News & Commentary

During the height of the protests against the John Hopkins University private police force, many brave students and community members resisted peacefully on campus against a new force that represented a real, unaccountable threat, especially to students and community members of color.

Over 150 years ago, on what is now called Juneteenth, we celebrate the arrival of Major General Gordon Granger and his soldiers at Galveston, Texas, who finally brought news that the Civil War was over and enslaved Black people were free. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

To understand how thousands of children were separated from their families under the Trump administration, we need take a look at what has happened through the years.

For this Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let us take time to remember that the policies of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also affect Asian and Pacific Islanders in America. For one ACLU of Maryland client, ICE’s actions have been downright destructive to his family and his life. Mr. Lin is an undocumented immigrant from China married to a naturalized U.S. citizen, Ms. Lin, and is legally allowed to apply for his Green Card.

Sometimes racism is subtle. That was not the case with the inflammatory and offensive tweet dehumanizing black children posted by the Fraternal Order of Police last weekend.

“No Justice. No Peace. No Private Police,” was a chant that rang through the Charles Village and Waverly neighborhoods last Wednesday. On the 300th “West Wednesday,” John Hopkins University students and community members gathered together to rally against JHU’s planned private police force and contracts to train employees of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. While dozens of campus security watched ominously from the sidelines, people marched peacefully in the streets and then rallied inside JHU’s administration building.

In the era of MeToo, brave people continue to speak out against sexual violence. Sonya Zollicoffer has joined voices across the nation by exposing the truth about the sexual harassment she endured while she was a police trainee in Prince George’s Police Department in 2001. Zollicoffer has also filed a legal challenge, along with members of the United Black Police Officers Association and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, to racial discrimination and retaliation against officers and community members of color in the PGPD.

On March 29th, protestors gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Baltimore to stand witness and protect Abegninan Amouzou from being deported. Coach Fofo, his most popular nickname, is currently at risk for deportation after one of his regular check-ins with ICE. Unfortunately, Coach Fofo cannot return to Togo, his country of birth, over the fear of retaliation and violence against him for his political beliefs. For the last 20 years, Coach Fofo has been an outstanding resident in the United States.

 Poster created by students in Wide Angle Youth Media in collaboration with GLSEN Maryland, The Office of Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore City LGBTQ Commission. Supported by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore.