In response to calls to remove Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye from the Northville Public Schools AP English curriculum, the ACLU of Michigan wrote a letter in April 2016 warning against censorship and highlighting the importance of studying the themes of race, poverty and oppression raised by the critically acclaimed novel.  In response, the Board of Education voted unanimously to permit the use of the book. 

(ACLU Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg; Board President Loren Khogali.)

After a ten-year-old Detroit Public Schools student with special needs was accused of throwing toilet paper, she was dragged to the principal’s office and placed in handcuffs by a police officer.  The girl panicked, and as she struggled she allegedly kicked the officer.  The child was accused of assaulting school personnel and designated for expulsion on those grounds as the 2016 school year was drawing to a close.  Counsel from the ACLU of Michigan attended the expulsion hearing in August 2016 and urged that she not be expelled, as such a severe punishment would prevent the enrollment of t

A student at Eastern Michigan University who has been a practicing Wiccan since age 14 contacted the ACLU of Michigan when the public safety department refused to allow him to keep his athame on campus.  Wicca is a pagan religion, and an athame is a ceremonial blade used in Wiccan ritualistic exercises to channel psychic energy and demarcate the boundaries of a magic circle. 

NOTE: The American Civil Liberties Union does not support or oppose candidates for elected or appointive office.

In November, President-elect Donald Trump chose conservative Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos--a woman with a long history as an advocate for voucher schemes and for-profit charter schools--as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education. DeVos' confirmation hearing has been set for Jan. 17.

Originally published on the Michigan Chronicle

When it comes to the situation regarding the water in Flint’s public schools, Jeree Brown is in the dark.

With two children attending Eisenhower Elementary School, she has no idea what’s going on regarding state testing of water in schools throughout the Flint Community Schools district.

She’s not alone.

Kary Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan, issued the following statement on the nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education:

FLINT, MICH. – The ACLU of Michigan, joined by community leaders, will announce a class-action lawsuit on behalf of families from Flint, Mich. on Tuesday, October 18.

Who: Rev. Juanita Crump, education chair, Concerned Pastors for Social Action
Kary Moss, Executive Director, ACLU of Michigan
Jeree Brown, Flint parent
Angy Keelin, Flint parent

What:   Announcement of Lawsuit on Behalf of Flint Families

Where: Saints of God Church, 2200 Forest Hill Ave, Flint, Michigan

By Hannah Pollard-Garber, Guest Blogger