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You have the right to know your rights. Join us for a spirited evening of democracy in action as we hear from civil liberties experts, learn about the Bill of Rights, access library resources, and enjoy live entertainment and libations while engaging with our community. In this new collaboration with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, each ALOUD event will spotlight a different theme and special guests to inform, empower, and inspire the people of Los Angeles.

Rights Night: 14th Amendment

by ALOUD a program of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles

Nina Shaw in conversation with Melissa Goodman

Special performance by Alyesha Wise

What does it mean to be a U.S. citizen? Following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was adopted to provide all citizens rights and equal protection under the Constitution of the United States. Over 150 years later, the 14th Amendment is one of today's most litigated parts of the Constitution.

Join us for a close look at the ongoing battle for equality with Nina Shaw, an esteemed entertainment lawyer and one of the founders of TIME'S UP, Hollywood's powerful response to the #MeToo revolution to fight systemic sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Joined by Melissa Goodman, the Director of Advocacy/Legal Director at the ACLU of Southern California, who has also worked with TIME'S UP, Shaw will discuss blazing new paths to empower diverse individuals across all races, classes, and communities. This celebration of inclusion will also feature a performance by spoken word poet Alyesha Wise.

Event Date

Saturday, June 22, 2019 - 6:30pm

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Agenda

5:30–6:30 p.m.

Courtyard Activities

6:30–7:30 p.m.

Program

7:30–8:30 p.m.

Reception

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Reserve tickets on Eventbrite

Venue

Mark Taper Auditorium – Central Library

Address

630 W 5th St.

Los Angeles, CA 90071

United States

Website

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Name

Nina Shaw

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Nina Shaw, among the founding organizers of TIME'S UP, is a founding partner in the entertainment law firm of Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano. A profile in the New York Times calls her the "Hollywood Power Behind Those Seeking a Voice."

Link

https://www.dsmtfl.com/team/nina-l-shaw/

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Name

Melissa Goodman

Supporting text

Melissa Goodman is director of advocacy/legal director at the ACLU of Southern California and heads the affiliate's advocacy department—across offices from Kern County to the Inland Empire.

Link

https://www.aclusocal.org/en/biographies/melissa-goodman

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Name

Alyesha Wise

Supporting text

Alyesha Wise is a poet, teaching artist, TEDx speaker, and author of "Carnival." She is a 2-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist and the co-founder of Spoken Literature Art Movement, which provides poetry education and programming for poets.

Link

https://www.mswisedecision.com/

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Saturday, June 22, 2019 - 6:30pm

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Read more about ACLU Files Sexual Harassment Charges on Behalf of McDonald's Workers

Pepper spray, formally known as aerosolized oleoresin capsicum or "OC spray," is so toxic and dangerous that it is classified and regulated under state law as a form of tear gas. It can cause not only intense pain, but also blistering of the skin, respiratory arrest, and even an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks; its psychological and emotional impacts are uncertain.

And yet, it is alarmingly overused in California's juvenile detention facilities against youth as young as 12 and those in psychiatric crises.

This ACLU Foundations of California report, the result of reviewing 10,465 documents, is the first to detail the use of these toxic chemical agents in state and county juvenile detention facilities. It finds that state and county officials used toxic chemical agents more than 5,000 times between January 2015 and March 2018 against children and youth in juvenile facilities in 25 counties and in state facilities overseen by the Division of Juvenile Justice.

The number of incidents for that time period for the state would likely be much higher, but 18 additional counties that allow pepper spray to be used in juvenile detention facilities failed to provide data on how often it was utilized.

Banning the use of the spray in juvenile facilities is not a new idea — 35 states and seven of California's counties have already done it.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department — which oversees one of the largest juvenile justice agencies in the world — is likely to join them soon. It has released a plan to implement a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ directive to ban the spray in its juvenile facilities by the end of the year.

It's time for the rest of California to follow suit. The report recommends:

A legislative, complete ban on the use of all chemical agents — including but not limited to tear gas weapons such as OC spray — against youths in the juvenile justice system in California.
If a statewide ban is not implemented immediately, counties and state agencies that continue to allow this form of use-of-force in juvenile facilities should be required to make information involving the chemical agents publicly available on their websites.

The ACLU of California furthermore calls for robust transparency on all uses of force in juvenile detention facilities.

Read the full report.

» See the documents we obtained in response to our California Public Records Act requests.

» See the letters we've sent to 22 counties regarding their failures to comply with our PRA requests.