it.

we must acknowledge it

and tell it.

So we are here

the Abalone Mountain

the Castle Rock

After half a century, a belated official

apology from the U.S. government, and

monetary compensation for the internces,

pilgrimages are made to Tule Lake to

remind the younger generations of that

bleak chapter of U.S. history.

In honor of the endurance and commit-

ment of the internees, the ACLU News is

proud to publish this poem by Hiroshi

Kashiwagi, poct, actor and former Tule

Lake internee.

Courtesy JACL

the dry lake bed

where tules still grow.

But the barracks

where are the barracks?

And where Apt. 40 05 D?

home once long ago

sold? demolished? gone.

Little remains

except what's trapped

in our heads

far back somewhere.

I'm glad | made this trip.

Somehow | feel

a meeting of youths,

your youth, your energy

your enthusiasm, your

sense of justice

with the youth that | was

idealistic, intense, angry.

It's a happy meeting

it is even better

that | can stand aside

after 30 odd years

and see it, this meeting

to meet, to share, to learn

to struggle, to continue.

| sense an immense feeling

of continuity

with

you - all of you.

Yes. It's right, it's right

and I'm glad | came

back to Tule Lake

with you.

Written and read at Tule Lake,

California; April 19, 1975

aclu news

nov 1991

Obituaries

The ACLU-NC mourns the deaths of

four outstanding civil liberties activists.

Dom Sallitto

Dom Sallitto, who died in December,

was a founding member of the ACLU-NC

Santa Clara Chapter more than a quarter

century ago, but that was not his first

brush with the ACLU. When Sallitto was

arrested and jailed during the 1934

General Strike in San Francisco and

threatened with deportation to his native

Italy, the ACLU came to his defense and

remained a member of his defense com-

mittee until his case was dismissed in

1938. A dues-paying member of the

ACLU since 1940, Sallitto set up the

chapter from an office in San Jose State

University at the urging of former

Executive Director Ernie Besig who had

helped fight his deportation.

Sallitto served on the Chapter Board

for many years and chaired the Students

Rights and Church/State Committees. He

made many appearances before the Los

Gatos School Board, convincing them that

Christmas pageants and other religious

events had no place in the public school

system.

Dom and his wife Aurora were the

recipients of the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award, given to outstanding

ACLU-NC volunteers, in 1985.

According to former Chapter chair Vic

Ulmer, the Sallittos were the "backbone of

the chapter - from hosting ACLU events,

to mailing the chapter newsletter out from

their living room, to advocating on civil

liberties issues before government bod-

ies." a

Monterey Chapter leader Dick Criley

said of Dom, "He was one of those incred-

ible Italian anarchists - principled to the

nth degree!"

Jane Scribner

Jane Scribner, a tireless and devoted

ACLU-NC volunteer for more than a dec-

ade, died of cancer in December. "We at

the ACLU-NC are so lucky that Jane

came to volunteer with us," said ACLU-

NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich.

"Not only was she incredibly bright, hard-

working and good humored - her com-

mitment inspired many others -

volunteers and staff alike - to increase

their efforts for the organization!"

Scribner was born in San Francisco

and, despite facing severe quotas on

women entering college in the 1930's,

attended Radcliffe in Cambridge,

Massachusetts. As a chemistry major, she

had to "cross the quad" and take chemis-

try courses with the illustrious professors

who taught the men at Harvard. After

graduation, she returned to the Bay Area

and worked as a lab assistant at U.C.

Berkeley. Undaunted by the many barriers

that faced women in scientific careers,

Scribner went on to eam her PhD in

microbiology at UC Berkeley.

She taught bacteriology at San

Francisco City College, but her teaching

career was interrupted when Scribner

refused to sign the McCarthy-era loyalty

oath required by the Levering Act. The

California Supreme Court later threw out

the Act as unconstitutional, but Scribner

- because she had resigned in opposition

to the oath - did not get her teaching

position back. Jobless, she went to secre-

tarial school, learned shorthand and typ-

ing, and went to work at Mt. Zion

Hospital in the pathology department and

later at UCSF in the ophthalmolog

department.

After she retired from UCSF in the

early 1970's, Scribner threw herself into

volunteer work at the ACLU-NC. A

devoted worker, Scribner worked in every

department, from the Complaint Desk to

the Public Information Department, taking

on any kind of task that came her way.

She counseled callers in need of assis-

tance, stuffed envelopes, staffed informa-

tion tables, and helped in fundraising

campaigns. "She was willing to do any-

thing for the organization she believed

in," said her longtime companion and fel-

low ACLU volunteer George Hutchins.

Scribner also helped feed the homeless

at St. Anthony's, and supported a wide

variety of peace, justice and environmen-

tal organizations ranging from the

American Friends Service Committee to

KPFA. Scribner bequeathed a generous

donation to the ACLU-NC, as well as to

the other groups she cared so deeply

about.

Jerry Berg

Gay rights leader, attorney and former

ACLU-NC officer Jerry Berg died in

September of AIDS at the age of 54. Berg

was the Vice-Chair of the Board of

Directors of the ACLU-NC in the 1970's;

he also chaired the successful 1978 cam-

paign to fight the Briggs initiative, a state "

ballot measure which would have man-

dated the firing of gay public school

feachers.

A graduate of Stanford and Stanford

Law School, Berg was the first national

co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign

Fund, a founder of the Lesbian/Gay

_ Freedom Marching Band and a leader of

the public interest legal organization Gay

Rights Advocates.

ACLU-NC volunteer James Hormel, a

longtime friend of Berg, said, "He was a

unique individual who touched enormous

numbers of people during his lifetime.

The example of his dedication to public

service is a legacy to all of us."

Milen Dempster

Veteran peace and civil liberties acti-

vist Milen Dempster died on December 12

at the age of 91 in Mill Valley. In 1955,

Dempster, along with Sali Lieberman and

Vera Schultz founded the first chapter of

the ACLU-NC - the Marin County

Chapter - with encouragement from

then-Executive Director Emie Besig.

Dempster was the first recipient of the

Chapter's Benjamin Dreyfus Civil

Liberties Award and received a public

thank-you for his efforts from

Congresswoman Barbara Boxer. He was

also made a "life member" of the Marin

Chapter board, an honor bestowed on peo-

ple who have made an outstanding contri-

bution to civil liberties as a board

member.

A leader of the peace movement,

Dempster helped found the anti-nuclear

group Marin SANE/Freeze. Dempster's

half century of activism earned him the

nickname "Mr. Peace."

A native San Franciscan, Dempster

would regale his friends with stories about

surviving the 1906 earthquake. A

Unitarian minister, and a manager of

migrant worker camps in California and

refugee camps in Europe after World War

II, Dempster was the Socialist candidate.

for governor in 1934.

A man of boundless energy, dogged

determination and a lifelong enthusiasm

for learning, Dempster became a cham-

pion of editorial page letter writing.

Marin Chapter Board member Eve Citrin

recalled that the only time he didn't come

to ACLU meetings was when he was

working for the anti-nuclear cause. ``He'd

show up with a whole bunch of placards

about nuclear disasters and explain that he

had to dedicate attention to eradicating

nuclear bombs - otherwise there would

be no one left to fight for civil liberties.

"He dedicated his life to the dual

causes of peace and justice and he never

stopped working for either one - he

began fighting for civil liberties long ~

before any of us were bom," Citrin added.

A memorial for "Mr. Peace" was held

on January 11 at the Marin Fellowship of

Unitarians in Terra Linda. Milen

Dempster's family requests donations in

his memory be made to the ACLU-NC,

Marin SANE/Freeze, Greenpeace and the

Sierra Club.

Field Program

Monthly Meetings

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all inter-

ested members. Contact the chapter

activist listed for your area.)

B-A-R-K (Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-

Kensington) Chapter Meeting:

(Usually fourth Thursday) Meet on

Thursday, February 27 and March 26.

Volunteers needed for the chapter

hotline - call Florence Piliavin at

510/848-5195 for further details. For

more information, time and address of

meetings, contact Julie Houk, 510/848-

4752.

Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually second

Wednesday) Meet on Wednesday,

February 12 and March 11. The Earl

Warren Chapter is sponsoring a high

school essay contest. Chapter Hotline,

510/534-ACLU is now available 24

hours. For time and address of meet-

ings, please call Irv Kermish, 510/836-

4036 or Abe Feinberg, 510/451-1122.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) Meet on Monday,

February 17 and March 16 at 6:30 PM

at San Joaquin Law School. New mem-

bers always welcome! For more infor-

mation, call Nadya Coleman at 209/

229-7178 (days) or A.J. Kruth at 209/

432-1483 (evenings).

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter

Meeting: (Usually first Thursday) Meet

on Thursday, February 6 and March 5 at

the ACLU Office, 1663 Mission, #460,

San Francisco at 7:00 PM. February 6

mailing party will start at 5:30 PM For

more information, contact Teresa

Friend, 510/272-9700.

Marin County Chapter Meeting:

(Third Monday) Meet Monday,

February 17 and March 16 at 7:30 PM,

Westamerica Bank, East Blithedale and ~

Sunnyside Avenues, Mill Valley. For

more information, contact Harvey

Dinerstein, 415/381-6129.

Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet Thursday, February 27

and March 26 at 7:30 PM at the

California Federal Bank, El Camino

Real, Palo Alto. New members wel-

come! For more information, contact

Harry Anisgard, 415/856-9186 or call

the Chapter Hotline at 415/328-0732.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Tuesday) Meet on

Tuesday, February 4 and March 3 at

7:30 PM at the Monterey Library,

Community Room, Pacific and Madison

Streets, Monterey. For more informa-

tion, contact Richard Criley, 408/624-

762.

Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) No meeting in February.

Meeting on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30

PM. For more information, contact

Mildred Starkie, 415/934-0557.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area)

Chapter- Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet on Monday, February 17

and March 16 at 7:30 PM at the offices

of Planned Parenthood, 2211 Palm

Avenue, San Mateo. Note: The North

Pen Chapter has a new Hotline num-

ber: 579-1789. For more information,

contact Emily Skolnick at 340-9834.

North Valley (Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehema,

and Trinity Counties) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Wednesday)

Meet on Wednesday, February 19 at

6:30 PM at Harry's Restaurant,

Redding. Date for March meeting to be

announced. For more information con-

tact interim Chairperson Tillie Smith at

916/549-3998.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Monday) The

new Redwood Chapter will meet on

Monday, March 16 at Humboldt State

University, Science B Building, Room

135 at 7:15 PM. Call for information on

February meeting or other information

contact Christina Huskey at 707/445-

7034,

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually second Wednesday) Meet on

Wednesday, February 12 and March 11

at 7:00 PM at Hearing Room 1,

Sacramento County Offices, 700 H

Street. Meeting on April 8 will be a

panel discussion on The Right To

Privacy. For more information, contact

Ruth Ordas, 916/488-9956

San Francisco Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Monday) Meeting on

Monday, February 24 and March 16 at

7:00PM. at ACLU office, 1663

Mission, 460, San Francisco. For more

information, call the Chapter

Information Line at 415/979-6699.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Tuesday) Meet on

Tuesday, February 4 and March 3 at

7:00 PM at the Community Bank

Building, 3rd Floor Conference Room,

comer of Market/St. John Streets, San

Jose. Contact John Cox 408/226-7421,

for further information.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday) Meet on

Tuesday, February 18 and March 17.

Chapter will continue to work on com-

bating Hate Crimes. Contact Keith

Lesar, 408/688-1666, for further infor-

mation.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting:

(Third Thursday of the month) Meet

Thursday, February 20 and March 19 at

7:30 Pm at the Peace and Justice

Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa

Rosa. All members welcome. Contact

Len Bronstein, at 707/527-9018 for fur-

ther information. ~

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Third

Thursday of the month) Meet on

Thursday, February 20 and March 19.

For more information, contact Alan

Brownstein at 916/752-2586.

Field Action Meetings

(All meetings except those noted will be

held at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663

Mission Street, Suite 460, San

Francisco.) :

Student Outreach Committee:(Usually

third Saturday) Meet on Saturday,

February 15, March 14 and March 21.

Contact Marcia Gallo, at ACLU-NC

415/621-2493, for more information.

Civil Rights Committee:

(Fourth Saturday) Meeting on Saturday,

February 22 and March 28 from 10:00

AM to 11:30 AM. RSVP to Nancy Otto

at ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.

First Amendment Committee:

(Fourth Saturday) Meeting on Saturday,

February 22 and March 28 from 12:00

PM to 1:30 PM. RSVP to Nancy Otto at

ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.

Pro-Choice Action Campaign:

Contact Nancy Otto at the ACLU-NC

415/621-2493.

Death Penalty Action Campaign

Contact Nancy Otto at the ACLU-NC

415/621-2493.

In collections

ACLU-NC News: 1992

Details

Title: vol. 56, no. 1 (February, 1992)
Creator: American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Date: 1992 January-February
Identifier: ACLUN_0580
Genre: newspapers
Physical description: 40.5 x 28 cm
Publisher: San Francisco (Calif.): American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Preferred citation: ACLU of Northern California News vol. 56, no. 1, 1992 January-February; PER ACLUN; California Historical Society.
Rights statement: In Copyright
Publication rights: Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, was not transferred to the California Historical Society (CHS). Permission for reproduction or publication of materials in this collection beyond that allowed by fair use must be secured from the copyright holder.
Topical subject(s): Veterans
Refugees
Privacy, Right of
Civilian review boards (Police administration)
Linguistic rights
Freedom of expression
Discrimination in housing
Deportation
Criminal justice
Capital punishment
Reproductive rights
HIV/AIDS
Gang profiles
LGBTQ rights
Police practices
Japanese Americans--Incarceration, 1942-1945
Named subject(s): Besig, Ernest
Boxer, Barbara
Briggs, John
Cortez, Yolanda
George Deukmejian
Criley, Richard L.
Dreyfus, Benjamin
Ehrlich, Dorothy
Estes, Milton
Gallo, Marcia
Harris, Robert
King, Rodney
Korematsu, Fred
LeVant, Simone
Lobaco, Francisco
Ramirez, Raul
Schlosser, Alan
Strauss, Fran
Warner, Douglas
Wilson, Pete
United States. War Relocation Authority
Unruh Civil Rights Act
Geographical subject(s): Sacramento (Calif.)
Monterey (Calif.)
Santa Rosa (Calif.)
Monterey County (Calif.)
Vacaville (Calif.)
Fresno (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Berkeley (Calif.)
Presidio of San Francisco (Calif.)
Tule Lake (Calif.)
Collection identifier: PER ACLUN