FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Contact:
Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU of Arizona, at 602-773-6006 (office) or 602-301-3705 (cell) or ameetze@acluaz.org
PHOENIX – As part of this week’s Centennial events, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona is launching Speak The Truth, a video oral history project that showcases engaging personal narratives from former clients, community leaders and advocates who have been working to stand up for individual rights and personal liberties throughout the ACLU’s 53-year history in Arizona.
“The true legacy of the ACLU of Arizona is in the stories of our supporters and clients who come from a range of occupations – they are business people, educators, journalists, students and lawyers,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which was founded in 1959. “They refused to cave in to fear and stood up against school boards, jail officials, county sheriffs and other government officials in positions of power to fight for the core American values of freedom and fairness.”
The two-minute personal narratives showcased as part of the oral history project feature 10 video interviews with current board members, ACLU of Arizona founders and former clients, including Eman Mabrouk and Savana Redding who reflect on the personal impact of their cases, safeguarding religious freedom and students’ rights, respectively. Videos also feature interviews with former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Stanley Feldman and Tucson Unified School District Director of Student Equity Augustine Romero, who speaks about the impact of the Mexican American Studies Program in raising student achievement and the importance of fighting against discrimination and stereotyping of Latinos.
To watch the videos, visit: http://www.acluaz.org/oralhistoryproject.
The mission of the ACLU of Arizona is to protect the civil liberties contained in the state and federal constitutions through litigation, legislative advocacy and public education. The ACLU is funded primarily through private donations and offers its services at no cost to the public. The ACLU does not accept any government funds. The ACLU of Arizona is an affiliate of the national ACLU, which boasts a membership of 550,000 with approximately 8,000 members and supporters in Arizona.
For more on ACLU’s accomplishments over the past five decades, visit: http://www.acluaz.org/about-us/accomplishments.