ACLU-WA Celebrates 75 Years on Freedom’s Frontier

In 1935 a small group that included two labor activists, a civil rights leader, a college professor, an attorney, a minister, a librarian, and a state senator founded a Seattle branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. It jumped into the controversies of the day, defending the rights of labor unionists to organize and of students to pass out anti-war literature, and protesting the raid of a Communist-sponsored school.

In succeeding decades it would be involved in numerous struggles for fairness, equality, and justice, regardless of the winds of popular opinion. It would become known and respected – and sometimes feared – in courtrooms, council chambers, and classrooms throughout Washington.

In 2010 we are commemorating the 75^th anniversary of the ACLU of Washington. What began as a handful of activists in Seattle has grown to become a statewide organization with more than 20,000 members and a staff of nearly 30.

“The ACLU has a proud and fascinating history in Washington, and we want to tell its story. We want to remind people what an indispensible organization the ACLU has been and continues to be,” said ACLU-WA Executive Director Kathleen Taylor.

The anniversary will be marked with a variety of activities and website features during the year. A highlight will be the republishing of the ACLU-WA’s popular history book, On Freedom’s Frontier, updated to include chapters on the achievements and challenges of the past three decades. We have a list of “great hits” for the ACLU and civil liberties in Washington and will have a bibliography of books about civil liberties in the state, with the anniversary culminating in festivities at the Bill of Rights Celebration Dinner in November.

Two other notable milestones for 2010 are the 90^th anniversary of the national ACLU and Kathleen Taylor’s 30^th anniversary as the ACLU-WA’s executive director.