Research & Publications

2026 General Assembly Report

The 2026 ACLU of Maryland General Assembly Legislative Report.

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ACLU graphic 2026 Leg Report

All Publications

Publication
Dec 7, 2023
Wicomico Voting Rights Lawsuit Press Conference, December 7, 2023. Group of Black advocates and allies are gathered in front of a Wicomico County office building where they hold a press conference to annouce a voting rights lawsuit.
  • Voting Rights and Elections|
  • +1 Issue

Wicomico County Voting Rights Press Conference Highlights

Wicomico County has a long and disgraceful history of discrimination against Black residents, evident in pervasive segregation, overt racial polarization throughout the community, and unequal access to education, employment, housing, and government services based on race.
Publication
Oct 26, 2023
Brandy James is a Black woman who was recently elected to serve in the Federalsburg government. She is wearing glasses and has her hair. There is a Black man wearing a gray suit on her left and a Black woman with natural curly hair on her right.
  • Voting Rights and Elections|
  • +1 Issue

The Federalsburg Election: History 200 Years in the Making

For 200 years, the town of Federalsburg on Maryland's Eastern Shore has never had a Black elected official. However, all of that changed on a rainy Tuesday evening on September 26, 2023.
Publication
Oct 19, 2023
ACLU-MD Executive Director Dana Vickers Shelley visits with Crofton Middle School Changemakers
  • Children's Rights

ACLU-MD Executive Director, Dana Vickers Shelley, visits with Crofton Middle School Changemakers

ACLU of Maryland's Executive Director Dana Vickers Shelley was invited for a second year to speak with the Crofton Middle School Changemakers.
Publication
Oct 2, 2023
A Black student is speaking at the podium at a press conference for the launch of the National Youth Justice Action Month in Baltimore City. Behind the student are Dana Vickers Shelley, Dayvon Love, and another person from the No Boundaries Coalition.
  • Children's Rights|
  • +3 Issues

National Youth Justice Action Month: Defending Children’s Rights – Press Conference Highlights

Publication
Sep 26, 2023
Protect children's rights in Maryland. Yanet Amanuel is pictured on the right of the image with a blurred background. She is a Black woman with latte skin town. Her hair is pulled up in a bun of small braids. She is wearing eaarings and a creamy top.
  • Children's Rights|
  • +3 Issues

The More You Know: Child Interrogation Protection Act (Part 2)

The Child Interrogation Protection Act is extremely important in the lives of Black and Brown children throughout Maryland who deserve access to justice too.
Publication
Sep 19, 2023
Yanet Amanuel is looking at the camera. She is a Black woman with latte colored skin and has her hair in braids in a bun on top of her head. The words say, "What is the Child Interrogation Protection Act?" The ACLU of Maryland logo is on the bottom left.
  • Children's Rights|
  • +3 Issues

What is the Child Interrogation Protection Act? (Part 1)

Yanet Amanuel, Public Policy Director at the ACLU of Maryland, discusses top-lines regarding the Child Interrogation Protection Act in Maryland.
Publication
Aug 18, 2023
Collage with group photo of protesters advocating for the end of the "war on drugs." The center is a Black person with their fist raised, looking at the camera. The protesters are holding signs. Cutouts of marijuana are in the image.
  • Legal Justice System|
  • +4 Issues

Cannabis Advocacy Toolkit

This toolkit is a conceptual resource for community advocates in Maryland who are working to ensure that racial justice is centered as cannabis (marijuana) is legalized and tax dollars are distributed from the newly legal cannabis market.
Publication | Newsletter
Jul 10, 2023
Local Black activists, residents, and Maryland laywers are in a group outside of a Federalsburg courthouse with a reporter holding a microphone up to a Black resident.
  • Voting Rights and Elections|
  • +2 Issues

Free State Liberties - Summer 2023

Publication
May 26, 2023
Cedarville Band of the Piscataway Indians Tribal Chairwoman Standing on the Rock Natalie Proctor is sitting in front of a mural at their cultural center. She has medium length gray hair and is wearing Indigenous necklaces.

Stop The Eviction: A Modern Day Indian Removal

What's being called a modern day Indian Removal, The Wild Turkey Clan of the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians in Maryland are being forced off their land by the Charles County government - the very land that belongs to the Piscataway Conoy People and that the Band has taken care of for decades.