Preview

Kekey

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
10156 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Kekey
American Civil Liberties Union
REF : Walker, pp. 292–294. The ACLU published a full page newspaper advertisement on October 14, 1973.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonpartisan non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States."[5] It works through litigation, lobbying, and community education. Founded in 1920 by Crystal Eastman, Roger Baldwin and Walter Nelles, the ACLU has over 500,000 members and has an annual budget over $100 million. Local affiliates of the ACLU are active in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases in which it considers civil liberties to be at risk. Legal support from the ACLU can take the form of direct legal representation, or preparation of amicus curiae briefs expressing legal arguments (when another law firm is already providing representation).
When the ACLU was founded in 1920, its focus was on freedom of speech, primarily for anti-war protesters. During the 1920s, the ACLU expanded its scope to also include protecting the free speech rights of artists and striking workers, and working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to combat racism. During the 1930s, the ACLU started to engage in work combating police misconduct and Native American rights. Most of the ACLU's cases came from the Communist party and Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1940, ACLU leadership was caught up in the Red Scare, and voted to exclude Communists from its leadership positions. During World War II, the ACLU defended Japanese American citizens who were forcibly relocated to internment camps. During the Cold War, the ACLU headquarters was dominated by anti-communists, but many local affiliates defended members of the Communist Party.
By 1964, membership had risen to 80,000, and the ACLU was directly involved in a major expansion of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 1909 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created to help support and lead in the fight against racial inequalities in America. The NAACP was a group of intelligent people that had created many protests and had fought trials of segregation and discrimination. During the 1950- 1970s the NAACP were known for going on big cases in Montgomery for American rights.The NAACP was a powerful group of Civil Rights leaders that took charge to create equality for all races in America.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    JFKTropesSchemesKEY

    • 337 Words
    • 3 Pages

    For the following sentences from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, please identify whether you think the sentence uses a trope (artful diction) or a scheme (interesting sentence structure) by checking the appropriate box. We will then work together using our glossary of rhetorical terms to identify the name of the trope or scheme.…

    • 337 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Economically, there were clear signs of gradual change from 1945 to 1955 in the north and south, but not enough changes to reach full equality. By 1945, the NAACP, established in 1909, had gotten 450,000 members, with almost 150,000 members being from Southern states. Through the work of the NAACP, black registration was boosted by 21% from 1952-1956 to 1.2 million in the eleven Southern states. The organisation was focused on aiming to outlaw employment and housing discrimination by raising money to attend court to help pass desegregationist laws. This organisation was successful in encouraging leaders to support them. For example, the Fair Employment Practices Committee, set up by President Roosevelt in 1943, gave blacks equal opportunities in defence industries jobs. This increased employment rates and by 1955 there had been a 25% increase in African Americans working in the steel and iron industry. The numbers employed in government service increased from 50,000 to 200,000. By 1955, there was a 25% increase in job opportunities for black people, compared to 1945. This made a very large impact on African-Americans because higher paying jobs meant that they could provide for their families, especially since they…

    • 1610 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I. Facts: In an effort to oust the NAACP from operating in the state, Alabama accused the NAACP of failing to comply with a state statute that required foreign corporations to register with the state before operating, which had been violated when the organization began operating in Alabama in 1914. After the organization tendered the necessary documentation, Alabama refused to accept it and instead ordered the release of the names and addresses of all member and agents of the organization living in the state. After only releasing the names of directors and officers in the state, the NAACP was found in contempt and fined $100,000. The NAACP appealed the decision of the state courts (which sided with the state government) to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment protected the freedom of speech and assembly from discrimination.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The NAACP was a major civil rights groups and had many successes, especially in the period 1945-57. They mainly did this through legal cases, supporting individuals and groups gain their rights, and supporting the use of economic means to beat segregation. On the other hand, it could be argued that there were many other bodies responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement, such as the individual people involved in isolated incidents, and those who, independently from the NAACP, marched and gave up their time, safety and money to fight for the rights of African Americans, such as the various other civil right groups, students, and many other people. Also, the government and the president also passed the amendments, legislations and supported these campaigns, so the NAACP were not solely responsible.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    About one million African Americans were added to the industrial labor force in hopes of benefiting from opportunities created by the wartime economy. Most found only frustration and disappointment, while few gained access to industrial jobs and training programs. While blacks turned to the union for help, the number of unionized black workers highly increased. They became frustrated, creating race riots and "hate strikes" to protest the promotion of black workers. Whether as soldiers or civilians, all faced discrimination and segregation. During the war, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) came into being as part of the "Double Victory", which meant V for victory over fascism and V for victory for equality at home.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Civil Liberties Union is an American non-profit institution that works to defend American rights and liberties provided by laws and the Constitution. They also use court cases and through documentation of verdicts and are a very important protector of liberties and rights of the American people. From its official start in 1920 from the former National Civil Liberties Bureau the ACLU has been focused on the secular rights not of one theme but of all groups, from Civil Rights, free speech for anyone, and the separation of church and state. However the American Civil Liberties Union was not always popular. From its start its founders including Roger Baldwin, an agnostic and socialist, were extremists and most showed radical Communist…

    • 1805 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance and the spark to discrimination towards African immigrants. Native born Americans, clearly showed hatred toward blacks. In addition, in Chicago, July 1919, a white man erupted violence when he caused a teenage Negro, as they were called during this time, to drown in Lake Michigan by throwing rocks at him while swimming. The police refused to arrest anyone causing riots that continued for more than a week. Another threat to African Americans was the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in 1915. This Klan seeked a 100 percent white America therefore they attacked many people but in particular they attacked African Americans to intimidate them. The Klan encouraged nativists and caused fear that the country was being overrun by immigrants so later the Immigration Act of 1924 was established reducing the immigration quota to two percent for each nationality except Asians. Soon after, the Red Scare took place causing the reduction of the Klan’s membership. In response, African Americans began forming organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The NAACP was founded in 1910 to restrain racial violence. It helped create an antilynching campaign to reduce racial murders. The ADL was a work created by a group of Jews in 1913 to put an end to racial discrimination and also worked against the KKK. The UNIA was founded in 1914, by Marcus Garvey when he was deported to Jamaica for mail fraud. This organization’s intended purpose was for Garvey to proclaim his message of a “black nationalist” back in Africa. This movement was known as the Back to Africa Movement. The ACLU was founded in 1920 and was one of the last unions created to help defend constitutional rights, support labor…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fred Shuttlesworth

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights”. Wikipedia. 4 Feb. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation, inc. 15 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMHR>…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    DWB is a familiar term among most of American, which is an abbreviative form of “driving while black”. This phrase implies that a motorist might be pulled over by a police officer because that person is black, and he or she will be questioned or charged with a trivial offense. The place could be either on highway or white community. This term refers to racial profiling, which defined as the policy or practice using race or national origin to find suspicion by law enforcement officials (ACLU). For example, African Americans are easily pulled over on highway because they are judged by hiding drugs in the car potentially, even though they are asked for consent to search the vehicle. Racial profiling occurs at US port entry commonly and especially targeted on Arab ancestry because they fit the profile of a terrorist. Racial profiling is any use of race, skin color by law enforcement agents as a guideline to search suspects in order to protect nation safety. However, in use of racial profiling in law enforcement is unfair and disrespectful to minorities, ineffective to search criminals, and waste police sources increasing social cost.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The number of citizens that are involved in a single movement is very important. A great amount of participants can be more intimidating than just 1 or 2 members. Throughout the Civil Rights Era, African Americans created multiple organizations that consist of a mass number of people to promote change. These organizations symbolized unity and determination of black residents. One of the most popular organizations, is the National Association for the…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    AAL was developed in the federal bureaucracy. In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, federal agencies developed “rules and regulations” for desegregating organizations and businesses receiving federal funds (Dye & Gaddie, 2016). These rules and regulations were meant to end and correct the effects of racial discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson required all federal agencies and businesses receiving federal funds to practice AAL (Dye & Gaddie, 2016). But, the Supreme Court ensures that AAL does not directly discriminate against white people in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. For example, in University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court turned down an admission program that used…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Naacp Goals

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The NAACP's principal objective is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race and prejudice. The NAACP seeks to remove all barriers of racial discrimination through the democratic processes. This mission is accomplished by seeking the enactment and enforcement of federal, state and local laws securing civil rights, and by informing the public of the adverse effects of discrimination, public policies, and other issues that impact our community. The NAACP offers scholarships and much more to African Americans. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    was involvement of both races. The early success was due in large part to the…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Profiling

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The criminal justice system of America is deeply scarred with racial bias. Crimes are being committed and, in turn, are resulting with innocent people doing hard-time. Thankfully, newfound methods of appealing court rulings are finding justice for these minorities; however, the results are as shocking as the crimes being committed. When it was found that the majority of successful appeals were of minorities, the true defects of the system was apparent. The minority community is being critically judged for things they’re not doing.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays