Southern Poverty Law Center - Florida

Nancy Tray, et al. v. Florida State Board of Education, et al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 18:20:13 +0000

The Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents of public school students facing discrimination under a state law that fails to provide them with a process for appealing decisions banning books from school libraries despite providing an appeals process for parents seeking such bans.

This unequal law was passed in 2023 as a response to parents successfully convincing many local school boards to reject efforts by unrepresentative and extreme groups demanding censorship in schools. The law seeks to quell such efforts defending the freedom to read. It also saddles school districts with the cost of the appeal – discouraging them from rejecting a book challenge because of fear of a costly appeal.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, describes how the law discriminates against the plaintiffs by excluding their viewpoint, a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Date Filed

June 06, 2024

Issue Area

Children's Rights

Co-Counsel

American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Democracy Forward

Active Case

Nancy Tray, et al. v. Florida State Board of Education, et al.

Case Number

4:24-cv-00238-AW-MAF

Holocaust Education: A Mixed Bag in U.S. Schools

chris.heller_1541 — Thu, 02 May 2024 18:31:14 +0000

Hatewatch

The Holocaust stands as an indelible chapter in human history, characterized by unimaginable suffering, persecution and the systematic extermination of millions of people. It is a haunting reminder of the depths of human cruelty and the perils of unchecked racism and discrimination.

Holocaust Education: A Mixed Bag in U.S. Schools

Yom HaShoah, beginning this Sunday at sundown and running through nightfall Monday, is an international day of remembrance for the lives of those lost in the Holocaust. It stands as day to honor those lost and for people around the world to rededicate themselves to the cause of education against hate, violence and racism.

In the complex landscape of the 21^st century, it is not enough merely to remember the Holocaust; rather, we must integrate its lessons into education, ensuring that future generations understand how and why such atrocities occurred and comprehend the significance of the phrase “never again.”

Young Israelis look up and around at portraits of Holocaust victims in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, commemorating the 6 million Jewish victims killed by the Nazis during World War II. (Photo by Eddie Gerald/Alamy)

At present, Holocaust education in American schools is marked by a patchwork of state-by-state mandates. Some states that have enacted Holocaust education mandates introduce book bans and strict limits on teaching. Katie Chaka Parks, manager of adult education at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has noted that the lack of support for Holocaust education raises questions about these mandates’ effectiveness.

Challenging authenticity and exploring efficacy

The selectiveness of Holocaust education being mandated in schools, while other historical injustices are banned, raises the question of why some deem the Holocaust to be the only “acceptable tragedy” to teach children.

Noted Holocaust studies scholar Debórah Dwork argues that politicians and specific media channels are failing to promote sincere Holocaust education. She posits that such education should function as a guiding “compass,” directing students toward a broader comprehension of global injustices. Dwork says that reducing the Holocaust to a mere instrument for political agendas minimizes its true impact: “The Holocaust, for those people pushing the mandate, is not the Holocaust that I study.” She asserts that it becomes a “sanitized and sanctified event, detached from historical reality.”

Parks echoes this sentiment, stating that she has seen people coming to the Zekelman museum looking to learn a “sanitized version” of the Holocaust in order to “make themselves feel better for being racist.” This speaks to the notion that somehow if one learns about the Holocaust, even tangentially, or that if school boards or state governments mandate education about the Holocaust, disingenuous though it may be, they are absolved of the sin of racism.

Luke Berryman, founder of The Ninth Candle – an organization founded to work with schools to improve Holocaust education – asserts that “Holocaust education requires more than noble mandates” and that “even in states where the Holocaust is mandated, the mandate just requires that it be taught. It doesn’t say what the outcomes should be, or how they should be assessed.” He further explains that “requiring social science teachers to ‘just teach’ the Holocaust is like requiring math teachers to ‘just teach’ quantum mechanics: It isn’t that simple.” Berryman decries the fact that “too many mandates are noble in principle, but ineffective in practice.”

One clear sign of the inauthenticity of the mandates being pushed for by public figures is how they are simultaneously being used to attack diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. DEI initiatives, at their core, promote access and equality for students from a variety of backgrounds and allow for and encourage open discussions in classrooms. While Idaho state Sen. and Freedom Caucus member Brian Lenney supports Holocaust mandates, he paradoxically – and hypocritically – believes that DEI programs promote antisemitism.

Conversely, Holocaust survivor Barbara Schecter Cohen affirmed that the attacks on DEI initiatives are reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Speaking at the Zekelman Holocaust Center last July, Schecter Cohen said: “Education is not memorizing that Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Education is understanding how millions of ordinary Germans were convinced that it was required.” Dwork affirms this by stating that the history of the Holocaust requires education that goes beyond the surface because “the history of the Holocaust is relevant to so many other facets of the lives we lead” and that it should be taught “with eyes on issues that resonate with the problems students face, and we as a society face.”

The thinness of Holocaust mandates also raises the issue of how effective they are.

Numerous studies and surveys highlight a concerning lack of Holocaust knowledge among students. While students may be familiar with the term and aware of the Holocaust’s occurrence, they often lack true understanding. A 2020 Pew Research study found that most U.S. teens and adults can pinpoint when the Holocaust took place and recognize the term “ghettos.” However, the same study uncovered gaps in knowledge regarding how Adolf Hitler rose to power. Perhaps more alarming was that “nearly three in ten Americans” said there were “not sure how many Jews died in the Holocaust” and “15% say that 3 million or fewer Jews were killed.” Failing to contextualize the Holocaust within broader history, particularly the rise of Nazism, diminishes the significance of understanding how and why such atrocities were allowed to happen. Without grasping these crucial aspects, the true lessons of the Holocaust risk being lost.

The presentation of the Holocaust often occurs in isolation, devoid of broader historical contexts of genocide and racial violence. This approach not only impedes students’ understanding of the past but also perpetuates a narrow and exclusionary interpretation of human history. Contextualizing the Holocaust within broader patterns of genocide and state-sponsored racism is crucial for comprehending its complexities.

The researchers at the Phoenix Holocaust Association argue: “Task forces and commissions work hard to implement Holocaust education as mandated in their state bills. Yet few legislators are willing to fund them.” Indeed, only a handful of states – as of September 2021 – had provided funding for Holocaust mandates that had been passed in their states. The report cites an example in Oregon – a state that has had a mandate in place since 2019 – stating: “There are still teachers across the state that are unaware of the mandate. Without funding, there is no guarantee that teachers and administrators receive quality professional development that prepares them for its implementation.”

To address this gap, Boaz Dvir created the Holocaust Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State University to train teachers on how to teach difficult topics. Unlike traditional Holocaust education in professional development settings that tends to focus on large lectures, standardized curricula, or solely survivor testimonies, Dvir’s approach focuses on empowering teachers to tackle such topics as the Holocaust and other “hard histories” through inquiry and active research. The program Dvir has developed is unique, as it fosters long-term engagement with teachers rather than the long weekend of seminars that has become standard in professional development. Dvir’s approach aims not only to equip teachers with knowledge but also provides them with support that, he believes, can be instrumental to an honest, open and discursive historical instruction, particularly on topics that right-wing politicians and activists have recently deemed taboo.

Legislation and policies against DEI and critical race theory (CRT) are sweeping the country, and many dictate exactly how, if at all, topics of race, gender, sexuality and ethnicity can be discussed in public schools and universities. This includes how historical facts, such as the Holocaust and slavery, are taught.

Censorship attempts through book challenges and bans have also seen an alarming rise. The American Library Association reported a 92% increase in books targeted in 2023 over the previous year. Of the more than 4,240 unique titles marked for censorship, 47% represented LGBTQ+ or BIPOC individuals.

Florida: A case study

Florida has served as a case study in the sincerity of Holocaust mandates. Although 1994 legislation mandates that Holocaust education be incorporated into all K-12 public school instruction, the intention and efficacy of this can be called into question due to several recent actions.

The state-led initiative was a pioneer in banning the teaching of “divisive concepts.” In April 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7 into law. It is also known as the “Stop WOKE Act.” The core concepts of the law closely mirror former President Donald Trump’s executive order #13950, which was issued during calls for racial equity in 2020 but later revoked by the Joe Biden administration.

The law specifically addresses Holocaust education, saying that it is “to be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior, and understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person.”

Although the bill also mandates that subjects be taught objectively, using materials that meet “the highest standard of professionalism and historical accuracy,” the Florida Department of Education rejected 35% of publisher-submitted social studies books for approval. Among them were History of the Holocaust, 2nd Edition, and Modern Genocide. According to the Department of Education, Modern Genocide was rejected for its inclusion of “special topics.”

Florida has also led the way in censorship and outlawing access to honest, comprehensive teaching. According to Pen America, the state was among the top in books challenged and banned in schools and libraries. These included historical and personal accounts of the Holocaust, such as Maus, Night and The Diary of Anne Frank.

The state has been suppressing diverse students with legislation banning DEI programs, oppress honest history, and mold facts through legislation banning critical race theory. It has also passed legislation prohibiting state colleges and universities from using state of federal funds to “advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism.”

In 2023, Florida made it mandatory that middle school children be “taught that enslaved people reaped vocational benefits.” This echoes the same line that the far right “school” PragerU has promoted in their video about Columbus and Indigenous people: “Slavery is as old as time and has taken place in every corner of the world, even amongst the people I just left. Being taken as a slave is better than being killed.” While the cartoon Columbus doesn’t see this as a problem, the ��Ҵ�ý pointed out last January the dangers of historical revisionism, particularly about Holocaust and other genocides.

In 2020, the Claims Conference ran a survey on Holocaust education among millennials and Generation Z, and in Florida while 89% confirmed their belief that the Holocaust happened, 15% believe the number of Jews who were executed was greatly exaggerated. Furthermore, only 39% of those surveyed knew how many Jewish people were murdered, and even though 57% said they had seen Holocaust denial and distortion online and in social media, 13% responded that they had first learned of the Holocaust through social media. While the poll notes that 61% of Florida residents said they are “very familiar” with who Adolf Hitler was, Parks argues that familiarity with Hitler does necessarily equate knowledge about the Holocaust. She asserts, “If you pin it all on one person (Hitler)” then “it completely erases the fact that it was an entire society of people” that were complicit in allowing the Holocaust to occur. This is the sort of surface level history that does students a disservice and is becoming increasingly common in American high schools. In Florida, 60% did not know that 6 million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust, including 30% who said they believed that fewer than 2 million were murdered.

Another target in Florida in recent years has been social emotional learning (SEL), which teaches students how to manage emotions and relationships, set goals and experience empathy for others. Far-right activist and DeSantis adviser Chris Rufo erroneously defined the intention of SEL to The New York Times as “to soften children at an emotional level, reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of ‘repression,’ ‘whiteness,’ or ‘internalized racism,’ and then rewire their behavior according to the dictates of left-wing ideology.”

Antisemitic incidents have witnessed a steady escalation over the years, with a pronounced surge in recent months, and Florida stands no exception to this troubling trend. Whether it’s neo-Nazis staging protests at Disney, the Goyim Defense League distributing flyers, or the despicable act of swastikas defacing homes and synagogues, Florida bears witness to these disturbing occurrences. Despite the passage of bills within the state aimed at defining and condemning antisemitism while endorsing Holocaust education, Florida finds itself increasingly associated with the banning of DEI initiatives and CRT – actions that are, at best, counterproductive.

This contradiction is starkly apparent, particularly considering revelations that books focused on Holocaust education are also being prohibited. Parks aptly articulates the significance of her dialogues with museum visitors, describing them as “fruitful” as they reveal a widespread lack of comprehension regarding the longstanding nature and contemporary manifestations of age-old prejudice. She underscores that these restrictions on education and the banning of books stifle crucial conversations, including those centered on the Holocaust. Parks expresses her frustration, asserting that instilling empathy proves challenging because “You cannot walk in someone else’s shoes, you cannot know what they’ve been through.”

Recognizing the importance of accurate and inclusive representations in Holocaust history, Parks and her museum endeavor to reaffirm this by not only highlighting the broader narrative of the Nazi genocide and their targets but also delving into the complex dynamics of the perpetrators, who were not solely card-carrying Nazi men. Such vital lessons may risk being overlooked or lost altogether in Florida’s selective approach to determining which historical narratives are deemed acceptable for educational purposes.

The results of insincere Holocaust education

The singling out of what might seem like Jewish-centric initiatives, despite existing Title VI investigations, particularly on college campuses, has arguably fostered an emphasis on antisemitic tropes such as Jewish supremacy, control and wealth. President Joe Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism explicitly states: “Title VI of 1964 Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in federally funded programs based on race, color, or national origin. This includes protection from discrimination or harassment due to shared ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship in a religiously dominant country, or distinct religious identity. The act states, “Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin against individuals of any religion such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, or Buddhism, may manifest through racial, ethnic, or ancestral stereotypes, as well as judgments based on appearance, including skin color, physical attributes, or attire reflecting cultural and religious traditions, along with prejudice against foreign accents, names, or languages spoken.”

Ineffective Holocaust mandates, coupled with additional, arguably insincere, antisemitism initiatives, contribute to a rise in the kind of antisemitism that right-wing legislatures claim they aim to address. As certain histories are ignored and books and critical race theory are banned, the Holocaust remains untouched, suggesting a disconcerting trend of selective memory and political maneuvering.

Failure to contextualize the Holocaust risks trivializing its significance and turning it into a tool for political manipulation. As noted earlier, organizations like PragerU are actively producing revisionist histories that prevent the kind of contextualization that Dwork and Parks assert is essential to education and Holocaust memory.

The Holocaust occupies a unique place in American cultural memory, aligning with the heroic narrative of American history. The belief that Holocaust education acts as a “silver bullet” against racism is disingenuous.

Unfortunately, this notion persists, alongside hollow antisemitism initiatives driven by political gain, highlighting, as Dvir asserts, that current Holocaust education “is not fulfilling its great promise.” Holocaust education “should be a beacon of light” and “a major success story,” adds Dvir. It’s arguable that education about the Holocaust could and should provide insight into how and why people commit such atrocities, offering a historical road map for prevention. It should also compel Americans to confront the tragedies in our own national history. However, it fails to do so. In recent years, despite the enactment of Holocaust initiatives in numerous states, there is a trend of erasing or downplaying the brutal realities of American slavery, westward expansion and colonization.

Dvir suggests this may partly stem from the heroic narrative surrounding America’s role in World War II and the Holocaust, where Americans are typically perceived as the “good guys” and “liberators” who saved people from tragedy, death and fascism: “America was the good guy 100%, no one can deny it, no one can argue with it. Case closed, and the enemy was the bad guy. That isn’t the case with slavery.” However, Dvir notes that this narrative is disingenuous because of the selective overlooking of darker chapters, such as slavery, indigenous genocide and systemic racism. Focusing solely on the Holocaust in schools reinforces this narrative and perpetuates societal amnesia regarding other forms of oppression.

To truly uphold the principles of “never again,” Holocaust education must be a catalyst for confronting hatred and injustice in all its forms, expanding discourse to encompass broader historical contexts. Regarding mandates, Holocaust education advocate Katie Chaka Parks observes that there is no “mandate police,” essentially allowing the mandates to remain as hollow as they are. She asserts that “there’s a lot of states that have mandates that have no educational center or Holocaust museum to support that mandate.” Parks questions the authenticity and sincerity of these states that have mandates but lack the support, whether educational or financial, to fulfill them.

States that are mandating the Holocaust while banning other “hard histories” are cutting students off at the knees. It cannot be taught in a vacuum. Berryman notes in an essay for Chalkbeat: “This is the most radical demonstration of what can happen when the suffering of others goes unchecked. This is why improving the way we teach it must be a priority for schools everywhere.”

Yom HaShoah calls us to reckon with the lessons of the Holocaust and reinforces the need for honest, open, discussive education for all to understand not simply what happened, but how and why it was allowed to happen.

Alon Milwicki, Maya Henson Carey and Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon

May 03, 2024

Johnson v. Grants Pass

rudy.isaza_2663 — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 17:00:37 +0000

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to deliver the most significant ruling in 40 years on the rights of people experiencing homelessness, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief defending their rights.

The amicus brief was filed in Johnson v. Grants Pass, which alleges that a public sleeping/camping law used against people experiencing homelessness in Grants Pass, Oregon, violates the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The law’s enforcement means that a person can be cited or arrested for the simplest of human functions – falling asleep with a covering as simple as a blanket.

The ��Ҵ�ý’s amicus brief – also known as a “friend-of-the-court brief” – supports the claims of the plaintiffs experiencing homelessness, who contend that such laws are unlawful status crimes. The city of Grants Pass argued that the history of vagrancy laws justifies their sleeping/camping law. The ��Ҵ�ý’s amicus brief, however, examines the pernicious history behind vagrancy laws, which were used as a tool of economic and racial subjugation, particularly in the U.S. Deep South. The ��Ҵ�ý argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has already rejected “archaic” vagrancy laws as having any place in a system governed by the rule of law.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2018, was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court as other states, such as Georgia and Florida, pass legislation that ban camping or sleeping on public property even if people have no indoor alternatives.

The ��Ҵ�ý filed the amicus brief on behalf of itself and other nonprofit poverty law organizations in Florida that work on issues of housing and homelessness. Florida has the third-largest population of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. It has the nation’s second-largest unsheltered homeless population – defined as people experiencing homelessness who are residing in a place not intended for habitation, such as a public park.

The Florida organizations represented by the brief include Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Justice Institute, Florida Legal Services, Community Justice Project, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and the Florida Housing Umbrella Group.

Date Filed

April 03, 2024

Court where filed

Supreme Court of the United States

Issue Area

Economic Justice

Johnson v. Grants Pass

Case Number

23-175

Wood, et al. v. Florida Department of Education, et al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:47:42 +0000

After a Florida law blocked transgender and nonbinary teachers from using the pronouns and titles that best express themselves, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners filed a lawsuit on behalf of three teachers challenging the anti-LGBTQ+ statute.

The lawsuit describes how the ban, also known as Subsection 3, unlawfully discriminates on the basis of sex and restrains the teachers’ speech, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and civil rights statutes. Under the statute, teachers violating the ban may be fired and lose their teaching certification. Many teachers have already left the profession – and the state – in response to discriminatory laws Florida passed to push LGBTQ+ people out of public life and erase their existence.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of educators Katie Wood, Jane Doe and AV Schwandes. They are seeking an injunction preventing enforcement of Subsection 3. Schwandes is also demanding damages from their employer, who fired them for violating Subsection 3.

Date Filed

December 13, 2023

Issue Area

LGBTQ Rights

Co-Counsel

Southern Legal Counsel and Altshuler Berzon LLP

Active Case

Wood, et al. v. Florida Department of Education, et al.

Case Number

4:23-cv-00526-MW-MAF

The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., et. al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et. al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 21:55:55 +0000

A sweeping new anti-immigrant law – SB 1718 – took effect in Florida on July 1, 2023. The law harms Florida immigrants and their families and seeks to target and intimidate immigrant families in every facet of their lives. The ��Ҵ�ý and its legal partners filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the law is unconstitutional.

The law inhibits and intimidates immigrants seeking health care; prohibits local government funding of new community identification cards; and invalidates certain driver’s licenses from states like Connecticut, Vermont, Delaware and Hawaii. It also expands penalties and requirements for businesses to use E-Verify, the electronic system used to check a worker’s documentation status.

The lawsuit focuses on the provisions outlined in Section 10 of the law, which criminalizes the transportation of individuals into Florida who may have entered the country unlawfully and have not been “inspected” by the federal government since. The complaint states that it is unconstitutional for a state to unilaterally regulate federal immigration and subject people to criminal punishment without fair notice and that Florida’s use of the term “inspection” is incoherent and unconstitutionally vague.

The case was filed on behalf of the Farmworker Association of Florida and various impacted individuals, including U.S. citizens and undocumented drivers and passengers who routinely travel into and out of Florida.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.

Date Filed

July 17, 2023

Issue Area

Immigrant Justice

Co-Counsel

American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice and American Immigration Council

Active Case

The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., et. al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et. al.

Case Number

1:23-cv-22655

Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community Inc. v. School Board of Orange County, Fla.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 21:28:12 +0000

When the school board in Orange County, Florida, planned to sell property that was the site of a historic school for Black children in one of the country’s oldest Black communities, a local preservation association represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit against the school board.

The litigation by the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community Inc. (P.E.C.) was filed to protect Black history threatened by a massive commercial redevelopment of the historic Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School in Eatonville, one of the first American towns incorporated by newly emancipated Black people. The lawsuit asks the state court to ensure that the land continues to be used for educational and related purposes that benefit the community, once home to Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston.

The school was established with the assistance of Booker T. Washington and the leaders of Eatonville in 1897. It was modeled on the famed Black educator’s Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, which is now Tuskegee University, in Alabama. The high school remained open until 2009.

In 1951, the Orange County school board acquired the Hungerford property – over 300 acres – through contested court proceedings. In a deed restriction that came with the land, use of the property was restricted to the operation of a public school for the education of Black children.

The new lawsuit asks a state court to declare that the 1951 deed restriction is valid and remains in effect on the remaining portion of the property and that the release of the deed restriction in 2022 – which cleared the way for Orange County Public Schools to sell the property to private developers – is invalid. The lawsuit also seeks a declaration that the school board failed to comply with its obligations under state law to determine whether the property is unnecessary for educational purposes and that its disposal is in the best interests of the public.

The litigation by the P.E.C. came after residents of Eatonville won a key victory when the town council voted 4-1 against rezoning the Hungerford property, which would have cleared the way for a private developer to construct a mixed-use development – including residential, commercial and retail – on the site.

The P.E.C.’s objections to the developer’s proposal raised concerns that the development would create a lack of affordable housing, increase traffic and fail to account for increased infrastructure needs. The association also asserted that the development lacked attention to historic and cultural preservation that would directly impact P.E.C. and its mission.

On March 31, 2023, one week after the P.E.C. filed its lawsuit, the private developer notified the school district that it was electing to terminate the sales contract on the Hungerford property, ending that development project.

The P.E.C.’s action against the school board is currently pending in Florida state court.

Date Filed

March 24, 2023

Status

Active

Issue Area

Economic Justice

Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community Inc. v. School Board of Orange County, Fla.

Florida Immigration Coalition Inc., et al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 21:45:29 +0000

During 2022, Florida established a “Relocation Program” for the “transport of unauthorized aliens from the state.” The Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Section 185 of Florida’s 2022 General Appropriations Act, which created the $12 million program at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three nonprofit immigrant rights organizations, argues that this program violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution by usurping the federal government’s sole role in regulating and enforcing immigration law. It also violates the 14^th Amendment’s equal protection clause by allowing state-sponsored harassment of immigrants based on race, color and national origin.

DeSantis’ program is funded by interest earned from federal COVID-19 relief funds received by the state. It was established during a year the governors of Texas and Arizona garnered national headlines by busing immigrants to states that are home to so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Date Filed

December 01, 2022

Status

Active

Issue Area

Immigrant Justice

Co-Counsel

Leontire & Associates P.C. and the Criminal Justice Institute of Harvard Law School

Active Case

Florida Immigration Coalition Inc., et al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et al.

Case Number

1:22-cv-23927

Brooks v. Woods, et. al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 15:59:35 +0000

In August 2020, Neville Christopher Brooks, a legal permanent U.S. resident from Jamaica, was unlawfully detained by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in Florida — not for any alleged criminal activity or for any legitimate immigration enforcement concerns but solely because he was born in Jamaica.

Although an officer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to multiple Marion County employees that Brooks was not subject to any immigration detention request, the sheriff’s office continued his detention long after he posted bond and should have been released.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit against the Marion County sheriff and one of his deputies. It challenges Brooks’ unlawful detention and the MCSO’s discriminatory policy of detaining and referring all foreign-born individuals, or those perceived as foreign-born, to ICE, even if they are American citizens or otherwise lawfully in this country.

The MCSO initially detained Brooks for a misdemeanor, which was later dismissed. After he posted a $100 bond, officers told Brooks that the MCSO was keeping him detained for ICE, even though the federal agency specifically told the sheriff’s office that Brooks was not subject to any immigration detention request. The Marion County resident was held behind bars for an additional night in a crowded jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five days later, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in a hospital emergency room.

The suit contends that the sheriff’s office had no legal basis to detain Brooks once he posted bond. The sheriff and his deputies never discussed his citizenship or immigration status with him, nor did they receive any detainer request or warrant from ICE. They simply profiled him and continued his detention, solely based on his presumed foreign birth, even though jail records showed that he had a valid Social Security number and Florida commercial driver’s license, neither of which he could have gotten unless he was lawfully in the U.S.

The lawsuit seeks damages and injunctive and declaratory relief for Brooks.

Date Filed

January 20, 2022

Issue Area

Immigrant Justice

Co-Counsel

American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

Active Case

Brooks v. Woods, et. al.

Cousins et al. v. The School Board of Orange County et al.

rudy.isaza_2663 — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 23:14:59 +0000

The state of Florida in 2022 enacted House Bill 1557, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and restricts such discussions for students through grade 12 based on undefined standards of appropriateness. The law, which took effect July 1, 2022, also gives any parent the legal power to sue districts they believe are violating its terms.

On behalf of seven students and their parents, as well as CenterLink Inc., a nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy organization based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center and co-counsel challenged the constitutionality of the law in a federal lawsuit against school districts in Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach counties.

The suit argues that the law violates the right to free speech and expression protected by the First Amendment and that it violates the due process clause of the 14^th Amendment, as well as the amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

The plaintiffs argue that the law silences LGBTQ students and families, shames and stigmatizes them, restricts their ability to access life-saving information and creates a climate of bigotry in schools.

“I am concerned that this law will eviscerate any hope of healthy and important discussions about LGBTQ+ issues or historical events, which are already lacking in our schools,” said plaintiff Will Larkins, a rising senior at Winter Park High School in Orange County. “Because of the vague language of the law, closed-minded parents are emboldened to become vigilantes to force their beliefs upon other people’s children by suing the school district over anything they disagree with.”

Date Filed

July 25, 2022

Issue Area

Children's Rights

LGBTQ Rights

Co-Counsel

Lambda Legal Southern Legal Counsel and Baker McKenzie

Active Case

Cousins et al. v. The School Board of Orange County et al.

Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. City of Jacksonville, et al.

sam.alefsen@splcenter.org — Wed, 04 May 2022 15:28:36 +0000

The city of Jacksonville, Florida, in March 2022 adopted racially gerrymandered district voting maps that dilute the voting power of Black residents in city council and school board elections.

On behalf of four civil rights organizations and 10 individuals, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the new maps unconstitutionally pack Black voters into four city council districts and two school board districts, diminishing their ability to influence elections in adjacent districts.

The lawsuit challenges the maps as illegal under the 14th Amendment as well as the city’s charter, which requires districts to be logical and compact.

In passing these maps, the Jacksonville City Council impermissibly concentrated Black residents into council districts 7, 8, 9 and 10. As a result, the council ensured a high white population in three adjacent districts – districts 2, 12 and 14. The packed districts snake through the city to capture as many Black voters as possible, making their Black populations artificially high.

The Black populations of the surrounding districts are simultaneously depressed because the maps carefully avoid concentrations of Black voters. As a consequence, most of Jacksonville’s Black voters are segregated into just four of 14 districts, depressing their influence over city council elections overall.

In October 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida found the Jacksonville City Council’s maps had likely racially gerrymandered the city by “packing” together Black communities. The court gave the council an opportunity to redraw the maps in a constitutional way.

However, the council drew maps that continued to unfairly diminish the voices of Black communities. As a result, the plaintiffs proposed fairer alternatives. On Dec. 19, 2022, the court rejected the council’s alternative map in favor of the plaintiffs’ map.

On May 9, 2023, local voting rights groups, Jacksonville residents and the Jacksonville City Council agreed to use the maps ordered by a federal court until the next redistricting cycle, which occurs after the 2030 census. The court approved a settlement agreement on May 30, 2023, officially concluding the case.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida/Jacksonville Division on behalf of the Jacksonville NAACP Branch, the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, the Northeast Chapter of the ACLU of Florida and Florida Rising.

Date Filed

May 03, 2022

Status

Settled

Issue Area

Voting Rights

Voting Rights - FL

Co-Counsel

American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Harvard Election Law Clinic

Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. City of Jacksonville, et al.

Case Number

3:22-cv-00493-MMH-LLL

Southern Poverty Law Center - Florida

Nancy Tray, et al. v. Florida State Board of Education, et al.

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Nancy Tray, et al. v. Florida State Board of Education, et al.

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Holocaust Education: A Mixed Bag in U.S. Schools

Holocaust Education: A Mixed Bag in U.S. Schools

Challenging authenticity and exploring efficacy

Florida: A case study

The results of insincere Holocaust education

Johnson v. Grants Pass

Date Filed

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Johnson v. Grants Pass

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Wood, et al. v. Florida Department of Education, et al.

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Wood, et al. v. Florida Department of Education, et al.

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The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., et. al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et. al.

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The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., et. al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et. al.

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Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community Inc. v. School Board of Orange County, Fla.

Florida Immigration Coalition Inc., et al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et al.

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Florida Immigration Coalition Inc., et al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et al.

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Brooks v. Woods, et. al.

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Brooks v. Woods, et. al.

Cousins et al. v. The School Board of Orange County et al.

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Cousins et al. v. The School Board of Orange County et al.

Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. City of Jacksonville, et al.

Date Filed

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Co-Counsel

Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. City of Jacksonville, et al.

Case Number