vol. 63, no. 4

clu news

Jury-Aucustr 1999

NEWSPAPER OF THE AAMERICAN Giwit LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN GALIFORNIA

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WoLtume LXItl

ACLU Files Racial Profiling Lawsuit

Against the CHP

66 [Ns California Highway Patrol

routinely violates the rights of

African American and Latino dri-

vers by targeting them on the basis of

race, said Michelle Alexander, Director of

the ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project.

Alexander announced the filing of a

major lawsuit against the California

Highway Patrol (CHP) and Bureau of

Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) on June

3. The federal civil rights action asserts

that CHP and BNE officers systematical-

ly target, stop and search motorists on

the basis of race when enforcing traffic

laws and operating drug interdiction

programs.

"The War on Drugs has taken a

tremendous toll on the vast majority of

people of color who are innocent and law-

abiding, yet treated like criminals for

extremely minor traffic violations or for

no reason at all. We intend to put an end

to racial profiling in the State of

California. The lawsuit filed by Mr.

Rodriguez today is an important step in

that direction," added Alexander.

On June 6, 1998 Curtis Rodriguez, a

Latino attorney from San Jose, observed

five traffic stops and at least ten CHP and

BNE vehicles within a 10-mile stretch. All

of the persons stopped were Latino, and

were standing outside of their cars by the

side of the highway. Distressed by what

they were witnessing, Rodriguez and his

passenger, Arturo Hernandez, decided that

it was important to document these race-

based police stops to prove to others what

San Jose attorney Curtis Rodriguez (at mikes) and ACLU-NC cooperating atiorney John

Streeter announced the filing of a DWB lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol.

they had seen. Hernandez took pictures of

the fourth and fifth stops of Latino drivers,

while Rodriguez concentrated on obeying

the speed limit and all traffic laws, to avoid

giving the police any excuse to pull them

over. Despite these precautions, a CHP

vehicle pulled behind Rodriguez and

began to follow his car, right after they

passed the fifth stop. The CHP officer told

Rodriguez that he had been pulled over

because his car "had touched the line" and

because he had turned his headlights on.

(Drivers are advised to turn on their head-

lights in this section of Highway 152).

"The officer told me he was going to

search the car for weapons," said

Rodriguez. "I refused permission for the

SO9HOKSSSHSSSHSHSSHSSSTHSHSHHSEHSHHHHHHSHEHHHEHHHHHH8EHH8EHHHEHHHSHEHEHESESSEEEE

No on Knight!

Yes on Gay Pride!

ect

RoBERT KIM

An enthusiastic ACLU-NC contingent joined more than 100,000 marchers in the

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade through the streets of San Francisco

on June 25. The LGBT Rights Chapter organized the contingent and staffed a booth at the

Pride Celebration.

"No on Knight" was the message as activists used the major event - the second largest

gathering of any kind in California this year - to launch a mobilizing effort against the

anti-gay marriage initiative scheduled for the March 2000 ballot.

search. Since I'm attorney, I know my

rights. The officer had no probable cause

to search the car, so I refused consent to

search. Unfortunately, the officer refused

to respect my legal rights. He ordered me

out of the car and searched the car, with-

out my permission. Of course, he found

nothing illegal. The officer then checked

out my license, my passenger's license and

my insurance papers, and after ten min-

utes, he ordered us back into the car. We

sat waiting twenty more minutes in the car,

and then finally, he told us we could go. He

didn't issue me a ticket, because I didn't do

anything wrong."

Joining the ACLU in filing this action is

Keker and Van Nest, a major law firm in San

Francisco that is donating its services pro

bono. "It is critical for us, as members of

the private bar, to play an active role in

bringing to an end race-based police stops

in California," said Jon Streeter, a litigation

partner at Keker and Van Nest. "What the

CHP is doing is illegal. It violates federal

civil rights laws, the U.S. Constitution, and

ANNA SOROKINA

__ is utterly inconsistent with our democratic

| values. We are ready and willing to fight

| racist police practices, and hold law

enforcement accountable in a court of law."

"Sadly, what Mr. Rodriguez experi-

enced is hardly unusual," explained

| Alexander. "The CHP engages in a pattern

and practice of race-based stops of African

_ American and Latino drivers throughout

the state. In fact, in 1997 alone, the CHP

canine units - which are part of its drug

interdiction program called Operation

Pipeline - stopped nearly 34,000 people -

| but less than 2% of them were actually car-

rying drugs. As a result, tens of thousands

of innocent motorists were stopped,

searched and treated like criminals based

on nothing more than a police officer's mis-

taken hunch. We believe that the vast

majority of these stops were based on race,

and we intend to prove it."

The lawsuit, Rodriguez v. California

Highway Patrol, follows an ACLU national

and statewide campaign to stop race-based

police stops. In April, the ACLU of

Northern California announced a billboard

and radio ad campaign in English and

Spanish to publicize its toll-free "Driving

| While Black or Brown" hotline, 1-877-

DWB-STOP. The Spanish Language hotline

is 1-877-PARALOS. Since the hotline's initi-

ation in October, more than 1800 persons

have called to report their stories of dis-

criminatory traffic stops.

In June, the national ACLU issued a

report on the national problem of racial

profiling, "Driving While Black: Racial

Profiling On Our Nation's Highways." The

report cites police statistics on traffic

stops, ACLU lawsuits, government reports

and media stories from around the nation,

demonstrating that law enforcement rou-

tinely discriminates on the basis of race

when stopping and searching people on

the road.

SCOHSSHSOSSHOHSHSHSHHHHSHOHSHHSHHHTHHHSHEHHEHHSHSHHEHEHEHHHEHHHESHESSEHE8ESEE8HSEEE

HOLD THE DATE!!!

At the beautiful Walker Creek Ranch in Marin

See ets Language Rights Victories ... pages 4 and 5

Histo a 7 FP ecacasthins Fon ~ 5

Women and Disabled Workers

Fair Employment and Housing Act, the

Assembly Judiciary Committee has

introduced legislation that would strengthen

protections against discrimination for women

and disabled workers. The ACLU played a

major role in promoting the ominibus work-

ers' rights bill, which is also sponsored by the

Fair Employment and Housing Commission,

the Attorney General's Office, the California

Civil Rights Coalition and the California

Labor Federation.

"This omnibus civil rights bill is years

in the making," said Francisco Lobaco,

Legislative Director of the ACLU. "It incor-

porates many provisions we have previous-

ly negotiated through the Legislature that

were vetoed by former Governor Wilson.

The bill provides long needed additional

protections against discrimination in the

workplace. We expect Governor Davis to

take a more favorable attitude in support

of strengthening civil rights laws."

AB 1670 strengthens and clarifies vari-

ous civil rights protections afforded by the

Fair Employment and Housing Act and

other civil rights statutes. Among its provi-

sions, the bill expands protections against

sexual harassment for contract workers;

requires workplace accommodation for

p=: years after the enactment of the

her light duty assignment, even though a

few weeks later they found light duty jobs

for two other firefighters who were injured

on the job. "As a firefighter, I put my life on

the line," said Ramirez. "I never expected

the fire department to create work that

didn't need to be done, but they didn't try

pregnant employees; prohibits genetic |

testing; increases the amount of damages

that can be awarded by the Fair

Employment and Housing Commission from

$50,000 to $150,000; clarifies that discrimi-

nation by agencies or entities receiving

state funds is; and expands the prohibition

"As a firefighter, | put my life on the

line. All | want is the chance to

continue to do my job."

Rebecca Ramirez, pregnant firefighter

hard enough to find work that I could do.

All I want is the chance to continue to do

my job, to do as much as I can for the

department, while still protecting myself

and my baby." Ramirez is currently preg-

nant with her second child and things are

going much better with her department

now. They are currently accommodating

her with light duty work such as providing

training about emergency medical proce-

against discrimination enforceable through

a private cause of action on the basis of

mental disability to include employers of

five or more employees.

At a Sacramento press conference

announcing AB 1670, firefighter Rebecca

Ramirez spoke about the difficulties she

faced with her employer during her first

pregnancy. In her seventh month of preg-

nancy, her employer refused to continue

dures and doing business inspections. "I'm

taking care of myself while still being a

productive fire fighter for my department,"

added Ramirez.

The bill also expands the protections

for workers with psychiatric disabilities

who are often unnecessarily barred from

the workplace and who are particularly

vulnerable to on-the-job harassment and

outright discrimination. " Paul S., an

award-winning employee, sought a leave of

absense to recover from clinical depres-

sion," noted Claudia Center, an Employ-

ment Law Center staff attorney. " Instead

of offering accommodation under the com-

pany's leave policy, his supervisor subject-

ed him to the disability equivalent of racial

epithets, telling him to `stop being weak,'

that `everyone has problems, so suck it up

and be a man.' During his leave, Paul was

fired," Center explained.

"Tf California is to model America's new

and diverse society, every person must feel

secure that their civil rights will be protect-

ed," said Assembly Judiciary Chair Sheila

Kuehl. "Discrimination has no place in a just

society. For California to succeed in the glob-

al economy, we must ensure that employees

are judged by their ability to do the work and

not on their gender or disability."

ACLU-NC at

Biennial Meeting

Representative to the National Board;

New Initiative Aims

to Restrict Minors'

Access to Abortion

hefty delegation of ACLU-NC Board |

Aen and staff joined more than |

A400 civil liberties leaders at the

ACLU Biennial Meeting in San Diego from

June 23 through June 27. The ACLU-NC

Biennial voting delegates were

led by

ACLU-NC biennial delegate Dennis McNally and

ACLU-NC National Board Representative Marina

Hsieh

Board Chair Dick Grosboll and included

Robert Capistrano, Quinn Delaney, Aundre

Herron, Charles Legalos, Dennis McNally,

Susan Mizner and Michelle Welsh; Board

members Chris Wu and Raha Jorjani

attended as non-voting delegates.

National ACLU Executive Director Ira

Glasser opened the plenary with a keynote

address on race and the criminal

justice system, a deep-rooted

problem in the United States,

exacerbated by the War on Drugs.

Plenary sessions focused on

Border issues, vouchers and the

public school system, discrimina-

tion against lesbians and gay

men, student rights and race and

multi-culturalism.

Northern California leaders

who attended as national partici-

pants included Luz Buitrago,

Member of the Biennial Confer-

ence Committee; Milton Estes,

Vice-Chair, National Board;

Marina Hsieh, ACLU-NC

Margaret Russell, Chair of the ACLU-NC Legisla-

tive Committee and National ACLU Board mem-

ber, joined by Sam Paz of the ACLU of Southern

California and a majority of biennial delegates,

voting for the People of Color Caucus resolution.

Davis Riemer, Co-Chair National Fund-

raising Faculty; and Margaret Russell,

National Board member.

The ACLU-NC delegation was also

proud to host Monterey Chapter leaders

Dick Criley and Jan Penney. Criley,

an Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award

winner and former vice-chair of the

ACLU-NC Board of Directors, was

lauded for his six decades of

activism - especially his efforts to

protect the right to dissent - by his

longtime colleague Frank Wilkinson

who was honored with the Roger

Baldwin Medal of Freedom.

ACLU-NC Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich chaired the

Executive Directors Council meet-

ings that took place prior to the

Biennial. Ehrlich led a seemingly

omnipresent staff delegation that

led workshops on issues ranging from stu-

dent rights to racial profiling.

Delegates from all over the country

decorated themselves with "ACLU - Got

Rights?" tattoos, created and applied (at

the Freedom Fair) by Nancy Otto, Director

of the Howard A. Friedman First

Amendment Education Project.

statewide pro-choice coalition is

Aes to fight a new measure

that threatens to turn the clock back

on reproductive rights for young women. A

proposed initiative has been filed with the

Attorney General's Office to amend the

California Constitution to deny teenagers

access to confidential reproductive health

care. Titled the "Parental Communication

and Responsibility Act," the initiative

would require doctors to notify parents of

patients under 18 that their daughters are

pregnant and seeking an abortion. The ini-

tiative requires, as an alternative, that a

teenager petition a court for an order

allowing her to obtain an abortion without

parental notification.

In 1997, the California Supreme Court

ruled that a 1987 law requiring parental or

judicial consent for abortion violated the

California Constitution's right to privacy in

the American Academy of Pediatrics v.

Lungren. The landmark decision followed a

decade of litigation, including a lengthy trial

with testimony from numerous experts in

ACLU News = Jury-Aucust 1999 = Pace 2

adolescent health care. Because of the law-

suit, filed on behalf of the leading medical

organizations in the state by the ACLU-NC

and the National Center for Youth Law, the

law had never been enforced.

Currently, California's medical emanci-

pation laws allow unmarried teenagers

under 18 to obtain confidential reproductive

health services, such as contraception and

pregnancy-related care. Since 1972, minors

have had the right to obtain abortions with-

out mandatory parental involvement.

"The initiative will nullify the Supreme

Court decision by amending the state

Constitution to limit reproductive privacy,"

explained Margaret Crosby, ACLU-NC staff

attorney who successfully argued AAP v.

Lungren before the high court.

"Fifteen years of experience in other

states have demonstrated that parental

involvement laws inflict physical and emo-

tional harm on young women, especially

the vulnerable teenagers from unhappy

homes who most need our protection,"

Continued on page 5

DW6EB Town Hall Meeting Draws a Crowd

By MELISSA DAAR

66 yen so tired of routine stops," said

Oakland club promoter Tony Le-

Beau. "What is a routine stop? 'm

representing everyone here that looks

like me."

Le-Beau was one of the more than 100

East Bay residents who gathered on May 25

to address the problem of race-based

police stops at a Town Hall Meeting spon-

sored by the Oakland Chapter of the ACLU-

NC, PUEBLO (People United for a Better

Oakland), and the American Friends

Service Committee (AFSC).

Oakland student Germaine Williams spoke out about his DWB experience at the

hands of the Oakland police.

"Oakland police constantly pull me

over for no reason at all, " said Jermaine

Williams, a Skyline High School student

and courtesy clerk at Lucky's. "And they

pull over all my friends for no reason. They

search my car without my permission: my

glove compartment, under the back and

front seats; they search my pockets and pat

me down. I've never gotten a ticket for any

offense; sometimes they don't even check

my license. They never find anything, but

they keep stopping me. I've been stopped

so often and treated so suspiciously for no |

reason at all."

Sam Williams II], a Fresno State |

University student and former Clayton |

High School football star, said, "It seems _

like the police officers are looking for -

something to do...I guess I'm just a target.

They always ask me, `What are you doing |

here?' `Is this your car?, `Who are you going

to see?"

One by one the testimony pointed to

the unmistakable pattern of discriminato-

ry police stops. More than 80 people spoke

to their own experience of "Driving While

Black or Brown." Young and old, men and

women, Latino and African American, all

referred to the fear, humiliation and anger

they experienced when stopped by the

police because of their race. Throughout

the testimony, audience members nodded

their head in agreement and cheered when

speakers told their stories.

"Many people of color have become

resigned to racist treatment by police,"

said Michelle Alexander, Director of the

ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project

Alexander. "But what I want to emphasize

is that we do have the power to say,

`Enough is enough'. People of color have

demanded change in other states across

the country - and have forced the police

and lawmakers to take their demands

seriously. We can do the same here, start-

ing tonight."

"We felt that it was vital to have a pub-

lic forum on this issue," said ACLU-NC

Oakland Chapter activist Stan Brackett.

"Our community is affected by race-based

police stops and we need to send a mes-

sage to our elected officials that it won't

be tolerated."

_ Alexander urged support for SB 78

(Murray), a bill in the state Legislature

which would require law enforcement to

collect data on the race and ethnicity of

all drivers who are stopped. "Law enforce-

ment steadfastly refuses to collect data to

Have You Been Stopped by Police

Because of Your Race?

Call |-877-DWB-STOP*

Or in Spanish:

with deeds --

determine whether or not a discriminato-

ry pattern of police stops actually exists,"

said Alexander. "SB 78 would no longer

allow law enforcement to simply deny the

obvious truth."

Alexander objected to outgoing

Oakland Police Chief Joseph Samuel's'

announcement that the Oakland Police

Department would not collect data on the

ethnicity of people pulled over in traffic

stops. "If the Oakland police want to earn

the trust of the community, they must do so

not just words," said

Alexander. "Why should we take their word

for it when so many people in our commu-

nity have experienced race-based stops?

And why should we trust them, when they

refuse to collect the data that would deter-

mine whether and to what extent a prob-

lem exists?"

D'Wayne Wiggins from the group

Toni!Tony!Tone! participated as a panelist

in the meeting. He described his own stop

by the Oakland police: he was pulled out of

his car and choked by a police officer when

by Governor Davis.

he took a sip of bottled water. Wiggins has

filed a $1 million lawsuit against the

Oakland police.

The Oakland ACLU-NC Chapter has

been working with PUEBLO and the AFSC

for over two years on police accountability

issues. Chapter activists say that SB 78 is

an important step in their battle for police

accountability. "We are really happy that

there is heightened visibility on the issue

of pretext police stops and the disparate

impact on people of color," said veteran

Chapter activist Grover Dye.

Following the meeting, Oakland's new

Chief of Police, Richard Word, announced

that he is reversing the position of the

Oakland Police Department, and agreeing

to collect data regarding the race and eth-

nicity of all motorists stopped by police, at

least for a short period of time. Chief Word

explained that he wants the Oakland

police to "present and image that says we

have nothing to hide. Mf

Melissa Daar is the former Public

Information Associate.

The "Traffic Stops Statistics Act" (SB 78), sponsored by Senator Kevin

Murray (D-Culver City), mandates that data on race and traffic stops be col-

lected by police and reported to the Department of Justice. The bill passed the

full Senate and is heading for a vote in the Assembly. Then, it must be signed

Last year, Governor Wilson, saying vetoed AB 1264,

Murray's first attempt to require data collection on racial profiling.

Call, FAX , write or e-mail your

Assemblymember urging them to

vote YES on SB 78.

|-877-PARALOS**

Share your experience - and help put an end to race-based stops. Call

the ACLU toll free in California.

Tell Senator Kevin Murray you support SB 78. Then, let Governor Gray

Davis know that you want him to sign this important measure when it gets to

his desk.

Please send copies of your correspondence to Field Representative Lisa

Maldonado, ACLU-NC, 1668 Mission Street, #460, San Francisco 94108. Ifyou |

need the addresses or numbers of your legislators, please call Lisa at 415/621-

2498 ext. 346.

*1-877-392-7867 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_1997.batch ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1998.batch ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_1999.batch ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log 1-877-727-2567

More than 1,800 people have called the ACLU DWB Hotline since it was

initiated last October. The respondents have called from cities, suburbs and

rural areas throughout the entire state. Each story, each voice will help stop

the practice of race-based police stops.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

ACLU News #8 Jury-Aucust 1999 = Pace 3

Employee Wins $55,000 in Accent

Discrimination Complaint

n June 8, the Language Rights

Project of the ACLU-NC and the

Employment Law Center announc-

ed that Miranda Chow, a Chinese-

American, will receive a $55,000

settlement of a discrimination complaint

that she filed with the U.S. Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission.

Chow, a former employee of a Northern

California marketing research firm,

charged that a supervisor at the firm

harassed her for months eventually forcing

her to leave the firm, because she speaks

English with an accent.

"An employer may not harass or termi-

nate an employee solely because the

employee speaks with an accent or uses a

foreign language at work. Those that do are

at risk of having to pay for their actions -

and reimburse employees for their loss of

the company can document that the

"accent" truly affects the employee's ability

to communicate. The company also agreed

to report all terminations based on accent

to the EEOC for the next two years and to

provide training for sensitivity on accent

discrimination as part of its ongoing diver-

sity program.

Chow had been employed as a tele-

phone interviewer by the company for two

years and had received many favorable

reviews and pay increases before she began

working under a new supervisor in January

1994. The firm's own performance evalua-

tions never indicated that customers had

difficulty understanding her. Former

supervisors had written on her evalua-

tions, "Excellent all around job! Keep it

up!" and "Congratulations Miranda! You

qualify for a raise in all categories."

"The important question in this case

is whether or not Ms. Chow's accent

interfered with her job performance.

Clearly, it didn't." 7

wages as well as emotional damages,"

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen,

The EEOC found that Chow's rights

were indeed violated and that the compa-

ny's actions constituted discrimination

based on her national origin, a violation of

federal law. The company that fired her,

which has since closed its office in

California, will pay Chow $55,000 for her

loss of wages and damages. It also agreed

to issue and post a clear policy in its other

offices prohibiting denial of employment

opportunities based upon accent, unless

Although she had satisfactory ratings on

"enunciating" from her former supervisors

who monitored her calls, those same rat-

ings dropped dramatically when the new

supervisor came on.

According to the EEOC's findings,

Chow's subsequent supervisor subjected

her to daily "tutorial" sessions to correct her

enunciation, from which Chow often

emerged in tears. When Chow ultimately

was demoted from a full-time bilingual

interviewer to a part-time Chinese language

only interviewer, she left the company.

"Ms. Chow was discriminated against

based upon her accent in violation of Title

VII's ban on national origin discrimina-

tion," added Chen. "The important ques-

tion in this case is not whether there was

intentional and conscious discrimination,

but whether or not Ms. Chow's accent

interfered with her job performance.

Clearly, it didn't.

"Any assertion that Ms. Chow could not

comprehend or be understood by the com-

pany's clients because of her English is

totally undercut by the company's own doc-

: umentation, which showed that even

under the new supervisor she exceeded

her production goals. It is also belied by the

fact that Ms. Chow has since successfully

performed bilingual duties as a telemar-

keter for an insurance company, medical

translator, and as a customer service repre-

sentative for a major telecommunications

firm," said Chen. " It simply defies all the

evidence and experience to suggest that

her accent in any way kept her from doing

her job well."

"Employers must be cautious when

using one's accent to make employment

decisions," warned Christopher Ho of the

Employment Law Center. "Evaluations are

often subjective, arbitrary and susceptible

to unconscious biases. For example, many in

our society are more willing to tolerate

French and British accents than Chinese or'

Spanish accents. The law requires that

accents be evaluated objectively, not based

on the uninformed gut reaction of a supervi-

sor, acting without any evidence of an actual

problem with work performance."

Civil Rights Organizations Settle

Language Rights Complaint

n May 27, a coalition of civil rights

groups reached a settlement with

Contra Costa County Department

of Social Services (CCCDS) that ensures

that all county services and programs are

accessible to persons who are limited

English proficient (LEP).

"Regrettably, language minorities are

all too often denied access to important

services and benefits because of the fail-

ure of agencies to address language and

cultural barriers. We hope the settlement

educates both the community and public

agencies that language minorities are

entitled to equal rights," said Ellen

Tabachnick of Contra Costa Legal

Services Foundation.

The complaint was filed with the U.S.

Department of Health and Human

Services, the Department of Justice and

the Department of Agriculture in April

1998 on behalf of a Laotian immigrant who

was denied food stamps as a result of 1997

Department policy changes that effectively

cut off public benefits and services to LEP

proficient and monolingual Southeast

Asians. The claimant was represented by

Contra Costa Legal Services; the Center on

Poverty Law and Economic Opportunity; the

ACLU of Northern California; the Employ-

ment Law Center; the Asian Law Caucus;

and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil

Rights.

Prior to the changes, the Refugee Unit

served Southeast Asian clients through a

concentration of multilingual inter-

preters and workers who handled cases

and covered all programs. The county

originally established the unit after civil

rights investigators found the agency did

not provide adequate bilingual services to

the vast number of Southeast Asian immi-

grants in need of public assistance.

However, beginning in 1997, the

Department officials dismantled the

Refugee Unit, reassigning and relocating

bilingual workers and interpreters with-

out first conducting the civil rights

impact analysis mandated by federal laws

and regulations.

ACLU News = Ju

While there are problems with the

settlement because the federal agencies

entered into the settlement without

complainants' approval, it contains sig-

nificant provisions for improving lan-

guage access. The Department of Social

Services agreed to develop written poli-

cies and procedures regarding inter-

preter services. They will identify the

language needs of clients to ensure that

Limited English clients have ready

access to bilingual staff or proficient

interpreters at no cost during hours of

operation. The Department will also dis-

seminate its interpreter policies and pro-

cedures to all staff so that they are aware

of their obligation to provide equal

access to services for LEP clients.

Attorneys representing the client

include Luz Buitrago of the Center on

Poverty Law and Economic Opportunity;

Ellen Tabachnick of Contra Costa Legal

Services; Ed Chen of the ACLU-NC; Jodie

Berger, Chris Ho, and Marielena

Hincapie of the Employment Law Center;

Estela Lopez of the Lawyer's Committee

for Civil Rights; and Gen Fujioka of the

Asian Law Caucus. @

THE LANGUAGE RIGHTS PROJECT, A JOINT PROJECT OF

THE EMPLOYMENT LAW CENTER AND THE ACLU-NC, WORKS TO

COMBAT LANGUAGE-BASED DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE,

AND TO ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT SERVICES.

THE LANGUAGE RIGHTS INFORMATION LINE (| -800-

864-1664) OFFERS FREE LEGAL ADVICE AND REFERRALS IN

ENGLISH, SPANISH, MANDARIN, AND CANTONESE TO INDIVIDUALS

WHO BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO DISCRIMINATION

BASED ON THEIR LANGUAGE OR ACCENT.

-Aucust 1999 = Pace 4

Nursing Home Workers Win Language

Rights Settlement

efore a packed press conference, nurs-

Be home worker Maria Martinez

described the humiliation and intimi-

dation she felt when her supervisor disci-

plined and harassed her for speaking

Spanish. "It was very difficult for many of us

who were forced to speak another language |

that was not our primary language," explained

Martinez fighting back tears. "It was as if we

had policeman watching us all the time."

Martinez was joined by attorneys from

Plaintiff Maria Martinez became a shop steward

after fighting for her language rights at a San

Rafael nursing home.

the Language Rights Project of the ACLU

of Northern California and _ the

Employment Law Center (ELC) at a June

15 press conference to announce that

Vencor, Inc., a nationwide nursing home

corporation, will pay $52,500 to settle a

language discrimination suit. The suit

cent

their primary languages when not provid-

ing care to aresident. These illegal restric-

tions only served to hinder care to

residents and destroy employee morale."

When the employees filed their com-

plaint with the EEOC, - Hillhaven

Corporation owned the Fifth Avenue

Health Care Center. In 1995, Vencor pur-

chased the facilty. It was during Vencor's |

ownership that the English-only policy was

rigorously enforced. In 1997, Lenox

Healthcare, Inc., which was also

named as a defendant in the law-

suit, purchased Fifth Avenue from

Vencor.

Martinez, the named plain-

tiff, has been working as a certi-

fied nursing assistant at Fifth

Avenue since 1990. Her primary

language is Spanish, but she

speaks English well enough to

perform her job. She was repri-

manded numerous times for

speaking Spanish.

"One time, I asked a Latino

housekeeper to clean a resident's

room, said Martinez. "We were

both standing at the entrance to a

resident's room, but there were no

eresidents present because they

|=were all in the dining room. The

Ssupervisor heard the brief

~ exchange in Spanish and called us

into his. office, where we were

admonished for violating the

English-only rule. The way the

supervisor acted made me feel like less of a

person just because I speak another lan-

guage. It all felt like another excuse to

crush us Latinos," Martinez added.

Another plaintiff, Graciela Vega, had

worked at Fifth Avenue as a certified nurs-

ing assistant since 1994. She too was repri-

was filed against them in U.S. District

Court by Spanish-, Tagalog- and Haitian

Creole-speaking employees and SEIU

Local 250. Martinez, who during the

course of the language rights battle

became a shop steward for the union,

expressed a combination of relief and vin-

dication at the settlement. "It's not about

the money It's about dignity and respect."

The suit arose after the employees

charged in a 1995 complaint to the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC) that the Fifth Avenue Health Care

Center in San Rafael violated their rights

by harassing and disciplining them for

speaking in languages other than English.

The EEOC found reasonable cause to

believe that the nursing home discriminat-

ed against the employees on the basis of |

their national origin by implementing and |

enforcing the "speak-English-only" policy.

In Martinez v. Lenox Health Care and |

Vencor, Inc., the plaintiffs were represent-

ed by the EEOC, ELC and the ACLU-NC.

US. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker

approved the settlement.

"The nursing home's English-only poli-

cy was unlawful discrimination," said |

Marielena Hincapie, of the Employment |

Law Center. "There was no reason for such

extreme restrictions on employees' use of

manded for speaking Spanish to a resident.

Despite her pointing out that the resident

understood Spanish, the supervisor main-

tained that they should not be speaking

Spanish in any event since there were oth-

er residents in the area who did not under-

stand Spanish. On another occasion, the

staff's in-service trainer reprimanded her

for speaking Spanish with another employ-

ee outside of the residents' dining room.

"Twas told that this was America and that

if I was unable to speak English, this was nei-

ther the place nor job for me," said Vega.

"This is a tremendous victory for SEIU

Local 250 and all of our members who are

constantly fighting these xenophobic

English-only rules in health care facili-

ties," said Maria Griffith-Cafias, SEUI

Field Representative. "The significance

of this settlement goes beyond Fifth

Avenue and will serve as a model to assist

all of our limited English-speaking work-

ers in this struggle."

Cafias also noted that disciplinary |

action taken against workers for speaking

languages other than speaking English

intensified during contract talks between

union and nursing home representatives.

ELC attorney Christopher Ho said,

"This policy was enforced against all

employees whose primary language was |

SEDGE

SEIU representative Maria Griffith-Canas, joined by EEOC attorney William Tamayo

Pall Vans

LLOE

Union MAID

and ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen, lauded the settlement ending punishment for

workers who speak their native languages.

one other than English, but it was imple-

- mented more harshly against monolingual

non-English speakers and those who have

limited English proficiency, who could not

as easily protest the rule or discipline

administered. Fifth Avenue employees

were often disciplined for speaking lan-

guages other than English even when there (c)

were no residents in the area."

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen said

that the settlement sends a signal to other

employers engaged in similar language dis-

crimination practices. "Employers need to

be aware of the exposure of monetary dam-

ages in these cases. There is a price to pay

for discriminating against workers based

on their national origin."

In the settlement, Lenox Healthcare

will revise its policy to conform to

California Department of Health Services

standards for languages spoken by nursing

home staff. In an "all-facilities" letter to

skilled nursing and intermediate care

facilities statewide, DHS set out its posi-_

tion that federal nursing home regulations

do not authorize the use of English-only

rules, except in very narrowly defined situ-

ations. In fact, the DHS policy suggests

that those regulations may actually require

employees to speak languages other than

English when interacting with non-English

speaking residents.

In the policy letter, DHS affirms the

rights of employees to be free from dis-

crimination. According to the DHS, "each

resident has the right to be fully informed

of his or her total health status, including

his or her medical condition, in a language

that he or she understands. At the same

time, all employees have the right to com-

municate with each other in their primary

language when not engaged in direct com-

munication with, or providing care to, a

resident, while being aware that they

should not engage in conversation of a.

social nature that doesn't relate to the care

of the resident."

The Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission is the agency charged by

Congress with enforcing the federal laws (c)

that prohibit employment discrimination

based. on race, color, religion, sex, age, dis-

ability, and national origin. "Language

rights and national origin discrimina-

tion-especially cases of `English-only'

rules and accent discrimination-are a

top priority for the EEOC," said William R.

Tamayo, Regional Attorney of the EEOC

District Office in San Francisco. "We are

glad to have resolved this case short of

extensive litigation and commend Vencor

and Lenox for reaching this agreement."

Access to Abortion...

Continued from page 2

warned Crosby. "This measure, like other

parental consent and notification laws, does

not convert abusive, dysfunctional families

into stable and supportive ones. The laws

simply give pregnant adolescents from

unhappy homes difficult options at a diffi-

cult time in their lives. Some travel alone to

other states, some navigate through a

stressful and humiliating court process,

some bear babies before they are ready to be

parents, and some turn in desperation to

septic or self-induced abortions.

"It is essential, for the physical and

mental health of our teenagers - and for

the right to privacy for all Californians -

that this dangerous measure be stopped,"

Crsoby added.

For more information on the initiative,

or how you can get involved, please go to

the ACLU-NC website: www.aclunc.org.

SCULPTORS RESPONDING TO THE WAVE

OF PURITANISM IN THE 90's.

A RECEPTION TO BENEFIT THE ACLU OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

SATURDAY

AUGUST |4

A New LEAF GALLERY

1286 GILMAN STREET, BERKELEY

TICKETS: $15

The August 14 reception will feature a discussion on the state of freedom of expression

in the arts. Proceeds from ticket sales and a portion of the sculpture sales during the

week of the event will benefit the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. The exhib-

it will run from August 7 through September 19. Please call the ACLU-NC Development

Department for more information at 415/621-2493.

| , i ACLU News = Juty-Aucust 1999 = Pace 5

Second Attempt Fails to Install Spy Cams

on Oakland Streets

or the second time in two years,

the ACLU-NC defeated a plan to

install video surveillance cameras

on Oak-land streets. "This decision

strikes a blow against Big Brother," said

John Crew, Director of the ACLU-NC

Police Practices Project.

The latest proposal for video surveil-

lance came from City Council member

Nate Miley who authored the earlier mea-

sure defeated in 1997. Crew noted a new

City of Oakland staff report supporting

video surveillance was virtually the same as

the one written two years ago that conclud-

ed that street video surveillance was a bad

idea. The new report had been rewritten

only insofar as the conclusion, using the

same data to come to the opposite side of

the issue. This prompted Oakland Tribune

columnist Brenda Payton to observe, "I

guess that is one strategy-review the same

report until you get the conclusion you |

want, whatever the report says."

At its July 6 meeting, the Oakland City

Council's Public Safety Committee voted not

to proceed with the video surveillance pro-

ject. Crew argued that there has been no

data that proves that video surveillance cuts

crime. "Yet video technology has advanced

remarkably to the point that today's systems

will allow watchers to zoom in from over a

100 yards away to read and record the print

on political flyers being distributed on pub-

lic sidewalks," Crew charged.

After a letter from Crew, Oakland

Mayor Jerry Brown announced his opposi-

tion to the measure. "Installing a few or a

few dozen surveillance cameras will not

make us safe. It should also not be forgot-

ten that the intrusive powers of the state

PROPOSITION 209 TAKES ITS TOLL:

Civil Rights Groups

Keep Up the Fight for

Equal Opportunity

California has suffered serious set-

backs in racial and gender equity. The

ACLU-NC has been diligently working to

preserve equal opportunity for women and

people of color in California - but not

without some disappointing losses.

|: the aftermath of Proposition 209,

LOSING TRACK OF DISCRIMINATION

On June 11, the state Court of Appeal

upheld Governor Pete Wilson's Executive

Order to bar the collection of statistics on

minority- and women-owned enterprises

(MBE/WBE) in state contracting. The

case, Barlow v. Wilson, was filed on

behalf of a sociology professor at U.C.

Berkeley and Diablo Valley College who is

writing a book on civil rights law which

requires the state data; the president of a

minority owned engineering firm; and a |

statewide organization for minority and |

women businesses.

After Proposition 209 was passed by

California voters in November 1996, Wilson

attempted to dismantle many programs

considered affirmative action, leaving

women and minorities without equal pro-

tection programs to counteract existing

discrimination. One of the Governor's

actions was to end data collection by state

agencies on how many women and minority

contractors share in the multi-billion dol-

lar state contracting budget.

The plaintiffs were represented by the

ACLU affiliates of Northern and Southern

California, the Lawyers' Committee for

Civil Rights, Equal Rights Advocates and

the Employment Law Center.

SUPREME CourRT REJECTS OPEN

MEETING Suir AGAINST ExX-GOVERNOR

WILSON AND U.C. REGENTS

Striking a blow to open government, the

California State Supreme Court ruled on

June | that student reporter Tim Molloy

and the UC Santa Barbara student news-

paper, The Daily Nexus, may not pursue

their claim that former Governor Pete

Wilson and the U.C. Board of Regents vio-

lated the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act

in voting to approve resolutions abolish-

ing affirmative action at the University of

California.

The ruling in the case, Regents v.

Superior Court (formerly Molloy v. |

Regents), reverses lower court decisions,

which had allowed the case to go forward.

Still in question, and unresolved by the

decision, is whether then-Governor Wilson

secretly locked up votes through a series of

private phone conversations to the Regents

before their crucial July 1995 meeting

where they passed SP1 and SP2, ending

affirmative action throughout the U.C. sys-

tem. In addition, the state Supreme Court

held that any suits alleging violations of the

open meeting law must be filed with 30 |

days of the supposed violation - allowing |

public officials to meet secretly without |

penalty if they can hide their wrongdoing |

for a month.

Litigation on the case will now proceed |

under the Public Records Act.

The student and the newspaper were

represented by the ACLU affiliates of

Northern California and Southern

California, the First Amendment Project,

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and

Equal Rights Advocates.

CourT STRIKES DOWN SAN JOSE

MINORITY OUTREACH PROGRAM

On May 26, the California Court of Appeal |

ruled that San Jose's contract recruiting |

program for women and minority owned |

businesses violated Proposition 209. The

court acknowledged that cutting the pro-

gram may indirectly result in discrimina-

tion against women and minorities in the

bidding opportunities for subcontracts.

The City of San Jose plans to appeal the

decision in the case, High Voltage Wire v.

San Jose, to the California Supreme Court.

The City's recruiting program did not

include quotas or set-asides for minority

or women-owned businesses but required

that primary contractors send four let-

ters to women or minority owned busi-

nesses asking if they were interested in

subcontracting. However, the program

did not require the primary contractor to

actually do business with the recipients

of the letters.

The ACLU-NC and a coalition of civil

rights organizations filed an amicus brief

inthe case. Hf

are growing with each passing decade."

Technology has far outstripped the

means of current law to provide adequate .

protection to individuals who may suffer as

a result of abuses from the use of video

technology. Improperly used, video sur-

veillance cameras can be used to create

vast archives containing the images of

innocent people.

Current video technology also includes

infrared, high-sensitivity equipment, and

systems operating outside the visible light

spectrum. These include Forward Looking

Infrared Radar (FLIR) systems able to

detect activity behind walls, and infrared

systems able to detect activities in dark-

ness. National ACLU Associate Director

Barry Steinhardt warned, "Today's video

technology turns police officers into

supermen and -women with powers of

observation that extends well beyond what

can be seen by the naked eye." In addition,

court decisions in Hawaii and Indiana

have also called into question the use of

videotape evidence obtained without a

warrant. and

ACLU of Northern California.

Joined by History

HONORING ACLU-NC FOUNDER

ERNEST BESIG

Fred Korematsu, ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich, Catherine

Korematsu and Karen Korematsu at the June 11 memorial for Ernie Besig. More

than 100 people came to San Francisco's Commonwealth Club to celebrate the

remarkable life and work of Besig, founder and former Executive Director of the

Former ACLU-NC legal director Marshall Krause emceed the event, which was

organized by Besig's daughter Ann Forwand. Korematsu, Besig's most famous

client, and Ehrlich paid tribute to Besig, as did Paul Halvontk, another former

ACLU-NC legal director who worked with Besig in the tumultuous 60s.

S

e

ro}

=

=

=

ACLU Urges

School Board to

Rescind Book Ban

Board of Trustees, ACLU-NC staff

attorney Ann Brick criticized the

District's removal of Bless Me Ultima by

Rudolfo Anaya and Fallen Angels by Walter

Dean Myers, from use in English classes at

Laton High School.

"While school boards may have broad

discretion in setting curriculum, the

Supreme Court has consistently noted that

the school board's discretion `in matters of

education must be exercised in manner

that comports with the transcendent

imperatives of the First Amendment,"

wrote Brick. "Removing books based either

upon disagreement with constitutionally

protected ideas or upon the board's desire

to impose upon the students a religious

orthodoxy to which the board and its con-

stituents adhere is impermissible."

Bless Me Ultima is widely considered to

be one of the finest pieces of Hispanic fic-

tion and Fallen Angels is the winner of the

1989 Coretta Scott King Author Award and

is listed by the American Library

Association as a Notable Children's Trade

Book in the Field of Social Studies. Brick

noted that the Board appears to have

removed the two books from the English

|: a letter to the Laton School District

ACLU News = Juty-Aucust 1999 = Pace 6

_ books'

curriculum because it apparently finds the

ideas or philosophy expressed by the

authors to be objectionable.

According to press reports, one board

member objected to the importance of the

| curandera (medicine woman) in Bless Me

Ultima, fearing that students would be led

astray from their faith.

In removing the books, the Board

failed to follow its own policies which

require that challenged instructional

materials be reviewed by a committee

before a final decision is made. Instead,

without even having read the books in

their entirety, the Board ordered that they

be removed from all classrooms.

"When a political body, such as a

school board, removes a book from the cur-

riculum because of a disagreement with its

message or point of view, it undermines

the integrity of the process through which

curriculum is set and paves the way for an

endless series of attempts to cleanse

school reading lists of materials found

objectionable by one group or another,"

Brick said. "In the end, school curriculum

becomes a tug of war among various fac-

tions instead of a carefully crafted program

designed to educate our youth."

WATCH OUR WEBSITE FOR DEVELOPMENTS: WWW.ACLUNC.ORG

Two Dangerous Initiatives on

March 2000 Ballot

Two very dangerous initiatives will

appear on the statewide ballot in

March 2000. -

CHECK AS MANY AS YOU WISH

J Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Youth Initiative

ANTI-YOUTH

| s initiative was spearheaded by ex-Governor Pete Wilson and contains many of

Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Gay Initiative

1

!

Wilson's proposals that were rejected by the Legislature in prior years. The initiative (c) I'll work wherever you need me against either/both of these dangerous measures.

imposes a harsh, punitive approach to addressing juvenile crime by incarcerating | !

youth for longer periods of time and transferring more youth into the adult criminal justice

1

1

1

1

i

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Name

system. In addition, the initiative would increase the pre-trial detention of youth, mix Address

youth with adults in jail in some circumstances, create stricter probation rules, erode confi- City State Zip

dentiality of juvenile records and proceedings, penalize youth for associating with others Your telephone adore

through so-called "gang" enforcement measures, expand Three Strikes law, and add to the

list of crimes for which the death penalty can be imposed. If passed, this anti-youth initia- Send to or contact:

Lisa Maldonado, ACLU-NC Field Representative, Email (lisam@aclunc.org) :

Telephone: 415 621-2493, Address: American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

tive will fill our prisons with youthful offenders and make it much more difficult to address

the underlying causes of youth criminal behavior.

California, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94103

ANTI-GAY

he so-called "Definition of Marriage" or "Knight" Initiative, named after its sponsor

L Republican state senator Pete Knight, would prevent same-sex marriages from being

recognized in California. The initiative amends the California Family Code with the

following provision: "Only a marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recog-

nized in California." In states with similar legislation on the books, courts and policymakers

have relied on such laws to deny adoption by gay and lesbian parents, to defeat anti-discrim-

ination ordinances for lesbians and gay men, and even to justify the elimination or denial of

hate-crime laws that would protect gay men and lesbians from violence. The California |

State Assembly has previously defeated measures like the Knight Initiative five times. |

Passage of the Knight Initiative would fan the flames of homophobia and codify governmen- |

tal intrusion into the ability of individuals to make fundamental and private choices about

their lives on an equal basis. |

You've Sent Checks to the ACLU-

Now Let Us Send Checks to You!

By participating in the

ACLU Foundation's Gift

Annunity Program

you can receive quarterly income checks for the rest of your life and, at the same

time, help the American Civil Liberties Union protect our precious constitutional

rights for years to come. The rate of return you can receive depends upon your

age. Much of this income is tax-free! And, because your annuity contract will help

the ACLU Foundation, you will receive a sizable income tax charitable deduction

forparticipating. Return this form for a personalized illustration.

ACLU Foundation Gift Annuity Rates*

September 17-19

Walker Creek Ranch, Marin

Meet and Strategize with other Northern California activists on...

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SINGLE RATE OF Two RATE OF D Cee

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make sure you have a thorough understanding of the financial consequences of this transaction.

cen ee ee = Walnut Creek Ranch. $50 (scholarships/ sliding scale available)

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City State Zip Economy Dorm Style Weekend Package Friday dinner-Sunday lunch-$106

Telephone ( ) Semi-Private Lodge Weekend Package Friday dinner-Sunday lunch -$152

Mail to: To register for lodging please contact Lisa Maldonado at 415-293-6369 ext 346

Stan Yogi, ACLU Foundation of Northern California, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San

Francisco, CA 94103. Telephone: (415) 621-2493, extension 330.

ACLU News @ Jury-Aucust 1999 = Pace 7

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

ACLU Conference Registration $50

YES!!! Sign me up for the 1999 ACLU-Northern California Activist Conference at

Wheelchair accessible. For ASL interpreters of other reasonable accomodation, please

contact Lisa Maldonado: lisam@aclunc.org or at 415-293-6369 ext 346

BY Davip S. HARRIS

ctogenarian Grover Dye has been an

activist for most of his adult life.

From working with Malcolm X in the

1960's to organizing against "Driving

While Black" practices in the Oakland

Police Department - his commit-

ment to social justice has defined his

life as a community organizer.

Dye's activism began in the early

- 60s, when he ran a poverty assistance

program in the nation's Capitol.

While organizing African American

tenants around issues of housing dis-

crimination and landlord exploita-

tion, he met Malcolm X. Malcolm and

Dye often worked together during

those tumultuous times, and the lega-

cy of the civil rights movement taught

Dye many lessons about grassroots

organization.

"You can't have an outsider come

into a community without involving

the people every step of the way," Dye

told the ACLU News.

Dye carried that sentiment with

him when he moved to Oakland thir-

ty years ago. He joined the ACLU-NG, like

many people, during the 1988 Presidential

Campaign after George Bush accused

Michael Dukakis of being a "card-carry-

ing" member of the ACLU. Dye started

attending chapter meetings and became

quickly involved.

"I do believe the ACLU is the most

important civil rights organization in the

country,' Dye explained. "Death penalty

opposition, the Driving While Black or

Brown campaign, the desecration of the

flag ... these are issues that are fundamen-

tal to civil rights issues."

When Dye first joined the ACLU-NC

(Chapter meetings are open to all interested members.

Contact the Chapter activist listed for your area.)

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

sington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually first

Wednesday) For more information, time and address of

meetings, contact Diana Wellum at 510/841-2069.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth Tuesday).

Please join our newly-teorganized Chapter! Meetings are

held at 7:00 PM at the Fresno Center for Non-Violence. For

more information, call Bob Hirth 209/225-6223 (days).

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights

Chapter Annual Meeting August 8 1PM to 3 PM atthe

ACLUANC Office, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460. For more

information, contact Lisa Maldonado 415/621-2493.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Corte Madera Town

Center, Community Meeting Room. For more information,

contact Rico Hurvich at 415/389-8009.

Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM, at 460 South California

Chapter in Oakland, it was apparent to the

seasoned organizer that the chapter

lacked diversity in a city where diversity

thrives. In 1994, there was just one African

American on a board of sixteen. In an

effort to bring about more diversity, Dye

worked with other activists to bring in

friends, colleagues and other activists of

color from the community.

"T believe you must involve the people

whom you are serving," says Dye. "You

have to do both `with and for' a communi-

ty rather than just `for. We really needed

to involve the community more in what it

was trying to do," Dye added.

"Today, the Board might be considered

a little more reflective of the demographics

of the city; there is an equal number of men

and woman, as well as a significant pres-

ence of African Americans. We are also

Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. For more information, con-

= a = sec es

tact Ken Russell at 650/325-8750.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM, 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.

Check-out our web page at: http://members.

aol.com/mpenaclu. For more information, contact Marc

Fagel at 650/579-1789.

Oakland/East Bay Chapter Meeting: (Usually

fourth Thursday) Elections for the Board of

Directors of the newly reconstituted Chapter will be

held on Thursday, July 22 at 7:00 PM at the Rockridge

Library, Oakland. See ad this page. For more informaton

contact Stan Brackett: 510/832-1915.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually every third Tuesday) Meet at

Luzmilla's, 1288 G Street, Arcata at 7:00 PM. For infor-

mation on upcoming meeting dates and times, please call

707/444-6595.

proud to have Latinos, Asian Americans,

and lesbian and gay board members," said

Field Representative Lisa Maldonado.

"Dye's commitment to the community and

to adding diverse members to our organi-

zation has been unwavering."

Dye's long experience in the civil

rights movement also taught him the

importance of coalition building. He

became involved with People United for a

Better Oakland (PUEBLO), a grassroots

organization that helped to spearhead

police accountability initiatives such as

strengthening Oakland's Citizen Police

Review Board. In 1997, Dye participated

ina successful effort by PUEBLO and the

ACLU-NC to require the police depart-

ment-instead of the citys general

fund- to pay for the costs of police mis-

conduct settlements.

Dye also served as the Vice President

Grover Dye: Four Decades of Organizing

of the Paul Robeson Centennial

Committee. "Robeson was a brilliant schol-

ar and a dedicated activist whose contri-

butions go largely unnoticed,' explained

Dye. "He worked always for the under-

class, the less privileged. He was a Phi

Beta Kappa but many people only know

him a good singer." The committee

attempted to get a Robeson postage stamp

issued; despite having enough signatures

to qualify, the Postal Service did not adopt

the stamp.

- Dye recently turned 80 years old, and

shows no signs of letting up. "Many people

view the ACLU as only a legal organization.

We wanted to change that outlook in this

community and I think we've helped make

a difference."

| David Harris is the interim Program

Assistant.

CO

__LESBI

Chapter will be held on

510/832-1915.

Join the New Oakland/Kast Bay Chapter

Picnarter for the Board of Directors of the newly reconstituted Oakland /East Bay

Thursday, July 22 at 7:00 PM

Rockridge Library

(corner of Manila and College Ave. in Oakland).

At the meeting the Chapter Nominating Committee will present a slate of nominees for

the Chapter Board.The Oakland/ East Bay Chapter will be meet the fourth Thursday of

the month at the Rockridge Library. For more informaton contact Stan Brackett:

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually | Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third |

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 more information, contact David Miller

at 916/991-5415.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)

Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission

Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. Call the Chapter

Hotline (979-6699) for further details.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually

first Tuesday) Annual General Membership

Meeting Tuesday, August 17, at 7:00 PM at

1051 Morse St., San Jose. See ad this page. Contact:

Dan Costello, Chair, 408/287-6403 or Elizabeth

Zimmerman, 408/246-2129 (jzimmer@ sjm.infi.

net).

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM. For more information,

contact Dianne Vaillancourt at 408/454-0112.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice

Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Judith

Volkart at 415/899-3044 for more information.

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street #154,

Davis. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at

530/756-1900 or Dick Livingston at 530/753-7255.

Chico Chapter: If you are a member in the

Chico/Redding area, please contact Steven Post-Jeyes at

530/345-1449.

Chapters Reorganizing

If you are interested in reviving the Mt. Diablo

Chapter, please contact Field Representative Lisa

Maldonado at 415/621-2006 ext. 46.

Field Action Meetings

(All meetings except those noted will be held at the ACLU-

NC Office, 1663 Mission Street, 460, San Francisco.)

Student Outreach Committee: Meet to plan out-

reach activities. For more information, contact Nancy Otto

at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.

Student Advisory Committee: For more informa-

tion, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.

ACLU News #8 Jury-Aucust 1999 = PaceS