News & Commentary

Aug 04, 2023

Court Rejects Latest Effort to Exclude Trans Student from Middle School Team

AG argued our client, Becky, should be excluded because her performance in shotput and discus had improved.

DENIED stamped in red over the Fourth Circuit's order
Jul 18, 2023

ACLU-WV Magazine: COVID-19 Made Me Sick. The For-Profit Health Care in Prison Nearly Killed Me.

West Virginia's jails rank among the most deadly in the nation.

A portrait of Darrin Lester, a Black man with a light beard and dark-rimmed glasses.
Jul 14, 2023

ACLU-WV Magazine: As A Trans Person, I'm Strongly Considering Leaving the State

Xavier Hersom's lawsuit helped change West Virginia's birth certificate policies for the better. Now, lawmakers' anti-trans agenda is making him consider a move.

Xavier Hersom holds a picture of his birth certificate
Jul 07, 2023

Meet Tiara Rowe, 2023 Joseph Cohen Equity and Justice Fellow

The Joseph Cohen Equity and Justice Fellowship is open to young people who identify as being in a historically marginalized community that is underrepresented in West Virginia advocacy and policy-making spaces.

Tiara Rowe is a young Black women with short hair and a shoulder tattoo sits at a table with books and a coffee mug
Jul 05, 2023

Charleston Used Police State Tactics to Disappear Unhoused People Ahead of Regatta

Charleston should fight poverty, not poor people.

Image reads "OUR STATEMENT" in white text surrounded in a red box on a navy blue background
Jun 30, 2023

Meet Kasun Wijayagurusinghe, 2023 Joseph Cohen Equity and Justice Fellow

The Joseph Cohen Equity and Justice Fellowship is open to young people who identify as being in a historically marginalized community that is underrepresented in West Virginia advocacy and policy-making spaces.

Kasun Wijayagurusinghe is pictured in an orange Build Bridges Not Walls tee shirt in front of the ACLU-WV Charleston Office
Jun 27, 2023

Our Statement to the Putnam County Commission

The following are remarks made by ACLU-WV Advocacy Director Eli Baumwell regarding the Putnam County Commission's ordinance which closely mirrors Florida's so-called drag ban.

Eli Baumwell delivers remarks to members of the Putnam County Commission
Jun 16, 2023

Thank You Kanawha County BOE for Standing With Democracy

For months, a vocal minority of agitators have harassed board members to ban books they don't like. We thank the board for standing strong.

Photo shows Eli Baumwell from behind as he addresses members of the Kanawha County Board of Education
May 05, 2023

Doddridge County School Officials on Notice for Evangelist School Assembly

Students were told assembly would be about "suicide prevention."

A letter to Doddridge County Officials with the word "SENT" stamped in red