vol. 60, no. 1
Primary tabs
VOLUME LX
Rights Day
= WANT TO THANK ERNIE FOR HIS LARGER-THAN-LIFE ROLE in
shaping this organization - an organization which he
imbued with the integrity necessary to be respected and
heard; for creating an organization that has fought on the
unpopular side, not just for the underdog, but often for the
despised. Through it all, even though we were often on the
outside, we were never marginalized, our message was
always taken seriously."
With this tribute to Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award
honoree Ernest Besig, founder of the ACLU of Northern
California, and to the ACLU itself on its 75th anniversary,
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich opened her
state of the union presentation at the 1995 Bill of Rights
Day Celebration.
The December 3 event at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in
San Francisco featured author and journalist Linda
Ellerbee as keynote speaker, tributes to ACLU-NC founder
Besig and chapter activist Phillip Mehas, music by nueva
cancion singer Enrique Ramirez and folksinger John
Fromer as well as award presentations to high school stu-
dent artists.
MC Aileen Hernandez, a longtime civil rights and
Continued on page 2
orematsu presents Ernest Besig with the Earl Warren Civi
SOSSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSHSSHSHSHHSHHSOHHSHHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSSHSHSHSHHHSHSHSHHSHSHSHHSHHHSHHSHSHSHHHHSHHHSSEHHSHHHHSHHHHHHHHHHSEHHHHHHHHHHEHHEHHHHHHHHHEHHHEHHHO8SEHEEES
California Supreme Court
Hears Challenge to Restriction
Minors'
Reproductive Rights
NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN euro:ivit LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN GALIFORNIA
aclu news
Bags Ge eh kore
Os JANUARY 10, THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME
Court heard oral arguments in American
Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, the case
challenging the 1987 California law requir-
ing minors to obtain parental or judicial
consent for abortions. Plaintiffs, which
include the American Academy of Pediatrics,
the California Medical Association and other
leading health care organizations, asked the
state high court to uphold the permanent
injunction issued by the San Francisco
Superior Court in 1992, and upheld by the
state Court of Appeal on June 30, 1994, bar-
ring the state from enforcing the law.
The plaintiffs are represented by attor-
neys from the ACLU-NC, the National
Center for Youth Law (NYCL) and the San
Francisco law firm of Morrison and Foerster.
"During nine years of litigating this
issue, the state has consistently failed to
justify the law's restriction on young
women's reproductive rights," said Linda
Shostak of Morrison and Foerster who will be
arguing the case before the high court.
Shostak and Morrison attorneys Annette
iberties Award. Rick ROCAMORA
__ Chesney issued a permanent injunction
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 4424
San Francisco, CA
Carnegie and Lori Schechter have litigat-
ed the case on a pro bono basis as cooper-
ating attorneys for the ACLU-NC and the
NCYL. Plaintiffs are also represented by
ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret Crosby
and Abigail English of NYCLs Adolescent
Health Care Project.
The challenged law restricting
teenagers access to abortion has never
gone into effect because of court orders
issued in this lawsuit, filed on behalf of
the American Academy of Pediatrics
(California District IX); the California
Medical Association, the American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(District IX); Planned Parenthood of
Alameda/San Francisco and Philip Darney,
M.D., former Director of Family Planning
at San Francisco General Hospital.
After five years of litigation and a
month-long trial in October 1991, San
Francisco Superior Court Judge Maxine
in June 1992 barring the state from
Continued on page 6
INSIDE? Language Rights # End of the Gas Chamber? = Meet New ACLU-NE Staff _
Bill of Rights...
Continued from page |
- women's rights leader and herself an Earl
Warren Award honoree in 1989, welcomed
the crowd of over 800 supporters.
Newly-elected ACLU-NC Chair Dick
Grosboll presented the Lola Hanzel
Courageous Advocacy Award to Phillip
Mehas, a San Francisco Chapter activist
and creator of the student Freedom of
Expression Juried Art Exhibit.
In explaining his compelling need to
work for the ACLU-NC, Mehas quoted
Governor Cuomo as saying that "Reagan
created an atmosphere where the denial of
compassion was acceptable."
That is what we are up against," Mehas
said, "that is why the ACLU connects with
me on a visceral level."
As an introduction to honoree Besig's
innovative leadership of the ACLU-NC [see
sidebar this page|, Ehrlich introduced an
excerpt of the film "Operation Correction,"
produced by Besig in 1961 to counter the
anti-Communist propaganda of the House
UnAmerican Activities Committee. The
dramatic footage showed police using fire
hoses to force anti-HUAC student demon-
strators down the long marble stairway of
the San Francisco City Hall rotunda.
Ehrlich noted that Besig was "clearly
ahead of his time," by making a movie to
|
Keynote speaker Linda Ellerbee
counter the accusations in the govern-
ment's propaganda film of the same inci-
dent, "Operation Abolition."
Fred Korematsu, whose conviction for
refusal to obey the internment order for
Japanese Americans in World War II was
fought by Besig all the way up to the U.S.
Supreme Court, presented Besig with the
award. "When | got arrested, I didn't feel
like a criminal," Korematsu said, "but I did-
nt think anybody would help me.
"In jail, they told me I had a visitor. He
asked me `How are you being treated?' and
offered me candy and cigarettes. He intro-
N 1934, ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC LABOR | aiding in the defense of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings, |
|
duced himself as Mr. Ernest Besig of the
ACLU.
"I thought here I was, an `enemy spy'
and this man wants to help me. | had a
chance to be an American again. Ernie
Besig, I want to present you with the Earl
Warren Civil Liberties award - you
deserve it."
To Besig's brief response, a heartfelt
"Thank you," Aileen Hernandez noted, "He
may be short on words but he's long on
courage."
Keynote speaker Ellerbee regaled the
audience with stories from her Texas
upbringing and her brushes with power as
a network anchor and Washington corre-
spondent: "I firmly believe it is the duty of
every citizen to keep their mouth open,"
she advised.
Ellerbee, a best-selling author and
journalist (who said she was once curtly
told by an editor that a `journalist is noth-
ing more than an out-of-work reporter')
currently produces a news program for
children through her company, Lucky
Duck Productions. "We always tell chil-
dren they are smarter than their televi-
sions.
"We need to teach them to be media lit-
erate. We need to stop telling kids the cam-
era doesn't lie. It does lie. The minute you
point it at one thing you point it away from
something else."
Ellerbee also had strong warnings
about the increasing attempts to censor by
federal legislation. Speaking of a bill that
would further restrict television program-
ming, she noted, "It is not okay to say that if
your children shouldn't watch it, you can't
or I can't. The viewer already has the best
censorship device ever invented. It's called
the on/off switch.
"With half the world working on loosen-
ing its chains, we should not be tightening
ours," she concluded.
Enrique Ramirez welcomed the crow
with songs
BILL OF RIGHTS
PHOTOS BY RICK ROCAMORA
(c)OGCHHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHHSHSHSHHHSHSHSHHHSHSHHHHHSHSHHHHHHSHHSHHSHHSHSHHHHHSHHSHHHHHSHHHHHSHHSHHHHSHSHSHHHHOHSHSHSHOHOHHHHHHHOHHSHSHHOHHSHSOHOSOSS
punished for speaking out against internment.
Area longshoremen went on strike.
After vicious police attacks on strikers, culminating in
Bloody Thursday when two trade unionists were shot inthe
back and killed outside the union hall on Mission Street, a
general strike was called.
Governor Merriam called in the National Guard who
posted themselves on top of the piers and Ferry Building
with machine guns. Police and private vigilante groups
attacked union halls, strike kitchens and strikers' homes with
teargas, bullets and bricks.
Ernest Besig
Earl Warren Civil
Liberties Award Honoree
The national ACLU, then fourteen years old and based
in New York, sent two of its southern California organizers,
Ernest Besig and Chester Williams, to San Francisco to help
defend the workers' civil liberties. Besig, a New York City
native with a law degree from Cornell University, had head-
ed west during the Depression, and was organizing farm-
workers in the fields of southern California. Besig and
Williams started the ACLU of Northern California, recruit-
ing to the Board of Directors Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn,
Mary Hutchinson, Helen Salz and Charles Hogan, who
became its first Chair.
THE RIGHTS OF LABOR
One of the first actions of the new affiliate was a lawsuit
against the cities of San Francisco.and Oakland for not pro-
tecting the strikers' First Amendment rights to free speech
and assembly. They won.
over 150 arrested. No attorney in Humboldt County was
willing to defend the strikers, so the ACLU-NC assigned Besig
to Eureka for 30 days to supply legal counsel and oppose the
reign of terror in the community.
ACLU; he became the Executive Director of the affiliate
and led the organization until he retired in 1971.
In its first decade, the ACLU-NC continued its defense
of labor, procuring full pardons for 22 Wobblies who were
convicted under California's criminal syndicalism law and
struggles in the United States took place in |
San Francisco. In an attempt to gain union |
recognition and improve the notoriously bad |
working conditions on the waterfront, Bay |
When the Holmes-Eureka lumber strike broke out, three |
pickets were killed, eight wounded by company goons and |
Besig's 30 days extended to a lifetime of service to the |
San Francisco labor leaders who had been falsely convicted
and imprisoned for the 1916 Preparedness Day bombings.
In the 1940's the ACLU-NC succeeded in having the
US. Supreme Court overturn the state's "anti-Okie" law,
which prohibited indigents from entering California. The
ACLU-NC was also was one of the few early fighters against
race discrimination in the state, challenging segregation of |
Mexican schoolchildren and denouncing the race bar and
mob violence directed against blacks in the San Joaquin
Valley.
ACLU-NC `founder Ernest esig in a 1960 photo
Imogen Cunningham.
CHALLENGING THE INTERNMENT ORDER
One of the proudest episodes of ACLU-NC history
was Besig's challenge to the World War II relocation and
forced detention of Japanese Americans from the West
Coast. In Korematsu v. United States, and three other legal
challenges the ACLU-NC
charged that the exclusion
and detention laws violat-
ed basic constitutional
rights. ACLU-NC attorney
Wayne Collins argued the
ess losiors une US,
Supreme Court which in
1943 ruled 6-3 against the
ACLU and upheld all the
war measures on the
grounds of military neces-
sity.
In addition to the liti-
gation, Besig also investi-
gated the "Gestapo-like"'
conditions at the camps at
Tule Lake, Manzanar and
Tanforan and fought on
behalf of those who were
ACLU News "= January/Fesruary 1996 = Pace 2
Exclusion and detention were not the only unpopular
wartime battles that Besig championed. The affiliate also
defended the rights of conscientious objectors and the right
of atheists to be objectors on moral, as opposed to the tra-
ditional religious grounds. In addition, the affiliate represent-
ed peace groups so that they could use public facilities to
hold their meetings.
COLD WAR REPRESSION
The end of the war presented new dangers for-civil lib-
erties as the Cold War on the home front gave rise to a new
era of political repression.
The ACLU-NC successfully defended hundreds of vic-
tims of post-war federal "loyalty and security" programs,
opposing the witch-hunting of congressional and state leg-
islative committees.
After HUAC held its widely publicized hearings in 1960
and anti- HUAC demonstrators were shoved and hosed
down the steps San Francisco City Hall by police, HUAC
issued a distorted propaganda film Operation Abolition. In
a counterattack which was truly ahead of its time, Besig
produced a film refutation, Operation Correction, which
was distributed nationwide.
The widespread political ferment of the 1960's brought
new challenges to the ACLU. The ACLU-NC fought for aca-
demic freedom during the Free Speech Movement at UC
Berkeley, continued to be active in the growing civil rights
movement, and launched campaigns for prisoners' and
immigrants' rights.
Under Besig's leadership, ACLU-NC membership grew
from 60 to over 12,500 at the time of his retirement; the -
membership is now 27,000. One chapter grew to be 12,
and now 17.
Ernest Besig retired from the ACLU-NC in 1971, but he
went on to teach political science for a dozen more years at
San Francisco State University.
Through his years of fighting against the odds for civil
liberties, Besig won the esteem and admiration of genera-
tions of lawyers, clients, judges and activists devoted to the
Bill of Rights.
Ninth Circuit Looks at the Gas Chamber
Tis LANDMARK LAWSUIT FIERRO V. GOMEZ
which in 1994 ended California's use of the
gas chamber was argued before the Ninth
Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on December
5. Former ACLU-NC Death Penalty Project
Director Michael Laurence, now an attor-
ney with Sternberg, Sowards and Laurence,
argued the case before the three-judge
panel of Judges Harry Pregerson, Melvin
Brunetti and Thomas G. Nelson.
The appeal was brought by Deputy
Attorney General Dane Gillette after U.S.
District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled
on October 4, 1994, that the state of California
was barred from using the gas chamber to
execute condemned prisoners because "the
pain experienced by those executed is
unconstitutionally cruel and unusual."
During the October 1998 trial, the
ACLU had called a dozen witnesses,
including medical experts in the fields of
toxicology and forensic pathology, a legal
ethicist, journalists and other eyewitness-
es to executions who described the suffer-
ing inflicted by the gas chamber.
At the heart of the ACLU challenge was
the contention that persons executed by
cyanide gas are conscious and endure
excruciating pain for several minutes while
they are dying of air hunger caused by the
effect of the gas on their bodies. The
District Court found that an inmate in the
gas chamber suffers from "an intense and
visceral air hunger analogous to strangula-
tion or drowning," and experiences "exquis-
ite pain."
_ The state, whose attorneys sought to
defend the use of the gas chamber, the
method of execution that California has
employed to execute 196 prisoners since
1937, argued that the District Court
employed the wrong legal standard in mak-
ing its decision.
In 1992, the state Legislature passed a
law allowing the state to kill by lethal
injection; the law went into effect on
January 1, 1998. However, the legislation
provided that the gas chamber would be
used unless the condemned prisoner elect-
ed to be executed by lethal injection.
Fierro v. Gomez, was originally filed by
| the ACLU-NC in April 1992 - one day after
| Governor Pete Wilson rejected Robert
|
|
|
Harris's clemency appeal and four days
| before Harris was scheduled to die in San
Quentin's gas chamber. Robert Harris was
|
the first person to be executed in California
in a quarter century. A year later, David
Mason abandoned his appeals and was exe-
cuted - by gas - in San Quentin on
August 24, 1993. San Quentin doctors'
recordings of the executions indicated that
both men were alive and conscious of pain
for several minutes following the release of
gas into the chamber.
Since 1970, most states have aban-
doned the gas chamber; today, only a
handful of states maintain the gas cham-
ber as an option along with lethal injec-
tion. During the trial, U.C. Berkeley Law
Professor Frank Zimring concluded that
the rejection of the gas chamber by many
state Legislatures indicated an "evolving
standard of decency," by which this method
was deemed unacceptable.
Deputy Attorney General Gillette, how-
ever, argued in the appellate court that the
almost universal abandoning of the gas
chamber - which the District Court had
agreed was a measure of the "evolving stan-
dard of decency' -_ was irrelevant.
Gillette claimed that the constitutionality
of the gas chamber should not depend on a
"sliding scale" of state acceptance.
However, Ninth Circuit Court Judge
Brunetti, noting that the state had not
challenged Judge Patel's finding about the
abandonment of the gas chamber as "erro-
neous," stated, "So, we're stuck with the
facts here."
Another point of contention at the
hearing was Gillette's assertion that if the
barring of the gas chamber were to be
upheld, a similar challenge to lethal injec-
tion would follow and the state of
California would be blocked from execut-
ing anyone on Death Row. In response,
Laurence emphasized that although it is
possible that someone may eventually
bring a suit against lethal injection, the
only method of execution that was being
challenged in Fierro was the gas chamber,
a proven instrument of prolonged and
unnecessary pain.
Judge Pregerson dismissed the possibili-
ty of a contemporaneous challenge to lethal
injection, rhetorically asking the state's
attorney, "But that's another case, right?"
In addition to Laurence, cooperating
attorney Warren George of McCutchen,
Doyle, Brown and Enersen is representing
| the Death Row inmates in the litigation.
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Civic Activist, Attorney
Grosboll to Lead ACLU-NC
Warn DICK GROSBOLL STARTED AS A LAW CLERK
for the ACLU-NC Legal Department in
1980, he never dreamed that he would
become Chair of the Board of Directors of |
the organization. But then he probably |
never thought he would head up the
Legislative Policy Committee, the Field
Committee, or the Annual Conference
Committee either. i
In his long tenure with the ACLU-NC,
Grosboll has served the affiliate in many
capacities. A Board member from 1985-91
and 1994-95, he also served as the Vice-
Chair. During the 1980's, he co-chaired the
Pro-Choice Action Committee, playing a
leading role in the battle for reproductive
rights as a grassroots lobbyist and organizer.
Grosboll plans to visit each of the 17
ACLU-NC Chapters during his first year in
office, and has already met with activists in
the Monterey County, Mid-Peninsula,
Santa Cruz, Marin and Redwood Chapters.
"The experience and input of Chapter
leaders on the local level is invaluable,"
said Grosboll "and I look forward to attend-
ing Chapter events and meeting with
Chapter Boards throughout the year."
Defeating the anti-affirmative action
initiative is also a key goal for Grosboll in
the coming year. "We must do everything we -
can to preserve the important affirmative
action programs we have in California -
while these programs which enriched our
educational institutions and workplaces,
they have only begun to provide equal
opportunities for women and people of col-
Wy)
or.
An experienced fundraiser, Grosboll
intends to focus on stabilizing the financial
integrity of the organization, in particular
educating members about the Planned
Giving Program which enables supporters
to give substantial endowments to the orga-
nization in their bequests. He also aims to
New ACLU-NC Chair Dick Grosboll
ensure funding for the innovative Howard
A. Friedman First Amendment Education
Project, now entering its fifth year.
Grosboll is an attorney with the San
Francisco law firm of Neyhart, Anderson,
Reilly and Freitas, a five-attorney firm that
represents labor unions, employee benefit
trust funds, and workers and retirees. He
serves on the Board of San Francisco
Neighborhood Legal Assistance
Foundation and on the Human Rights
Committee of the State Bar's Legal Service
Section.
Long active in San Francisco electoral
politics, Grosboll was on the Citizen's
_ Advisory Committee on Charter Reform in
1994, was an officer of the Richmond
District Democratic Club and served as
Treasurer for San Francisco Superior Court
Judge Donna Hitchens' 1990 campaign and
Roberta Achtenberg's Supervisorial cam-
paign. He was also the former Chair of the
San Francisco Traffic and Parking Commission.
In 1992, Grosboll received the Voices of
Change Community Activist Award from
the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
ACLU News = January/Fesrvary 1996 = Pace 3
Grosboll succeeds Milton Estes, the
first openly gay Chair of the ACLU-NC.
Estes, a physician who works with people |
with AIDS and prisoners in the San |
Francisco County Jail, served as Chair for
the past four years and has also played a
leading role in training ACLU activists
around the country in fundraising and
Board development.
As he handed over his gavel, Estes
assured the Board of Directors that he will
continue to be active in the organization
which he characterized as "the organization
that means above all respect and maximiz-
ing respect for more people in the world."
Estes also noted that he feels "entirely
sanguine" in leaving the Chair to Grosboll
who "has the intelligence and personal
kindness necessary to lead the ACLU-NC
in the way we all hope it will be led."
ACLU-NC Board
Elections
Ths FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO SERVE
on the Board of Directors of the ACLU-NC.
They will serve three-year terms beginning
in January, 1996. [An 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_1993.batch ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1994.batch ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1995.batch ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1996.batch 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 denotes an incum-
bent.] Marsha Berzon, *Milton Estes,
Warren George, *Dick Grosboll, *Jennifer
Kern, *Susan Mizner, Dr. Carlos Mufioz, Jr.,
*Nancy Pemberton, *John Schweizer,
*Beverly Tucker.
In addition, Martha Jimenez, David
Kirp, L. Jay Kuo, Michael Lee, Thomas
Nolan and Millicent Rutherford have been
appointed to the Board to fill interim
vacancies. Jimenez is Regional Counsel
for the Mexican American Legal Defense
and Education Fund (MALDEF) and has
served as co-counsel with the ACLU-NC on
cases challenging Proposition 187 and
Governor Wilson's rollback of affirmative
action. Kirp is a Professor of Public Policy
at U.C. Berkeley, a journalist and the
author of eleven books on social and politi-
cal issues. Kuo, an attorney with Howard,
Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin,
is also on the Board of Directors of Bay
Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom and
is a cooperating attorney for the AIDS
Legal Referral Panel. Lee, an immigration
lawyer in San Francisco, has served on the
Board of the Asian Law Caucus. Nolan, a
criminal defense lawyer who served on the
ACLU-NC Legal Committee in the 1970s, is
the former president of California
Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Millicent
Rutherford is a longtime ACLU-NC activist
who has played a role in fundraising for
many years; she currently serves on the
Development Committee.
NEW BOARD OFFICERS
The following have been elected as the
new officers of the ACLU-NC Board of
Directors: Dick Grosboll, Chair; Luz
Buitrago, Vice-Chair and Chair of the
Legislative Committee; Davis Riemer, Vice-
Chair and Chair of the Development
Committee; Margaret Russell, Vice-Chair
and Chair of the Legal Committee;
Michelle Welsh, Vice-Chair and Chair of
the Field Committee; Nancy Pemberton,
Treasurer; Milton Estes, representative to
the National ACLU Board. They will serve
on the Executive Committee along with
Eleanor Eisenberg, Maria Ontiveros, and
Fran Strauss.
ACLU-NC Fights
Arizona Law on
`Official English'
Ix A VICTORY FOR LANGUAGE RIGHTS ADVOCATES,
the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
struck down Article 28 last October in
Ynigueg v. Arizonans for Official English.
Article 28, passed by Arizona voters in
1988, declared English to be Arizona's offi-
cial language and required all state agencies
to "act in English and in no other language."
Article 28 also banned the enforcement of
any law or policy that required the use of any
language other than English.
"The Court recognized that English-
only laws are unnecessary, patronizing and
Workers at Hillhaven Charge
Nursing Home with Language
Discrimination
Nive CURRENT AND FORMER WORKERS AT A SAN
Rafael nursing home owned by the
Hillhaven Corporation, the largest nursing
home chain in the United States, have
accused their employer of violating federal
and state civil rights laws by implementing
a "speak-English-only" policy. At a press
conference on November 16 at the ACLU-
NC office, the workers announced that they
had filed discrimination charges with the
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission and the California Department
of Fair Employment and Housing.
The workers, who are Spanish, Tagalog
and Haitian Creole speaking and who work
as nurse's assistants, housekeepers and
janitors, are supported by their union,
Local 250 of the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU). They are rep-
resented by Christopher Ho, staff attorney
with the Employment Law Center and
ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen.
Employees at the San Rafael nursing
home have received both written and ver-
bal discipline from administrators. In addi-
tion, they have been subjected to
unremitting verbal abuse, humiliated in
front of co-workers, and have even been
reprimanded for speaking in Spanish to
Hispanic residents who speak no English.
Marissa Ferguson is a Certified Nurse's
Assistant (CNA) from the Philippines who
worked at the San Rafael facility, known as
Hillhaven Fifth Avenue, until August of this
year. She was reprimanded several times
for speaking Tagalog, including once when
she was on her break, speaking to her niece
on a pay phone located away from the resi-
dent area.
Ferguson also was admonished when
she assisted Spanish-speaking workers
who were trying to communicate with
English-speaking residents.
"When the administrators reprimanded
us for trying to help each other, it made us
feel terrible," Ferguson explained. "You
should not be ashamed...[of] your culture
and your language and your home, but this
is what they were trying to do to us."
Maria Martinez, a Salvadoran who has
worked as a CNA at Hillhaven since 1990,
says that she has been reprimanded several
times for speaking Spanish since the new
administrator, Merlin Davey, recently took
charge of Hillhaven Fifth Avenue.
In a June 1995 incident, Martinez
spoke in Spanish to a non-English speaking
resident from Honduras. Davey was walk-
ing by, and later called Martinez over the
loudspeaker to his office and asked her to |
sign a written warning.
| SEIU Field Organizer Maria Griffith-Canas and Hillhaven janitor Eduardo Custodio
| have charged the convalescent home with language discrimination.
"TL refused to do so," Martinez recounted.
"Even though Mr. Davey eventually rescind-
ed the warning, I was still angry and humili-
ated, mainly because he reprimanded me in
front of everyone, including other nurses,
and then later called me to his office via the
intercom. I was very embarrassed to be
called into his office and reprimanded just
for speaking my own language."
"T feel that the English-only rule is their
way of intimidating workers and of discrim-
inating against me because | speak a differ-
ent language, even though the quality of my
~ work is very good," Martinez said.
Fellow worker Eduardo Custodio, a jan-
itor at the Fifth Avenue facility, said,
"Whenever one of my co-workers is repri-
manded for speaking Spanish, I feel like
quitting my job because of the pain in my
co-workers' reactions."
ELC attorney Ho explained that
Hillhaven's "speak-English-only" rule vio-
lates civil rights laws which protect against
national origin discrimination. "The law is
clear that where a rule of this sort creates a
hostile work environment for minority
workers, it is discriminatory and illegal. By
creating a workplace in which non-English-
speaking employees are fair game for disci-
pline and even termination simply for
Union MaIp
speaking a few words in their mother
tongue - and for no legitimate business
reason whatsoever - Hillhaven has bla-
tantly violated their civil rights.
"The fact that Hillhaven has disciplined
employees for having Spanish conversa-
tions with Spanish-speaking residents
points to the basic disrespect it harbors for
all persons of color. Its rule is used, almost
calculatingly, as a tool for intimidating and
harassing workers," Ho added.
ACLU-NC attorney Chen, who on
November 1| testified in Washington, D.C.
against the "Official English" legislation
pending before the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives (see related story next page), said
that the proliferation of workplace "English
only" rules are another facet of the assault
on immigrant workers. "Unfortunately,
"speak English only cases are not unique.
There are cases like Hillhaven up and down
the state involving everything from pizza
parlors to business offices.
ACLU News = January/Fesruary 1996 = Pace 4
divisive," said ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed
Chen. :
Arizona attorneys Robert Pohlman
and Steve Montoya representing a state
employee and a state Senator - both
Latino - had previously successfully con-
vinced the U.S. District Court in Arizona
and a panel of the Ninth Circuit of the
Article's unconstitutionality; however, the
group called Arizonans for Official English
asked the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc to
reconsider the panel's decision.
Because of the ACLU-NC's experience
with language rights cases, the private
attorneys requested the participation of
the ACLU-NC in the case in the form of an
amicus brief. In an unprecedented
action, however, the Ninth Circuit denied
the ACLU-NC's petition to file a brief.
Instead, ACLU-NC staff attorney Chen
assisted the plaintiffs' in developing three
main points: Article 28's ban on lan-
guages other than English improperly
regulates the content of speech and is not
a valid "time, place and manner restric-
tion" on public employee speech; striking
down Article 28 does not create an affir-
mative right to governmental services in
languages other than English; and
upholding the district court and panel's
decisions would not be inconsistent with
the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Garcia v.
Spun Steak which upheld an employer's
English-only rule because the employees
were bilingual.
In Yniguez, the Court held that by pro-
hibiting public employees and officials
from using languages other than English
in the performance of their duties, the
amendment unduly burdens their First
Amendment rights as well as those of a
portion of the populace they serve.
The Court added that Article 28's
adverse impact falls almost entirely on
Latinos and other national origin minori-
ties, violating their right to equal protec-
tion of the law; rather than promote unity,
language restrictions often mask discrim-
ination against national origin groups or
nativist sentiment, the Court noted.
Another Article 28 challenge in the
Arizona state court, Ruiz v. Arizona, will
be argued on February 14. The ACLU-NC
filed an amicus brief in this case,
authored by cooperating attorney Robert
Rusky, for the Arizona Court of Appeal.
"Rules prohibiting language minori-
ties from speaking their native language
are based on disparaging stereotypes
which demonize immigrants as irrespon-
sible and disruptive. English-only rules
corrode civil liberties and foster bigotry
and intolerance. They suggest that for-
eign languages and ethnic diversity are
something to be feared, not celebrated,"
Chen said.
SEIU representative Maria Griffith
Cafias added, "The English only rule is
implemented even more harshly against
employees who are either monolingual
non-English speakers or have limited
English proficiency. [Some workers] are
not speaking at all because they are
afraid. They cannot stop us from speak-
_ ing our language. They cannot take our
culture away from us."
Chen Testifies in D.C. Against
`Official English'
66
Tanucranrs UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE |
| Opportunities Subcommittee on
of English. They don't need a patronizing |
|
|
|
|
Early Childhood, Youth and
Families is currently con-
sidering four bills that
would make English the
United States' official
language and require,
with few exceptions,
the government to
conduct
business and
print forms
exclusively in
English.
Out of the
eight witnesses at
the Republican-con-
trolled Subcommittee
hearings, Chen was the only
one invited to testify against
English-only legislation. Those
testifying in favor of the legisla-
tion spoke about immigrants' suc-
cess gained through learning
English and speakers included
former pro-football player
Charles Gogolak, former Official
English leader Linda Chavez.
In his limited time allotment,
Chen explained to the subcom-
proclamation making English the `official' |
language; theyneed resources and English |
classes," testified ACLU-NC staff attorney _
Ed Chen in Washington D.C. during |
Congressional hearings on "English-only" |
legislation in November. |
The House Economic and Educational |
"The common bond that
unites Americans of all
backgrounds, origins, and
languages is our shared
belief and commitment
to freedom, democracy
and liberty. That bond
runs deeper than the
English language."
- Ed Chen
ACLU-NC staff attorney
CHOKSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSHHHSHHOHHHSSHHSHSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHHEHHHHESEHH
May MAW BE Wie Bis
m You were told to speak only Englich at work.
@ You were denied a job or promotion
because you speak English with an accent.
For inforrmmation about your rights, call:
THE LANGUAGE BRIGHTS PRO JkGCyT
4.800.864.1664 :
Assistance available in English, Spanish, Cantonese and Mancarin.
JCHMT PROJECT OF THE ACLIS POUPRRATHOR OF RRDATHERNM CALI REMIA AMI THE
ERMCLOVAIENT LAW DEeMTER OF THE LEGAL GID SOCIETY OF SAR FROM ER Ss
mittee why the ACLU strongly
The new ACLU brochure Affirmative Action
California: Why It Is Still Necessary, a collaborative
publication of the state's three ACLU affiliates,
Northern California, San Diego California and San
Diego and Imperial Counties, is full of useful facts on
the history and impact of affirmative action as well
as powerful arguments in defense of the programs.
The 6-page pamphlet is an informative, easy-to-
use tool for speakers and organizers. More than
5,000 copies have already been distributed around
the state.
To order your copy, send in the coupon below.
| Support Affirmative Action
(J Keep me posted on ACLU activities
(J Send me a copy of Affirmative Action California
NAME
ADDRESS
Ciry, State, Zip
PHONE (DAYS) (Eves)
FAX E-MAIL
Please fill out and return to Field Department
ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103.
ACLU News = Januany/Fesruary 1996 = Pace 5
Law
opposes such legislation.
"We believe English-
only laws violate civil
rights and liberties in
three ways. First,
the current propos-
als would restrict
services and infor-
mation that the
government may
provide in lan-
guages other than
English. Some
would expressly ter-
minate bilingual vot-
ing assistance and
education, impacting
most heavily on children and
the elderly. These proposals
would also prohibit other services and
information which do not fall within ill-
defined exceptions. Thus, Americans with
`limited English proficiency might be
| deprived of an opportunity to contest the
denial of social security benefits, to obtain
job training, to consumer protection warn-
ings, or to help in filling out tax forms. This
purposeful disenfranchisement of lan-
guage minority Americans denies them
equal protection of the laws.
"Second, the current English-only pro-
posals could ban elected officials and their
staff from communicating with non-
English speaking constituents, violating
First Amendment rights.
"Finally, English-only laws corrode civil
rights and liberties because they foster big-
otry and intolerance. Their justification is
- invariably grounded on disparaging stereo-
types which demonize immigrants as irre-
sponsible and unamerican because of their
failure and refusal to learn English. These
assumptions breed prejudice and bigotry
and create an environment conducive to
public and private discrimination.
"The predicate assumption of English-
only proponents -that English is the `social
glue' that holds our society together- is
facile. The common bond that unites
Americans of all backgrounds, origins, and
languages is our shared belief and commit-
ment to freedom, democracy and liberty.
That bond runs deeper than the English
language," Chen concluded.
High Court to
Review San Jose
Anti-Gang Injunction
By Maria ARCHULETA
Ax ACLU VICTORY PREVENTING THE CITY OF
San Jose from curtailing the civil rights of
young Latinos will be reviewed by the
California Supreme Court at the request of
the City. The California Supreme Court
agreed to hear an appeal of the appellate
court's ruling in People v. Acuna which
declared that several provisions of a Santa
Clara Superior Court injunction were
unconstitutional.
The city's injunction criminalized 38
young Latinos for otherwise legal acts, like
making noises and standing on the side-
walk in the Rocksprings neighborhood of
San Jose. Cited as an attempt to curb gang
violence, the City of San Jose labeled the
aforementioned 38 and 100 other unnamed
youth, members of two street gangs, Varrio
Sureno Loco and Varrio Sureno Treces, and
obtained a preliminary injunction in 1993
based on public nuisance law.
The defendants could be punished by
up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine for
violating the injunction by engaging in
such "gang-related" activities including:
gathering together in public, talking to
persons in cars, climbing trees, wearing
certain clothing, verbally referring to
gangs, making gang "hand signs," wearing
certain clothing and carrying items like
pagers, marbles, screwdrivers, pliers, and
marking pens.
Because the injunction came via a civil
suit, those declared gang members were
not allowed protections ensured in a crimi-
nal proceeding including the right to an
appointed attorney, a jury trial or criminal
justice standards of proof.
"The City of San Jose is attempting to
make an end run around the criminal jus-
tice system by arbitrarily suspending the
constitutional rights of these young
Latinos," charged ACLU-NC staff attorney
Ed Chen. "Simply because these youth are .
suspected gang members, they are stripped
of the guaranteed freedoms of speech and
assembly as well as the right to due process.
It's classic guilt by association," he added.
The ACLU-NC and other civil rights
advocates appealed the Santa Clara
Superior Court order. In April 1995, the
California Court of Appeal found that the
injunction's vagueness and overbreadth
did not sufficiently define the prohibited
activities or provide definite standards for
police enforcement and ascertainment of
guilt. These flaws, stated the court, lead to
arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
Ruling that the injunction could go no fur-
ther than the Constitution allows, the
court limited it to prohibit only clearly ille-
gal activities.
The City of San Jose is not alone in
using constitutionally questionable injunc-
tions to try to solve gang problems, and in a
number of other cities, courts have issued
similarly structured injunctions. The ACLU-
NC was successful in preventing such an
order sought by the city of Oakland in the
1994 civil suit, Oakland v. "B Street Boys.
According to Chen, the success of gang
abatement injunctions is not the pivotal
issue. "Whether they work in reducing
crime or not, they flagrantly violate the
rights of groups targeted specifically because
of their age and ethnicity. Illegal searches
may also work, but our Constitution doesn't
permit them, lest we were to allow the gov-
ernment to impose a complete police state. -
"T hope these things are not given the
go-ahead," Chen continued, "because
cities see them as an easy means of con-
trolling crime and we'll see many of our lib-
erties disappear."
In addition to Chen, the team of attor-
neys challenging the San Jose injunction
includes former ACLU-NC staff attorney
Amitai Schwartz; Public Interest Law Firm
attorneys Patricia Price and Amanda
Wilson; Sara Campos of Lawyers' Committee
for Civil Rights; Stuart D. Kirchick of Siner,
Steinbock, Hofmann and Pennypacker; and
National Lawyers Guild attorney Daniel M.
Mayfield. The oral argument before the
California Supreme Court will probably be
heard sometime this year.
Minor's Rights...
Continued from page |
enforcing the law. The Court ruled that the
and equality under the California
Constitution.
During the trial more than twenty
expert witnesses - including doctors and
other health care providers who work with
teenagers, psychologists and judges from
front unsympathetic parents or navigate a
California physicians and counselors testi-
Attorney
George
Honored
Actu-Nc BOARD MEMBER AND COOPERATING
attorney Warren George, a partner at
McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen, was
honored with the American Bar
Association's Pro Bono Publico Award at
the organization's annual meeting in
August in Chicago.
George, a newly elected member of the
ACLU-NC Board of Directors, has served as
cooperating counsel in major ACLU-NC
cases - Fierro v. Gomez, which brought
an end to the gas chamber in California
[see article p. | and Gates v. Deukmejian
which dramatically improved the medical
and psychiatric conditions for prisoners at
the California Medical Facility.
hours annually on prob bono projects, was
one of five attorneys and firms honored by
the Bar Association this year.
law violated teenagers' rights of privacy |
states where similar laws are in effect - |
testified about the disastrous effect of such |
laws on the physical, mental and emotional |
health of teenagers who are forced to con- |
formidable judicial system to obtain a _
court order for an abortion. In addition, (c)
fied that the state's current system, which |
has been in place for twenty years, insures _
George, who often logs more than 1,000 |
informed consent. National experts also
testified that adolescents are capable of
making informed decisions about their
reproductive health care. Existing California
law provides for many important medical
decisions to be made by unemancipated
minors without parental consent including
those related to drug and alcohol treat-
ment, treatment of sexually transmitted
diseases and all aspects of carrying a preg-
nancy to term.
State Fails in Pursuing
False Murder Charge
Avrer JACKIE LYNN JOHNSON SPENT CLOSE TO
a month in jail and lived under a cloud of
accusation for almost a year, the Contra
Costa District Attorney's Office dropped
murder charges against her in October.
The District Attorney's theory was that Ms.
Johnson's alleged drug use was related to
her fetus' death. In asking the court to dis-
miss the changes, the District Attorney
admitted the the medical evidence - evi-
dence that had been available to him for
over seven months - showed that the
death was unrelated to Ms. Johnson's sup-
posed drug use.
This marks the third unsuccessful
attempt to pursue a murder prosecution
based on the mistaken premise that the
California murder statute applies to a
woman's conduct affecting her fetus.
ACLU-NC staff attorneys Ann Brick and
Margaret Crosby, who helped defend
Johnson, also.represented the defendants
in the two previous, almost identical cases,
People v. Jones and Jauregui v. Municipal
Court. In both cases, the courts held that
claiming a woman's substance abuse dur-
ing pregnancy fatally injured her fetus is
legally insufficient to sustain a charge
under California's murder statute.
ACLU-NC attorney Brick said, "If the |
court had accepted the prosecution's legal |
theory it would have created a statute of
almost boundless reach. Because the |
Judge Chesney ruled that the state had
failed to justify the laws burden on
teenagers' rights to privacy. In upholding
Judge Chesney's decision, the Court of
Appeal ruled that the statute "does not and
cannot further the interests it purports' to
protect" - the health of teenagers and the
relationship of parents with their children.
Indeed, the court noted, the challenged
statute "injures those interests....[T]he
judicial bypass procedure creates a sub-
woman and her fetus are inextricably
linked throughout pregnancy, her deci-
sions about whether to obtain prenatal
care, to stop drinking or smoking, to
change her dietary habits, to change her
employment or leisure time activities, or
to accept or follow her doctor's advice
would all render her vulnerable to prose-
cution for having caused harm to the
fetus.
"But the prosecution's legal theory
wasn't the only thing wrong with the
Johnson case," Brick continued. "The facts
did not support its case either. neverthe-
less, Jackie Johnson spent a month in jail
because the District Attorney did not do
his homework."
ACLU-NC attorney Crosby concluded,
"Prosecuting women for allegedly harming
their fetuses through drug use is an irre-
sponsible use of criminal statutes, and a
waste of taxpayers' money which could be
better spent augmenting the scarce prena-
tal services available to women needing
drug or alcohol treatment. These prosecu-
tions, which have never been successful,
do nothing to solve drug abuse but create a
climate of fear that prevents women from
seeking prenatal care or informing their
doctors about their drug use."
Johnson was represented by Deputy
Public Defender Terri Mockler as well as
ACLU-NC attorneys Brick and Crosby.
(c) OHHHHHHHSHHHHHHHHHSHHTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHSHHHHHHHHHSHHHHSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHSHHHSHHOHHHSHHHOHSHHSHHSHSHHHHSHHHHOHSHHOSHOHHEHHCHOHLOECLE
| stantial obstacle whose only effect is to hin-
der the minor from obtaining an abortion."
Plaintiffs argue that the competent
counseling and health care by the current
medical system, in place for more than two
decades, better serves the welfare of preg-
nant teenagers.
The California Supreme Court has the
_ final authority to decide this case because
_ it involves the interpretation of the state
Constitution. @
Case Dismissed Against
Picketing Seamstresses
_ of court battle, designer and manufacturer
Tasicrawe WOMEN GARMENT WORKERS WHO
were picketing a prominent San Francisco
dress designer in pursuit of back pay had a
free speech victory. After more than a year
Jessica McClintock proposed to voluntarily
dismiss her case against Asian Immigrant
| Women Advocates (AIWA), a group sup-
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Students Celebrating Freedom
The sth Annual Conference for High School Stu
SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THE ACLU
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Tuesday, March 19
8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m,
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The Conference is FREE!!! but you
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For more information or to register,
please call 415/621-2006 ext. | 37
Register early! Space is limited
ACLU News = JAnuary/FesRuary 1996 = Pace 6
| porting the picketing seamstresses.
"Even with all the money in the world,
| McClintock still can't push around poor
immigrant women," said cooperating attor-
_ ney Arthur Brunwasser who represents
AIWA with ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen
' and Lora Jo Foo of the Asian Law Caucus.
AIWA, a community based non-profit
| advocacy group, launched a campaign two
_ years ago on behalf of twelve seamstresses
| who had not been paid for work they had
' completed for a garment manufacturer
contracted by McClintock. AIWA demanded
that McClintock assume responsibility for
the $20,000 in back wages which the seam-
stresses could not collect from the contrac-
tor who had declared bankruptcy.
For two years, the displaced workers
peacefully picketed at McClintock's San
Francisco retail outlet and her Pacific Heights
residence. On July 20, 1994 McClintock went
to San Francisco Superior Court for a
Temporary Restraining Order against AlWA,
seeking to stop the protests at her boutique
and residence. Although the judge allowed
the demonstrations to continue, he did grant
McClintock a limited temporary retraining .
order, limiting the noise level of the pickets
and the size of the residential picketing.
According to AIWA's Campaign
Coordinator Vivian Chang, "This is a great -
victory for immigrant women workers and
our communities. ... Now is the time for
McClintock to show corporate responsibili-
ty and sit down with the workers." The
seamstresses and their supporters want
McClintock to guarantee that all workers
who sew her labels will have safe working
conditions and fair wages.
Evans, New ACLU-NC Staff
Attorney
BY MariA ARCHULETA
= THINK EVERYONE DESERVES EQUALITY AND
social justice, just basic human rights, not
anything extraordinary," said Kelli Evans,
ACLU-NC new staff attorney. Although
Evans only joined the legal staff in late
October, she has already put her beliefs
into action in the areas of criminal justice,
gay and lesbian rights, and poverty law.
Evans said that she is excited about
working for the ACLU because, "while
espousing the rhetoric of equality and inclu-
sion, the United States tolerates and endors-
es enormous disparities between individuals
based on race, class, gender, class, sexual
orientation and immigration status.
"A just society should not tolerate such
disparities," Evans added, "and the ACLU
helps make the concept of `equal justice
under the law' more meaningful for a
greater number of people." In her first
months at the ACLU, she has already con-
tributed to this effort. She has researched
the federal government's racially disparate
treatment of crack cocaine users, studied
the impact of California's Three Strikes
law, and most recently, has begun work on
upholding the Consent Decree which
ensures racial desegregation in the San
Francisco public school system.
Evans comes to the ACLU with a vari-
ety and depth of litigation experience. She
represented juveniles in Sacramento as an
Assistant Public Defender, worked with
immigrants at the Immigration Law Clinic
in Davis and was an advocate for prisoners
through the Prison Law Office. Evans also
gained experience in death penalty trial
preparation as a law clerk with the
Kelli Evans
Sacramento County Public Defender.
As the Ruth Chance Fellow at Equal
Rights Advocates in San Francisco, Evans
coordinated the Advice and Counseling
Program for women who had been discrim-
inated against on the basis of sex and race.
Raised in an urban housing project in
Colorado, Evans graduated from Stanford
Otto Returns to Head Student
In THIS YEAR'S HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOKS,
Nancy Otto will probably be voted Most
Popular - when she sends an invitation,
everybody comes! Otto, the new Director of
the Howard A. Friedman First Amendment
Education Project, has already hosted sev-
eral successful teacher training workshops
Rights
last summer to take over the leadership of
the innovative student project upon the
Project
want to explore different ways (c)
reaching their beliefs
Union Map
in Public Policy and received a Public
Interest Law degree from UC Davis School
of Law, where she was a member of Lamda
Law Students, the Black Law Students
Association and President of King Hall
Legal Foundation.
Evans explained, "I feel an intensely
personal motivation and responsibility to
defend and expand civil rights and civil lib-
erties. As a child who didn't have access to
a lot of material things and who was treat-
ed differently because of race, gender and
neighborhood, | realized early on that not
everyone has equal access to government
or equal justice.
"T hope to be a zealous civil rights and
civil liberties advocate," Evans added.
"We're extremely pleased to have found
someone like Kelli," said ACLU-NC
Managing Attorney Alan Schlosser. "Her
experience, both personal and profession-
al, made her the ideal choice for the posi-
tion." Evans replaces former staff attorney
Matthew Coles who is now works for the
national ACLU as the Director of the
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project and the
AIDS Project. Coles divides his time
between New York and San Francisco. @
Lesbian Rights in
San Francisco
before joining
the ACLU-NC
Field
Department in
1991.
on sexual harassment and the First departure of former Director Marcia Gallo. and goals." This is the
Amendment and a high school journalists "Not only did I miss working with the Otto's = fifth year of the
conference that drew over 800 students ACLU-NC staff and activists," said Otto who previous 5 Friedman
from all over northern California. served as the ACLU-NC Field Representative work at the 2 Project, which
Otto, whose three years as the ACLU- from 1991-93, "I really wanted to work on ACLU-NC a is funded by a 2
NC Field Representative gave her a great the Friedman Project because | love work- included = gift from the
deal of experience in organizing for civil ing with youth. The students have so much organizing "family of the
liberties, returned from Washington, D.C. energy - they are open to new ideas and for the suc- 5 late Howard A.
SCOKSHOSHSHOHSHSSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSHSHSHSHSHHOSHHOHSHHOHSHSHHSHSHHHHHHHHHHHH8E8S8H8SSEO8 cessful pas- (c) Friedman, a
sage of the Hey On renowned archi-
Archuleta Joins
ACLU News Staff
As A STAFF REPORTER FOR SAN FRANCISCO'S
Civil Rights Act of 1991, the law signed by
President Bush which undid some of the
worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions on
race and sex discrimination; working in the
statewide campaign to protect reproduc-
tive rights; and organizing death penalty
tect and the former Chair of the ACLU-NC
Board of Directors. The Project has
reached thousands of high school students
and teachers with conferences, classroom
presentations, and the "Express Yourself"
computer diskette.
bilingual weekly El Mensajero, Maria activists in protests and vigils for the 1992 Otto says that the Project has been
Archuleta wrote pieces on affirmative execution of Robert Harris. extremely effective because it has a "direct
action, Proposition 187, and how federal While in Washington, Otto was a Policy and immediate impact on the way the stu-
welfare reform would adversely impact Associate at the National Immigration dents think about and analyze current
immigrants. As the ACLU-NC Public Infor- eZ Forum, opposing federal welfare and events and controversies.
mation Associate, Archuleta is now pro- =| health care reform legislation that was "Our Project is a long-term investment in
viding information on these and other and unfair to immigrants, and coordinating America's future and our future leaders,"
current issues to the scores of reporters | =i a 5 strategies to combat proposition 187-like Otto added "We are not preaching to the con-
who call the ACLU for the latest news on | Maria Archuleta proposals in other states. verted, these are young people who are
civil liberties questions. very liberating at the same time, because After graduating from Duke University, exploring new ideas and are open to the
Archuleta, a UC Berkeley graduate in | you really feel you are making a difference." the St. Louis native taught English to high ACLU goals of creating a fair and just society."
Mass Communications and Spanish, is Archuleta replaces Jean Field who, after school students in Japan and worked as a An avid glassblower and windsurfer,
also the editor of the Mills College | graduating magna cum laud from Hastings television news videotape editor before Otto also serves on the national board of
Women's Studies Newsletter. Law School in June, took a position clerking coming to the Bay Area. Otto was the volun- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians
"I wanted to work for an organization | for ajudge in the Oregon Court of Appeal. il teer coordinator at the National Center for and Gays (PFLAG). @
that helps out the people who nobody else =
can or will help. Popularity doesn't matter - = ee A
" gaj ociety,' said Dick Grosboll, the new Chair of the - oar
Lea a ae fe ee D e S i lve ir S oO Cc i ety of Directors and himself a member of the Society.""Those who join
critical attention on social issues. While in the DeSilver Society are special supporters of the ACLU because
high school in New Mexico, she wrote arti- [= u n d S G row they really care both aoe! the cil [oars challenges of today
cles on youth issues - including racism and those of tomorrow, `he continued. Desilver society members
: : give to ensure that the ACLU maintains its fighting strength well
in schools and teen sexuality - for the BY ROBERT NAKATANI :
Ganda He New Menean. AUU.C- Berkeley ACLU-NC PLANNED GiviNG DIRECTOR into eo. century. Now that's true commitment to the ACLU's
she was on the staff of Chispas, the | Charter membership in the ACLU's DeSilver Society has a ae = 7
: ee : imc : le e 31 individuals who have recently joined the DeSilver
Chicano/ Latino literary magazine. . grown by a remarkable 30% in Northern California since Society by making special long-term gifts for the ACLU are:
As the part-time Public Information February of last year. The DeSilver Society was established in the 7 :
` ; : ae nonymous (7) | Elwood Burton Robert N. Nakatani
Associate, Archuleta writes for the ACLU | } fall of 1994 to recognize and thank those generous individuals Dave Behar eae ie oe.
News and fields calls from the press, stu- who have provided for the ACLU in their wills or through ett ee Bryant Peer col Richard Robinson and
dents and other researchers. She has also annuities, pooled income fund gifts, or other life income gifts. Mr and Mrs, Donald E.) Michael J. Harrison Marjorie C.
translated a new publication, Diserimi- By February of |995, the publication date of the last ACLU-NC G@ianon | Paul Hedges Sar
nacion de idioma for the Language Rights Annual Report, membership in the Desilver society numbered | Cy. 4a, Chapin _ Anne Hietbrink John and Millicent
Project. |04 individuals. Between that time and December |, 1995, the James H.C. | John David Jackson Rutherord
"Working for the ACLU means you Society added 31 members, 29 of which have remembered the Creighton | Russell and Mary Walter W. Schmidt
have to confront and do a lot of thinking ACLU in their wills. The other two new members joined the | Milton Estes, M.D. Jorgensen eadccrerels:
about some amazingly terrible things," - Society by making life income gifts totaling $1 30,000. In addition, | Clifford J. Liehe Milton Vonier =
said Archuleta who has written about lan- | eee ae Beg a : Anyone wishing to follow their example by joining the DeSilver
Cee GC caunanOn, ae SOLUS | $28,000 a : z | Society is encouraged to call the ACLU-NC Director of Planned
Bee - : eee ek | "The Board is very excited about the growth of the DeSilver | Giving Robert N. Nakatani at 415/621-2493.
ACLU News = January/FesRuary 1996 = Pace 7
S.F Chapter Freedom of Bea Art Show
Painting, Writing,
Rapping
Mary Ma Lee Tsui of George Washington High School, with her teacher Yukima Wada,
was honored for her painting Truth Can Be Distorted in the Freedom of Expression
Art Exhibit.
BY ROBERTA SPIECKERMAN
San Francisco Chapter
Honoreps OF SAN FRANCISCO HIGH SCHOOL
students and many proud families came to
see the entries in the San Francisco ACLU
Chapter third annual Freedom of |
Expression Art Show, displayed at the
ACLU-NC 1995 Bill of Rights Day
Celebration. The San Francisco Chapter
encouraged students, through schools and
community organizations, to create works
on the theme, "Civil Rights and Liberties in
the 90's".
"The results were exhilarating," said Liz
Lerma, Executive Director of Education for
the San Francisco Arts Council who pre-
sented six students with Awards of
Excellence at the ACLU Celebration. "One
hundred student artists addressed civil lib-
erties issues with thoughtful perspectives
in paintings, music, poetry and short sto-
ries." The awardees each received $150 in
cash each plus a donation of $50 of supplies
to the sponsoring organization or teacher's
classroom.
The exhibit will be on display during
January in the Main Lobby of the Board of
Education Building at 135 Van Ness in San
Francisco. Anyone wanting more informa-
tion or interested in working on next year's
"Freedom of Expression Art Show" is wel-
come to call Roberta Spieckerman at
415/468-9208.
Chapter Meetings
(Chapter meetings are open to all interested members. Contact
the Chapter activist listed for your area.)
B-A-R-K (BERKELEY-ALBANY-RICHMOND-KENSINGTON)
CHAPTER MeetinG: (Usually fourth Thursday) Volunteers need-
ed for the chapter hotline - call Tom Sarbaugh at 510/526-
6376 for further details. For more information, time and
address of meetings, contact Jim Chanin at 510/848-4752 or
Rachel Richman at 510/540-5507.
Eart WarrEN (OAKLAND /ALAMEDA COUNTY) CHAPTER
Meetine: (Usually first Wednesday) New meeting location
Meet at 7:30 PM at Claremont House /Activity Room, 4500
Gilbert Street, Oakland (nr. Rockridge Shopping Center). We
encourage new members to join as us we work on our high
school essay contest, the Oakland civilian review board, and
affirmative action! For more information, call David Gassman at
510/835-2334.
FRESNO CHAPTER MEETING: (Usually second Wednesday) For
information on date and time of meetings, call Nadya Coleman
at 209/229-7178.
LESBIAN AND Gay RicHTs CHapTER Meetine: (Usually first |
Thursday) ACLU-NC office, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San
The following poem is one of this year's
Award of Excellence recipients:
CATEGORY: BIRTHRIGHTS
by Maria-Pilar Olivas
Downtown High School
I knew from the beginning that I would
Never have the chance to hold you.
Yet I tortured myself with the fantasy,
Of allowing you to blossom within.
I dreamed of a love we would share,
And of the smiles you would bring.
Admitting you were merely a mistake,
Is something I cannot do.
To me, you were special and meant
Everyone else only saw the wrongness of |
you.
You were mine and I was to protect you.
I succeeded in only letting you down.
I took from you all you ever had,
Your precious life.
I know my words of sorrow,
You will not hear.
Tknow my tears of guilt,
You will not see.
T only beg of your forgiveness,
From within your innocent soul.
The coldness of this world,
Is something I have saved you from.
Or ts that just an excuse?
You were a creation brought by two,
And a destruction caused by one.
My love for you will always exist,
Even if I don't ever meet you.
Francisco. Mailings and other activities start at 6:30 PM.
Speakers at 7:00 PM. Business meeting starts at 7:30 PM. For
more information, contact Jeff Hooper at 510/460-0712 or
Burton Weiss at 510/524-6073.
Marin County Cuapter Meetines (Usually third Monday;
fourth Monday in January and February) Chapter Chair Greg
Brockbank hosts "Your Civil Liberties" Tuesday nights at 9:30
PM on Channel 31. For more information on meeting times and
location, contact Greg Brockbank at 415/491-0616.
Mip-PENINSULA (PALO Alto AREA) CHAPTER MEETING:
(Usually fourth Thursday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the California
Federal Bank, #2180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. For more infor-
mation, contact Iris Barrie at 415/856-0193.
Monterey County CHapTer Meetine: (Usually third |
Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM, Monterey Library. Join us for our
Annual Meeting on January 26 at the Monterey Library. For
more information, contact Richard Criley at 408/624-7562.
NorTH PENINSULA (SAN MATEO AREA) CHAPTER MEETING:
(Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at 700 Laurel Street,
Park Tower Apartments, top floor. For more information, contact
Marshall Dinowitz at 415/595-5131.
Repwoop (HumBoipt County) CHAPTER MEETING: (Please |
Santa Cruz Chapter Hosts
An Evening with Glasser
BY Eric SCHENK
SANTA CRUZ CHAPTER
Preacuine THE ACLU'S "OLD-TIME RELIGION"
of protecting the traditional values reflect-
ed in the Bill of Rights, ACLU Executive
Director Ira Glasser inspired a packed hall
in Santa Cruz on November 16 at an event
sponsored by the Santa Cruz Chapter.
Glasser combined the passion and wis-
dom of a long-time civil liberties champion
with his deft humor to remind the more
than 150 audience members that it is the
ACLU which is most concerned with true
American values. "While the religious right
calls for a return to the so-called American
values of the mythical 1950's, the ACLU has
always been committed to the important
values central to this country's founding in
the 18th century," he said.
How a chapter in a small community such
as Santa Cruz can draw a major attraction
such as Glasser illustrates the benefits of
using local resources to produce a successful
fundraiser. "One of the strengths of our chap-
ter is our involvement with the University of
SPEAK OuT FOR AFFIRM
SAN JOSE
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17
| | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
SAN Jose High ACADEMY
275 N. 24TH STREET, Room 12
San Jose, CA
Focus on how to speak to students about affir-
mative action, search and seizure laws, the
rights of students and young people. with
Howard A. Friedman First Amendment
Education Project Director Nancy Otto
RSVP: Catherine Wiehe 408/226-7421
note: Regular chapter meetings have now been changed to the
third Wednesday.) Meet in the Arcata Jacoby Storehouse at the
Bonvenir Ice Cream Parlor at 7:30 PM. The January meeting will
California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) community,"
| planed Chapter co-chair Paul Johnson. "As
with most academic communities, UCSC
includes individuals who have contacts with
leading thinkers throughout the country. Our
co-chair, UCSC Professor Craig Reinarman,
| has been a long-time friend of Ira Glasser,
| Knowing that Mr. Glasser was scheduling a
_ West Coast trip, Craig prevailed on him to
| include a stop in Santa Cruz.
"Industrious members of the ACLU
| Chapter Board took it from there," Johnson
| explained citing Lucille des Jardins and
| Eleanor Eisenberg who arranged for all the
| details necessary for a successful event;
Sandy Silver, Louise Gross, and Martha
_ Schwartz organized a marvelous selection
| of desserts - some donated by local bak-
| eries and some baked by ACLU members;
| and Chapter members Elaine Kihara,
| Eadie Deutsch, and Marilyn Rigler. "As
| with all good fundraisers, this event not
| only raised a good amount of money, but
| set the groundwork for successful events
| in the future," added Johnson, "and we're
| looking forward to more." i
BOTH TRAININGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO ALL ACLU activists
feature special guest speaker new ACLU-NC Chair Dick Grosboll |
and will be held at the Golden Harvest Restaurant in Arcata. For
information on upcoming meeting dates and times, contact
Christina Huskey at 707/444-6595.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY CHAPTER MEETING: (Usually first
Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Java City in Sutter Galleria
(between 29 and 30, J and K Streets) in Sacramento. For further
information, contact Ruth Ordas at 916/488-9955.
SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER MeetING: (Usually third Tuesday)
Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLUNC Office, 1663 Mission Street,
Suite 460, San Francisco. For further information on chapter
meetings, call the Chapter Information Line at 415/979-6699.
SANTA CLARA VALLEY CHAPTER MeetinG: (Usually first
Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Community Bank Towers, 3rd
Floor Conference Room, 111 West St. John Street, San Jose.
Join us for the following special events: Affirmative Action Speak-
Out (co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters) at the San
Jose Convention Center on Saturday, February 10; Training on
Students' Rights led by Nancy Otto of the ACLU:NC, February 17
at the San Jose High Academy. Contact Lourdes Pollard at
408/353-3230, for further information.
SANTA Cruz County CHAPTER MEETING: (Usually third
Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Louden-Nelson Community
Center, Santa Cruz. Contact Paul Johnson at 408/426-1397 or
ACLU News = January/Fesruary 1996 = Pace 8
AcTION!
Yoo County
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
King Hatt - Room 2004
UC Davis
Focus on affirmative action in all settings and
how to speak to high school students specifi-
cally with Howard A. Friedman First
Amendment Education Project Director
Nancy Otto and Field Rperesentative Lisa
Maldonado
RSVP: Natalie Wormeli 916/756-1900
(c)0000 0880888HOOH8EHEHHHTHHHHEHHHH8HEHEHHHHEH8THHHHHHH8E8HHHTHHHEH8HE8HEHCHH8SE8S
Eadie Deutsch at 408/458-1263 for further information.
Sonoma County CHAPTER MeeTING: (Usually third
Wednesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice Center,
540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Steve Thornton at
707/544-8115 for further information.
Yoto County CHAPTER MeetinG: (Usually third Thursday)
Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street 154, Davis. Join us for our
January meeting at a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood as we
view "From Danger to Dignity: The Fight for Safe Abortion" and
engage in a question and answer session with the filmmakers
(January 18, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Crest Theater, 113 K Street,
Sacramento). For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at
916/756-1900 or the Chapter Hotline at 916/756-ACLU.
FietD ACTION MEETINGS
(All meetings except those noted will be held at the ACLUNC
Office, 1663 Mission Street, #460, San Francisco.)
Arrirmative ACTION Grassroots COALITION: For more
information, contact Lisa Maldonado at 415/621-2493 ext.
46.
STUDENT OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Meet to plan outreach activi-
ties. For more information, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-
2006 ext. 37.
STUDENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE: For ane information, corr
tact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.