The brief was filed Monday (PDF) in the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which is considering the constitutionality of the law after a federal judge upheld key provisions of the law in September. “HB 56 is nothing less than a modern-day incarnation of some the most abhorrent types of institutionalized discrimination to have emerged in the history of the United States,” read the brief.

The brief argues that HB 56 encourages or even forces Alabama law enforcement, schools, public offices, and ordinary citizens to discriminate based on race, ethnicity and national origin. In the context of Alabama’s “long and disturbing history of civil rights violations,” the brief compares HB 56 to Alabama’s Jim Crow laws that “required law enforcement officials to enforce discriminatory laws, and criminalizing the exercise of fundamental human liberties.”

The law excludes children of color, particularly Latino children and children of other immigrant communities, from public schools, mandates racial profiling, and permits the detention of U.S. citizens and lawfully present immigrants if they fail to establish their immigration status to the satisfaction of local law enforcement.

HB 56 threatens public safety by eroding relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities, resulting in underreporting of crime, especially hate crimes. It also threatens the personal liberty and property for anyone that may appear or sound foreign.

The legislation represents a form of legalized racism that threatens the Latino community in Alabama most directly, but also impacts all people of color, including Middle Eastern and Asian Americans.

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 11, creating California’s first-ever citizens redistricting commission. The 14-member commission is responsible for drawing the state Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization districts. The legislative lines drawn by the commission will determine political representation in California for the next decade.

Online applications are due on February 12, 2010. Please join us to discuss the role of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and how to apply to serve on it. For more information, visit http://WeDrawTheLines.ca.gov or http://RedistrictingCA.org.

Here’s details of the forums in San Francisco and Sacramento:

SAN FRANCISCO
Monday, January 25, 2010
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Bingham McCutchen LLP
3 Embarcadero Center Promenade, 28th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=253282782559

Panelists include:
Thomas A. Saenz, President & General Counsel, MALDEF
Janis Hirohama, President, League of Women Voters of California
Nancy Ramirez, Western Regional Counsel, MALDEF
Sharon Reilly, Chief Legal Counsel, California Bureau of State Audits
Eva Paterson, President, Equal Justice Society (Moderator)

SACRAMENTO
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Auditorium
1500 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=409474785243

Panelists include:
Thomas A. Saenz, President & General Counsel, MALDEF
Elaine Howle, California State Auditor
Nancy Ramirez, Western Regional Counsel, MALDEF
Trudy Schafer, Senior Program Director, League of Women Voters of CA
Samuel E. Walton, Redistricting Consultant, California NAACP (Moderator)

For more information, please contact Nancy Ramirez at 213-629-2512 x121 or at nramirez@maldef.org.

Space is limited. Please confirm your attendance for these events to Martin Muñoz at 213-629-2512 x143 or at mmunoz@maldef.org by Friday, January 22, 2010.

“Small businesses owned by women and minorities are a vital part of our state’s economy and deserve a level playing field,” said Ingrid Merriwether, CEO of Merriwether & Williams, a small insurance services firm and a member of the Coalition for Economic Equity. “No matter how hard we work, without a fair public contracting system, small business owners will be at a tremendous disadvantage – as will the thousands of Californians we employ and the communities in which we work.”

The suit, Associated General Contractors of America v. California Department of Transportation, is pending in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Northern California, Equal Justice Society (EJS) and the law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP filed the motion on behalf of the Coalition for Economic Equity (CEE) and the San Diego Chapter of the NAACP.

“Caltrans’ federally approved contract procedures give small businesses a fair shot at competing for contracts, including for transportation projects slated to receive millions in ‘stimulus funds,’” said Oren Sellstrom, Associate Director of Litigation at LCCR. “California must continue to make a focused and concerted effort to ensure that every business in the state has equal access to these public contracts, and that no group will be disproportionately excluded.”

“This lawsuit against Caltrans is a blatant attempt to dismantle equal opportunity in public contracting and goes against core constitutional values,” said Alan Schlosser, Legal Director at the ACLU of Northern California. “Caltrans’ framework to ensure fair participation is consistent with equal protection principles, and is in fact mandated by constitutional requirements.”

Caltrans’ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program has established a framework for ensuring fair participation in federally funded public works projects in California, but has faced challenges. In 2006, Caltrans suspended the program’s race- and gender-conscious elements after a federal appeals court ruled that states had to document the existence of discrimination in the awarding of contracts. As a result, the number of women- and minority owned businesses awarded Caltrans projects plummeted — from nearly 11 percent in 2005 to just 2.2 percent in 2009.

In 2007, an extensive disparity study commissioned by Caltrans documented discrimination against small businesses owned by women and minorities in federally funded contracts. Caltrans then sought approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to reinstate the suspended elements as a necessary remedy to such discrimination. DOT granted its approval in August 2008, noting that Caltrans had a duty under federal law to reverse the steep decline in participation.

In June 2009, Caltrans’ procedures were challenged in the pending lawsuit filed by the Associated General Contractors of San Diego.

The rally, marking the 4th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, calls for the Speaker to take two small, but powerful actions: (1) That she asks the five committee chairs where the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act sits to report back to her office on HR 2269 before the Congressional winter recess; and (2) To sign on as a co-sponsor HR 2269.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 30 Congress members and supported by more than 240 diverse regional and national student, faith, environmental and community organizations, would create a minimum of 100,000 prevailing wage jobs and training opportunities for local and displaced workers to rebuild Gulf Coast infrastructure and restore the coastal environment utilizing green building technologies.

The rally will include a theatrical performance of “President Obama” and “Speaker Pelosi” announcing an important new policy on the 4th Anniversary of Katrina; reflections from survivors of Hurricane Katrina; the reading of the names of the 1,836 people who died in Hurricane Katrina, and the planting of 1836 white flags with the names of each person and age on the flag; and the delivering of the attached open-letter to Speaker Pelosi, as well as 10,000 signed petitions in support of HR 2269.

For more information, contact Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Associate Professor, San José State University, (510) 508-5382, smlipton@sjsu.edu, or Rev. Jeff Moore, NAACP Silicon Valley/San Jose, (408) 515-1114, moore2j@att.net.

“For 100 years the NAACP has pushed us to acknowledge the humanity in each other and ensure that our laws will follow suit. You (the NAACP) have inspired us to strive for that mountaintop even when the climb seemed steep and for that I honor you, I congratulate you, and I wish you another century of accomplishment as extraordinary as your first,” stated President Barack Obama. “It’s humbling to think of the progress made possible by ordinary folks who refused to settle for the world as it was and instead stood up and fought to remake the world as it should be,” concluded President Barack Obama.

“New York is the birthplace of the NAACP, and it is only fitting that this great city be the host of our 100th Anniversary Convention,” stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “We gather in New York to celebrate the NAACP’s past accomplishments as we look toward the future of our organization. Together we will celebrate our victories from the past 100 years, from Brown v. Board of Education to the election of Barack Obama. We will also lay out our bold dreams for 2009 and beyond with new initiatives on the critical issues facing our nation,” concluded Jealous.

A yearly tradition, the NAACP Convention will set the stage for its programs and legislative agenda for the next year. The organization will unveil a sweeping initiative on criminal justice and law enforcement which will use cutting-edge technology and engage all of the NAACP State Conferences and Branches.

Speakers during the six-day event also include New York Governor David A. Paterson, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Representative Charles B. Rangel, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, and Reverend Al Sharpton.

On Thursday, July 16th, the NAACP will present NAACP Chairman Julian Bond with the Spingarn Medal.

The Spingarn Medal, instituted in 1914 by the late Joel E. Spingarn, then NAACP Chairman, is awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by an American of African descent during the preceding year or years.

“The NAACP and thousands of our members are responsible for many of America’s seminal moments. In each decade, we have been a powerful, transformative force helping our beloved country realize its own promise. As we move forward in this new century, there is no better place to celebrate our centennial than in New York City, the birthplace of the NAACP,” stated Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors.

“The New York State Conference is proud to be the host of the NAACP Centennial Convention. This year’s convention marks an historic milestone with the celebration of 100 years of a campaign to ensure the political, educational, social and economic rights of all people and to eliminate discrimination in our nation,” said Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference of Branches. “This Convention and Centennial Celebration are unique events for New York because the organization was founded here in 1909 by a small multiracial group of concerned New Yorkers. The recent election of President Barack Obama stands as testament to how far the NAACP has led our nation since the days when African Americans could not vote, let alone run for and win the White House. It is historically correct for the NAACP to lay out its agenda for the future in New York; our great state has been in the forefront of the civil rights movement since it began, and I can think of no better place for the NAACP to outline our bold vision for the next century,” concluded Dukes.

“For 100 years, the NAACP has been tireless in its efforts to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights. Together with the residents of New York, and thousands of civil rights heroes of yesterday and today we will look to the future and march forward in our second century continuing our proud tradition of dreaming bold dreams and achieving big victories, “ said Roslyn Brock, Vice Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors and Chairman of the 2009 Convention Planning Committee.

The NAACP selected New York City as the host city for the Centennial Convention based on the efforts and support of National Board Member and New York State Conference President Hazel N. Dukes and its dedicated members, Leonard Riggio, Chairman Barnes & Noble; Stephen Schwartzman, Chairman & CEO The Blackstone Group; Earl G. Graves, Sr., Spingarn Medalist and Editor and Publisher Black Enterprise Magazine; Governor David A. Paterson; Mayor Michael R Bloomberg; Former Mayor David N. Dinkins; NYC & Company and Bill Lynch Associates.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.