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The Alabama Solution
Join us for an important screening of The Alabama Solution, followed by a community conversation around detention conditions in Oklahoma. The Alabama Solution is a powerful documentary that exposes the realities of Alabama’s prison system and centers the voices of those living within it. The brutality shown in the documentary is not unique. In a way, it shows every prison because of the violence and oppression that prison breeds. The film invites us to confront the human cost of incarceration, the forces that allow injustice to persist, and the urgent need for accountability and systemic change. Join advocates working across issues of incarceration, immigration detention, and the death penalty in Oklahoma for a community conversation after the screening that discusses how the film relates to what is happening in Oklahoma and actions you can take to fight injustice in our state.
Hosted by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Julius Jones Institute, and the ACLU of Oklahoma, this event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and we will be joined by local community organizations who will provide free resources and ways to stay involved in advocacy efforts.
ACLU of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Disability Law Center, file Legal Action Against State Officials over Termination of Disability Services
On October 31, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services notified the over 20,000 recipients of Advantage and In-Home Supports Waivers for Adults that their benefits would be terminated on December 1, 2017. Regardless of potential action from the Governor’s office today…
New City Ordinance Will Not Reconcile Panhandling Restriction with Constitutions
OKLAHOMA CITY–The City Council of Oklahoma City approved this morning an amendment to the City’s previously adopted anti-panhandling ordinance, restricting the ability of citizens to sit, stand, or stay on public medians. The amendment changes which medians are affected by the ordinance but continues to restrict access to large numbers of public medians in Oklahoma City. In response, the ACLU of Oklahoma released the following statement:
ACLU of Oklahoma Sues Over Forced Labor, Human Trafficking in Court-Mandated “Rehab” Program
TAHLEQUAH, OK– The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed suit today against the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program (D.A.R.P., Inc. or D.A.R.P.) for a number of egregious abuses, including human trafficking and labor violations. The suit, filed on behalf of past participants at the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program facilities in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and Decatur, Arkansas, alleges the organization has been running an unpaid labor camp disguised as a rehabilitation center for the last decade.
Sessions Hopes to Undermine Criminal Justice Reform in Visit to Oklahoma
Backward-thinking Oklahoma sheriffs, prosecutors and legislators are bringing in outside help in their bid to undermine criminal justice reform overwhelmingly supported by Oklahoma voters and a large, diverse, nonpartisan coalition of Oklahomans that continues to grow.
Oklahoma City schools named for Confederate generals should be changed without delay
Monuments are being removed across the nation. These confederate monuments, symbols, and representatives started rooting up in the Jim Crow era as a threat to Black Americans and for the expansion of white supremacy ideology and its vestiges of white supremacy and nationalism.
UPDATED: ACLU Responds to Broken Police Culture that Resulted in Killing of Magdiel Sanchez
“We are incredibly saddened and disturbed by the news that an Oklahoma City police officer shot and killed Magdiel Sanchez, a deaf man confronted on his own porch. Police have an obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide reasonable modifications in their interactions with…
ACLU of Oklahoma Calls for End to Religious Proselytizing by Oklahoma Police Department
“Both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution protect against government officials establishing a state religion. The exclusive, pervasive promotion of the Christian faith by the Mounds Police Department represents a clear violation…
ACLU Responds to Record-setting Rise in DOC Population
“It is unacceptable, though unsurprising, that the Oklahoma Department of Corrections continues to set new records on the number of humans suffering under our current system. Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is an unsustainable, indisputable human rights catastrophe. As more and more Oklahomans…
ACLU of Oklahoma Releases Wheel of Injustice Series in Response to Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Gimmick
The ACLU of Oklahoma released the first of a seven-part video series showcasing the human rights catastrophe within the Oklahoma County jail. The series is inspired by this week’s “Wheel of Justice” gimmick on local news featuring the Oklahoma County Sheriff. A host spun a wheel of men and women…
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