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These links to initiatives from the ACLU National office can assist you with more information
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| Welcome to the ACLU of Arkansas
The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty. We work in the courts, the legislature and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Our job is to preserve America's original civic values - those enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
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“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
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Arkansas Civil Liberties Union Foundation
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Arkansas Civil Liberties Union Foundation 2010 Spring Party
Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
Place: Genesis III, Union Train Station, Little Rock
Time: Bar & Buffet, 5:30-7:00 pm. Program at 7:15 pm.
Band: The Groanups
Cost: $50.00 per person ($25 of which is tax deductible)
$25.00 for students (not tax deductible)
Deadline to RSVP: May 4th
Make checks out to: ACLUF
Mail checks to:
ACLU of Arkansas
904 West Second Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
Download the Invitation (150 KB).
Three Arkansans to be Honored at Upcoming Spring Party
“We wanted to have an event that was affordable for more members so more people could attend, and we wanted one that was more fun,” said ACLU of Arkansas board president Jim Metzger.
Dick Bennett of Fayetteville and Jack Lavey of Little Rock will each receive the Civil Libertarian of the Year: Lifetime Achievement Award and 11-year-old Will Phillips of West Fork will be named the Champion of Liberty.
Dick Bennett has been fighting for civil liberties his entire adult life. At Stanford during the Civil Rights movement, Bennett joined the ACLU and began a letter-writing campaign about the injustices of the Jim Crow laws and the less well-known opposition to them by white southerners. Later, the Vietnam War ignited his fervent and ongoing political engagement. Shortly after the ACLU of Arkansas was organized in 1968, Bennett joined and worked with Betty Siegel to keep track of membership and income for several years. He also helped start, and continues to be involved in, the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the ACLU of Arkansas.
Jack Lavey began fighting for labor equality in the early 1960s as a labor lawyer. After a stint at the National Labor Relations Board in Washington D.C., Lavey headed to Fort Worth, TX, to be a part of the union-organizing and civil rights movements. In 1966 he migrated to Little Rock to join the McMath Law Firm, and in 1969 joined Phil Kaplan and John Walker in the first racially integrated law firm in the state. He later opened his own practice. Lavey became involved in the ACLU because of the widespread civil liberties violations throughout the state. Lavey enlisted attorneys to help the newly formed affiliate address the voluminous complaints and continues to support the ACLU today.
Will Philips will receive the Champion of Liberty Award for exercising his first amendment rights in the face of school and peer pressure. In October of 2009, the fifth-grader refused to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. Will took issue with the portion of the pledge that promises “liberty and justice for all,” when discrimination against racial minorities and gay men and lesbians is so pervasive in America. After four days of refusing to stand, Will’s teacher told him that he must say the pledge, but Will stood firm. Though some friends supported his decision, many students harangued him for continuing to exercise his right to free speech. Will’s fight garnered national media attention and he appeared on CNN. While Will and his parents did not need the ACLU’s help to secure an agreement with the school to allow him to not say they pledge without pressure from school officials, the ACLU did reach out to him in support when the story surfaced.
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Northwest Arkansas Chapter
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Northwest Arkansas Chapter Spring Banquet -- April 15, 2010
Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010!!!
Place: Arkansas Air Museum at Drake Field, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Time: 6:00 pm Social Hour (complimentary wine and beer)
7:00 pm BBQ Buffet (catered by Penguin Ed’s Barbeque)
Cost: $50.00 per person ($30 of which is tax deductible)
$25.00 for students ($5 is tax deductible)
The Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the ACLU of Arkansas has been making plans for their annual Spring Banquet.
The event will take place on Thursday, April 15, at the Arkansas Air Museum at Drake Field in Fayetteville. A social hour will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m., catered by Penguin Ed’s Barbecue.
This year’s speaker will be Roy Reed. Reed, a longtime journalist, now retired, is a professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, author and editor. Executive Director Rita Sklar will also be giving an update on the affiliate’s activities during the banquet.
The chapter will also soon be electing new board members and thanks the outgoing board members — Frank Head, Jake Lamkins and Cathy Boyd — for their years of service.
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Religion
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Religious Liberty in Classrooms and Schools
The ACLU of Arkansas recently released a new publication called "Religious Liberty in your Classroom and School - A Primer." This publication may be used by school officials as a guide to laws concerning religious liberty and schools. Download the PDF (1.5MB).
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Latest News
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Federal Judge Grants ACLU Request To Allow Winter Solstice Display At State Capitol
Group Had Been Illegally Barred From Putting Up Display Despite Meeting State RequirementsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2009
LITTLE ROCK, AR – A federal judge this week granted a request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that a temporary Winter Solstice display be allowed to be erected on the grounds of the state Capitol.
The ACLU of Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit last week charging Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels with violating the free speech rights of the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers by illegally barring them from putting up their display, despite the fact that it meets the requirements of the state capitol display policy and despite the presence of another display on the grounds.
"This is a victory for freedom of speech in America," said Rita Sklar, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas. "People cannot be arbitrarily denied their constitutionally protected right to free expression in a public forum, and that is exactly what had happened in this case."
In 1993, the Arkansas Secretary of State adopted a policy for "Temporary Displays on State Capitol Grounds." The policy set up a system whereby any person or group could put up a temporary display by meeting certain requirements, including sturdiness and non-interference with pedestrian traffic. The Freethinkers' proposed display met the guidelines of the policy, but was nonetheless rejected by Daniels, who cited an Arkansas statute providing authority to the state capitol police to maintain "proper order and decorum."
On further inquiry, the Secretary of State's office asserted that the proposed display did not have the proper "tone." Later, the office added that a Winter Solstice display would not be consistent with the other displays and decorations at the Capitol. According to court papers filed by the ACLU, the only other temporary display on state capitol grounds is "a crèche with a wood exterior and nativity figures carved out of wood. The display is not decorated with lights or ornamentation of any kind and is devoid of a festive tone."
The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers is a statewide non-profit organization in part dedicated to promoting education and awareness of Freethinkers, their history, activities and holidays. The group filed a written application to put up a display October 16, describing the meaning and history of the Winter Solstice holiday. Though the Society of Freethinkers could have sought to have the existing nativity scene removed, the suit did not request this relief. Instead, the Society of Freethinkers sought and obtained permission to include their display as part of the celebration, as was intended by the Secretary of State's policy and by the First Amendment.
The Winter Solstice celebration is an ancient tradition that is celebrated by the Freethinkers annually from approximately November 15 to January 5. The Society of Freethinkers asserts that the purpose of the Winter Solstice display is to express some of the members' beliefs and to educate the public about the Winter Solstice and Freethinkers.
Pictures of the Freethinkers display can be seen at: wintersolsticedisplay.info and more information about the ACLU's work on Religious Freedom and Belief can be found at http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief .
Attached:
Opinion and Order Granting Preliminary Injunction - December 16, 2009
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Latest News
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ACLU Sues Arkansas Secretary Of State For Banning Winter Solstice Display From Capitol Grounds
Group Illegally Barred From Putting Up Display Despite Meeting State Requirements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2009
LITTLE ROCK, AR – The ACLU of Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit today charging Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels with violating the free speech rights of The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers by barring them from erecting a temporary Winter Solstice display on the grounds of the state Capitol. An application by the Freethinkers to erect a display was rejected despite the fact that the proposed display meets the requirements of the state capitol display policy and despite the presence of another display on the grounds.
The ACLU lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas to order Daniels to grant the Freethinkers permission to put up their display.
In 1993 the Arkansas Secretary of State adopted a policy for "Temporary Displays on State Capitol Grounds." The policy set up a system whereby any person or group could put up a temporary display by meeting certain requirements, including sturdiness and non-interference with pedestrian traffic. The Freethinkers' proposed display met the guidelines of the policy, but was rejected.
"It's clear that the only reason the Freethinkers' application has been turned down is that the Secretary of State doesn't like the message of the display," said Rita Sklar, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas. "The Secretary of State didn't have to allow anyone to put up a display on the Capitol grounds, but when the Office adopted the temporary display policy it set up a public forum where anyone with any message could install a display if they followed the policy."
The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers is a statewide non-profit organization in part dedicated to promoting education and awareness of Freethinkers, their history, activities and holidays. The group filed a written application to put up a display October 16, describing the meaning and history of the Winter Solstice holiday. The Secretary of State rejected the application in November, citing an Arkansas statute that provides authority to the state capitol police to maintain "proper order and decorum." On further inquiry, the Secretary of State's office asserted that the proposed display did not have the proper "tone." Later, the office added that a Winter Solstice display would not be consistent with the other displays and decorations at the Capitol.
According to court papers filed by the ACLU, the only other temporary display on state capitol grounds is "a crèche with a wood exterior and nativity figures carved out of wood. The display is not decorated with lights or ornamentation of any kind and is devoid of a festive tone."
When the ACLU submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the file on the 16-year-old policy for the past 10 years, the only documents provided were the applications filed the past two years by the Freethinkers, the denials of these applications and the policy listing the requirements that must be met in order to erect a temporary display. There were no applications or permits related to the other display.
ACLU attorneys met with representatives of the Secretary of State's office to request clarification of the reasons the Freethinkers' display was turned down, and to ask how the other display was put up every year without any apparent documentation. When they received no answer, the ACLU lawyers informed Secretary of State officials that denying the Freethinkers permission to erect their display was unconstitutional and that litigation was likely.
"Our goal is to be included in the holiday season, which we think is big enough to accommodate everyone," said Bill Parker, an Arkansas Society of Freethinkers officer. "All we want is to be treated fairly, and have the same access to express ourselves on public grounds that other groups have."
The Winter Solstice celebration is an ancient tradition that is celebrated around the time of the winter solstice, December 21. Some Freethinkers celebrate it annually from approximately November 15 to January 5. The Society of Freethinkers asserts that the purpose of the Winter Solstice display is to express some of the members' beliefs and to educate the public about the Winter Solstice and Freethinkers.
In court papers the ACLU says that the Secretary of State is preventing the Freethinkers Society "from exercising its First Amendment rights," and that they "suffer, and will continue to suffer, irreparable harm" if the society is "not permitted to install its display on the state capitol grounds as soon as possible."
The ACLU complaint further states that the Secretary of State's action "violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it conditions access to the designated public forum" on his "personal acceptance of content and viewpoint […of…] constitutionally protected speech."
Pictures of the Freethinkers display can be seen at: wintersolsticedisplay.info.
Attached:
ACLU Complaint in The Arkansas Society Of Freethinkers vs. Charlie Daniels (PDF)
Arkansas Secretary of State policy on "Temporary Displays on State Capitol Grounds" (PDF)
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