Our country, and our state, need all of us, wherever we are, to be involved. The ACLU knows from long experience that our rights don’t protect themselves. It is our mission to protect and further our constitutional and civil rights, and to support our members in related efforts across the state.
We all know that since the 2016 election, threats to the civil rights of marginalized communities in the country and our state have intensifi ed. At the same time, we have seen support for the ACLU and activism grow too.
We are proud of the quick and powerful work the ACLU has done in the courts, especially since President Trump was elected. The ACLU of Maryland took part in the lawsuits challenging the Muslim ban and the transgender service member ban. The ACLU’s legal work has real power. But for us to make lasting change our legal work must be combined with grassroots organizing. For this reason, the ACLU of Maryland is investing in community engagement.
The ACLU’s goal isn’t just to hold the tide against ebbing freedom. The time must be now to prepare the groundwork for a more humane and free Maryland in the years to come. To achieve that goal, we are focused not just on what we do, but why we do it.
We are proud to say that the ACLU of Maryland is a leader among ACLU affi liates across the country in centering race equity in our work – both externally and internally. We are doing this because it is the right thing to do. We are doing this because centering race equity in both our work and our workplace will make it possible for us to have a greater, more lasting impact.
We acknowledge that the ACLU operates within and is often privileged by an entrenched system of white supremacy. That is why the ACLU of Maryland is using intentional strategies to better support and be accountable to communities of color, whose civil rights and civil liberties have been systematically threatened by white supremacy for centuries.
The ACLU of Maryland operates within institutions – like the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government – that were founded on and are sustained by white supremacy. Our goal is not only to defend people’s rights but also to upend the systems of bias that are the foundation of those institutions. By working towards this goal, in partnership with local grassroots efforts, we are determined to douse the fi re that fuels the rights violations that the ACLU has been fi ghting for nearly 100 years.
There may never be a time when constant vigilance isn’t needed to protect and advance our rights. Since we were founded in 1931, the ACLU of Maryland has been committed to constant vigilance. But we have hope that by intentionally and proactively working to undo the biased structures that perpetuate rights violations in our state, we can create a more just, more equitable Maryland for all our residents.
Thanks for standing with us,
| Dana Vickers Shelley |
Dr. Coleman Bazelon
|
| Executive Director |
President, Board of Directors |
| ACLU of Maryland |
ACLU of Maryland |
Date
Monday, December 3, 2018 - 10:15am
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The Maryland ACLU’s 75th birthday calls to mind the words of our national founder, Roger Baldwin: “No battle for civil liberties ever stays won.”
In 1921, Elizabeth Gilman, daughter of Johns Hopkin’s president, created the Maryland Civil Liberties Committee (precursor to the ACLU) to oppose arrests and deportations of Russian immigrant workers. In the wake of 9/11, the ACLU filed suits to stop the mass arrests, detention and deportation of Middle Easterners.
In March 1931, a spate of lynchings occasioned Maryland ACLU’s founding. In the ‘60s we pressed for desegregated juries and civilian review of police brutality against Baltimore’s African Americans. This year, with NAACP as our lead plaintiff, we sued the Baltimore City police for arresting and detaining thousands of mostly African Americans without probable cause.
In the 30’s, and again in the 80’s, we fought to protect minority party access to the ballot for national elections. This year, amidst concerns about voter disenfranchisement, we are working to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their ballots and have them counted.
In the 40’s, we stood up for Planned Parenthood, when its “Marriage Counseling” meeting was cancelled because the Catholic Archdiocese opposed it. In 1992, we stood with Planned Parenthood to pass by wide margins referendum “Question 6,” securing abortion rights in Maryland.
In the 40s and 50s we fought loyalty oaths, including Maryland’s extreme Ober Law. After 9/11, we spurned the Combined Federal Campaign’s required “oath” that none of our employees are “terrorists.”
In 1977, we won official recognition for the Gay Student Alliance at Essex Community College. In the 1990s, we got Maryland’s sodomy statute (long used to single out gay men) overturned. This year, we got a state trial court to declare unconstitutional Maryland’s marriage law, which denies civil marriage protections to same-sex couples and their families.
And then there are the perennial free speech cases. In the 1960’s, we defended picketers and protesters arrested for demonstrating against segregated conditions at parks and restaurants. In the ‘70s, we represented the National States Rights Party in the Supreme Court, to establish that protesters must be in court before the government can ban their demonstrations. In the 1990s, we represented the Klan’s right to not have outside groups interfere with their message as they marched down a main street in Western Maryland. The First Amendment won in every case.
Thomas Jefferson was right: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” After 75 years, we’re the ACLU, still standing for (see inside!):
Date
Thursday, June 15, 2006 - 4:15pm
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Celebrating our 75th Anniversary was the highlight of 2007. With the goal of reaching out to the entire state, we organized over 10 events that drew nearly 1,000 Marylanders, including nearly 500 at our June celebration at the Ravens Stadium where we saluted National ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and former National ACLU Legislative Director, Laura Murphy.
This report highlights the year’s other activities, as well as the challenges we continue to face. Free speech, due process, and equal protection under the law continue to be the mainstay of our work. Since 9/11, government abuse of power has steadily eroded these rights and the ACLU has responded with a synthesis of litigation, lobbying, and public education. This year we added another tool, field organizing, when we launched “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 Congress accountable for correcting Bush Administration abuses. Top on our list? Insisting that Congress ban warrantless spying on Americans.
With your support, we tackled a broad array of other issues: challenging police arrests of motorists “driving while black,” and ensuring fair housing for African American families, quality education in all public schools, fairness for gays and lesbians, and the rights of workers and disabled persons. In 2007, Maryland ACLU boasted its first full-time State Legislative Director in the General Assembly, allowing us to craft more sophisticated political strategies, work with legislators in the off-season, and strengthen our issue and 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 movement toward death penalty repeal. We also racked up wins for equal rights at the ballot box and for reproductive rights.
But even as we celebrated victories this year, we knew that our work is far from over. Convincing Congress to reinstate the rights lost since 9/11 continues to be a challenge. Here in Maryland, with the highest court’s ruling against civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples, the ACLU now turns to the legislature. And issues like racial justice, freedom of speech and religion, and youth rights are perennial.
As we mount each day’s new challenge, it is your friendship and support that sustains us. We look forward to your partnership in the coming year.
Date
Friday, June 15, 2007 - 3:15pm
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