Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.<\/p>\n
This week, Breonna Taylor\u2019s grand jury recordings were released. Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and appeared to insinuate that minorities and low-income people are ruining the \u201cAmerican Dream.\u201d The governor of Texas sparked outrage, and lawsuits, as he limits drop-off locations for mail-in-ballots and a Montana federal judge calls voter fraud \u201cfiction.\u201d In Michigan, a report was released detailing inequities in the K-12 public education system and lawyers filed a class-action against a real estate firm preying on poor homeowners. The death toll of those in ICE custody is the highest it has been in 15 years.<\/p>\n
Breonna Taylor\u2019s grand jury recordings were released, including testimony from police and witnesses.<\/strong> Sam Aguiar, one of the lawyers representing Breonna Taylor\u2019s family, praised the grand jury but accused prosecutors of obstructing justice. \u201cThis grand jury was great. Paid attention. Asked important questions. Sought critical evidence that was not made available to them. Had critical observations. And they were stonewalled every step of the way by a prosecution team that had a predetermined outcome and a disingenuous agenda.” (NBC News<\/a>).<\/p>\n Report released detailing a significant lack of equity in Michigan\u2019s K-12 education system<\/strong>. The report found a number of obstacles which contributed to inequality. Additionally, the report outlined recommendations and concrete steps to take so that equity can be achieved within the Michigan public school system. Stacie Clayton, Chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, said\u00a0\u201cnot all children receive the kind of education they deserve as their birthright. We urge policy makers, educators and other stakeholders across the state to view this report as a roadmap they can follow to help schools achieve educational equity and give all Michigan children \u2013 regardless of household income, race, residency or ability \u2013 the education they need to lead productive and fulfilling lives.\u201d (MLive<\/a>).<\/p>\n Michigan real estate firm preys on poor homeowners.<\/strong> Leading civil rights groups are alleging that the firm, Vision Property Management, lied about the condition of properties and resold dilapidated homes to low income home buyers violating fair housing, consumer protection and civil rights laws. NAACP and ACLU lawyers filed a class-action this week again the firm claiming that Vision Property Management targeted people \u201cwho had been unable to obtain the dream of homeownership.\u201d (CBS News<\/a>).<\/p>\n Texas governor, Greg Abbott, l<\/strong>imits drop-off locations for mail-in-ballots to one site per county, severely limiting access for many voters.<\/strong> \u201cThere is no reason for this decision to limit us to one drop-off location other than voter suppression\u201d stated Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, the state\u2019s largest county by population and democratic stronghold. (CNN)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lawsuits challenge Texas governor restrictions on ballot drop-off locations.<\/strong> In their complaint, the Campaign Legal Center alleges that the governor’s order forces Texas absentee voters, including older voters and voters with disabilities, to risk exposure to Covid-19. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that order disproportionately affects minority communities. (CNN<\/a>).<\/p>\n Far-right groups celebrated <\/strong>Trump\u2019s failure to condemn white supremacists during presidential debate.<\/strong> After remarks by Trump telling extremist white supremacist group Proud Boys to \u201cstand back and stand by,\u201d supporters enshrined Trump\u2019s comments in social media posts. Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group stated that Trump \u201clegitimized them in a way that nobody in the community expected. It\u2019s unbelievable. The celebration is incredible. In my 20 years of tracking terrorism and extremism, I never thought I\u2019d see anything like this from a U.S. president.\u201d (Washington Post<\/a>).<\/p>\n ICE custody death toll is the highest it has been in 15 years, more than double the number of deaths in fiscal year 2019.<\/strong> \u201cThe deaths are a sign of deteriorating conditions, serious problems with medical care and ICE\u2019s flawed approach to handling the pandemic,\u201d immigrant rights advocates say. (CNN<\/a>).<\/p>\n A Montana Federal Judge rejected efforts by Trump to stop the expansion of mail-in voting in the state.<\/strong> In his ruling, the Judge Christensen articulated that Trump\u2019s claims of widespread voter fraud in US elections is \u201cfiction.\u201d There is substantial evidence from election experts and others that \u201cthe use of mail ballots present no significant risk of fraud,\u201d added Christensen. (CNN<\/a>).<\/p>\n Trump blames minorities and low-income people for ruining suburbia and the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d during a campaign rally.<\/strong> Trump seemed to insinuate that minorities and low-income people are invading suburban communities and displacing white voters that he has consistently tried to appeal to. \u201cBy the way, just so we can get this straight, 30 percent of the people in the suburbs are low-income people. Thirty percent of the people in the suburbs are minorities. And so we\u2019re ruining this American dream for everybody,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey zone you out, they build low-income housing next to your house,\u201d he continued. (Politico<\/a>).<\/p>\n