The Civil Rights Movement showed us what unchecked surveillance looks like

For many, the notion of government surveillance feels distant, the start of a policy debate about wiretaps or monitoring phones. To us at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, it means something different. It reflects lived experience. It reminds us why we must remain vigilant about the reach of government power, and why, even when surveillance is argued as necessary, it must be balanced against the right to privacy that every American should enjoy. …