The 2020s
Share
2020
The ACLU Adjusts to Life Under COVID-19 Pandemic
Joseph Cohen, executive director of the ACLU of West Virginia, is interviewed by a local television station about the treatment of jail and prison detainees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACLU Argues at Supreme Court to Affirm LGBTQ+ Employees Are Protected from Workplace Discrimination
In Bostock v. Clayton County, a 2020 case consisting of three related cases, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination. The court also established that firing an individual for being homosexual or transgender inherently constitutes discrimination "because of sex.” The ACLU served as counsel in two of the three consolidated cases. Ria Tabacco Mar (top left), then attorney for the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, stands behind ACLU client Aimee Stephens, seated, and her wife Donna Stephens, in pink, outside the Supreme Court. Stephens was the lead client in one of the three cases.
The Team Behind "The Fight," an ACLU Documentary Following Four ACLU Cases
In 2020, Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing released “The Fight,” a documentary following four ACLU cases against the Trump Administration. The film is a tribute to the courtroom advocates defending civil liberties, offering an inside look at some of the most important legal battles of our time. Pictured posing at the Sundance Film Festival. From top left: executive producer Kerry Washington, director Eli Despres, and Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, Immigrants’ Rights Project. From bottom left: Brigitte Amiri, Deputy Director, Reproductive Freedom Project, directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg.
Poster for "The Fight"
In 2020, Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing released “The Fight,” a documentary following four ACLU cases against the Trump administration. The film is an inspiring tribute to the courtroom advocates defending civil liberties, offering an inside look at some of the most important legal battles of our time. Pictured is the film's promotional poster.
2021
ACLU of Tennessee Staffer Becomes a Client
In 2012, ACLU of Tennessee staffer Cathryn Stout was driving to Jackson, Mississippi, when she was pulled over by a Mississippi state trooper because her car had a sorority license plate holder — which was not illegal. Cathryn refused to consent to a search. Still, troopers went through her suitcase, took apart the interior door panels, and looked under the hood of her car. Cathryn started recording the encounter on her phone, and when an officer told her to stop, she stopped because she was afraid of being arrested. An hour later, after they found nothing, the troopers sent her on her way. No ticket. No apology. The ACLU of Mississippi filed suit on her behalf, alleging the stop and search violated her Fourth Amendment rights, that racial profiling violated her rights under the Equal Protection Clause, and that ordering her to stop filming violated her First Amendment rights. Stout says: “That is why I do this work the way I do. I know what it is to stand on the shoulder of an interstate and understand that your rights exist on paper while someone with a badge decides whether you get to use them. Today, I serve as the Director of Strategic Communications for ACLU-TN, where I am reminded daily of what it's like to be a client, to hand your name and the details of one of your worst afternoons to an organization, and trust them to tell it right.”
2022
ACLU Submits Amicus Brief to Defend Constitutional Right to Abortion
Mississippi took its last remaining abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, to the Supreme Court to uphold its abortion ban, arguing that it was consistent with Roe v. Wade. After Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court, Mississippi changed its strategy and asked the court to overrule Roe outright. The ACLU and ACLU of Mississippi filed an amicus brief, seen here, in support of the clinic. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
2023
Haaland v. Brackeen: Protestors Rally in Support of Indigenous Rights
The ACLU and 12 state affiliates filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Haaland v. Brackeen, urging it to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which seeks to ensure that Native families stay together and that Native children are raised by tribal members. In 2023, the court issued its ruling upholding the ICWA in a landmark victory for tribal sovereignty, rejecting all constitutional challenges to the law. Seen here are protestors rallying outside of the court in support of Indigenous rights.
2024
ACLU's 2024 Campaign: Protecting Indigenous Students' Right to Wear Tribal Regalia
Graduation from high school is a pivotal, once-in-a-lifetime achievement. For Indigenous students, this moment can be dampened by school dress codes that prohibit them from wearing tribal regalia at graduation. In 2023, the ACLU worked with Indigenous youth on a Know Your Rights campaign to help students defend their rights to wear tribal regalia. In this video, Indigenous students discuss their tribal regalia.
ACLU Artist Ambassador W. Kamau Bell at ACLU's Know Your Rights Bus Tour
In 2024, we launched our Know Your Rights Bus Tour, a series of stops across several states to create an energizing community experience that combined entertainment and fun surprises with critical information about our most fundamental rights and freedoms, empowering historically disenfranchised voters in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. In this photo, comedian, entertainer, and ACLU Artist Ambassador for Racial Justice, W. Kamau Bell is seen speaking to the Know Your Rights Bus Tour crowd at the final stop in Detroit, Michigan
U.S. v. Skrmetti Rally
Protestors rally outside the Supreme Court during oral arguments in US v. Skrmetti, demanding the court protect trans rights. Unfortunately, the court ultimately ruled that states could ban gender-affirming care for minors, a devastating blow for trans youth, their families, and the communities that support them. But the ACLU isn’t going anywhere in the fight for trans justice — we play the long-game.
Chase Strangio's Good Luck Charm For United States v. Skrmetti: "Oh Mary!" Playbill
In U.S. v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, made history as the first openly transgender attorney to argue before the Supreme Court, and brought this playbill of Broadway’s “Oh, Mary!” into court as a good luck charm. In a 2025 Cultured interview with the irreverent comedy’s creator and star Cole Escola, Strangio said the playbill was “a reminder that I’m also doing a performance… I’mchanneling people who inspire me when I enter those spaces that are meant to be so serious, but are in fact so absurd.”
ACLU Ambassador Peppermint Speaks Out for Gender Affirming Care for Youth
In United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. While this is a devastating loss for trans justice, Chase Strangio made history as the first openly transgender attorney to argue before the court in 2024. Here, ACLU's Artist Ambassador for Transgender Justice Peppermint speaks at a protest in support of care for transgender youth outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the case’s arguments.
"I Voted" Stickers from 2024 Election Day in Missouri
This photograph was taken in St. Louis, Missouri on Election Day in 2024.
Protesters Mobilize Outside Supreme Court for Reproductive Freedom
Demonstrators gathered outside of the Supreme Court in support of abortion rights while the court heard oral arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA. While anti-abortion groups were asking the court to impose nationwide restrictions on mifepristone, protestors rallied to fight for reproductive freedom.
Strange Bedfellows: Former Legal Director David Cole Representing the NRA for Free Speech
In 2024, the ACLU represented the NRA before the Supreme Court in NRA v. Vullo, arguing that any government attempt to blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint violates the First Amendment. Former Legal Director David Cole, pictured here, argued the case for the NRA.
2025
Democracy is a Verb
In April 2025, longtime ACLU supporter and writer Clyde Watson gifted a staff member this card, printed by friend Darrell Hyder, to buoy staff’s spirits in difficult times.
Oklahoma City's Pride Festival: Liberation is Love
Every year, Oklahoma City hosts a Pride festival with free events for all to join. In June 2025, they celebrated "Liberation is Love." Participants gathered in the streets with pride flags, posters, and other merch to show support for LGBTQ+ rights.
A History of the ACLU Advancing the Rights of Veterans, Servicemembers, and Their Families
This 2025 report details the ACLU's long history of advancing the rights of veterans, servicemembers, and their families. In the 1940s, we challenged the injustice of the segregated draft. In the 1970s, our Veterans Education Project assisted thousands of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans in securing upgrades to their less than honorable discharges. At the same time, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, co-founder of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, blazed the trail for gender equity in the military. And, more recently, as the Trump administrations have escalated attacks on the rights of servicemembers, we have pushed back — defending First Amendment protections, privacy rights, and the dignity of LGBTQ individuals in uniform. Our commitment to the fundamental freedoms of veterans, servicemembers, and their families is unwavering.
Trump Administration's Spending Cuts Impact Head Start
In August of 2025, a press conference was held outside of the Washington District Court to discuss the Trump administration's attempt to bar immigrant families from Head Start, a long-standing federally funded program that has provided assistance to low-income families for child education, nutrition, and health. In this photo ACLU Women's Rights Project attorney Jennesa Calvo-Freidman addresses the press.
#HandsOff: NYC Fights Back Protest
NYCLU and ACLU staffers, seen here, joined an estimated 100,000 New Yorkers marching in the #HandsOff: NYC Fights Back protest on Saturday April 5, 2025 to stand up for rights and democracy. The march, one of over a thousand taking place all across the country was organized by groups including NYCLU, Rise and Resist, Indivisible, and Planned Parenthood of Greater NY Action Fund, amongst many many others.
2026
Photo of ACLU Asian American and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group Original Zine
Every other year for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the ACLU's AAPI employee resource group curates a zine of contributions from team members nationwide sharing recipes and food from their cultures and favorite AAPI restaurants in their local communities.
Photo of ACLU of South Carolina's "Don't Rig Our Maps" Sticker
Hundreds of voting rights advocates in South Carolina wore this sticker to demonstrations at the statehouse during the successful effort to stop mid-decade congressional redistricting in May 2026.
ACLU of South Carolina's Victory Against Redistricting
2026 saw an influx of attempts by lawmakers to redistrict state voting maps in a concerted effort to dilute the power of Black voters.The ACLU of South Carolina was victorious in stopping these efforts by taking a holistic approach, including organizing, lobbying, creating a media echo chamber, and more. In this video, Executive Director Jace Woodrum reminds us, "these victories matter because they send the signal that we the people have power."
ACLU's Celebrating Trans Joy Zine
“Celebrating Trans Joy: Building Communities” was the ACLU of Virginia's first-ever trans joy zine, created by and for transgender and nonbinary Virginians along with queer, BIPOC illustrators. This Anthem-award-winning project serves as a reminder that sharing stories is a form of resistance.
ACLU of D.C.'s 51st State Buttons
These buttons were worn by advocates and supporters of the ACLU of D.C.’s campaign for D.C. statehood. Many were visible during congressional testimony supporting the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which called for D.C. to become the 51st state and end one of the most egregious forms of ongoing voter suppression in our country.
ACLU of D.C.'s Fight for D.C. Statehood
Our democracy is incomplete without D.C. Statehood. In this video, ACLU of D.C. Executive Director Monica Hopkins details the importance of securing federal representation for the 700,000 people who call D.C. home.
Annual Selma Bridge Crossing and Anniversary Affirm Right to Vote
In this photo, Deputy Executive Director of ACLU of GA (right) and other ACLU staff are seen rallying on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama during the 2026 Annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. The event commemorates Bloody Sunday, where hundreds of civil rights activists were brutally beaten by police and civilians while attempting to cross the bridge during a march for voting rights.
Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana Alanah Odoms Breaks Down Callais Decision
The Supreme Court’s shameful decision in Louisiana v. Callais is a devastating blow to hard-fought progress, but it is not the end of the road. By gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that ensured Black voters were fairly represented, the Supreme Court betrayed the legacy of the civil rights movement.
ACLU Legal Team Enters Supreme Court to Protect Fundamental Right of Birthright Citizenship
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the ACLU’s victory defending birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara. In a 6-3 decision, the court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to end this core American principle. This decision reaffirms what the Constitution has made clear for over 150 years: if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen of the United States. Here, ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang exits the Supreme Court after arguing the case joined by ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero.
Legal Director Cecillia Wang Presents Arguments on Birthright Citizenship Steps Away from President Donald Trump
President Trump made history on April 1, 2026, by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court for Trump v. Barbara. He sat silently in the front row of the public gallery for roughly an hour to observe his administration's defense of an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. He left during ACLU Legal Director Cecillia Wang’s arguments. In a 6–3 decision, the Court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to end this core American principle.
Audio Clip of ACLU Legal Director Cecillia Wang Successfully Arguing Immigrants' Rights Supreme Court Case
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the ACLU’s victory defending birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara. In a 6–3 decision, the Court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to end this core American principle. This decision reaffirms what the Constitution has made clear for over 150 years: if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen of the United States. Hear some of ACLU Legal Director Cecillia Wang’s arguments in this clip.
Stars Tell Supreme Court and President Donald Trump: We Belong Here.
Pictured here is José Andrés at Trump v Barbara, the birthright citizenship case, during Supreme Court arguments.
