Today's Date: March 29, 2024
Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   Suffolk Kicks off 2024 “Build With Us @ Suffolk” Program in Boston for Trade Partners, Opening Doors for Minority-,   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   Anaergia Announces Delay in the Filing of Its Audited Financial Statements and Related Disclosures   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. Expands OTC Portfolio for Children with the Introduction of bébé Bottoms™   •   Anaergia Announces Escrow Closing of Second Tranche of the Strategic Investment   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation
Bookmark and Share

Criminal Records Of Civil Rights Heroes Expunged

 TALLAHASSEE, FL  – The ACLU of Florida commended Governor Charlie Crist and the other members of the Florida Board of Executive Clemency for their resolution recommending that the state of Florida expunge the criminal records of Florida’s civil rights movement heroes.

 

The ACLU also commends the governor for his role in creating a Civil Rights Hall of Fame at the capitol as a tribute to the sacrifices of Florida’s civil rights leaders and a memorial to Florida’s civil rights movement, which played a pivotal role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

 

“While we commend the governor for honoring Florida’s civil rights heroes and recognizing Florida’s civil rights movement, we urge him and the rest of the Clemency Board to solve the injustices of the present,” stated Muslima Lewis, Director of the ACLU of Florida’s Racial Justice and Voting Rights Projects. “If the governor and the Clemency Board truly wish to honor the legacy of the leaders of the civil rights movement, they will act now to reform Florida’s civil rights ban.”

 

The ACLU has urged the governor and the other members of the Clemency Board to act decisively to address on-going civil rights deprivations, fulfilling the promise of automatic rights restoration that was made to Floridians in 2007.

 

“We are pleased to see the governor honor the legacy of civil rights Freedom Fighters,” said Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida Executive Director. “With the establishment of a civil rights hall of fame at the capitol, and clearing of the records of civil rights pioneers, our elected leaders have underscored the importance of the civil rights movement in securing equality for all Floridians. We thank the governor; the clemency board; Senator Tony Hill; Representative Alan B. Williams of the Florida Black Legislative Caucus; and Rev. Wright, Florida SCLC, for their work on these issues.

 

But the governor and the members of the cabinet also need to address current civil rights problems – most importantly ending Florida’s Jim Crow lifetime disfranchisement system, which is a blemish on Florida’s history that needs to be erased. That is the truly unfinished business of the civil rights movement,” added Simon. 

 

In a December 3 letter, the ACLU and other local, state and national organizations urged the Clemency Board to issue an executive order granting restoration of voting and other civil rights to Floridians with non-violent offenses. This request was followed by a December 9 letter from several South Florida rock bands also urging for reform of Florida’s Reconstruction-era ban on voting and other civil rights.

 


A copy of the ACLU of Florida’s December 3rd letter is available HERE

 

About the ACLU of Florida

The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 


STORY TAGS: BLACK, AFRICAN AMERICAN, MINORITY, CIVIL RIGHTS, DISCRIMINATION, RACISM, , RACIAL EQUALITY, BIAS, EQUALITY, culture



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News