Many Maryland children are heading back to school. After a year and a half of virtual learning, most students will go back into their school buildings. But what experience will they step back into? On this episode we speak with key ACLU experts, Justin Nalley, public policy analyst, Frank Patinella, senior education advocate, and Tierney Peprah, staff attorney, about the work we will be doing to ensure an education system that values and uplifts students’ humanity.

On April 20, 2021, the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial issued a guilty verdict on all three counts for the murder of George Floyd. However, one verdict is not justice – it’s simply accountability. Over 5,000 people were killed by police in the U.S. since 2015, including George Floyd and Anton Black, who were killed by police in eerily, terrifyingly similar ways. We talked to LaToya Holley, the sister of Anton Black, Dayvon Love, Director of Public Policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle and Sonia Kumar, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Maryland about the Derrick Chauvin verdict, the work being done to get justice for Anton Black and what we must do to reform policing the create a system that values and protects Black lives. Watch: Assessing the Claim or "Movement" to Defund the Police with Lawrence Grandpre, Director of Research for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle: https://youtu.be/BuG_yqnfQoU Read: Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle’s "When Baltimore Awakes" publication: https://bit.ly/3dMGDYk

Immigrants in Frederick County have been fighting for their rights for years. We’ve seen some great victories this year. Immigrants have won in the courts and in local policy that helps the community, despite the odds. In this episode, we talked to Sara Movahed, ACLU of Maryland board member and founding partner at Movahed & Fisher Law, LLC., - www.movahedfisher.com and Brian Whittaker of Nixon Peabody LLP - nixonpeabody.com who represented Sara Medrano and the RISE Coalition in their successful legal challenge to racial profiling by local police deputized to act as ICE agents. We also hear the words of Sara Medrano and Flor Garay of the RISE Coalition of Western Maryland about being able to fully participate in society regardless of citizenship or legal status without discrimination.

Police officers on Maryland's Eastern Shore killed Anton Black, a 19-year-old Black teenager, on the afternoon of September 15, 2018. Over two years later, the family and the Coalition for Justice for Anton Black are still fighting for justice for Anton Black. To talk more about this we will speak with Antone Black, the father of Anton Black, Richard Potter, an educator and President of the Talbot County Branch of the NAACP, and Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, about the impact they hope their legal challenge will have as part of the work to reimagine policing in Maryland. To take action to demand police reform visit: https://www.aclu-md.org/reimaginepolicing

The right to vote and participate in our democracy is currently denied to over 18,000 citizens who are incarcerated in Maryland. Dating back to the racist Jim Crow era, state felony disfranchisement laws were created to prevent Americans entangled in the legal justice system from voting. After the Civil War, there was a concerted effort to incarcerate thousands of Black people who were newly freed, in order to weaken their political power. In Free the Vote, a new documentary by the ACLU of Maryland, we talked with people who were formerly incarcerated, politicians, historians, and advocates who share their experiences and dreams of a Maryland and country where the right to vote is restored for every citizen who is currently incarcerated. 
 In this episode listen to Farajii Muhammed, host of “For the Culture” on WEAA 88.9 FM; Qiana Johnson, executive director of Life After Release; Dr. Pippa Holloway, author of “Living In Infamy: Felon Disfranchisement and the History of American Citizenship”; Chris Wilson, serial social entrepreneur, storyteller, artist, social justice advocate, and author of "The Master Plan"; and me, Amber Taylor, the producer of Free the Vote and digital communications strategist at ACLU of Maryland. Together, we explain why we need to ensure every citizen who is incarcerated has access to the vote and the ballot behind bars. Learn More: https://www.freethevotemovie.com/

After the 2020 election, a national awaking on systemic racism, COVID-19, and a politically divided nation, it is important to reflect on where we have been and where we could go. As 2021 draws near, Maryland and our country have much to do to empower people to exercise their rights so that the law values and uplifts their humanity. On Thinking Freely this month, we were joined by Dana Vickers Shelley, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Maryland, and Marion Gray Hopkins, President of the Coalition of Concerned Mothers, mother of Gary Hopkins, who was killed by police in Prince George’s County and an ACLU of Maryland board member, about some of our visions for Maryland and how you can get involved.

Another Maryland Legislative session is upon us, with the General Assembly set to start on January 13, 2021. Due to COVID-19, this will be a virtual session and we will work to make sure people’s voices are heard by legislators as they make decisions during this challenging time. That’s why it is important to stay informed on what’s happening next session. In 2021, the ACLU of Maryland will be working along with our partners on 5 priority areas as we reimage policing: 1) Repeal the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, 2) Restore control of the Baltimore City Police Department back to Baltimore City residents, 3) Make investigations into police misconduct transparent by reforming the Maryland Public Information Act, 4) Limit the use of force by law enforcement, and 5) Remove law enforcement from our children's schools. ACLU of Maryland will also advocate for education rights like the Blueprint for Maryland’s future Act, fight to enact a statewide trust act, to defend the rights, of immigrants in our communities, and to take the Politics Out of Parole. Yanet Amanuel, Public Policy Advocate, Joe Spielberger, our Public Policy Council, and Justin Nalley, our Education Policy Analyst join Thinking Freely this month to talk about this work and how you can get involved. Take action: https://bit.ly/3lAorTe

School Resource Officers, more commonly known as SROs, are really school police. There are thousands of them in schools across Maryland, even though many of these same schools don’t have access to guidance counselors, therapists,or nurses to support students’ growth. The evidence is clear that school resource officers are associated with higher increases in arrests of students, and there is an unacceptable, disproportionate rate of Black and Latinx students who are arrested, including children with disabilities. We must work to reimagine an education system that keeps students safe and respects their rights. Maryland needs to invest in students' education, not in their incarceration. To learn more visit: https://www.aclu-md.org/ReimaginePolicing If you have questions or comments about the show please send us an email at [email protected]

Listen to a special episode of the Thinking Freely podcast, as we talk with experts on making voting safe, easy, and accessible for voters during the 2020 election this year's constitution day event. Learn more about your voting rights: https://www.aclu-md.org/voting

As we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, we must continue to uplift the humanity of Latinx people. We need to protect immigrants from victimization and criminalization. No one should be, but too often, they are profiled for their skin color or denied the respect and dignity that every human being deserves. No one should be "othered" for merely existing. But the Latinx community is resilient, and groups like the RISE Coalition of Western Maryland are finding ways to support their community and exercise their rights. They show how we can make a better and safer community for our Latinx neighbors and Maryland as a whole. Note: Since recording this podcast, the R.I.S.E Collation of Western Maryland hit their community fundraising goal. You can continue to support them and their efforts by visiting their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RISECoalitionMD