Defending Freedom, Honoring Truth: A Call to Action for Justice, Democracy, and Remembrance
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In Beloved, by Toni Morrison, Paul D’s little love is a tree. He simply wants wants to move, and Sethe moves him.
In Hammajang Luck, by Makata Yamamoto, Malia whines, wanting to know why she can’t dress up, Angel wants all hands on deck, and Duke mentions that she is on Atlas’s shit list.
Finally, the next room is the vault itself. All Edie has to do is just each out and take the wealth in front of them; but they are there for the hulking manual safe in the center of the room.
Monday, I gave a five minute briefing on the ACLU of Utah.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the nation’s most prominent non-partisan guardian of freedom, with more than 1.5 million members, supporters, and affiliate or national chapter offices in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Since 1920, the ACLU has continuously worked tirelessly to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties guaranteed to everyone in this country by the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
The ACLU of Utah envisions a state where all persons enjoy the civil rights and liberties promised in the United States and Utah Constitutions and laws.
It operates through public education, legal action, and legislative and community advocacy to enhance and defend the civil rights and freedoms of everyone living in or visiting Utah. It is an inclusive, nonpartisan, statewide organization powered by its members, donors, and volunteers.
The ACLU has been in existence for 105 years, founded in 1920, in response to the Palmer Raids, which involved the arrest and deportation of many people suspected of being radicals.
Chartered in 1958, the ACLU of Utah affiliate operates through public education, legal advocacy, litigation, and lobbying at the state and local levels to ensure the constitutional rights and freedoms of everyone living in or visiting Utah. It bases its work on the principles outlined in the Bill of Rights.
The ACLU of Utah has a diverse board and staff , and believes and acts on:
Inherent worth and dignity,
Rights and Liberty,
Transparency, Truth, and Accountability,
Safeguarding Voting Rights and Participatory Democracy,
Inclusion and Democracy, and
Internal Health
Key Strategic Areas for the ACLU are:
Seeking racial justice: Immigrant’s Rights and Indigenous Justice,
Obtaining LGBTQIA Rights,
Achieving Reproductive Rights and Eliminating Gender Inequity, and
Reforming the Criminal Legal System.
Another issue coming to the need to protect the rights of youth and their parent.
Ideal cases for ACLU of Utah lie at the intersection of individual rights being violated by government entities whose resolution will have a large impact, and also lie at the intersection of overlapping key strategic areas.
For other cases, the civil rights organization will partner with and refer to other organizations to actually lead the civil suit.For other cases, the civil rights organization partners with other organizations to actually lead the civil suit. The ACLU of Utah has been known to file compelling Amicus briefs (aka friend of the court briefs).
The ACLU is held in high regard by many judges, due to their professional thoroughness of applying constitutional law.
It not only litigates, it educates and advocates.
The following are ways to help:
donate,
sign up for action alerts,
share resources,
contact community engagement director, or
contact intake if you feel you have a case that fits the ACLU criteria.
I thanked the Utah Democratic Party Team for reaching out to me regarding a potential candidacy in an upcoming local race for either West Valley City Mayor or West Valley City Council. I’m honored by the invitation and appreciative of the work being done through the Contest Every Race initiative to ensure strong representation at all levels of government.
At this time, I currently serve as the Board President of the ACLU of Utah, a nonpartisan organization committed to defending and advancing civil liberties for all Utahns. I take this responsibility seriously and plan to continue in this role through the completion of my term in 2027, with the goal of serving as the organization’s National Representative thereafter until 2029, when my board membership expires.
While the race in question is nonpartisan, the involvement of political parties in candidate recruitment understandably raises concerns about perceived partisanship. Out of respect for the ACLU’s mission and the importance of organizational neutrality, I must decline to pursue candidacy at this time. I may, however, be able to pursue elected office after my term as President expires.
That said, I remain deeply committed to working with partners across the political spectrum to advance equitable policy and civil rights for all, and I welcome continued collaboration in that spirit.
According to The Intercept, In western New York, a group of immigrants involved in a landmark statewide effort led by farm workers to unionize were targeted by an immigration raid. A bus in Albion, New York, was pulled over by federal agents in unmarked cars with no agency insignia. The immigrants were year-round employees of Lynn-Ette & Sons Farms, a family-owned business that is one of five agricultural businesses that have been trying for years to chip away at New York’s 2019 farm labor law. Also, according to a recently filed $500 million lawsuit, prison officials of the Michigan Department of corrections subjected hundreds of incarcerated women to illegal surveillance. The violations are described as a profound breach of privacy and human rights. A deeply controversial and unprecedented policy implemented at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility is at the heart of this case.
In Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis, ogres are generally shown rampaging through peaceful Estarian villages. The yellow eyes of the ogre in front of Felix hold far more intelligence than he expected. Inwardly, Felix curses. Had he been by his parents or any of his tutors gawking at anyone in such an uncouth manner, they would have been ashamed.
Felix is uncomfortably certain that misleading any employer can be considered grounds for prompt dismissal. Felix plans to keep an eye out for any spells that can be used to hunt the Archduke down. He forces humself to set aside any feelings of foreboding he has.
Greate new way to avoid the draft: claim gender dysphoria.
Please reach out to support your trans active military and reserve service members. The Cheeto in Chief is forcing them out, as well as combing through personally private medical records to also force out anyone who may have gender dysphoria, whether they transitioned or not.
These are highly skilled people willing to serve their country whose dismissal will harm military readiness, just at a time when the Orange Dude is taking us closer to military conflict. Military readiness depends on equipment in good working order, trained personnel, and morale. You can expect all three of these to be degraded by this nitwit.
Our liberties are being eroded. Do you stand for having your liberties protected or do you support an authorian regime. There is no middle ground here.
If we don't protect our democracy and our rights, we will lose them. You don't think you and your loved ones are next, think again.
When you don't vote, you slowly give that power away to someone else who will willingly decide what rights you are allowed to have. When you don't vote, you make it easier for corruption and authorianism to creep in.
Today's news sickens me, and we are only 5 months in. Promises that just stick around it will get better are nothing more than smoke being blown up our asses. You have to ask yourself better for who?
This Mother's Day let's remembers mothers of all stripes for who they actually are, not defined simply by the relationships to the men in there lives. It is easy to erase people by deliberately forgetting their history and involvement, reducing them to supporting characters if not completely out of existence. The whitewashing of history, and forcibly shutting down narratives that speak of the existence of marginalized people, mean that we do not truly study history, but are condemned to repeat it.
Sure a woman has value as a mother, a wife, and a grandmother. But as a man has value as a father, a husband, and a grandfather, he is honored by who he is and what he did; so should we do the same for the women in our lives. Our Founding Mothers were right there side-by-side with the Founding Fathers.
An example that was called out here in Utah that most of see driving along the highway and in neighboring states are the huge billboards that show a picture of Julia Reagan, a Beloved Mother, Wife, and Grandmother that will be missed. What they don't say is that she was so much more. Julia received a PhD in Anatomy at the University of Utah in the 1960s when academic institutions in male-dominated professions were hostile to women. She co-founded Reagan Outdoor Advertising (the company displaying their condolences). She was a philanthropist, an advocate for women and girls, a dancer, a reader, a romantic--and on top of that, she was a wife, a mother, and a grandmother.
In a world grappling with injustice and erasure, this reflection calls us to remember the depth, dignity, and agency of every individual—especially those whose stories are often sidelined. Whether through literature that captures the yearning for freedom and self-determination, or real-world examples of civil liberties under siege, we are reminded that the fight for justice demands both courage and clarity. The ACLU of Utah stands as a beacon of principled resistance, striving every day to protect the rights of the marginalized and ensure liberty for all. And as we honor the women in our lives this Mother’s Day, we must celebrate their full humanity—not just in relation to others, but for who they are and the impact they’ve made. Our democracy is fragile, and only by actively defending it—through advocacy, voting, and remembrance—can we truly preserve the freedoms we hold dear.
