Civic Theatre is bringing Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill A Mockingbird to the stage February 8-23, 2019. In partnership with the ACLU of Indiana, Civic will host over 3,500 middle and high school students at eight matinees of the play, providing an educational resource guide, along with Guest Experts, to discuss topical issues from the play, relevant in today’s society.

While To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Alabama during the Jim Crow era, it is evident that we continue to face racial disparities in our criminal justice system today. From police practices and prosecutorial decisions, to sentencing policies and re-entry programs, these disparities plague every tier of our criminal justice system, across the Nation. The ACLU is pleased to work with Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre to shed light on racial disparities in the criminal justice system through this educational program.

There are critical questions that must be discussed about this literary classic, such as - why there are no black characters with agency in the novel or what is the impact of Atticus Finch's role as the "white savior." We hope that this partnership will help the audience ask these tough questions, and contextualize disparities in the criminal justice system in modern-day issues.

Issues covered through the partnership will include racial profiling and the school-to-prison pipeline. Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem. We rely on the police to protect us from harm and promote fairness and justice in our communities. But racial profiling has led countless people to live in fear, casting entire communities as suspect simply because of what they look like, where they come from, or the religion to which they adhere.

Students will discuss these connections through the school-to-prison pipeline as well, which is a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, when they most need support from their schools and communities. These policies overwhelmingly impact students of color. Black students are suspended and expelled from school three times more often than white students.

Among the Guest Experts addressing these challenges will be Frances Watson, Clinical Professor of Law & ACLU of Indiana Board Member; Jane Henegar, ACLU of Indiana Executive Director; Gavin M. Rose, ACLU of Indiana Senior Staff Attorney; Mark Nicholson, Civil Rights Attorney; Dorie Maryan, ACLU of Indiana Board Member; Ken Falk, ACLU of Indiana Legal Director; Rhiannon Edwards, PACE Executive Director; and Stevie Pactor, ACLU of Indiana Staff Attorney.

For tickets, and more information about and Civic Theatre, visit www.civictheatre.org. 

A settlement was reached this month in which East Allen County Schools has agreed to allow Leo Pride Alliance to change its name to Leo GSA (Gay Straight Alliance), and to provide the organization with all meeting, communication and fundraising opportunities provided to other groups.

While this wasn't the first time the ACLU of Indiana has had to take on a public school for treating a GSA group differently than other student led organizations, we hope that public schools throughout the state will take notice and forgo future challenges by providing equal treatment to all student groups. 

Leo Pride Alliance is a student-led organization for high school students at Leo Jr. Sr. High School that provides a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex students and their cisgender supporters. The lawsuit claimed that East Allen County Schools imposed undue, unequal burdens on Leo Pride Alliance. EACS denied these claims.

Gay Straight Alliance groups, such as Leo Pride, are critical in providing support, specifically when you look at the hurdles that LGBTQ youth are being faced with across the nation. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, in Indiana 3 in 4 trans youth will be harassed and bullied in school for being trans. This is unacceptable. It is critical that public schools continue to do everything within their power to decrease bullying against LGBTQ students, and GSA groups have proven an effective method. Previous studies have found that students at schools with GSAs were less likely to face discrimination and had reduced suicide attempts.

We hope that Indiana schools will recognize the important purpose that GSA groups serve by creating an open environment that provides social, emotional and educational support to students, during a time that otherwise might be increasingly difficult.