Membership and Donations

Donation for the 50th Anniversary Appeal

$

Please select your tax-deductible donation level

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

50th Anniversary

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.

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!

ACLU-NCA Membership

Join the ACLU-NCA
$0.00

List any additional areas of interest

I want to defend the Bill of Rights and join the ACLU of the Nation's Capital!

Membership in the ACLU is not tax deductible and requires annual renewal to maintain. When you join, you automatically become a member of both the National ACLU and the local Affiliate where you live.

Donate to the ACLU

Donate to the ACLU of the Nation's Capital
$0.00

Please select your tax-deductible donation level

Please select your area of interest

Your support of the ACLU helps us turn these noble ideals into action that has changed the face of America — and continues to do so.

With the help of donors, the ACLU has been a leader in the fight to defend free speech, protect privacy, replace Jim Crow laws with civil rights, stop government-coerced religion, replace racial profiling and police abuse with community policing, end apartheid in the U.S. and work towards an America in which there is truly “Liberty and Justice for All.”