Celebrating Latinx resistance this Latinx Heritage Month 

This month, we honor the popular movements in Central and South America and in the Caribbean fighting against U.S. intervention that have expanded our radical imaginations and refined our politics. We have stood alongside social movements resisting the full force of U.S. empire, militarism, and surveillance. Together with our clients and comrades, we’ve filed case after case to expose and seek accountability for the atrocities committed by oppressive regimes and counter-revolutionaries who had full U.S. government support and funding. Generations later, we stand with those who are fleeing the social, political, and economic impacts of Western government and corporate destabilization, deprivation, and de-development. We are honored to join families and communities fighting against our racist and militarized border, detention, and family separation policies.

As we reflect on the diversity of Latinx heritage, we condemn the deliberate attempts by the U.S. and international agencies to stifle revolutionary potential throughout the Americas, flatten Latinx identity and experience, and further entrench a world order that advances white supremacy and marginalizes the Global South. We also commit to continued refinement of our own politics and understanding of erasure and corruption even within our own movements, so that we center and follow the leadership of those most marginalized, including the Afro-Latinx and Indigenous communities. We celebrate the legacy of Latinx resistance.

Hasta la victoria siempre!

Ruling coming soon in our Abu Ghraib case, Al Shimari v. CACI 

On September 10, we were back in court in our long-running case, Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Technology, against the private military contractor whose interrogator-employees participated in and furthered a conspiracy of torture at Abu Ghraib prison. We brought the case on behalf of three Iraqi men who had been detained and tortured at the notorious prison from 2003 to 2004. In response to CACI’s motion to dismiss the case in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Doe v. Nestlé/Cargill, legal director Baher Azmy argued that the company over-read the Court’s decision, and that the facts of our case establish a sufficient connection between the United States and our plaintiffs’ claims under the Alien Tort Statute. A ruling is forthcoming. To learn more about the case, listen to Senior Attorney Katherine Gallagher on this week’s episode of Al Jazeera’s podcast The Take, titled “The Course of the Forever Wars: Amnesia.”

BLOG: Ain’t I Latinx? The ever changing identity 

The latest on our blog is from Bertha Justice Fellow Elsa Mota who shares her reflections on the complexity of ethnicity and race in light of Latinx Heritage Month. She writes: 

… The revived discussion on race in the U.S. has left some “Latinx” people in a peculiar position: what does this grouping mean? What holds us together as one, if anything? Whereas other groups can be more readily identified by continent/region, skin color or phenotype, culture, language, and other historical factors, some members of Latinx communities are left feeling excluded from the one group where they are “supposed” to belong. Often, they are Black people who are also Latinx and people who do not speak Spanish, to name a few. … 

Continue reading on our website.

Events TODAY: #CloseGuantanamo Digital Rally!; Letters from Detention: Performance and Talk-Back 

#CloseGuantanamo Digital Rally!
Monday, September 20, 2021 | 2:45 p.m. ET

More than 250,000 people and counting from all over the globe are demanding that President Biden close the infamous Guantánamo Bay prison! Join the Center for Constitutional Rights, MPower Change, Daily Kos, Amnesty International USA, Justice for Muslims Collective, and more for a digital action as we deliver our petitions to the White House.

Hear from speakers and learn how you can add your voice to the calls to #CloseGitmo! RSVP on Zoom to join.

Letters from Detention: Performance and Talk-Back
Monday, September 20, 2021 | 7–9:00 p.m. ET

Join us for a virtual performance, conversation, and reflection on 20 years since the post-9/11 roundups, detentions, and deportations. This event is organized in association with The Public Theater.

Letters from Detention is a moving theatrical performance adapted by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen (authors of The Exonerated and Aftermath) from a series of letters exchanged between two brothers, our clients, during their time in detention. Actors Laith Nakli and Hadi Tabbal will perform the roles of Yasser and Hany. Yasser will participate in a talk-back with Senior Attorney Rachel Meeropol following the performance. Register on our website.

We’re hiring! Four Bertha Justice Fellows for our 2022–2024 cohort 

We’re excited to announce that we are starting the search for four Bertha Justice Fellows for the September 2022 to September 2024 term.

The Bertha Justice Fellowship at the Center for Constitutional Rights is a two-year program for emerging lawyers (0-2 years out of law school) who are interested in gaining both practical experience working on cutting-edge social justice litigation and a theoretical understanding of how legal advocacy can create social change. We will host four new Bertha Justice Fellows, starting in September 2022. This position requires a two-year commitment from September 2022 to September 2024.

Learn more and apply on our website.