Justice Community Leaders

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An Open Letter to the National Board and Friends of the ACLU
October 2006


We are leaders and activists in the civil rights and justice community of which the American Civil Liberties Union is a central institution; attorneys and scholars who have advised it, worked with it or for it, or even been sued by it; clients who have benefited from its vigorous advocacy; funders who have been proud to support its vital role in American life; and many others with literally hundreds of years of combined experience with this unique, indispensable organization. We subscribe to the following statement: The ACLU under Anthony Romero’s leadership is playing as vital and effective a role as at any point in its history, staying true to its founding principles, at a time when civil liberties are more endangered than at any time since its founding in 1920.

In the aftermath of 9/11, which occurred one week after he came on the job, Anthony Romero made it the ACLU’s mission to spearhead the formidable fight to defend liberty against a barrage of government policies that disregarded our fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. Five years later, the ACLU is on course and the progress is evident.

The ACLU is a leader in every important civil liberties fight of our time -- particularly those involving the loss of our rights in the name of the so-called war on terrorism, but also including gay marriage, abortion rights, separation of church and state, and a host of other free speech, privacy and equality issues -- and doing it with principle, vigor and the increased resources that Anthony Romero's energetic and effective advocacy has marshaled.

We have followed this progress with pride and admiration. And we have followed with varying degrees of attention and dismay the attacks on the ACLU leadership. An unprecedented spotlight has been placed on the ACLU’s internal conflicts in recent months, the kinds of conflicts that the organization has experienced at numerous points in its proud history and that virtually all strong organizations face from time to time. The recent statement of support for the ACLU leadership by the entire executive committee and general counsel speaks very loudly to us. We believe the leadership deserves our support because the ACLU is too important, especially at this time, to allow it to be distracted and diverted from its mission.

Signatures:
Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine Segal Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change
Julian Bond, Chairman, NAACP
Al Bronstein, Consultant, ACLU Legal and Affiliate Support Departments; Director Emeritus, The National Prison Project of the ACLU
Gillian Caldwell, Executive Director, Witness
Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
Kimberle Crenshaw, Executive Director, African American Policy Forum; Ira Glasser Fellow, UCLA Law, Columbia Law School
Drew Days, Former Solicitor General of the United States; Yale Law School
Debra DeLee, President and CEO, Americans for Peace Now, Former Chair Democratic National Committee
Norman Dorsen, Former President, American Civil Liberties Union 1976-1991
Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center
Maria Echaveste, Consultant, Nueva Vista Group
Christopher Edley, Jr., Dean, Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley
Kim Gandy, President, National Organization for Women
Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink
Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center
Anthony P. Griffin, Attorney, A.Griffin Lawyers, Galveston Texas
Morton Halperin, Director of U.S. Advocacy, Open Society Institute; ACLU Washington Legislative Director 1984-1993
Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
Antonia Hernandez, Former President, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Alan Jenkins, Executive Director, Opportunity Agenda
Elaine Jones, Director/Counsel Emeritus, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Nancy Keenan, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Kathryn Korematsu
Karen Korematsu-Haigh, Founder, Fred Korematsu Civil Rights Fund
Gara LaMarche, Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs, Open Society Institute; Executive Director, Texas ACLU 1984-1988; ACLU Board and Executive Committee Member 1990-1997
Judith L. Lichtman, Senior Advisor, National Partnership for Women & Families
Kate Michelman, President Emerita, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Arnie Miller, Isaacson Miller
Cecilia Munoz, Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation (ORAL), National Council of La Raza
Janet Murguia, President, National Council of La Raza
Laura W. Murphy, Former Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office 1993-2005
Ralph G. Neas, President, People For the American Way/Foundation
Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute; ACLU Executive Director 1970-1978
Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Burt Neuborne, Former ACLU Legal Director 1981-1985; Legal Director, Brennan Center for Justice
Eva Paterson, President, Equal Justice Society
Cesar Perales, President and General Counsel, Promoting Justice for Latinos (PRLDEF)
John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
Carl Pope, Chairman of the Board, America Votes
Michael Posner, President, Human Rights First
Miles Rapoport, President, Demos
Cecile Richards, President Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
Leonard Rubenstein, Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights
Phyllis Segal, Chair, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
John Shattuck, Former Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office 1976-1984; Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic
Hilary O. Shelton, Director Washington Bureau, NAACP
Eleanor Smeal, President, Feminist Majority
Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Kathleen M. Sullivan, Former Dean, Stanley Morrison Professor of Law; Director, Constitutional Law Center, Stanford Law School
Laurence Tribe, Professor, Harvard Law
Samuel Walker, author, “In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU”
Faye Wattleton, President, Center for Advancement of Women
James Zogby, President, Arab American Institute

Organization names are provided for identification purposes only


 

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