On this episode, I am joined by Leah Watson and Erika Sisneros Kelley of the ACLU to discuss a new Florida law (the Stop WOKE Act), which expands the definition of discrimination to include the teaching of concepts dealing with racism, sexism, diversity, equality, and inclusion.
The complaint alleges violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. In a case challenging nearly identical language, a federal district judge recently concluded that the law unconstitutionally restricts speech based on viewpoint.
Leah Watson is a Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, where she leads investigations and litigation to challenge classroom censorship efforts (education gag orders), bias in policing, the criminalization of poverty, and racial disparities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Leah earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A., magna cum laude, in Communication Studies and Sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Erika Sisneros Kelleyis the 2021 Marvin M. Karpatkin Fellow with the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program. She focuses on issues related to economic justice, algorithmic bias, and inclusive education. Erika graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014 with a B.A. in Integrative Physiology. She earned her master’s in Public Health in 2016 from Claremont Graduate University and completed her J.D. at University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2021.
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