Our work in 2008 proved the truth of ACLU Founder Roger Baldwin’s axiom that “no battle for civil liberties ever stays won."
Half a century after the FBI’s sordid history of COINTELPRO spying on civil rights and anti-war activists in the 1950’s and 60’s, the ACLU of Maryland this summer exposed the Maryland State Police for spying on peaceful activists — including nuns, pacifists, students and environmentalists — covertly infiltrating their gatherings, compiling dossiers on them and falsely labeling them in a criminal intelligence database as suspected terrorists. Our litigators uncovered this un-American affront to First Amendment rights and our legislative staff has been working with lawmakers to stop future police spying on peaceful activists.
This fall saw the Presidential and Congressional elections, and our Election Protection Campaign made sure that everyone’s vote counted by deploying Maryland ACLU staff members and 75 volunteers to work on our voter hotline and on the ground in every county in Maryland. Prior to the election we persuaded several local jurisdictions, from the Eastern Shore to Montgomery County, to allow unfettered use of political yard signs designed to educate and persuade voters.
With our members’ support, we fought to protect the religious liberty of a church dedicated to providing services to the homeless, launched a cutting edge immigrants rights project, and successfully challenged police profiling of motorists “driving while black.” We also worked to ensure fair housing for African American families, a quality education for all children in public schools, fairness for gays and lesbians, and the rights of workers and disabled persons.
And, finally, your support has helped us to change the way we work by addressing civil liberties violations with multiple strategies, including litigation, more sophisticated legislative strategies, and strengthening our coalition leadership. We were able to fight invasions of personal privacy by the federal government’s “Real ID” program and to make real progress on criminal justice reform, including working with a state commission that ultimately called for repeal of Maryland’s death penalty. We also racked up wins for equal rights at the ballot box and for reproductive rights. But even as we celebrate victories this year, we know our work is far from over. With a new President, next year is the time to press both the President and Congress to restore the rights lost since 9/11. You can add your voice by joining our ”Maryland ACLU CAN” — a constituents’ action network that teams up Maryland ACLU members/activists across the state with our National ACLU Legislative Office so that we can hold all elected officials accountable for correcting Bush Administration abuses.
As we mount each day’s new challenge, we are extraordinarily thankful for your support. We look forward to your partnership in the coming year.