On an average year, September 15th kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month with many celebratory festivals which include food, dances, and an overall sharing of our history and culture from Latin America and Spain. This year is different—this year we celebrate our culture through Zoom/Facetime calls to family, cooking up some of our incredibly delicious and savory dishes, listening to and watching Spanish language music and television, and attending socially-distanced get-togethers. And most importantly, we are caring for or mourning many of our family members and neighbors because just like the rest of the country, in Nebraska, Hispanics are one of the race/ethnicities hit the hardest by COVID-19.

In fact, according to the COVID-19 Tracking Project, in no other state are Hispanics more overrepresented among those dying of COVID-19 than in Nebraska. Meaning Hispanics in Nebraska are more likely to die from COVID-19 than in any other state in the country even when we only represent 11% of the population in the state, we represent an underestimate of 60% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases. I say underestimate because at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nebraska, non-English speaking Hispanics in our state lacked language accessibility to testing and educational resources to protect themselves and their family. Moreover, some immigrant Hispanics in Nebraska continue to refuse to get tested for COVID-19 for fear of being referred to the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”) or because they believe they are ineligible or are in fact ineligible for testing and treatment.

Much of this can be changed and the ACLU of Nebraska has been and will continue to advocate for Hispanics during these trying times in every aspect of our work. Here are ways you can honor Hispanic Heritage Month by supporting Hispanics in Nebraska:

Support our meatpacking plant workers.

Though one out of every four confirmed COVID-19 cases in our state is tied to meatpacking plants, local, state and federal officials charged with ensuring the safety of workers have decided against exercising any regulatory or enforcement powers to make conditions safer. We The People must hold these companies, and the public officials who have failed to regulate them, accountable.

• Sign our petition to send a clear message that essential workers deserve essential protections. More than 1,900 Nebraskans have added their names.  
• Tell Gov. Ricketts to stop blaming workers and to start standing up to companies by mandating increased protections. Contact information is available online.
• Keep this in the news and keep the pressure up. Write into your local newspaper to share what you think about the current situation and what should be done. We've put together helpful tips for writing a letter to the editor.

Continue the call for legislators to prioritize racial justice.

Along with nineteen other organizations, the ACLU called for the Nebraska Legislature to reconvene for a special session dedicated to police reform and racial justice. Unfortunately, not enough senators signed on to convene the special session, but we aren’t giving up! We must continue to advocate for Nebraskans of color because racial justice is not a partisan or political issue. A safer, freer, fairer, and healthier Nebraska benefits all Nebraskans. Contact your senators to prioritize racial justice and police accountability in January.

• Find your senator

End 287(g).

The ACLU of Nebraska with our local Dakota County community partner, Unity in Action, are leading civil rights and law enforcement groups to oppose the 287(g) agreement between the Dakota County Sheriff and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These agreements give the local sheriff the authority to enforce federal immigration law outside of their expertise as ICE agents. The sheriff’s officers will be able to commence immigration investigations or choose to begin deportation proceedings for individuals they detain—regardless of the charge. These agreements only lead to increased racial profiling, increased taxes, and diminished public safety. To help stop the Dakota County 287(g) agreement, email Dakota County Sheriff Chris Kleinberg at ckleinberg@dakotacosheriff.com.

Support the Black Lives Matter movement.

We Hispanics come in all skin colors and many of us are Black Hispanics. Therefore, any support you lend to the Black Lives Matter movement also supports Hispanics. The ACLU of Nebraska recently launched a Freedom Fund in support of people calling for racial justice and liberation and are funding direct legal support to Nebraskans who became system-involved during recent protests. Funds are available on a first come, first served basis. For more information on how to request or lend support: https://www.aclunebraska.org/en/freedom-fund

Increasing Hispanic voter turnout.

In 2016, Hispanic Nebraskans had a low voter turnout and were not exercising their right to vote as much as non-Hispanics. In order to achieve equitable policies, laws, and representation, we must vote. Voting is both a fundamental right and a civic duty. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest. Your vote matters because you get to vote for candidates who make decisions about your lives, including criminal justice policy, education policy, economic development and important ballot initiatives that often disproportionately impact people of color.

To be eligible to vote in Nebraska:

• Be a U.S. Citizen;
• Live in Nebraska;
• Be 18 years old on or before November 3, 2020;
• Have not have been convicted of treason;
• Have not been convicted of a felony, or if you were convicted of a felony then at least two years must have passed since the completion of your sentence including any parole or probation term; and (see Current and Formerly Incarcerated Nebraskans Voting Rights)
• Have not been found mentally incompetent.

If you are eligible to vote, register to vote here: https://www.nebraska.gov/apps-sos-voter-registration/

Complete the Census.

Probably the easiest and most important way to help Hispanic Nebraskans is ensuring we are counted in the Census. The census is a fundamental pillar of our democracy and our constitutional structure, determining both members of Congress and Electoral College votes for each state. The data also informs our nation’s most important decisions, including how the federal government spends $900 billion on critical services like building roads, funding health care programs, and supporting education. Remember, there will not be a question on citizenship status on the Census and the information collected on the form will not be shared with ICE. The ACLU will be continuously monitoring the use of such data.

Support Hispanic-led Organizations.

Follow them on social media, center and lift them up at every opportunity, volunteer your talents to advance their mission, and donate.

• El Centro de las Americas
• El Museo Latino
• Empowering Families: Empoderando Familias
• Grand Island Latino Network
• Heartland Workers Center
• Latino Center of the Midlands
• Metro Young Latino Professionals Association (MYLPA)
• Nebraska Latino-American Commission
• Solidarity for Packing Plant Workers
• The Trinidad Center
• Unity in Action

Finally, as a proud Hispanic Nebraskan woman, daughter of immigrants and retired meatpacking plant workers, I cannot thank you enough for any and all actions in support of our Hispanic Nebraskans.

Gracias,
Rose Godinez

Along with Academy of Equity, Black and Pink, Black Leaders Movement, Change Now, Change of Omaha, Educators for Black Lives, I Be Black Girl, the Lincoln Branch of the NAACP, and the UNL Black Student Union, the ACLU of Nebraska issued an Aug. 17 public call for the Nebraska Legislature to reconvene for a special session dedicated to police reform and racial justice. More organizations have signed on since. 

One week later, 11 state senators took a historic step by initiating a formal call for a special session. Senators had until Friday, Sept. 4 to tell Secretary of State Bob Evnen they wanted to reconvene. We needed 33 to sign on to make it happen, but unforunately Nebraska's state senators did not heed the call to address racial justice and police reform.

Racial justice is not a partisan or policial issue. A safer, freer, fairer, and healthier Nebraska benefits all Nebraskans. 

Why a Special Session?

Protestors across the state have made their expectations clear. So did the nearly 100 people who testified at Judiciary Committee hearings. Racial justice can't wait.

State senators could have addressed this urgent need when they returned to session in late July and early August. While some progress was made, it is not enough. A special session was and still is necessary. 

We need legislators and policymakers to look thoughtfully at our state laws and to commit to action that will bring accountability, transparency and justice while addressing the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nebraskans of color. A special session would allow them to do just that.

Special Session 101

Unlike a regular session, a special session calls senators to the Capitol to focus on a specific topic. Special sessions aren’t uncommon. For example, in 2011, the Nebraska Legislature called a special session to enact legislation for the Keystone Pipeline and other related issues about eminent domain and landowner liability. In 2008, they had a special session to correct the scope of the safe-haven immunity law, which had already passed a few months prior in the regular session. The bottom line is that special sessions aren’t uncommon. Other states have called special sessions related to racial justice this summer and we should expect nothing less from our state senators.

Watch our government liaison explain special sessions:

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The Process

We cleared key hurdles. Eleven senators initiated the call and Secretary of State Evnen accepted their petition as valid. He then mailed material to the remaining senators with a deadline of joining the call by 5 P.M. on Friday, Sept. 4.

If 33 members of the Nebraska Legislature agreed, they would have reconvened to enact legislation on policing, COVID-19 workplace protections, workplace discrimination, unemployment and evictions. While 33 senators didn't sign on, these senators cosigned the letter: Senators Cavanaugh, Chambers, Matt Hansen, Howard, Hunt, Kolowski, McCollister, Morfeld, Pansing Brooks, Vargas and Wayne.

Terms of Reconvening

Now more than ever is it time for an actual commitment and action to address the harm of systemic and overt anti-Blackness and racism in our communities. The letter lists the following specific focus areas for reconvening:

1. Criminal law and criminal procedure relating to police power, police practices, and the scope and authority of peace officers to detain, arrest, and use force against civilians;
2. To adopt statutory modifications to criminal law and criminal procedure relating to creation or modifications of crimes or offenses or the penalties for such any such crimes or offenses to ensure individuals and civilians are protected from discrimination based on race or traits or features historically associated with race;
3. To adopt statutory modifications to provide for civilian oversight over police agencies of the various political subdivisions and the state;
4. To adopt statutory modifications to employment law to ensure that employees and individuals are provided with protection from coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) at workplaces and that such protection is provided to all employees regardless of employees’ race or ethnicity;
5. To adopt statutory modifications to ensure that testing, personal protection, and related services for COVID-19 are provided to all employees and individuals in a manner that avoids or prevents disparate treatment to employees and individuals based on their race or ethnicity;
6. To adopt statutory modifications to employment law to ensure that those individuals who become unemployed due to COVID-19 receive adequate unemployment compensation as a disparate number of such individuals are people of color;
7. To adopt statutory modifications to employment law and anti-discrimination law to ensure that employees and applicants are protected from discrimination based on race or traits or features historically associated with race;
8. To adopt statutory modifications to housing and landlord-tenant law to minimize the racial disparity against those who are subject to evictions and homelessness;
9. To reduce or eliminate appropriations or re-appropriations approved by the 106th Legislature to appropriate funds necessary to implement any of the statutory modification made as described herein this Proclamation;
10. To appropriate funds for the necessary expenses of the extraordinary session herein called.

Supporting Organizations

• Academy of Equity
• Black and Pink
• Black Clergy of Lincoln
• Black Leaders Movement
• Change Now
• Change of Omaha
• Educators for Black Lives
• Heartland Workers Center
• I Be Black Girl
• Immigrant Legal Center
• Indian Center
• NAACP Lincoln Branch
• Nebraska Appleseed
• Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
• Solidarity with Packing Plant Workers
• UNL Black Student Union
• Voices for Children
• Women's Fund of Omaha
• YWCA of Lincoln

What Partners are Saying

“As our work with community members grows and deepens, we feel obligated to reinforce the truth that the unicameral must answer the call of its constituents with a special session dedicated to the issues that truly matter. If we raise the floor, elevating the lived experiences of vulnerable communities, we increase the participation of all Nebraskans. We increase the common good. That’s the obligation of every senator in this body. We are all counting on you.”
- Ja Keen Fox, Academy of Equity

"Our communities deserve for the Nebraska legislature to keep our health and safety at the forefront of all that they do. Communities across Nebraska, specifically Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color and LGBTQIA2S+ communities, are impacted daily by the harm that is inflicted by law enforcement. In order for the people who are most impacted by oppressive systems to have access to health and safety, our state must prioritize defunding the police and seeking true alternatives to policing, including investing in community care and resources."
- Dominique Morgan, Black and Pink

"The Legislature has failed to address the most important issues facing citizens this session. Black Leaders Movement stands with the ACLU in demanding a special legislative session to address police reform in our state."
- Paska Juma, Black Leaders Movement

“The summer may be ending, but this movement is not. The fight for justice and equality for Black lives and other POC is still in hot pursuit. A special session would allow us to continue the legislative aspect of this movement and, hopefully, get bills passed that can counter the oppressive nature of the systems and policies we have in place. Quite frankly, it would be a further injustice to not go forward with a special session when there are so many bills and proposals that need to be addressed to combat the systemic oppression minority communities are facing. The time for change is now, and it absolutely cannot be pushed aside or delayed.”
- Kiara Williams, Change Now

"Legislation must evolve with the concerns and demands of its constituents. Legislators have the power to make this happen. Calling for a special session is a call for both accountability and equity. As calls to action have echoed throughout the state of Nebraska since May, our senators must prioritize antiracism now more than ever."
- Charita Dailey, Change of Omaha

"A refusal to intentionally prioritize antiracist policies is a choice to ignore the poison of racism in our community.  Our students are just one voice of many demanding action and it is time for our elected officials to listen: we can no longer be silent about the ways racism infiltrates our community."
- Educators for Black Lives

"Nebraska senators have important decisions and legislation to consider so holding a special session is imperative. Now is the time to decide who we want to be as leaders, policymakers and a state. We have to prioritize humanity and the issues that we have not resolved cannot wait."
- Ashlei Spivey, I Be Black Girl

"Racial justice must prevail for all Nebraskans".
- Dewayne Mays, President Lincoln Branch NAACP

"As legislators for the State of Nebraska you all have a moral obligation, now more than ever, to actively pass, create, and initiate policy work that is meant to serve your communities of colour. We have protested, pleaded, and met with many of you. Now is the time to act."
- Batool Ibrahim, UNL Black Student Union

The ACLU of Nebraska is proud to support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 30th Anniversary. On July 26th we celebrate this important civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Celebrate with us by visiting www.adaanniversary.org/ or learn more about the ADA by reading the following essays: 

• Thirty for Thirtieth ADA Anniversary
• Happy Birthday ADA

Accessibility of government information and resources is pertinent to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Government accessibility is a broad spectrum that touches many lives: people with disabilities, homeless and impoverished people, and immigrants, refugees, and asylees. Having ways to ensure that varying populations of people have access to government-issued information, especially amidst a global pandemic, is not only crucial for their health and safety but important to ensuring a healthy democracy. 

Local Nebraska governmental entities are working to ensure the accessibility of government proceedings and information. Some are even exceeding the standard to ensure their communities are continuously involved with political processes and updated on the spread of COVID-19. We at the ACLU of Nebraska wanted to acknowledge those who are working to keep all Nebraskans informed. 

While watching announcements made by Gov. Pete Ricketts or mayors across the state, most people will see someone standing right alongside them to provide translations of the information into American Sign Language (ASL). NET Nebraska provides closed captioning for their livestream videos of the Nebraska Legislature and the governor's press conferences. LNKTV, which broadcasts Lincoln city government proceedings and announcements, is actively in the works of adding a live closed captioning system. The broadcasts from LNKTV are currently re-aired on LNKTV Youtube Channel with added closed captioning. City and county governments need to continue to provide these kinds of accommodations to ensure that people who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to obtain important information. 

The United States has no official language; however, all government documents are issued in English, making them inaccessible to those who don’t speak English or are perhaps just learning the language. While the state and regional health departments have links to CDC-translated information about COVID-19, cities like Lincoln are making sure that broadcasts from the mayor and city council are being translated into multiple languages such as Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish, Chinese, Kurmanji and Karen. These translations can once again be found on the LNKTV Youtube Channel. 

Participating in public commentary on issues is a key part of our civic democracy and for many the ability to do so has been limited thanks to COVID-19. The Lincoln City Council has taken the step to ensure that those who are restricted with being in social settings due to their safety can participate in public comment at meetings via Zoom call-in. This measure is only temporary and requires signing up to comment with the city clerk, but this action enabled 5 hours of public commenting to happen at one of the first meetings to include this option.

Keeping government information accessible for the general public is key to ensuring that our communities stay informed and civically engaged. Keep checking back for more updates about how local governments are being accessible as this pandemic continues. Want to recognize your local government offices for going above and beyond to be accessible? Contact mlee@aclunebraska.org.