Racial Justice

America is a profoundly bigoted society with a history of racism that, in some ways, defines our nation. As such, we will continue to work to support and defend historically disenfranchised communities. Recently, certain groups have been targeted for especially heinous treatment by our government. We must redouble our work on behalf of these newly targeted communities as well. The ACLU-WV will continue the work to tear down systems that oppress people on the basis of their race.

Erradictaing Symbols that Glorify White Supremacy - We should not be glorifying the history of treason in defense of human slavery. And when our state is finally ready to remove tributes to institutional racism, we shouldn’t need to overcome laws designed to keep them there. We are allowed to grow in our understanding and recognize past failures. That's why we're working to defeat any attempts at the local or state level to prohibit the removal of racist monuments from public spaces.

Defeating Islamaphobia - In the age of Trump's so-called "Muslim Ban," we're seeing a rash of anti-Muslim bills at the West Virginia Legislature. One such bill is the Anti-Sharia Law Bill which purports to regulate West Virginia courts’ use and recognition of foreign law. This is not only unnecessary, but also has the potential to create significant unintended consequences in the everyday lives of West Virginians. This bill is a solution in search of a problem. It is motivated by an unfounded concern that so-called “Sharia law” is overtaking West Virginia courts, but there is no evidence of that. Download our one-pager