News & Commentary

Under the 2024 Maryland Freedom to Read Act, schools to have a process for reviewing such objections. A committee including parents, school personnel and students was trained on legal standards. Every member read the book, took notes, and weighed the parent’s concerns against its content and literary value. They discussed its age-appropriateness and community standards. Then they voted to keep it in high school libraries, noting the parent remained free to tell the school her child was not allowed to borrow the book. The superintendent agreed.

By its terms, the policy would restrict treasured classics that young people have come of age reading for generations: To Kill a Mockingbird; The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; A Wrinkle in Time; The Outsiders; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Little Women. All verboten.

In case after case, a call for help led to a tragic death. And because that death occurred in a police encounter, grieving families faced a second blow: fighting an onslaught of police-driven narratives focused more on blaming the victim and suggesting the death was inevitable than asking what could have saved them. That dynamic feeds a false perception that all such deaths are inevitable, except perhaps a rare few attributable to a few bad actors. The ACLU’s database and report aim to show what families have long known — these deaths result from systemic failures across many institutions, not just policing.

Despite the expense, private litigation often offers the only path to push back when important public information is withheld. Maryland is no exception, as the state Attorney General lacks the power to sue over wrongfully denied record requests, excessive copy fees, and other violations of the Maryland Public Information Act. This leaves private lawsuits as the only way to enforce government compliance, allowing the ability to pay legal fees to ultimately dictate the possibility of transparency.

More important and fascinating women are newly added to the latest edition of our Women’s History heroes celebration this year!

Ending 287(g) was a critical victory. But it didn’t end all cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE in Maryland. Every day, local police and jail staff informally collaborate with ICE, funneling Maryland residents from correctional facilities into federal immigration custody. The Community Trust Act is about drawing a clear line between criminal law enforcement and civil immigration enforcement.

Historic Figures Who Shaped Our Present, and Our Future

Since the start of President Trump’s second term, immigrant communities across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia have been living with an immigration agenda once again defined by fear, intimidation, and aggressive federal enforcement. While these policies are often most visible in Washington, D.C., their consequences do not stop at the District line. In the DMV, where daily life crosses jurisdictional boundaries, immigration enforcement functions as a regional force, and so must the response.

When police point guns at children, they don’t just risk physical harm – they inflict lifelong trauma. That’s why what happened to a 15-year-old Frederick County child.