Dare to Speak Out
Thank you for visiting the ACLU of Arizona's 60th Anniversary exhibition, In This Together: Sixty Years of Daring to Create a More Perfect Arizona.
We hope the exhibit inspired you to take action! Use the postcards, with images by Tempe-based artist Jake Early, to contact a policymaker about an issue that's important to you.
Below are suggestions from the ACLU of Arizona about who to contact and what to say.
Here are suggestions from the ACLU of Arizona about who to contact and what to say.
Feel free to take your cards home and fill them out later or, if you complete them while you're at the exhibit, drop them in the box and the ACLU of Arizona will mail them for you!
LGBTQ Rights
Right now, Arizona does not have a nondiscrimination law protecting people from sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, or public accommodations. That means LGBTQ people are at risk of losing their homes, their jobs, or being denied service by a business just because of who they are. That's not right. Write Arizona Governor Doug Ducey now and tell him you want Arizona to join the many states that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.
SAMPLE LANGUAGE: Gov. Ducey, Please lead on the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. We need laws that protect everyone from housing, employment, and public accommodations discrimination. Sincerely, Your Name and City
ADDRESS: Gov. Doug Ducey, 1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Smart Justice
Imprisonment is a brutal and costly response to crime, which traumatizes incarcerated people and hurts families and communities. It should be the last option, not the first. Yet Arizona has the fourth highest incarceration rate in the United States. Decades of bad policies have torn families apart and cost our state billions. Write to the Speaker of the Arizona House and tell them that you want smart criminal justice reform that will put an emphasis on people, not prisons.
SAMPLE LANGUAGE: Dear Arizona House Speaker, Arizona has the fourth highest incarceration rate in the U.S. We need laws that emphasize people, not prisons. Please make it a priority to reduce our prison population, invest in our communities, and reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Sincerely, Your Name and City
ADDRESS: Arizona State Capitol Complex, 1700 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85007
Education Equity
Last year, the ACLU of Arizona released a report, Schools Choosing Students, about the discriminatory and unlawful practices Arizona charter schools use to block the enrollment of students with disabilities, English language learners, students with discipline history, and students with poor academic records. Although the Charter Board released new enrollment guidance intended to reduce enrollment discrimination in response to the report, and dozens of charter schools revised their enrollment policies, there's still work that needs to be done to improve civil rights oversight at charter schools. Write the Charter Board and tell them you want them to prioritize civil rights oversight.
SAMPLE LANGUAGE: Charter Board Members, Civil rights oversight of charter schools is just as important as financial oversight. It's your duty to ensure that no charter school turns a student away because of their race, national origin, language abilities, or special education needs. Please make your complaint process more user-friendly for families and investigate complaints about civil rights violations. Sincerely, Your Name and City
ADDRESS: Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005
Immigrants' Rights
The Greyhound bus company is allowing Border Patrol agents to board its buses and question and arrest passengers without a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing. Imagine taking your regular bus to work or school. The bus pulls over and Border Patrol agents get on board. Row by row, they scan passengers for anybody deemed "suspicious" due to the color of their skin, accent, or the way they dress. They demand proof of citizenship. You think you're just taking the bus home, like any other day – but you end up arrested, detained, and in worst cases, deported. Greyhound must not throw its loyal customers under the bus as part of Trump's racist, anti-immigrant agenda. It's unconstitutional, unfounded, and just plain wrong. What Greyhound and its passengers need to know is that there is NO legal requirement for the company to let Border Patrol board its buses. The Fourth Amendment prohibits government agents from entering private property without consent or a warrant, and it protects everyone on U.S. soil – regardless of citizenship – from being detained or searched without cause. By law, Greyhound is fully capable of saying NO to Border Patrol. So why aren't they? Write to Greyhound and tell them to stop letting Border Patrol violate its passengers' constitutional rights. It's not only the right thing to do – it's the law.
SAMPLE LANGUAGE: Dear Greyhound, Stop violating your passengers' constitutional rights by allowing Border Patrol agents to board your buses, question and arrest them. People should be able to take the bus without fear of unfounded interrogation and deportation. Your company has the right to say no to Border Patrol – now is the time to do it. Sincerely, Your Name, City, and State
ADDRESS: Greyhound Lines, Inc, P.O. Box 660362, Dallas, TX 75266