About the ACLU

So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy.

 -- ACLU Founder Roger Baldwin

SPECIAL HISTORY FEATURE The ACLU and the Bill of Rights »

ACLU AT-A-GLANCE • The ACLU's work is sustained by over 500,000 members and supporters who play an active role in defending freedom. • Nearly 200 ACLU staff attorneys and thousands of volunteer attorneys handle countless civil liberties cases every year. • Our legislative advocates are a constant presence on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures working on civil liberties issues. • The ACLU has staffed offices in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. A Great Investment • For the sixth consecutive year, the ACLU has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities. • The ACLU also meets the highest standards of The Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau.

The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

These rights include:

• Your First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
• Your right to equal protection under the law - protection against unlawful discrimination.
• Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
• Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.

The ACLU also works to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.

If the rights of society's most vulnerable members are denied, everybody's rights are imperiled. Support the ACLU today.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court had yet to uphold a single free speech claim when Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver and others formed the ACLU in 1920. Activists languished in jail for distributing anti-war literature. State sanctioned violence against African Americans was routine. Women won the right to vote only in August of that year. Constitutional rights for lesbians and gays, bisexual and transgender people in those days were unthinkable.