News & Commentary

On Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m, the ACLU of Southern California will host its Women’s Rights Forum at the Hollywood United Methodist Church. The forum will feature a diverse panel of issue experts working to solve gender inequality. Speakers will include Patty Bellasalma, president of California NOW; Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU ULTCW; and Sandra Fluke, attorney and advocate. The panel will be moderated by Thalia Gonzalez, professor of politics at Occidental College.

Imagine bringing a date home for dinner. You put the laptop away and mute your phone. You prepare a gourmet home-cooked meal for two, queue up a selection of romantic songs and pick out a movie to watch after dinner. As the evening winds down, your heart races a bit as you go in for a kiss and wonder how your night will end.

When is a promise not a promise? That’s what Luciano Sandoval is asking after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) broke its pledge to stop arresting individuals at Kern County, California courthouses.

Growing up gay in the South wasn’t easy. But what kept me striving for my own rights and the rights of my community were stories about countless civil rights leaders who faced their own seemingly insurmountable struggles.

In 2011, the ACLU of Southern California stood in solidarity, with millions of people across the country in demanding clemency for Troy Davis. But despite our appeal, on September 21, 2011, Troy was executed.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., urged states to repeal laws that prohibit people who were formerly incarcerated from voting, a move that would restore the right to vote to millions.

Hollywood’s annual awards season culminates with the Academy Awards, a night honoring the best films and performances of the year. This year, all five directors nominated for the Best Director award are men.

Like many awkward teenagers in the mid-90s, I was obsessed with the television drama My So-Called Life. But while some peers dyed their hair red and wore their fathers’ flannels and others picked up sheet music to learn “Blister in the Sun” and “I Wanna Be Sedated” on their violins and oboes—or whatever they played in orchestra, I simply yearned for Angela’s privacy.