ACLU of Louisiana

The ACLU of Louisiana has joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in the filing of an amended complaint against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to alleged discriminatory practices against Black and minority farmers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Angie and Wenceslaus “June” Provost Jr., who are fourth-generation sugarcane farmers in New Iberia, Louisiana, along with a proposed class. Read our full statement: https://bit.ly/3XMcwHw

New in The Independent: Our Senior Director for Philanthropy and Community Investment, Maggy Baccinelli, and two of our Guaranteed Monthly Income Program participants, Janell Landry and Sandra Carr, share the impacts of reparations work on the lives of those impacted by systemic racism and oppression. Read the full story by Josh Marcus: https://bit.ly/3B0FTwP

New in Newsweek: Our Staff Attorney, Andrew Perry, speaks to the cruel treatment of those detained in Louisiana's ICE facilities. "The conditions in these facilities are inhumane, as this report shows in heartbreaking detail. The federal government has turned immigration detention into a profit machine at the expense of both asylum seekers and longtime residents of the United States. These facilities must be shut down." Read the full story by Dan Gooding: https://bit.ly/473y7OP Learn more about our Immigrant Rights Project: https://bit.ly/3ATDeov

#BREAKING: Alongside Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, ACLU National, and the National Immigration Project, we have released a new report revealing overwhelming evidence of abuse and inhumane treatment at nine immigration detention facilities across Louisiana. These facilities, which are under the jurisdiction of the New Orleans ICE Field Office, routinely fail to comply with ICE’s own minimal standards of care. Read the full report on our site: https://www.laaclu.org/irp #EndtheGainonPain

After three years of litigation, we've reached a settlement between our Justice Lab client, Ms. Jacinta Danks, the City of Kenner, and a Kenner Police Department officer. Ms. Danks was in the passenger seat of a car when the officer violently pulled her from the car, threw her to the ground, and pinned her to the pavement face down. Read more on our site: https://lnkd.in/gp9vWTAy

New in Rolling Stone: Our Executive Director, Alanah Odoms, speaks to our fight to protect religious freedom in Rev. Roake v Brumley. “The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects everyone’s religious freedom. The Louisiana Legislature cannot impose its religious beliefs on our children and families. Forcing all public-school students to follow the state’s version of the Ten Commandments, regardless of their own beliefs, is unconstitutional. We will not back down from this fight and eagerly await our day in court.” Read the full story by Lorena O'Neil online: https://bit.ly/3SEImmN

It was great to have the opportunity to spread the word about the Housing Pledge and hear more about the findings from other local GI programs at the LA County GI Summit yesterday. Our partners from ACLU of Louisiana also came out to share their experience building Truth and Reconciliation, a pioneering guaranteed income initiative for those affected by police violence. We were also moved by Hope's powerful story, a pilot participant who spoke alongside Alanah Odoms, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. During the summit, there was a consensus that all city and non-profit officials, GI recipients alike agreed upon, "We can do policies with the core principles of guaranteed income: trusting in people trusting in communities." - Nika Soin-Shiong

On August 1, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of Cooley pro bono client Bilal Hankins in a civil rights lawsuit arising from an unlawful traffic stop by police officers in New Orleans. The Cooley pro bono team representing Hankins was led by Patrick Gibbs, Patrick Hayden, Christopher Andrews, Victoria Pasculli, Valeria M. Pelet del Toro, Tina Jensen and Ariana Bustos who worked alongside the ACLU of Louisiana. “This is the first step in securing justice for Bilal, and we look forward to supporting him throughout his case against the officers,” Hayden stated. “This is one example of Cooley’s pro bono work to seek justice for individuals facing insurmountable obstacles.” Read more about the case here: https://bit.ly/3WxEe96 #probono

#BREAKING: The ACLU of Louisiana and the Fund for Guaranteed Income have a released a new report analyzing the first six-months of our yearlong Guaranteed Monthly Income Program for victims of police brutality. The Truth and Reconciliation Project creates a template for transferring economic power from the descendants of enslavers to those impacted by the oppressive vestiges of slavery across the American South. Read the full report and learn more about our Truth & Reconciliation Project at: www.laaclu.org/trp Project Leads: Maggy Baccinelli and Melody Parker Report Design: Becky Gipson

We are ecstatic to announce and celebrate our 2024 Summer Legal Interns! Jordan A. is a rising second-year student at Yale Law School working with us as a NAACP Legal Defense Fund Marshall Motley Scholar. Sophia Howard is a dedicated third-year student at Vanderbilt Law School, where she serves as the President of the Black Law Students Association. Owen McCall is an Ignatian Scholar at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Terence Howard, Jr. is a rising third-year student at the University of Tennessee College of Law working with us through the U.S. Department of Justice's Summer Law Intern Program. Cayli Pham is a Juris Doctor and Diploma in Comparative Law Candidate at Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Destiney Watson is a second-year student at Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where she serves as Treasurer of the Black Law Student Association.