Latest news with #Mollman
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU files federal lawsuit against Chambers County Board of Education
The Chambers County Courthouse as seen on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023 in Lafayette, Ala. ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against the Chambers County Board of Education on behalf of two teachers who were wrongfully arrested in 2023.(Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit in May against the Chambers County Board of Education on behalf of two teachers who were wrongfully arrested in 2023. According to the lawsuit, Yolanda Ratchford and Tytianna Smith held letter-size papers at a Chambers County Board of Education meeting picturing John Lewis reading 'Good Trouble.' 'Silently holding pieces of paper is not a crime. What happened to Ms. Ratchford and Ms. Smith is a clear and shocking abuse of power,' said Alison Mollman, legal director at the ACLU of Alabama. 'These women were exercising their most basic constitutional rights—freedom of speech and peaceful protest—and they were punished for it.' According to a May press release, the complaint includes claims under the First and Fourth Amendments, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Alabama common law. The litigation, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, is to get Ratchford and Smith compensated for the harm they endured while in police custody. She said Ratchford is wheelchair bound and was not given access to a toilet while in police custody. A judge ruled the two teachers were not guilty of disorderly conduct. Messages seeking comment from Chambers County Board of Education and the Valley Police Department were left Tuesday. As of Tuesday, the defendants have not responded to the lawsuit through the court. According to a press release, the silent protest was part of ongoing community opposition to the school board's plan to consolidate the county's two public high schools into a new facility located in Valley, a predominantly white city, which would displace Black students and educators from LaFayette. Mollman said the merging of the two schools would cause issues with commuting for Black students that live in spread out county and they would get a different education in the city. 'When you're going a few miles down county roads, it's much different than going down I 65 or 85 you know, at 80 miles an hour. And so that's part of the issue,' Mollman said in an interview in May. The merging of the two schools, Mollman said, would put the Black students at a disadvantage because they would no longer be with their teachers. 'Many of those teachers were black, and so it's not just the bussing times. It's also where those students are going to be placed, who they're going to be taught by, and how that's going to be different, how they're going to be differently situated than from their white peers.' 'A judge determined that they were not guilty of those offenses, and made comments to the effect that if anyone was disorderly in the incident, it was law enforcement,' she said. For the past 50 years, the Chambers County School District has been under a federal desegregation order. A federal judge ruled that both Valley and Lafayette high schools must be combined into one Chambers County High School. A new consolidated high school is set to be built this year, according to WTVM.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As ACLU of Alabama celebrates 60th anniversary, group fights to stop anti-DEI law from taking effect statewide
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — As the ACLU of Alabama celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the group has announced a slate of projects they will take on this year, including fighting against a law that that unravels diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the state. Earlier this month, the organization announced that they had filed a federal lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 129, which prevents public universities across the state from dedicating funding to DEI programs. The law went into effect in October. 'What that means is that DEI offices have had to close at our public universities,' said Alison Mollman, legal director of the ACLU of Alabama. 'But, even more troubling, is that we've seen restrictions on what student groups have access to funding for.' Alabama State Superintendent releases statement regarding ICE and federal funding As an example, Mollman said groups like Alabama NAACP chapters wouldn't have the same access to funding for events like Black History Month, while white groups were not held to the same standard. On Jan. 30, the group, alongside the Legal Defense Fund, filed a preliminary injunction requesting that the court pauses the implementation of SB129. 'In their motion, the plaintiffs argue that the law, Alabama Senate Bill 129 (SB129), has imposed severe viewpoint restrictions on professors and students in public Alabama universities, including classroom discussions and university programs, since it took effect in October 2024,' the ACLU of Alabama wrote in a press release. 'The plaintiffs further argue that it is difficult—if not impossible—to ascertain what exactly is or is not prohibited by SB129 due its vague and confusing language, which further chills their speech.' Mollman said the lawsuit's ultimate aims is to have a federal court declare SB129 as unconstitutional. 'What that would mean is that our plaintiffs and students across the state who have student groups that are based on identity or are based on certain viewpoints wouldn't have that restricted as they are now under SB 129,' she said. 'And it would allow our professors across the state to return to teaching the curriculum and history that's been appropriate for years.' Applications for senior housing development in Birmingham open Feb. 13 The organization, which was founded in 1965, recently announced its 2025 Legislative Agenda, including: Fighting for criminal legal reform Defending the right to vote Ensuring reproductive justice Protecting First Amendment rights The ACLU of Alabama will be hosting a community teach-in on Feb. 15 in Montgomery. Mollman said the free event would be aimed toward educating the public on how the Legislature function, what bills they could expect to be introduced in the next session and how the ACLU will work to fight against certain bills. 'It's one of our priorities to make sure that the public is aware and educated about what's happening,' she said. 'We'll have other community events throughout the spring where folks can choose to tap in on the work that we're doing and learn how they can fight back against laws that harm them and to support laws that are going to make our lives better.' More information on the work being done by the ACLU of Alabama can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
