The state of Florida has a shameful history of discrimination and bias against racial minorities. Though great strides have been made for equality during and since the Civil Rights Movement, racial minorities still face challenges and discrimination in our state. The voting power of racial minorities have been diluted by such devices as gerrymandering, and Florida’s voting ban against people with prior felony convictions has robbed hundreds of thousands of minorities of their right to vote. Furthermore, anti-immigrant laws have stripped away basic civil rights for many of the state’s ethnic minorities.
Because so many of Florida’s voting problems, particularly those that became apparent during and since the 2000 Presidential election, fell most heavily on African Americans and language minority communities, much of the ACLU of Florida work is directed toward correcting voting irregularities that have a disproportionate impact on those groups. The ACLU of Florida also actively supports reforms such as the creation of effective civilian review boards for law enforcement that would bring changes in police policies and practices.
