February 2003

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Communities Resolve to Uphold Constitutional Rights

Nancy Murray speaks widely on behalf of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

A little over 25 years ago, as the nation was dealing with the excesses of the FBI's COINTELPRO operations and Watergate, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas wrote to a group of young lawyers in language that resonates loudly today. "As nightfall does not come all at once," he warned, "neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air--however slight--lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."

Nancy Murray © Ellen Shub

Now, with the Bill of Rights and rule of law itself consigned to the twilight zone by the domestic "war on terrorism," people across the country are searching for ways to push back against the gathering darkness. Their efforts are beginning to show results, as cities and towns from Massachusetts to California take stock of what government measures undertaken in the name of national security mean for our constitutional system, and debate passing resolutions upholding civil liberties.

According to Nancy Talanian, codirector of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee in Northampton, Massachusetts, "the rapid growth of the grassroots movement of cities and towns passing civil liberties resolutions shows that the American people do not believe they need to sacrifice their liberties in order to be secure from terrorism. To date, more than two dozen cities, towns, and counties, representing 3.5 million people, have passed resolutions, and work is underway in at least seventy other communities. Traffic on our web site (www.bords.org), which provides tools and information for the movement, has grown to half a million hits per month."

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee was formed in Northampton a few weeks after the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in late October 1991. It soon embarked on a local campaign including an awareness-raising petition drive, media exposure, and public forums. The campaign culminated in May 2002 in the unanimous passage of a resolution upholding civil liberties, the third such resolution to be passed in Massachusetts and the sixth in the country. The Defense Committee is now sharing its experience with what it calls "effective bottom-up democracy" through its website, and hoping eventually to "translate local action into national legislative strategy."

Momentum is swiftly building

The Northampton group participates in the Civil Liberties Task Force of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Formed in December 2001, it has been seeding new resolution campaigns, and lending support to those undertaken in Boston, among other communities. After Massachusetts Congressman Michael Capuano sent a strongly-worded letter in favor of the resolution to Boston City Councilors, some of them reconsidered their initial opposition. The resolution was defeated by only two votes in a twelve-member Council that is hardly known for its progressive views.

Residents in near-by Arlington, Massachusetts are working hard to ensure that their resolution does not meet a similar fate. They are being thorough in their outreach to town residents, and have attracted major media coverage.

"Working to pass a town resolution to affirm the Bill of Rights brings the issues of civil liberties from the abstract to the local level," says campaign organizer Marilyn Levin. "We want to reach the average citizen and alert them to the dangers that face all of us when our rights are threatened by the government. People need to understand that it isn't just 'others', like Arabs or Muslims, who are under scrutiny. When Arlington residents can be suspect because of the books we read, the emails we send or receive, the petitions we sign, our Letters to the Editor, and the opinions we express in our neighborhood coffee shop, this is a far greater threat to our way of life than terrorist bombs."

And now the 82-year-old national ACLU, with its affiliates in every state and 300,000 members, has made the passing of local resolutions part of the "Safe and Free Campaign" that it launched last October. According to the organization's Field Coordinator, Damon Moglen, "This grassroots initiative taps into concerns that are held by people around the country--concerns that in the name of fighting terrorism, some government officials are threatening basic democratic values that have made our country great, concerns that the constitutional rights to due process, individual privacy, and non-discrimination are now under attack."

The ACLU has circulated a Model Local Resolution to Protect Civil Liberties, building on resolutions which have already been adopted or drafted for consideration (see www.aclu.org). While recognizing that draft resolutions must be tailored to reflect local laws, conditions and attitudes, the ACLU's Model Resolution proposes that local governments directly challenge federal agencies.

More than just a piece of paper

Perhaps your town, like communities in Massachusetts and 12 other states, has passed a resolution in support of the Bill of Rights--then what? What will it take to make it more than a purely symbolic gesture?

"Love Justice," Corita Kent, Reprinted with permission from The Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles. This poster is part of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics and Santa Monica Track 16 Gallery's "The Anti-War Show: US Interventions from Korea to Iraq." The exhibition will run through February 15 (Center for the Study of Political Graphics, 8124 W. 3rd St., #211, LA, CA, 90048; www.politicalgraphics.org) The Anti-War Show features posters documenting fifty years of domestic and international opposition to US interventions around the world. These powerful graphics remain relevant because their legacies are present in the current conflict, raising questions about past interventions and fostering debate about present ones. The posters document efforts of people who refuse to remain silent and use the power of art to inspire action. "The United States is the focus of this exhibition," say organizers. "As citizens, we are ultimately responsible for the actions that are taken by our government in our name. Censorship and repression, so prevalent in wartime, invariably attempt to eliminate dissent, thereby violating the principles on which this democracy was founded. One definition of citizenship includes the obligation to struggle for justice--as this poster's caption reads, 'I should like to be able to love my country and also love justice' (Camus)."  Art available as attachments; contact<msutton2@politicalgraphics.org>

Exactly how a town or city would proceed to implement the resolution depends on the power of the jurisdiction. Does it direct the operation of the local police department, health department, schools, and libraries? Does it work with a city manager who implements policies adopted by the council? Does it have budget authority which it can assert to influence the policies of the police department and other agencies?

Even if local councils lack significant policy-making clout, supporters of resolutions can still use public education and persuasion to ensure that the language endorsed by council members is not simply ceremonial. They can work to ensure the cooperation of local law enforcement officials. Human rights commissions and other agencies can engage in discussions with local police departments stressing the ineffective and counterproductive nature of racial (religious) profiling and urging them not to engage in this practice. There is nothing in federal law requiring local police departments to enforce immigration laws, and they should be asked to refrain from doing the work of the INS.

Although the Justice Department has given the FBI the green light to spy on political and religious gatherings, communities can make it very clear to their local police departments that they expect their First Amendment rights to be observed. They can insist that no dossiers be maintained on groups exercising those rights by local law enforcement. They can demand that local police refrain from participating in federal "sneak and peek" searches. They can also come out strongly against the use of new surveillance technology as an invasion of privacy and an ineffective way of fighting crime. They cannot expect local librarians to notify patrons if the FBI has asked for their records, as this would violate Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. But there is no such bar on students at schools and universities being notified if their records are accessed by federal agents, and they can encourage school and university officials to provide this notice to their students.

Next steps

Resolutions passed in hundreds of cities and towns around the country must be part of a broader strategy of creating a political groundswell in support of our constitutional rights and protections. In Massachusetts, the Civil Liberties Task Force of the ACLU of Massachusetts has a petition drive for 100,000 signatures to embolden their Members of Congress to roll back portions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

We need to lobby, to write letters and articles, to hold public forums, to talk to our neighbors, and be in the streets and in the voting booths. We need to stand up for equity, fairness, open government and accountability, and for the rights of immigrants as well as the rights of citizens.

Together we must create a new civil rights movement that will keep the democratic promise of this country from being overtaken by the night.

For information about getting involved, contact Nancy Murray, ACLU of Massachusetts, 617/482-3170 x 314.

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