This blog was written by Anne the Vegan. You can find it originally posted here.

It’s 5:00 on a Friday afternoon. I’m wrapping up my documentation for the day, and I’m running later than anticipated. But before my frustration gets to me, I’m calmed by a welcome, yet unexpected sound. Over the loudspeaker of the nursing facility where I work, the cantor sings a song in Hebrew, welcoming the beginning of the Jewish sabbath. 

I loved my time working for Beth Sholom. And although I have moved on, my 10 years there, until the very end, were very happy. I have fond memories of befriending a building full of grandparents, many of them Jewish. My respect for the faith was solidified during my time there. I met several Holocaust survivors, with tattoos and all, and many others who fled Europe under less than ideal circumstances. I also learned first hand how instrumental the Thalhimer family, owners of the Richmond based department store of the same name, was in rescuing young Jews from certain genocide. 

One of my patients was a woman who was recruited by Thalhimers to work in their downtown Richmond store in the late 1930’s. She eventually became the head of the bridal department there. I had no idea until hearing her story that this family did that. I later read the book Finding Thalhimers, written by the granddaughter of their last president, which detailed this venture. It’s another interesting aspect of the Holocaust. 

Visiting the Holocaust museum is another unique experience in Richmond. There is a survivor’s wall, and I personally know about half of the people featured on that wall. Jay Ipson, the founder of the museum, gave us a personal tour the first time I went. There is an exhibit there that is modeled after his family’s own hiding place, which was a root cellar. At one time, you could crawl in and experience it for yourself. Shocking that an entire family fit in that tiny space and hid all day. The museum itself is so thoughtfully presented; its exhibits also include a cattle car and accounts of other cases of genocide throughout the world.

My curiosity about the Jewish faith began in elementary school. My best friend was Jewish. Her family invited me to several special dinners, including Passover and a few nights for Hanukkah. I appreciated the fact that my parents, both Southern Baptists, my father with a graduate degree in theology, did not object to my exposure to another faith. 

It was during 4th or 5th grade that I read The Diary of Anne Frank. It was not assigned reading for school, but the copy I read did come from the library. Reading this opened up my mind to the atrocities committed during WWII and led me to further explore this topic. It helped me understand why we fought that war. I felt proud of my country for being a part of the liberation of the concentration camps. I also learned for the first time that the US had its own internment camps for Japanese residents, even those who were US citizens, during the war. It was shocking and troubling to learn my country could do something so horrible. But I’m glad that I learned the truth. It gives me an example to use when people try to argue that America could never do what Nazi Germany did. 

Through the years, I’ve read other books about the Holocaust, too. Night by Elie Weisel was very moving. It’s a book I think everyone should read. I always pick up a copy if I see it at Goodwill, just so I can pass it on to a friend who hasn’t yet read it. And, most recently, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, based on a true story.

All of these readings helped me gain a better understanding of what Jewish people endured during the war. They helped me gain perspective and empathy. And although much of what I read was uncomfortable, I’m better for having gained that insight. These are also among the books that are on the table to be banned across our nation. 

I’ve enjoyed many books that have been or are in danger of being banned, as have my teenage daughters. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hate U Give, The Kite Runner, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings… the list is long. I didn’t have the opportunity to read books like these in school. I would have loved to have long discussions with my classmates and teachers about these. Instead, my curriculum included yawn worthy tales like The Old Man and the Sea and Wuthering Heights. (My apologies if you love these books!)

It’s astonishing that we learned about the rise of fascism, understood the pure evil of people who supported the most famous fascist of all, who is responsible for the Holocaust, and yet here we are, watching the same steps happen in the same movement in our own country in 2022. One of the first steps, as you likely know, was to narrow world views through book banning. This time, we are editing access to literature in the name of Christian Nationalism.

Banning books may seem innocuous. You may think that shielding children from learning opposing views, about non-Christian experiences, LGBTQ issues, or points of view from people of color will keep them innocent. But what this actually does is diminish their ability to fully understand the world. Developing empathy for others through reading about different cultures, true accounts of wrongs in this world, and other ideas brings compassion and understanding. Not exposing our children to these things makes it challenging for them to know what to do when faced with different opinions, resulting in perpetuating intolerance and hate, exactly what is on the rise in our nation right now. 

If I didn’t have the choice to read books like The Diary of Anne Frank in elementary school, I perhaps wouldn’t have developed the respect I have now for the Jewish faith or as deep an understanding of the atrocities of the Holocaust. Reading that book changed the course of my life. It made me a better, more curious, more empathetic person, and this has carried over to my practice of physical therapy. 

Edited education is a handicap. If there are parents in this country who wish for their children to learn a restricted set of views, they can choose to enroll their children in private schools or home school. Our educators have degrees in teaching, many of them hold advanced degrees like our librarians, and they really do know what’s best for our children. I trust our teachers and librarians. You should, too. Tip lines to tattle on educators daring to challenge narrow views are appalling. Leave public education as it should be: a force for good in society. Keep editing education, and we may not have any teachers left. And leave the books alone. (Or don’t. Most kids will be more curious about the banned titles and want to read them in defiance.) I’m taking sides. Save the books.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 - 12:00pm

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Rotimi Adeoye, he/him/his, Former Communications Strategist, ACLU

There are many offices up for election across the nation this November. Whether it’s for a district attorney in your town or a governor’s race in your state, we want to give you the tools to vote your values and have informed conversations with your friends and families. Elections take place once every few years, and every single one can have lasting effects on our rights, liberties, and democracy.

There should be no doubt that throughout American history, elections can sometimes lead to the rollback of all of our civil rights. That’s why it’s important to vote for your values and fight for your rights this November.



The Election of 1968 – President Nixon wins and ushers in an era of mass incarceration.

Shortly after Nixon was elected in 1968, his administration declared a war on drugs, a radical approach focused on harsher enforcement and penalties for drug-related offenses that disproportionately targeted Black communities. The campaign was a racist response to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Presidents after Nixon have continued its harsh and racist logic, including Presidents Reagan and Clinton. And these harmful federal policies were adopted by lawmakers and prosecutors at the state and local levels.

Drug war policies such as mandatory minimum sentences, especially for minor drug-related offenses, and sentencing disparities for powder vs. crack cocaine, helped make the United States the world’s infamous leader in mass incarceration.

The war on drugs has had profound effects on the criminal legal system, American politics, and the lives of Black communities and other communities of color. Since 1970, our incarcerated population has increased by 500 percent — 2 million people are in jail or prison today. One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as can one of every six Latino boys — compared to one of every 17 white boys.

The war on drugs has also doubled the number of women who are incarcerated, with Black women representing 30 percent of all incarcerated women and Latina women representing 16 percent. As a result, 1.5 million children have incarcerated parents.


The Election of 2000 - President George W. Bush is elected and launches the “war on terror” in response to 9/11.

Following the election of President Bush and the tragic attacks of 9/11, President Bush launched an all-out attack on human rights and civil liberties. Bush’s actions launched an era defined by excessive claims of executive power that weakened our system of checks and balances and democratic accountability. Most consequentially for human lives and rights, the Bush administration engaged in systemic torture, indefinite detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, warrantless mass surveillance, biased and unfair watch listing, and discriminatory profiling of Muslim, Brown, and Black communities in the United States.

President Bush’s legacy is one our country — and the people around the world whose lives his administration blighted — still grapples with today.


The Election of 2016 – One of the most lawless administrations is ushered in with President Donald J. Trump.

The moment President Trump was elected set in motion endless attacks on civil rights and liberties. President Trump was one of most lawless presidents in modern history. From his nomination of Supreme Court justices who rolled back the federal right to abortion secured in Roe v. Wade, to the Muslim ban executive order that discriminated against people from Muslim-majority countries, his administration led a dangerous rollback of our rights and liberties, many of which are still being felt today. The ACLU filed 400 legal actions against the Trump administration.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - 10:00am

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Elections in 1968, 2000, and 2016 prompted significant rollbacks of civil liberties. We can’t repeat history in 2022.

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