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Coventry High School leaders forced a science teacher to remove two wall hangings deemed political, including a Black Lives Matter sign, from her classroom before the start of the school year.

Coventry Local Schools Superintendent George Fisk said he and the high school principal told the teacher the signs needed to come down because they were political and did not reflect all sides of an issue.

Fisk said he could not describe in detail the second wall hanging, which was a kind of tapestry with several symbols or expressions he deemed political.

The leaders discovered the signs in the teacher's classroom during a walk-through of the building with three school board members on Aug. 10. Fisk said no students were present and the board members were not involved in the conversation to remove the signs. While the removal of the signs was not discussed at a board meeting Wednesday, Board President Chris Davis noted he and board Vice President Josh Hostetler were not present for the walk-through.

Fisk said the signs were not appropriate for a science classroom because teachers have to remain neutral on politics. Any political signage or discussion must show both sides, he said.

But the principal, the superintendent and teacher failed to identify what the "other side" of "Black Lives Matter" would be, Fisk said.

"We all struggled with that," Fisk said in an interview Wednesday night. "Obviously the opposite side of Black Lives Matter would be something hateful."

Still, he said, the principal was within his rights as the building leader to tell the teacher to take down the signs.

The Beacon Journal has not confirmed the identity of the teacher and has not spoken with her. Fisk said she took down the signs and was not disciplined.

Dozens of teachers around the country have been asked to take down Black Lives Matter signs or LGBTQ Pride flags in their classrooms over the last several years, according to a report from Education Week, while other schools have allowed them, furthering the debate about their nature as either political symbols or gestures of support for students and acknowledgments of the realities of their lives.

The debate is happening along with a broader conversation in Ohio about the role of schools in providing students with a full understanding of history and its ramifications today, specifically as that history pertains to race, or whether that crosses the line into politics or lessons that should be learned at home. Conservative critics have labeled many attempts at teaching history or providing diverse literature as examples of school districts of "indoctrinating" students with liberal beliefs around racial and LGBTQ issues.

Some districts, like Akron Public Schools, have pushed ahead full force with building a curriculum around diversity, equity and inclusion with little consideration of possible political blowback, while still sticking to the state standards and expecting teachers not to push any political agenda. Some districts have tried to walk a line of neutrality, while others have passed resolutions banning anti-racist teachings.

Political discussions are welcome, Fisk said, in a government or history class, but still, teachers have to be neutral and show all sides of an issue.

"I agree that we need to remain neutral on political issues," Fisk said, noting the school's job was to "educate" and not "alienate" students.

He said he would hope all the district's 1,600 student district know they are loved and thought of as whole people without the need to hang a sign.

"I think we do a great job of honoring all of our students," he said. The school district is made up of about 87% white students.

When asked whether a student would be allowed to wear a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, Fisk said "it would depend on the disruption it made to the building."

Cynthia Peeples, the founding director of Honesty For Ohio Education, said focusing on the reaction of others to a message instead of the issues raised by a message itself is "prioritizing the feelings of the white majority."

Deeming a Black Lives Matter sign "political" does the same, she said.

"We see it as a human statement, not as a political statement," Peeples said.

Schools, she said, should be a place where people with differences can meet each other and talk about those differences. To believe schools should be insulated from that is to speak from a point of privilege, she said. Black students, she noted, "dont have the privilege of separating themselves from the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We feel that educators, staff and students should be able to fully express their support and belief in the dignity and humanity and civil rights of all cultures and communities and populations," Peeples said. "And thats non-negotiable."

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

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Coventry High School teacher forced to remove Black Lives Matter sign from classroom - Akron Beacon Journal

[co-author: Taylor Washington ]*

Q: Have any courts addressed a companys ability to regulate the type of masks that employees wear at work?

A: At the height of the pandemic and after the death of George Floyd in June 2020, many employers grappled with whether they could and should regulate the type of face masks worn in the workplace. The appellate courts for the First and Third circuits recently addressed this issue, reaching different conclusions. The First Circuit ruled that an employer is permitted to discipline employees for wearing Black Lives Matter (BLM) face masks in the workplace in violation of its dress code. In a Third Circuit decision, the court enjoined the employer from enforcing a dress code policy, banning employees from wearing BLM face coverings. The differences in outcome can be attributed mainly to the fact that the employer in the First Circuit case was a private employer, and the employer in the Third Circuit case was a public employer.

First Circuit Decision

Employees sued a private supermarket, claiming that the company discriminated against them under Title VII when it disciplined employees, both Black and white, for wearing BLM face masks.

The supermarkets dress code policy prohibits employees from wearing clothing that advertises noncompany-related messages, slogans, and logos. Before the pandemic, the policy largely was unenforced. That is, many employees had previously worn clothing that bore the logos of sports teams and other political/social messages without being disciplined. After the death of George Floyd in June 2020, some employees wore BLM masks at work as a part of a larger movement to demand better treatment of Black employees.

It was only after employees began wearing face masks with BLM messages that the supermarket began to enforce the dress policy prohibiting noncompany-related messages on clothing, disciplining workers who refused to remove their masks. Those employees sued, claiming the markets enforcement of its dress code policy violated Title VIIs prohibition against race discrimination and retaliation.

The district court ruled that the employees failed to state a Title VII discrimination claim because the dress code was applied consistently regardless of an employees race. Likewise, the court held that the plaintiffs did not state a claim for retaliation because, while they claimed to wear the BLM face masks to support Black employees and racism in general, they could not point to an unlawful employment practice of the supermarket under Title VII.

The First Circuit affirmed the district court opinion on somewhat different grounds. According to the appellate court, the fact that both Black and non-Black employees were disciplined for wearing BLM masks did not undercut the discrimination claim. As the court stated: If an employer discriminates both against Black employees based on their race and non-Black employees based on their status as non-Black people associating with Black people, that employer doubles rather than eliminates Title VII liability. The court concluded, however, that the supermarket had an obvious alternative explanation for prohibiting the masks other than the plaintiffs allegation that it was targeting employees because of their race the supermarket wanted to prohibit the mass display of a controversial message in its stores by its employees. The court also found that the plaintiffs retaliation claim failed because there was no causation between the supermarket continuing to enforce its dress code policy and the employees wearing of masks to protest that discipline.

Interestingly, the court noted that because the supermarket was a private employer, the employees could not assert a claim based on the First Amendment.

Third Circuit Decision

Analyzing a public employers policy on First Amendment grounds, the Third Circuit recently reached a different result. In that case, employees of a public transportation company alleged that their employer violated their First Amendment rights by implementing a dress code that restricted employees from wearing BLM masks. In July 2020, the company expanded its ban on employees wearing political/social protest buttons to include face masks. Notably, the political/social protest button policy had not been enforced previously when employees wore buttons supporting local and national political campaigns. In September 2020, the company revised the dress code policy further to detail what masks were proper to wear at work. The policy prohibited employees from wearing masks with any visible logos (besides the company or union logo), images, texts, etc.

Both the company and the employees union moved for a preliminary injunction. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the company from enforcing its mask ban, and the company appealed. The Third Circuit affirmed the district court opinion, finding that the transportation company was unlikely to succeed on the merits, and the union was likely to succeed on the merits.

First, the court noted that speech by government employees receives less protection than public speech. To be protected, the employees must speak as citizens and not as part of their official duties, and they must speak on matters of public concern. The court found that these two threshold requirements had been met here. The court next looked to whether the employer could show that the companys interest in promoting the efficiency in the public services it performs was outweighed by the employees interest as citizens in commenting on matters of public concern. The court found that the companys argument failed because the masks bore messages relating to matters of public concern on which the employees had a strong interest in commenting, while the company could demonstrate only a minimal risk that the employees masks would create a workplace disruption. Of importance to the court was the fact that the company had not enforced its prior ban on buttons, stating social and political causes and the employees conduct in wearing such buttons did not disrupt operations.

Key Takeaways

For private employers that wish to limit employee messaging on attire at work, it is important for companies to draft policies that do not differentiate between different types of messaging and to enforce those policies equally regardless of race or any other protected category. Public employers must give consideration to First Amendment free speech concerns and ensure that their dress codes are narrowly tailored to real harm.

* a 2022 summer associate with Troutman Pepper, is a co-author of this blog post. Taylor is not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction.

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BLM Messaging on Face Masks in the Workplace - JD Supra

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After the nation watched a Minneapolis police officer murder George Floyd two summers ago, Gov. Greg Abbott promised Floyd's Houston relatives that his death would not be in vain and signaled an openness to pursuing police reforms.

But even as millions of Americans protested excessive force, systemic racism and law enforcements treatment of people of color, Abbott quickly pivoted to defending police funding while remaining relatively quiet on overhauling public safety practices. Earlier this month, Abbott appointed an Austin police officer indicted for excessive force during the 2020 protests to the state agency that regulates law enforcement which brought swift criticism for the message it sent to Black Texans.

Not that Chas Moore, an Austin activist who helped organize some of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, was surprised by the actions of the governor, who is white. After all, Texas is the birthplace of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people. And it is frequently a political harbinger in a country with a long history of racism, discrimination and oppression.

Theres always been an attack on our very existence, Moore said. Were not new to this, were true to this its sad to say that were true to daily struggles of just existing as Black people.

Floyds death and the massive demonstrations that followed it were part of a seemingly endless onslaught of upheaval, crises and emergencies that have trickled into every aspect of daily life from the economy and health care to public safety and education for the past two years. For Black people, deaths, illness, job loss and economic insecurity wrought by the coronavirus pandemic have compounded those traumas.

And in Texas, those seismic forces have been accompanied by a Republican-controlled state government that has limited how Americas history of racism is taught in public schools, restricted voting options heavily used by people of color and protected the GOPs grip on power with new political maps that diminish the power of voters of color who accounted for 95% of the states population boom between the last two censuses.

What were dealing with now in Texas is not new, said Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, a history professor at Texas Southern University. Its still about impacting the strength of the Black vote.

Texas is home to more Black Americans than any other state more than 3.8 million, about 13% of the states population. The state was founded by white men who were determined to expand slavery westward the conflict that sparked the Civil War. Today, white men are overrepresented in the Legislature. At the start of the 2021 regular legislative session, there were 17 Black lawmakers in the 150-member Texas House 16 Democrats and one Republican. Only two Black senators, both Democrats, serve in the 31-member Texas Senate. A few Black Texans have held statewide office, but none have made it to the senior-most executive and legislative positions.

Black Texans experiences of the past two years and how theyre looking ahead to the November midterm elections and next years legislative session are as varied as the individuals themselves. Some Black Republicans, for instance, dont think that everything should be viewed through a lens of race. Robin Armstrong, who recently made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for a Texas Senate district that includes Galveston, said that people use the offense of racism to control Black Texans.

If we see everything through that, then were always going to have an excuse to fail, Armstrong said.

But nearly a dozen Black Texans who talked to The Texas Tribune see racism in state leaders actions. Some have wondered if remaining in the state makes sense for them. Others are determined to stay and advocate for a more equal and just government.

If we all run, whos going to be here to change some of the policies, change some of the laws and change some of the minds of people that are in control and power so that we are able to make it a better place? said Naomi Green, a transgender woman who volunteers with multiple LGBTQ advocacy organizations in North Texas. Whos gonna be here to do that?

Some turn to human connections made in their own daily lives as a way to focus on the joys in the world, rather than completely fixate on the hardships. Some Black Texans draw strength from their ancestors resilience, while others point out that the constant fighting for survival is utterly exhausting.

Weve been through Jim Crow, weve been through the war on drugs, weve been through the 90s crime bill, Moore said. Weve been through redlining with banks, weve been through work discrimination. Its just kind of what it is. Weve always, in that same breath, been organizing and fighting for humanity and fighting for our rightful place in society as Americans.

The history of Black people in Texas is a story of resilience.

Enslaved people in Texas were proclaimed free on June 19, 1865 more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The Juneteenth commemoration has been a Texas state holiday since 1980 and was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.

In a state where the scars of Jim Crow segregation still linger, Black students today find themselves turning up at weekend brunch parties, Greek Life events and Black History Month observances on campuses that refused to entertain their applications a few decades ago. Many excel at institutions established by Black pioneers. Thousands have voted for Black legislators in a state where thousands used to gather for Black lynchings.

Faith Anderson grew up in East Austin in the 1990s. Local culture was everything to Anderson. They attended several Black-owned charter schools that accommodated students various learning styles. There was East Side Story, an afterschool program started by neighborhood legend Larry Jackson. Kids would go to youth dances. Sliding to Highland Mall on Saturdays was still the move.

Today, the 29-year-old is a director, actor, pilates coach and trauma-informed yoga teacher. They have leaned heavily into arts and community building as a way to preserve their own mental health and bring joy to others.

I do think we are the people who are reflecting and giving fun and a breath of air to this painful society, they said.

But for some Black Texans, resilience takes a toll and some wonder what their lived experiences would be like if they didnt always have to put so much emotional labor into persistently fighting for equality.

One 32-year-old Black Texan, whose name is X, has worked in service of Black communities for most of their adult life. They helped during recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the cataclysmic Louisiana hurricane that killed more than 1,800 mostly Black people and displaced millions of others. Nearly 20 years later, they are still busy overseeing House of Rebirth, a Dallas organization advocating for Black trans women. They feel a constant tension between fighting for peoples rights and equality and a sense that its inherently unequal to have to do so.

At the end of the day, if I could have just been born free I cant imagine that I would be doing this, X said.

Which Anderson gets. Thats a major reason why they stepped back from grassroots activism and now focuses largely on artistic endeavors meant to replenish peoples souls.

I do think some of us are better suited in different places, Anderson said.

Kennedy McGregor is entering her junior year at the University of North Texas in Denton as president of the schools Progressive Black Student Organization. She has spent some of the summer trying to figure out the organizations identity finding a sweet spot between grassroots activism and serving as a safe space for Black students. The 20-year-old from Round Rock is also trying to keep her head in current events as much as possible to stay informed.

The leadership opportunity feels surreal considering she started college during the fall 2020 semester when classes operated in a hybrid format because of the coronavirus and when much of the country stood off balance from Floyds murder. Months before McGregor arrived on campus, Darius Tarver, a 23-year-old Black student, was shot and killed by Denton police. Tarvers family has filed a lawsuit seeking damages, asserting that police used excessive force.

First, it kind of made me want to withdraw from things a little bit more because everything that was happening in 2020, with Black Lives Matter and then even nowadays where theres grocery store shootings, church shootings, school shootings, McGregor said, it just made me want to withdraw because Im like, am I even gonna be safe out here? Like, is there even a point of me doing all this and changing all this?

But when McGregor joined the organization during her freshman year, she immediately identified with members raw and real vibe. Students were not consumed with trying to act overly flashy or classy. They prioritized getting to know one another through stimulating conversations, group meetings and social events.

That sense of grounding and belonging was exactly what she unsuccessfully sought in her predominantly white high school in an Austin suburb. For years, she tried to fit in and gain her white friends acceptance. Then came a devastating realization: They didnt all respect her.

In the 11th grade, as she sat with some of her schoolmates in the local high school library, a white male friend unexpectedly walked up with a handful of students to harass her. Together the white students started shouting the N-word at the dark-skinned Black girl. Over and over and over. Even though there was no physical attack, she still felt like shed been verbally jumped.

It just scared the mess out of me, she said. It was just a real trigger for a while just to even hear their names or see them at school. So it was something I really struggled with.

McGregors high school experience in part moved her to join the primarily Black student organization at UNT. The recent string of events has contributed to her longing to work in the service of more people who look like her.

Approaching the fall semester, at another moment when many Black Texans dont feel that the state and country are working in their best interests, McGregor bears a heightened sense of responsibility to show up on campus ready to help those searching for guidance.

Im just trying to prepare myself and be as educated on whats going on as I can, McGregor said, so that way Im not biasing people, but Im giving them information through someone who is familiar to them and isnt trying to trick them.

Black trans women are fighting a battle on two fronts one related to their race and the other having to do with their gender identity.

Since Green, the Garland woman who volunteers for several advocacy groups, began working in Texas, the state GOP has sought to limit access to LGBTQ-themed books in schools and vowed to restrict or ban classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. Lawmakers have already passed a law that requires student-athletes to play on sports teams that correspond to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. And state leaders have pushed to open child abuse investigations of parents who allow their children access to gender-affirming care.

Republicans also passed a law limiting classroom discussions about race and slaverys role in the shaping of the country. Many Republican officials and parents criticized diversity and equity initiatives and social studies lessons about slavery and racism as attempts to make white students feel guilt or discomfort, something some school officials called a manufactured crisis.

A Black principal in North Texas not far from where Green resides resigned from his position after white officials and parents accused him of encouraging the disruption and destruction of our district after he shared the pain he felt over the deaths of three Black Americans: Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Its a constant attack, Green said. Youre waiting on the next thing to happen. Youre waiting on the next law, youre waiting on the next executive order. Youre waiting on the next proposed legislation, you know, youre waiting on all of these things to happen because its been happening. I have not let my guard down.

Greens gender transition started in 2006. Looking back, she said her transition wasnt as difficult as many peoples because she had already graduated from high school and college, started her career and had loving family members who accepted her.

The thing about it is, for most transgender women of color, specifically, thats not the case, she said. They lack most of those things. And so its much more difficult. And I didnt realize that until I got into this work.

Black trans women make up two-thirds of the victims of deadly violence in LGBTQ communities across the U.S. since 2013, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Advocates say that Texas officials rhetoric and legislation targeting marginalized communities only makes people of color and LGBTQ people more vulnerable.

Greens motivation is powered by her work helping disempowered and stigmatized people.

That is what keeps me going receiving calls and texts and emails and kind gestures from people letting me know that I helped them in some way or that they need my help or that I am making a difference and having an impact, she said.

Not that it always yields a positive result. Green recently got a call from a colleague asking her to help a trans woman sleeping outside of an office building. The woman had previously tried living in a shelter but left for unknown reasons. But when the colleague asked Green what she could do to help, she realized there were virtually no options available because of Dallas scarcity of resources for trans people.

Its deflating, Green said about not being able to help the woman. Its sympathy, its empathy, you know, its feeling helpless in those particular moments. But at the same time, its what drives me because its something that I know needs to change.

At 20 years old, Ryan Douglas finds herself frustrated with the ongoing political and social upheaval that so often impacts Black people much more negatively than their white counterparts. When she was younger, the Carrollton native had already decided there wasnt really a future for her in Texas.

Then the U.S. Supreme Court this summer overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, a procedure Black women use at the highest rates. It was a decision many saw as a devastating revocation of settled law and another attack on womens rights. And Texas has a trigger law in place to now ban virtually all abortions this month.

That sealed the deal for the North Carolina A&T State University junior. She doesnt want to live in Texas long term after she graduates partly because shes lost faith that women of color will gain equitable political ground.

I just dont see it changing anytime soon, she said. Its been this way for so long.

But Ashton Woods, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Houston, plans to stay in place. He most recently organized a demonstration outside of the Republican Party of Texas state convention. He understands that heading into the November midterm elections, there are fewer voting options than in 2020. His message to the thousands of people who showed up to protest was simple: Hold elected officials accountable and hold your neighbors accountable.

I love the whole idea of being able to vote at midnight; I did love the idea of being able to drive-thru. I liked all of that, Woods said.

For him, a piece of the antidote is still casting ballots, despite attempts that make it less convenient.

Weve always adapted, he said. So were just gonna have to do what we gotta do to get people to the polls.

Milton Harris, the 54-year-old executive director of 100 Black Men of San Antonio, a youth training and support organization, views officials actions as attempts to knock Black Texans off their destined paths. The Air Force veteran said that as long as the white caucasian male power structure lasts, Black people will face strife. His organization uses job training, teaching and mentorship to show young people how to overcome those hindrances.

Things are gonna be adversarial because its all about power and control, Harris said. But that should not and cannot prevent you from being everything you were put on this Earth to be and potentially, at some point, bringing about change.

Moore, of the Austin Justice Coalition, also said Black Texans need to focus on holding officials accountable. To incite meaningful change, he said, they will need to mobilize more outside of mass demonstrations. He says, something is going to have to give.

He also plans to stay in Texas even though he does sometimes entertain the idea of living somewhere else.

Yes, I fantasize about being at a Black-ass brunch in Harlem, but I cant do that and rest peacefully knowing that there are Black people that cant up and leave if they wanted to, and they dont want to leave because they have culture and heritage and history here, Moore said. I have to fight to make sure that Black people have the freedom and self will to call any place home, you know? So why not fight? This land is my land just as much as anybody elses.

Disclosure: Human Rights Campaign, Texas Southern University - Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs and University of North Texas have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The full program is now LIVE for the 2022 The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 22-24 in Austin. Explore the schedule of 100+ mind-expanding conversations coming to TribFest, including the inside track on the 2022 elections and the 2023 legislative session, the state of public and higher ed at this stage in the pandemic, why Texas suburbs are booming, why broadband access matters, the legacy of slavery, what really happened in Uvalde and so much more. See the program.

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More Black Americans live in Texas than any other state. Two years after George Floyd's murder, many reconsider their future here. - The Texas Tribune

Enrollment at HBCUs have increased since the rise of Black Lives Matter.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, "The percentage of Black students enrolled at HBCUs fell from 18 percent in 1976 to 8 percent in 2014 and then increased to 9 percent in 2020," according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia has seen an increase of over 60% in 2020 from the previous year, Data USA reports. Back in June, The New York Times reported Howard University saw an undergraduate enrollment of 21 percent.

NPR reports this increase could be credited to famous HBCU alums like Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a graduate of Howard University. The increase could also be linked to the Black Lives Matter movement. Founded in 2013, the killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked a national conversation of race in America and police brutality.

Paulina Webber, a senior at Dillard University, told the outlet, "We saw the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and then we saw students say, 'Hey, I want to go to a Black school. I want to be safe. I want to enjoy my time.'"

Walter Kimbrough, interim executive director of the Black Men's Research Institute at Morehouse College, told NPR HBCUs were critical to the development of a Black professional group.

"Your teachers, your doctors, your lawyers, your ministers they came out of that HBCU tradition," he said.

That said, HBCUs are still facing some financial challenges and these are schools impacted over policy and resource allocation questions over affirmative action policies. Analysis by the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA also found that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Black student enrollment in overall higher education.

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HBCU Enrollment Has Significantly Increased Since 2020 | News - BET

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has been ordered to disclose thousands of records of how the force procured and used facial recognition technology against Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters, after the New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of Amnesty International and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) on their joint Article 78 lawsuit.

New Yorkers demanding racial justice have a right to know the full details of NYPDs use of facial recognition technology during the BLM protests.

New Yorkers demanding racial justice have a right to know the full details of NYPDs use of facial recognition technology during the BLM protests. This ruling recognizes that the NYPD broke the law in withholding this information and is a significant step in holding the NYPD accountable for its use of discriminatory surveillance. It is a damning indictment of the NYPDs lack of transparency and accountability to the public that it took a lawsuit to achieve this, said Matt Mahmoudi, Amnesty Internationals Researcher on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights.

A ban on facial recognition for mass surveillance is a much-needed first step towards dismantling racist policing in New York. We all have a right to peacefully protest without fear of surveillance.

New York Supreme Court Judge, Justice Laurence Love, declared on Friday that the NYPDs withholding of documents and argument that the volume of information would impart a burden on the police department had been utterly refuted by Amnesty International.

Justice Love ordered the NYPD to share 2700 of documents and emails between March 1, 2020, to September 1, 2020, related to procurement and usage of facial recognition surveillance at the BLM protests, upon resubmission of Amnestys original FOIL request. This will enable Amnesty International and S.T.O.P. to thoroughly investigate the NYPDs procurement and usage of facial recognition technology throughout New York City.

It was wrong for the NYPD to surveil BLM protesters, and it was wrong to hide the evidence, said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn.

This department systematically hides the ways it watches us, but today the surveillance cover up just wont work. This ruling was crystal clear: the NYPD broke the law when it hid its records. When the police operate in the shadows and violate oversight laws, its not only a threat to public safety, but to democracy. I hope that Mayor Adams NYPD quickly complies with the order. New Yorkers deserve to know how political dissent is policed in this city. More importantly, these records can help us prevent more abuses in the future.

Background

In September 2020, Amnesty International USA filed a public records request under New Yorks Freedom of Informational Law (FOIL) to obtain NYPD records on its surveillance of the historic Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020. The request was rejected by the NYPD along with a subsequent appeal. In July 2021, Amnesty International and S.T.O.P, a privacy and civil rights group, announced the lawsuit against the NYPD for refusing to disclose its records.

Facial recognition exacerbates discriminatory policing and prevents the free and safe exercise of peaceful assembly, by acting as a tool of mass surveillance. Black and minority communities are at far greater risk of being targeted.

In February 2022, new research by Amnesty International and partners revealed New Yorkers living in areas at greater risk of stop-and-frisk by police are also more exposed to invasive facial recognition technology. The analysis, part of the global Ban The Scan campaign, showed how the NYPDs vast surveillance operation particularly affects people already targeted for stop-and-frisk across all five boroughs of New York City. In the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, the research also shows that the higher the proportion of non-white residents, the higher the concentration of facial recognition compatible CCTV cameras.

Amnesty International is calling for a total ban on the use, development, production, sales, and export of facial recognition technology for mass surveillance purposes by both states and the private sector.

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USA: NYPD ordered to hand over documents detailing surveillance of Black Lives Matter protests following lawsuit - Amnesty International