Donation for the 50th Anniversary Appeal

Every Anniversary gift will be matched by a generous anonymous donor

ACLU of the Nation's Capital celebrates 50 Years of service to you and the country

When what came to be known as the ACLU of the National Capital Area (ACLU-NCA) began in 1961, there were only about 25 affiliates chartered across the country, and there was strong opposition by the National ACLU to the idea of establishing an affiliate in DC. There was an ACLU affiliate established in Baltimore, Maryland and none in Virginia at that time. However, with the help of Larry Speiser, then Director of the ACLU National Legislative Office, as well as several prominent local citizens such as Jim Heller, Earl Callen, Charles Horsky, David Carliner, Mrs. Harold Ickes, Frank Kameny, among others, an organizational meeting was held on November 8, 1961. Alan Barth, prominent civil libertarian and editorial writer for The Washington Post served as chair of the nominating committee. Officers were elected, by-laws drawn up and a charter granted on February 5, 1962.

In 1966 the ACLU-NCA became incorporated as an affiliate and in 1967, the Montgomery County and Prince George's County chapters were founded (these counties reverted back to the full control of the ACLU of Maryland in 2009, after having been cultivated and serviced by the ACLU of the National Capital Area for almost fifty years).

And, with our financial and administrative assistance, a northern Virginia chapter was created on September 23, 1967.

Although the Affiliate was not founded in response to any single civil liberties crisis, work began immediately. A few early lawsuits resulted in conclusive victories – a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision abolishing Virginia's anti-miscegenation law (Loving v. Virginia), for example, led to the striking down of statutes forbidding interracial marriages throughout the country. But most of the litigation and legislative activity of the early years focused on board areas of concerns that have continued to occupy the time and attention of the ACLU-NCA today: student and youth rights, preventive detention, police misconduct, employment discrimination, censorship and academic freedom, civil rights issues that involve infringement of civil liberties, church-state separation and First Amendment rights.

By April 1, 2009, the ACLU-NCA boasted a membership of over 13,000! Today, after having been required to relinquish members to the ACLUs of Virginia and Maryland, our service area has been rolled back to the District of Columbia alone, consisting roughly of 4,000 members. Despite the loss of significant revenues and members, we not only continue to serve the local DC community but also act as local counsel for most National ACLU and other affiliate lawsuits and engage in legislative and legal activities which impact the lives of all citizens all across the country as well as those who come to DC for a variety of reasons: to exercise their First Amendment rights, to visit, to pray, to work. For example, ACLU-NCA legislation has worked to protect the rights of demonstrators – an ACLU-NCA sponsored Bill to rein in police abuse became law in April 2005 and now serves as a model nationwide.

Renamed for business purposes as the ACLU of the Nation's Capital in 2009, we are proud of our legacy and continue to protect and expand civil liberties through legal action, legislative advocacy and public education. We have a continuous, active case file of roughly 80 cases, and each year we screen more than 1,000 written requests for legal assistance.

What are your civil liberties worth: Help secure the preservation of civil liberties far into the future

Help us continue to help you! Please help ensure the future of civil liberties and secure the future of this Affiliate with a minimum $51.00 tax-deductible contribution (in addition to any annual membership fee or other annual gift). There are powerful organizations and voices that would undercut civil liberties. We must be there to make the opposing argument. So, join us for the next 50 years in the ongoing effort to conserve our rights, your rights, and keep our liberties safe.

Thank you!