By Tab Buckner, HANC Board

The HANC Board has invited a representative from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to its September 11 General Membership Meeting. The ACLU of Northern California has been active since its 1934 formation during a time when it helped empower trade workers and labor organizers. It stood against the Japanese-American forced detentions during World War II.

In the 1950’s, the organization defended local poet and City Lights Bookstore Owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti by opposing obscenity laws for his selling Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. From the 1960’s on, the ALCU has been allied with the Civil Rights Movements of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinx and the LGBTQ+ Communities as well as for Women’s reproductive rights and anti-war demonstrators.

The ACLU fought for the civil liberties of Muslims and people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent following the 9/11 attacks. ACLU’s longtime campus protest defense has included supporting UC Berkeley’s 1964 Free Speech Movement and opposing UC Davis’s use of pepper spray on students exercising their free speech in 2011.

During the second Trump Administration, they continue to tackle voter suppression and challenge anti-immigration policies including the unlawful policing of immigrant individuals and families. HANC awaits confirmation of a Bay Area ACLU staff member to provide an update on its local community work.