News & Commentary
Latest Event
Party for a Purpose: ACLU Maryland New Year Happy Hour
You're invited.
The ACLU of Maryland board of directors is hosting a celebration to honor the work ACLU-MD achieved in 2025 and how we plan to carry these successes into 2026. Join us for a fun evening of laughs, libations, and legislative action.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 6, 5 – 8 p.m., at Waverly Brewing Company.
Party for a Purpose is your opportunity to chat with local activists and ACLU-MD board members, supporters, and staffers, as we all take a break before we tackle the 2026 legislative session together – and have some fun at the same time!
Tickets are $10 each and will get you admission to the happy hour. (Drinks must be purchased separately at Waverly Brewing Company.)
This is an exclusive event, but we've already added you to the VIP list. All you need to do now, like we always do in Maryland, is show up.
Click here to grab your ticket.
We'll see you there!
Opinion: End Md.’s Partnership With ICE Once and For All
By Dana Vickers Shelley, Executive Director, ACLU of Maryland; and Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA
By Dana Vickers Shelley
Let’s Not Repeat a Racist Past: The War on Drugs
We Need Marijuana Reform Now
By Neydin Milián, Yanet Amanuel
The Promise of Parole Should Be Honored
A Mother Has Waited Half a Century to See Her Son Be Paroled
By Neydin Milián
Everything About My Black and Latina Identity is Beautiful
Often for Cultural Heritage Months, we try to highlight people whose experiences and identities shaped them into the activists they are today. Kristen is one of those phenomenal activists who does amazing work on the ground to push to reimagine policing and dismantle white supremacist structures.
Opinion: Maryland police must stop playing ICE
Sara Medrano, a Latina grandmother and Frederick County resident, was driving her daughter and two grandchildren to pick up laundry detergent on her way to work when a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy pulled her over, purportedly for a “broken” taillight — that was working just fine — and detained her. In Medrano’s words: “I was so scared thinking that this stop would be the last moment I would have with my grandchildren and my daughter.”
By Nick Taichi Steiner
Opinion: Interrogation of Children Should Be Part of Police Reform Discussion
Typically, a child can let you know what kind of pizza to order for dinner and what flavor of soda to go with it. But if that child is put in a cold dark room with three law enforcement officers to be questioned about a robbery or murder that they have no knowledge of, there must be an adult in the room to protect the child’s best interest before they answer questions in a way that could change their life forever.
By Justin Nalley
Education Equity Blueprint for Maryland’s Future bill (Afro News)
Our children deserve to dream big, but they need resources to back them up.
By Frank Patinella
Celebrating Civil Liberties Moments During These Happy Holidays!
The holiday season is in full swing! But as you know, advocating for civil rights is a year-long job. Not only do we want to celebrate the many cultural and religious holidays that occur worldwide during these winter months, but we also want to celebrate some civil liberties moments that occurred during past holiday seasons. We like to think of these civil liberties victories as gifts and these civil rights fights as moments in time that inspire celebration and reflection.
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