The ACLU was founded in 1920 by an unlikely coalition of conscientious objectors to WWI, women’s suffragists, dissenters, progressives, liberals, libertarians, and even Communists. The people behind the ACLU included Roger Baldwin, NYSEC founder Dr. Felix Adler and Leader John Lovejoy Elliott, and some extraordinary women: Jeannette Rankin (the first woman in Congress), Crystal Eastman, Jane Addams, and Helen Keller. The talk will look back at the personalities and issues of that era, look around at how the ACLU functions as a multi-issue organization today, and look ahead to the organization’s second century.
Speaker Susan N. Herman was elected President of the American Civil Liberties Union in October 2008, after having served as a member of the ACLU Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and as General Counsel.
New York City, NY; NYC