Thinking Freely ACLU of Maryland

Can we ever learn from history or are we forever doomed to repeat it? On this episode, listen to producer, Nehemiah Bester, as he shares his experience working on the documentary film, The Riot Report on PBS, while comparing and contrasting his personal accounts of rebellion, most notably during the Racial Reckoning of 2020, as a student, activist, and journalist.

What's a riot? And what's a rebellion? The Riot Report itself, was the written conclusion of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Kerner Commission of 1967 on what was needed to remedy the massively tense relations among Black people and police that spawned countless riots and uprisings of the 1960s. It's decades later, but what lessons from this investigation can we learn from to prevent future turmoil? And when can we answer President Johnson's century old question? “What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again, and again?”

Read the written version of this episode at: aclu-md.org/en/news/riot-vs-rebellion

Watch the film: pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/riot-report/

Este año, el Día de los Presidentes, celebramos un Día de Acción centrado en los derechos de los niños en Annapolis para aprobar algunas buenas decisiones para que nuestros funcionarios electos rindan cuentas de sus palabras. Alrededor de 200 activistas, estudiantes y líderes comunitarios marcharon hacia la Asamblea General para hacer oír sus voces durante el Día de Acción de 2024: Justicia para los niños y los residentes de Maryland encarcelados.

En este episodio, escuchará cómo estas voces colectivas, parte de un increíble conjunto de defensores, se unieron para hablar directamente con sus funcionarios electos, hacer preguntas importantes y hacer demandas en apoyo de los derechos de los niños y los residentes de Maryland encarcelados.

Lea el blog escrito de este episodio en: aclu-md.org
Obtenga más información en: aclu-md.org

This year on President’s Day, we held a children’s rights focused Day of Action in Annapolis to pass some good bills and hold our elected officials accountable to their words. Around 200 activists, students, and community leaders marched into the General Assembly to make their voices heard during the 2024 Day of Action: Justice for Children and Incarcerated Marylanders.

On this episode, you’ll hear how these collective voices – part of an amazing set of advocates – joined together to talk directly with their elected officials, ask the important questions and make demands in support of the rights of children and incarcerated Marylanders.

Read the written blog of this episode at: aclu-md.org

Learn more at: aclu-md.org

Life in prison was the verdict for teenagers Ransom Watkins, Andrew Stewart and Alfred Chestnut in 1983 when they were wrongfully intimidated and interrogated by police and sentenced for a crime they did not commit. The three were eventually exonerated, but were effectively robbed of 36 years of life, in addition to the ever-present trauma that comes with incarceration. A devastating reminder of the issues within our legal justice system, and why children's rights must be protected.

Defending the rights of children shouldn't be optional, and yet every day in Maryland, children entangled in the legal justice system were questioned without a parent, guardian, or attorney present. Which is why in 2022, the ACLU of Maryland and our partners successfully passed the Child Interrogation Protection Act which requires an attorney be consulted before a child is interrogated by law enforcement.

On this episode you'll hear from Ransom Watkins of the Exonerated Harlem Park Three about his life, legacy, and how the man in him still struggles with the brutality the child in him has endured.

A full transcript of this episode is available at: aclu-md.org/en/publications/no-one-was-protecting-us-ransom-watkins-exonerated-harlem-park-3

Learn more about defending children's rights at: aclu-md.org/en/issues/civil-rights/childrens-rights

El acuerdo 287(g) con ICE en el condado de Frederick debe finalizar. En julio, la ACLU de Maryland se unió a la ACLU nacional para presentar una queja administrativa federal pidiendo al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los EE. UU. que investigue al alguacil del condado de Frederick, Charles Jenkins, para poner fin al peligroso acuerdo que promueve el odio contra los inmigrantes y la deportación.

En este episodio de Thinking Freely, escuchará a Sergio España, el Director de Compromiso y Movilización de la ACLU de Maryland en una entrevista exclusiva con María Cáceres, la Directora de Asuntos Comunitarios de El Zol 107.9 para discutir el problema y los detalles de la denuncia.

This episode is in Spanish.

Echa un vistazo a El Zol en: www.audacy.com/elzolradio

Una transcripción completa de este episodio está disponible en: https://www.aclu-md.org/es/publications/pensar-libremente-aclu-presenta-una-queja-federal-contra-el-alguacil-del-condado-de

Half a decade ago, Dana Vickers Shelley walked into the ACLU of Maryland as the new executive director ready to make "good trouble" in the name of working to guarantee the promise of Maryland’s constitution for all Marylanders. 5 years have gone by, but the mission remains the same.

Listen as Dana reflects on her 5th year anniversary as executive director and how the ACLU of Maryland remains committed to empowering Marylanders to exercise their rights so that the law values and uplifts their humanity. This episode was adapted from the keynote speech Dana delivered to the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland’s Standing for Justice Conference in May.

Read the written blog of this episode at: aclu-md.org/en/news/5-years-making-good-trouble

Learn more at: aclu-md.org/en/publications/reading-freely-5-years-making-good-trouble

And follow our guest on social: @DVStrategies