News & Commentary

Placeholder image

‘It’s about voices’: Hawaii organizations launch reading initiatives during Banned Books Week

By HNN Staff Published: Oct. 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM HST HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Organizations in Hawaii and across the country are observing Banned Books Week by calling attention to the dangers of censorship.

Latest Press Release

Oct 06, 2025

The Hawaiʻi Library Association and the ACLU of Hawaiʻi Launch Initiatives for “Freedom to Read” In Celebration of Intellectual Freedom

[Honolulu, Hawaiʻi] – The Hawaiʻi Library Association (“HLA”), with support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi (“ACLU HI”), is marking Banned Books Week 2025 with initiatives designed to celebrate the “Freedom to Read” and highlight why protecting access to stories and ideas is vital for Hawaii’s communities.
Image of people speaking at a podium

More from the Press

Placeholder image

Stay informed on civil rights issues. Discover our latest actions and updates in the Press Release section.

Placeholder image

Confessions could be thrown out because of new Hawaii Supreme Court ruling

By Lynn Kawano Published: Sep. 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM HST HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A decision by the state’s highest court means changes are coming for criminal investigations in Honolulu.
Placeholder image

Hawaiʻi Matters| 105.9 The Wave FM: Salmah Rizvi on ACLU of Hawaiʻi

Salmah Rizvi on ACLU of Hawaiʻi, Know Your Rights, Finding Resources, the 60th Anniversary People's Fair in November.

Apr 26, 2023

National Crisis in Policing Awaits United Nations Delegation

U.N. experts must produce an objective roadmap of recommendations that will radically reform law enforcement.

The United Nations Human Rights Council during a meeting at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Apr 25, 2023

Emergency Proclamations set a dangerous precedent, systemic change is needed to address houselessness.

ACLU of Hawaiʻi Statement on the Governor's Emergency Proclamation on Homelessness

Emergency Homeless Proclamation
Apr 21, 2023

Access to Housing is the Civil Rights Issue of our Time (Again)

The housing crisis is both the cause and effect of systemic civil rights deprivations.

An aerial view of a neighborhood filled with houses.
Apr 14, 2023

RuPaul’s Drag Race Finale Highlights ACLU’s Defense of Trans Rights

The ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund aims to educate and activate supporters and push back against restrictive anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Drag queen Sasha Colby.
Apr 14, 2023

We're Challenging the Racist Practice That Excludes Black Jurors from Death Penalty Cases

Death qualification goes hand in hand with mass incarceration and the racial bias embedded in our criminal legal system.

An empty jury box with leather and wood chairs.
Apr 12, 2023

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: How We Got Here

Forty-five years after the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the PWFA is a long overdue corrective for pregnant workers.

A pregnant worker using an office phone while typing on a keyboard.
Apr 03, 2023

Abortion is Our Right, and We Won’t Be Silenced

Anti-abortion politicians are going after our right to speak freely and access vital information.

A protestor holding a sign with an ACLU logo that says Our Voice is Our Power.
Mar 31, 2023

How the ACLU is Showing Up For Abortion Access Nationwide

We are working with our partners in states across the country to defend reproductive freedom.

ACLU supporters marching at a reproductive rights rally.
Mar 22, 2023

My Son's Hair is Part of a Thousand-Year-Old Tribal Culture. His School Called it a 'Fad.'

The school’s requirement is a rejection of who he is and a demand that he sacrifice his culture and heritage to conform to baseless and unfair rules.

Ashley Lomboy (left) and her son Logan (right).