News & Commentary

December 1 is the anniversary of the day in 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Back then, racism was visible in signs that marked Jim Crow policies of segregation. We know that it took courageous organizers – like Rosa Parks, and thousands of others - and a national movement to shift our laws and policies toward racial justice.

The ACLU of Wisconsin is conducting its Biannual Education Survey, and has sent open records requests to 107 of the 425 school districts in Wisconsin to see how they are doing on some of the ACLU’s priority issues: nondiscrimination, bullying, and the right of each student to an adequate education.

The ACLU of Wisconsin does not endorse candidates, so we did not have a partisan stake in the outcome of yesterday’s election. However, we are committed to ensuring that Wisconsin citizens can cast a ballot without misinformation, intimidation or barriers. We focused our efforts leading up to November 6 on educating voters about their rights and working alongside partners in the Wisconsin Election Protection 866 OUR VOTE hotline project and poll watching.

If federal transportation money is spent on expanding highways while dollars for inner-city public transportation are slashed, how can transit-dependent people – who are much more likely to be people of color – get to their jobs? What impact does expanding highways to the suburbs have on a highly segregated city?

Karyn Rotker, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said she learned last year that agencies such as the Transportation Department are required to have an annually updated plan for complying with Title VI. But when she asked for the plan, she found it was dated 2004.

This isn’t the first time WisDOT has been sued over this very issue.  A settlement was reached in 2000, which arose out of a similar lawsuit regarding I-94 corridor planning.  According to The ACLU of Wisconsin, the WisDOT agreed it would “continue to use its best efforts to expand and improve transit service within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area to enable transit dependent residents of Milwaukee to better access areas of job growth.”  But where are the tangible results of that promise?

The ACLU of Wisconsin urges the Wisconsin legislature to slow down the rush to redraw state legislative districts so that affected communities have time to fully review and respond to the proposals. Federal law prohibits the drawing of districts that have the effect of diluting minority voting strength.  Determining whether a plan dilutes minority voting strength requires careful consideration of a number of factors and alternative plans.  That analysis cannot be completed on the timeline contemplated by the legislature. The important task of redrawing of district lines demands deliberation and public input. Rushing the plan through without thorough analysis creates the risk that an illegal plan will be adopted.

Today Christopher Ahmuty, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin issued the following statement in response to Governor Scott Walker signing a bill that repeals a new law designed to help police managers identify biased policing. The law set up a system to collect and analyze data on the race and ethnicity of motorists when police officers initiate certain types of traffic stops or conduct searches of vehicles. Ahmuty’s statement may be quoted as follows:

The ACLU of Wisconsin joined other environmental justice groups like the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates in opposing the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s plan to continue to expand highway access via the Zoo Interchange while cutting transit spending. As recipients of federal funding, the state cannot have programs that have a discriminatory effect. The WisDOT’s transportation funding and policy decisions are leading toward more roads for car owners and fewer transportation options for people who depend on public transportation.