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142-661: It was formed by civil rights advocates who disagreed with the decision of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) not to participate directly in the defense of people charged with violations of the McCarran Act (1950) by advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Corliss Lamont later wrote: "It was felt that other organizations were not as vigorous in their defense of civil liberties as they might have been." The ACLU restricted its role in such cases to submitting amicus curiae briefs, while

284-791: A 501(c)(4) corporation–called ACLU–which is entitled to lobby. Both organizations share staff and offices. ACLU affiliates are the basic unit of the ACLU's organization and engage in litigation, lobbying, and public education. For example, in 2020, the ACLU's New Jersey chapter argued 26 cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court , about one-third of the total cases heard in that court. They sent over 50,000 emails to officials or agencies and had 28 full-time staff. A leaked ACLU memo from June 2018 said that speech that can "inflict serious harms" and "impede progress toward equality" may be

426-714: A Greyhound , left an hour earlier and was burned in a firebombing in Anniston, Alabama , seriously injuring the passengers. An hour later, the Trailways bus pulled in at the terminal in Anniston. Eight Klansmen boarded and assaulted the Freedom Riders. Peck, a frail, middle-aged man at the time, was severely injured in the beating and required fifty stitches. Later, in Birmingham , Peck and Charles Person ,

568-565: A $ 25,000 judgment in 1983. In the 1980s, the NECLC successfully represented a Pennsylvania child welfare worker who had exposed the illegal practices of his employers in Prochaska v. Pediaczko (1981). After the U.S. Department of State denied a visa to Hortensia Allende, the widow of assassinated Chilean president Salvador Allende , in 1983, the NCLC won decisions in U.S. District Court and in

710-467: A CORE representative that day, honoring William Moore in his speech. When Peck returned home after the march, he was removed from CORE, after working there for 17 years, because he was white. Peck denounced the decision as "reverse-racism," and never accepted the slogan of Black Power . After he was removed from CORE, Peck personally funded King's campaigns, especially his 1968 Poor People's Campaign . A year after being removed from CORE, Peck took part in

852-561: A Communist after being removed, but was let go without charges. Protests broke out in several cities on August 30, 1948, the first day to register for the peacetime draft. Peck joined Bayard Rustin at a rally in NYC without arrests. Peck and Rustin were arrested on September 3, 1948, at an anti-draft picket in NYC. Both Peck and Rustin received 15 days in Rikers Island, after the judge yelled racial slurs at Rustin. Peck protested outside

994-718: A NYC courthouse on October 15, 1948, in support of Stuart Perkoff, who was the first person in NYC to defy the Selective Service Act. Two weeks later Perkoff changed his mind, fearing a long sentence. Peck supported the World Citizens Movement headed by Garry Davis, who objected to conscription and war. WWII COs supported Davis when he was in court in France in October 1949. October 4 was announced as an international pacifist day of solidarity, and Peck

1136-399: A barrage of local ordinances that banned screenings deemed immoral or obscene. Even public health films portraying pregnancy and birth were banned, as was Life magazine's April 11, 1938, issue, which included photos of the birth process. The ACLU fought these bans but did not prevail. The Catholic Church attained increasing political influence in the 1930s; it used its influence to promote

1278-556: A black girl to be his date at the Freshman dance. He dropped out of school at the end of his freshman year when "his alienation from his family and the American establishment was complete". Peck was married to the former Paula Zweier for twenty-two years. She was a teacher of cooking and author of The Art of Fine Baking (1961) and Art of Good Cooking (1966). Paula Peck died in 1972. They had two sons, Charles and Samuel. Peck

1420-470: A black student from Atlanta, were the first to descend from the bus, into a crowd of Klansmen who, with the organizational help of Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor , were waiting for the Freedom Riders. Howard K. Smith , reporting on-the-scene for CBS , described the ensuing violence on the radio, in words cited by John Lewis in his 1998 autobiography, Walking with the Wind : "Toughs grabbed

1562-522: A contentious six-hour debate – Flynn was voted off the ACLU's board. The 1940 resolution was considered by many to be a betrayal of its fundamental principles. The resolution was rescinded in 1968, and Flynn was posthumously reinstated to the ACLU in 1970. The ACLU had a decidedly mixed civil liberties record during World War II. While there were far fewer sedition prosecutions than in World War I, this did not mean that President Roosevelt

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1704-472: A county demanding the removal of a Ten Commandments display from its courthouse; a second Ten Commandments case in the state, in a different county, led to a $ 74,462 judgment. The State of Tennessee was required to pay $ 50,000, the State of Alabama $ 175,000, and the State of Kentucky $ 121,500, in similar Ten Commandments cases. Most of the organization's workload is performed by its local affiliates. There

1846-590: A crime." The De Jonge case marked the start of an era lasting for a dozen years, during which Roosevelt appointees (led by Hugo Black , William O. Douglas , and Frank Murphy ) established a body of civil liberties law. In 1938, Justice Harlan F. Stone wrote the famous "footnote four" in United States v. Carolene Products Co. in which he suggested that state laws which impede civil liberties would – henceforth – require compelling justification. Senator Robert F. Wagner proposed

1988-542: A foreign power violated the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. constitution. In 1965, it won Corliss Lamont's challenge to a law requiring those who wished to receive Communist publications from foreign countries though the U.S. mail to file a request with the Post Office. In 1968, to determine "the constitutional rights of juveniles in public schools", it backed the right of an 11-year-old school student to circulate

2130-509: A legal aid society centered on store front offices in low-income neighborhoods. The ACLU directors rejected that proposal. Other ACLU members wanted the ACLU to shift focus into the political arena and be more willing to compromise their ideals to strike deals with politicians. The ACLU leadership also rejected this initiative. The ACLU's support of defendants with unpopular, sometimes extreme, viewpoints has produced many landmark court cases and established new civil liberties. One such defendant

2272-552: A lower priority for the organization. The ACLU opposes any effort to create a national registry of gun owners and has worked with the National Rifle Association of America to prevent a registry from being created, and it has favored protecting the right to carry guns under the 4th Amendment. The ACLU opposes state censorship of the Confederate flag . A variety of persons and organizations support

2414-465: A more active role in protecting civil liberties—was De Jonge v. Oregon , in which a communist labor organizer was arrested for calling a meeting to discuss unionization. The ACLU attorney Osmond Fraenkel , working with International Labor Defense , defended De Jonge in 1937 and won a major victory when the Supreme Court ruled that "peaceable assembly for lawful discussion cannot be made

2556-842: A new name, the American Civil Liberties Union. Although a handful of other organizations in the United States at that time focused on civil rights, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) and Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the ACLU was the first that did not represent a particular group of persons or a single theme. Like the CLB, the NAACP pursued litigation to work on civil rights, including efforts to overturn

2698-578: A newspaper from publishing, simply because the newspaper had a reputation for being scandalous. The late 1930s saw the emergence of a new era of tolerance in the United States. National leaders hailed the Bill of Rights , particularly as it protected minorities, as the essence of democracy. The 1939 Supreme Court decision in Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization affirmed the right of communists to promote their cause. Even conservative elements, such as

2840-551: A personal friend of Luke E. Hart , the then–Supreme Advocate and future Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus , offered to join forces with the Knights to challenge the law. The Knights of Columbus pledged an immediate $ 10,000 to fight the law and any additional funds necessary to defeat it. The case became known as Pierce v. Society of Sisters , a United States Supreme Court decision that significantly expanded coverage of

2982-409: A petition calling for the removal of his school principal. It objected to attempts to bar girls from wearing pants to school as well. In 1968, the NECLC reorganized as a membership organization, with the members controlling the organization's policies. It hoped to attract ACLU members dissatisfied with that organization's less radical posture, notably its hesitant approach to advocacy in cases involving

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3124-632: A radical journalist. He assisted the War Resisters League , and eventually became editor of WRL News until the 1980s. He also edited the Worker's Defense League News Bulletin . In the 1930s he wrote a labor column for a paper conducted by WRL, The Conscientious Objector . Beginning in 1938, he worked at Federated Press and reported on union activism and joined the American Newspaper Guild. Peck worked as editor of

3266-446: A reputation as an independent thinker. At the same time, he adopted idealistic political doctrines. He enrolled and studied at Harvard in 1933. While studying at Harvard, Peck polished his skills as a writer and engaged in radical acts that ended up shocking his classmates and forcing him to become the outsider once again. Peck wrote that his mother "referred to Negroes as 'coons'" and he chose to defy her and his classmates by asking

3408-584: A second time during the Journey, for sitting in an integrated fashion on the bus in Asheville, North Carolina. In the summer of 1947, Peck was beaten and arrested two times during a CORE campaign that aimed to integrate Palisades Park in New Jersey, which directly led to the passage of the New Jersey 1949 Freeman Bill. He was first arrested with six other people on August 3, 1947, for picketing in front of

3550-679: A town, state, or federal agency may be required to change its laws or behave differently, but not to pay monetary damages except by an explicit statutory waiver. In some cases, the law permits plaintiffs who successfully sue government agencies to collect money damages or other monetary relief. In particular, the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 leaves the government liable in some civil rights cases. Fee awards under this civil rights statute are considered "equitable relief" rather than damages, and government entities are not immune from equitable relief. Under laws such as this,

3692-534: A wealthy clothing wholesaler, who died when his son was eleven years old. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall , a private boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut . Even though Peck and his family had converted from Judaism to the Episcopalian Church, Peck was still considered a social outsider at Choate. Peck preferred the fellowship of scholarly intellectuals, and in their company he developed

3834-488: A work strike on a boat for better food during his first voyage. In September 1935, Peck was on a boat that anchored in Pensacola, Florida, where Peck joined the longshoremen who were on strike. Peck claimed the union hall was fully integrated at the time by the striking longshoremen. Peck remained there for two weeks before police arrested him for distributing rank-and-file literature on a boat, marking his first arrest. In

3976-497: A work strike that eventually led to the desegregation of the mess hall. During this time, he participated, as did many other conscientious objectors, in medical experiments, especially a yellow jaundice experiment which permanently damaged his liver. Peck viewed it as volunteering to help discover a cure for the disease, and for humanity. Peck was released from Danbury prison in 1945, and immediately joined protests to grant amnesty to WWII conscientious objectors (COs). Peck worked with

4118-628: Is at least one affiliate organization in each state, as well as one in Washington, D.C. , and in Puerto Rico . California has three affiliates. The affiliates operate autonomously from the national organization; each affiliate has its own staff, executive director, board of directors, and budget. Each affiliate consists of two non-profit corporations: a 501(c)(3) corporation–called the ACLU Foundation–that does not perform lobbying, and

4260-588: The American Bar Association , began to campaign for civil liberties, which were long considered to be the domain of left-leaning organizations. By 1940, the ACLU had achieved many of the goals it set in the 1920s, and many of its policies were the law of the land. In 1929, after the Scopes and Dennett victories, Baldwin perceived that there was vast, untapped support for civil liberties in the United States. Baldwin proposed an expansion program for

4402-647: The American Legion , the National Civic Federation , and Industrial Defense Association and the Allied Patriotic Societies. ACLU leadership was divided on how to challenge civil rights violations. One faction, including Baldwin, Arthur Garfield Hays , and Norman Thomas , believed that direct, militant action was the best path. Another group, including Walter Nelles and Walter Pollak , felt that lawsuits taken to

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4544-601: The Civil Rights Movement . He is the only person who participated in both the Journey of Reconciliation (1947) and the first Freedom Ride of 1961, and has been called a white civil rights hero. Peck advocated nonviolent civil disobedience throughout his life, and was arrested more than 60 times between the 1930s and 1980s. James Peck (usually called "Jim") was born in Manhattan , the son of Samuel Peck,

4686-610: The Communist Party USA , leading it to be the primary client of the ACLU. At the same time, the Communists were very aggressive in their tactics, often engaging in illegal conduct such as denying their party membership under oath. This led to frequent conflicts between the Communists and ACLU. Communist leaders sometimes attacked the ACLU, particularly when the ACLU defended the free speech rights of conservatives, whereas Communists tried to disrupt speeches by critics of

4828-583: The Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment . In a unanimous decision, the court held that the act was unconstitutional and that parents, not the state, had the authority to educate children as they thought best. It upheld the religious freedom of parents to educate their children in religious schools. Leaders of the ACLU were divided on the best tactics to use to promote civil liberties. Felix Frankfurter felt that legislation

4970-805: The First Circuit Court of Appeals in 1988 that the government's action violated the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 . In June 1990, the NECLC file suit against the Department of the Treasury which was continuing to ban the importation of paintings, drawings and sculpture from Cuba, despite exemptions provided for "informational materials" in the Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1988. Plaintiffs included Sandra Levinson , director of

5112-498: The Garland Fund . Lucille Bernheimer Milner was cofounder of the American Civil Liberties Union. She also served for a time as Executive Secretary. During the 1920s, the ACLU's primary focus was on freedom of speech in general and speech within the labor movement particularly. Because most of the ACLU's efforts were associated with the labor movement, the ACLU itself came under heavy attack from conservative groups, such as

5254-539: The Hotel Americana in New York City. American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. , and Puerto Rico . The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases where it considers civil liberties at risk. Legal support from the ACLU can take

5396-504: The Journey of Reconciliation in April 1947, which was an interstate integrated bus journey through the South, and acted as a precursor to the later Freedom Rides of 1961. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, during the Journey, Peck was attacked by an angry white mob, with one mob member punching him in the side of the head, but Peck remained nonviolent and safely walked away. Peck was arrested

5538-618: The March Against Fear in June 1966. During this campaign the slogan Black Power arose, which Peck bitterly denounced. At a concert held one night during the march, Peck wrote King a letter, stating: I wanted to assure you that, despite the dirty deal I have received from CORE, I am still with The Movement and shall be as long as I live. When King was assassinated in April 1968, Peck honored him by traveling to Memphis on April 8, to join 40,000 other demonstrators marching in support of

5680-715: The Memphis Sanitation strike that King had supported prior to his death. After the Memphis March, Peck traveled to Atlanta for King's funeral, which concluded with 50,000 demonstrators marching over four miles. In May 1969, Peck joined Coretta King and Ralph Abernathy in Charleston, South Carolina, to support black nurses on strike. Peck continued civil rights activism into the 1970s. On March 8, 1975, he joined 3,000 people in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate

5822-596: The National Labor Relations Act in 1935, which empowered workers to unionize. Ironically, after 15 years of fighting for workers' rights, the ACLU initially opposed the act (it later took no stand on the legislation) because some ACLU leaders feared the increased power the bill gave to the government. The newly formed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) posed a dilemma for the ACLU because, in 1937, it issued an order to Henry Ford , prohibiting Ford from disseminating anti-union literature. Part of

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5964-482: The National Organization for Women . The ACLU has been criticized by liberals such as when it excluded communists from its leadership ranks, when it defended Neo-Nazis , when it declined to defend Paul Robeson , or when it opposed the passage of the National Labor Relations Act . In 2014, an ACLU affiliate supported anti-Islam protesters, and in 2018 the ACLU was criticized when it supported

6106-623: The New Deal to combat the depression. ACLU leaders were of mixed opinions about the New Deal since many felt that it represented an increase in government intervention into personal affairs and because the National Recovery Administration suspended antitrust legislation. The economic policies of the New Deal leaders were often aligned with ACLU goals, but social goals were not. In particular, movies were subject to

6248-472: The disfranchisement of African Americans in the South that had taken place since the turn of the century. During the first decades of the ACLU, Baldwin continued as its leader. His charisma and energy attracted many supporters to the ACLU board and leadership ranks. The ACLU was directed by an executive committee and was not particularly democratic or egalitarian. New Yorkers dominated the ACLU's headquarters. Most ACLU funding came from philanthropies, such as

6390-420: The right of LGBT people to adopt ; supporting reproductive rights such as birth control and abortion rights ; eliminating discrimination against women, minorities , and LGBT people; decarceration in the United States ; protecting housing and employment rights of veterans ; reforming sex offender registries and protecting housing and employment rights of convicted first-time offenders; supporting

6532-422: The rights of prisoners and opposing torture ; upholding the separation of church and state by opposing government preference for religion over non-religion or for particular faiths over others; and supporting the legality of gender-affirming treatments, including those that are government funded, for trans youth. Legally, the ACLU consists of two separate but closely affiliated nonprofit organizations, namely

6674-610: The "Golden Rule," and was arrested with the crew six miles off the shore of Honolulu. The entire crew served 60 days in jail. Peck became one of the most famous antinuclear activists in the country following the "Golden Rule" campaign. He traveled to the Geneva Conference that fall to advocate for a mutual test ban treaty between the US and Soviet Union. On June 18, 1960, when Peck was picketing nuclear bases in New London, he

6816-536: The "first nonviolent direct action against nuclear tests." On July 24, 1946, Peck and 35 demonstrators pulled around a stuffed goat rented from a taxidermist in New York City, representing the actual goats left on the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. conducted the Bikini atom bomb experiment that day. Peck was arrested that day and received a $ 10 fine. A few weeks later Peck and a similar size group marched from

6958-577: The ACLU Foundation, on average, has accounted for roughly 70% of the combined budget, and the ACLU roughly 30%. The ACLU solicits donations to its charitable foundation. The local affiliates solicit their own funding; however, some also receive funds from the national ACLU, with the distribution and amount of such assistance varying from state to state. At its discretion, the national organization provides subsidies to smaller affiliates that lack sufficient resources to be self-sustaining; for example,

7100-522: The ACLU and its state affiliates sometimes share in monetary judgments against government agencies. In 2006, the Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act sought to prevent monetary judgments in the particular case of violations of church-state separation. The ACLU has received court-awarded fees from opponents; for example, the Georgia affiliate was awarded $ 150,000 in fees after suing

7242-429: The ACLU by a major US newspaper. The ACLU continued to fight for the separation of church and state in schoolrooms, decade after decade, including the 1982 case McLean v. Arkansas and the 2005 case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District . Baldwin was involved in a significant free speech victory of the 1920s after he was arrested for attempting to speak at a rally of striking mill workers in New Jersey. Although

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7384-427: The ACLU does not always agree on policy decisions; differences of opinion within the ACLU leadership have sometimes grown into major debates. In 1937, an internal debate erupted over whether to defend Henry Ford 's right to distribute anti-union literature. In 1939, a heated debate took place over whether to prohibit communists from serving in ACLU leadership roles. During the early 1950s and Cold War McCarthyism ,

7526-465: The ACLU from Communism; opposing them were Harry F. Ward, Corliss Lamont , and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn , who rejected any political test for ACLU leadership. A bitter struggle ensued throughout 1939, and the anti-Communists prevailed in February 1940 when the board voted to prohibit anyone who supported totalitarianism from ACLU leadership roles. Ward immediately resigned, and – following

7668-492: The ACLU leadership habitually took the side of labor, and that faction supported the NLRB's action. But part of the ACLU supported Ford's right to free speech. ACLU leader Arthur Garfield Hays proposed a compromise (supporting the auto workers union, yet also endorsing Ford's right to express personal opinions), but the schism highlighted a deeper divide that would become more prominent in the years to come. The ACLU's support of

7810-515: The ACLU lobbied for the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act , which restored some autonomy to Native American tribes, and established penalties for kidnapping Native American children. Although the ACLU deferred to the NAACP for litigation promoting civil liberties for African Americans, the ACLU engaged in educational efforts and published Black Justice in 1931, a report which documented institutional racism throughout

7952-797: The ACLU represents an individual or organization that promotes offensive or unpopular viewpoints, such as the Ku Klux Klan , neo-Nazis, the Nation of Islam , the North American Man/Boy Love Association , the Westboro Baptist Church or the Unite the Right rally . The ACLU's official policy is "... [we have] represented or defended individuals engaged in some truly offensive speech. We have defended

8094-448: The ACLU to broaden their freedom of speech efforts beyond labor and political speech to encompass movies, press, radio, and literature. The ACLU formed the National Committee on Freedom from Censorship in 1931 to coordinate this effort. By the early 1930s, censorship in the United States was diminishing. Two major victories in the 1930s cemented the ACLU's campaign to promote free speech. In Stromberg v. California , decided in 1931,

8236-541: The ACLU was founded – it had achieved significant success; the Supreme Court had embraced the free speech principles espoused by the ACLU, and the general public was becoming more supportive of civil rights in general. But the Great Depression brought new assaults on civil liberties; the year 1930 saw a large increase in the number of free speech prosecutions, a doubling of the number of lynchings, and all meetings of unemployed persons were banned in Philadelphia. The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration proposed

8378-402: The ACLU was mentioned several times, leading the HUAC to mention the ACLU prominently in its 1939 report. This damaged the ACLU's reputation severely, even though the report said that it could not "definitely state whether or not" the ACLU was a Communist organization. While the ACLU rushed to defend its image against allegations of being a Communist front, it also protected witnesses harassed by

8520-488: The ACLU were hostile towards Nazism and fascism and objected when the ACLU defended Nazis. The ACLU defended numerous pro-Nazi groups, defending their rights to free speech and free association. In the late 1930s, the ACLU allied itself with the Popular Front , a coalition of liberal organizations coordinated by the United States Communist Party . The ACLU benefited because affiliates from the Popular Front could often fight local civil rights battles much more effectively than

8662-432: The ACLU's board of directors, leads fundraising, and facilitates policy-setting. The executive director manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. The board of directors consists of 80 persons, including representatives from each state affiliate and at-large delegates. The organization has its headquarters in 125 Broad Street , a 40-story skyscraper located in Lower Manhattan , New York City. The leadership of

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8804-425: The ACLU, focusing on police brutality, Native American rights, African American rights, censorship in the arts, and international civil liberties. The board of directors approved Baldwin's expansion plan, except for the international efforts. The ACLU played a significant role in passing the 1932 Norris–La Guardia Act , a federal law that prohibited employers from preventing employees from joining unions and stopped

8946-418: The ACLU. The ACLU receives thousands of grants from hundreds of charitable foundations annually. Allies of the ACLU in legal actions have included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , the American Jewish Congress , People for the American Way , the National Rifle Association of America , the Electronic Frontier Foundation , Americans United for Separation of Church and State and

9088-521: The American Civil Liberties Union, a 501(c)(4) social welfare group; and the ACLU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity . Both organizations engage in civil rights litigation, advocacy, and education, but only donations to the 501(c)(3) foundation are tax deductible, and only the 501(c)(4) group can engage in unlimited political lobbying . The ACLU is led by a president and an executive director, Deborah Archer and Anthony D. Romero , respectively, as of March 2024. The president acts as chair of

9230-453: The Amnesty Committee in organizing protests and writing press releases. Peck took part in the first amnesty protest at the White House on October 15, 1945. Peck picketed outside Danbury Prison on February 12, 1946, demanding amnesty, while prisoners were on strike inside. On May 11, 1946, Peck joined the largest amnesty protest until then of 100 people at the White House, while CO prisoners carried out hunger strikes. On December 22, 1946, Peck

9372-400: The Bible should be interpreted literally in teaching creationism in school. The ACLU lost the case, and Scopes was fined $ 100. The Tennessee Supreme Court later upheld the law. Still, it overturned the conviction on a technicality. The Scopes trial was a phenomenal public relations success for the ACLU. The ACLU became well known across America, and the case led to the first endorsement of

9514-402: The British embassy, where he performed a sit-down. In October, Peck joined over 10,000 demonstrators in protesting against nuclear war in NYC, which was the largest antinuclear rally up until then. Then on Easter in 1963, Peck was a guest speaker for the rally in Detroit that gathered over a thousand demonstrators. When the Test-Ban Treaty was signed by the U.S. and U.S.S.R in 1963, Peck claimed

9656-502: The CLB was on freedom of speech , primarily anti-war speech, and on supporting conscientious objectors who did not want to serve in World War I. In 1918, Crystal Eastman resigned from the organization due to health issues. After assuming sole leadership of the CLB, Baldwin insisted that the organization be reorganized. He wanted to change its focus from litigation to direct action and public education. The CLB directors concurred, and on January 19, 1920, they formed an organization under

9798-420: The CORE-lator from the 1940s-1960s for CORE. Beginning in 1967, Peck became news editor of WIN magazine, a youth antiwar magazine. At times he wrote articles in numerous pacifist publications, such as Liberation magazine. Peck's first protest was in New York City (NYC) at an anti-Nazi rally in 1934. His second protest was at the NYC 1934 May Day parade. Peck was hired as a deck boy in 1935, and he joined in

9940-443: The Center for Cuban Studies, Dore Ashton , professor of art history at Cooper Union, and Mario Salvadori , professor emeritus of architecture and engineering at Columbia University. The Treasury modified its regulations in response to the suit on April 1, 1991. In 1998, the NECLC merged into the Center for Constitutional Rights . On December 13, 1963, the NECLC presented Bob Dylan its Tom Paine Award for Civil Rights efforts at

10082-499: The HUAC. The ACLU was one of the few organizations to protest (unsuccessfully) against the passage of the Smith Act in 1940, which would later be used to imprison many persons who supported Communism. The ACLU defended many persons who were prosecuted under the Smith Act, including labor leader Harry Bridges . ACLU leadership was split on whether to purge its leadership of Communists. Norman Thomas , John Haynes Holmes , and Morris Ernst were anti-Communists who wanted to distance

10224-470: The NECLC participated directly in the defense of those charged. In the 1960s, the NECLC's director, Henry di Suvero, explained how he thought its mission differed from that of the ACLU: "A.C.L.U. takes only clear cases of violations of civil liberties. We take cases that are not so clear." He had left the ACLU because he wanted greater involvement in progressive causes in addition to classic civil rights issues. In

10366-466: The NLRB was a significant development for the ACLU because it marked the first time it accepted that a government agency could be responsible for upholding civil liberties. Until 1937, the ACLU felt that citizens and private organizations best upheld civil rights. Some factions in the ACLU proposed new directions for the organization. In the late 1930s, some local affiliates proposed shifting their emphasis from civil liberties appellate actions to becoming

10508-696: The NMU. On May 11, 1936, Peck was arrested for the second time in his life. Police clashed with striking seamen that day, with Peck being beaten and arrested. This marked Peck's first mass arrest, as one of 221 strikers arrested that day. That night they were arraigned, making it the largest group every arraigned at the same time in that courtroom. During World War II , Peck was a conscientious objector and an anti-war activist , and consequently spent three years in jail at Danbury Correctional Institution in Connecticut (1942–1945). While in prison, he helped start

10650-603: The NRA. Conversely, it has been criticized by conservatives such as when it argued against official prayer in public schools or when it opposed the Patriot Act . The ACLU has supported conservative figures such as Rush Limbaugh , George Wallace , Henry Ford and Oliver North as well as liberal figures such as Dick Gregory , Rockwell Kent and Benjamin Spock . Major sources of criticism are legal cases in which

10792-436: The NYC station for the "Freedom Train" - a patriotic train filled with U.S. declarations and documents that ran through 48 states in two years beginning in 1947. Demonstrators once again wore prison outfits, which gained the attention of thousands of bystanders and reporters at the station. Police ordered them to move, but 19 activists, including Peck, refused to move and were arrested. Those arrested won in court, and years later

10934-672: The New York-based ACLU. The association with the Communist Party led to accusations that the ACLU was a "Communist front", particularly because Harry F. Ward was both chairman of the ACLU and chairman of the American League Against War and Fascism , a Communist organization. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created in 1938 to uncover sedition and treason within the United States. When witnesses testified at its hearings,

11076-689: The Pentagon down Pennsylvania Avenue, and were arrested for marching without a permit. Peck and a small group of pacifists protested at the NYC Easter Parade on May 27, 1947, passing out antinuclear literature. Peck and nine other activists were arrested while marching along the side of the parade. Peck refused to pay the $ 10 fine, and served 15 days in Rikers Island. Peck marched in the Easter Parade against nuclear weapons on April 17, 1949, along with eight other activists. Police ordered

11218-549: The South, including lack of voting rights, segregation, and discrimination in the justice system. Funded by the Garland Fund , the ACLU also participated in producing the influential Margold Report , which outlined a strategy to fight for civil rights for blacks. The ACLU planned to demonstrate that the " separate but equal " policies governing the Southern discrimination were illegal because blacks were never, in fact, treated equally. In 1932 – twelve years after

11360-478: The Supreme Court sided with the ACLU and affirmed the right of a communist party member to salute a communist flag. The result was the first time the Supreme Court used the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment to subject states to the requirements of the First Amendment . In Near v. Minnesota , also decided in 1931, the Supreme Court ruled that states may not exercise prior restraint and prevent

11502-514: The Supreme Court were the best way to achieve change. In addition to labor, the ACLU also led efforts in non-labor arenas, for example, promoting free speech in public schools. The ACLU was banned from speaking in New York public schools in 1921. The ACLU, working with the NAACP , also supported racial discrimination cases. The ACLU defended free speech regardless of espoused opinions. For example,

11644-880: The Supreme Court. Peck continued his activism, by demonstrating against the Vietnam War . Peck began demonstrating against the Vietnam War in 1963 through the WRL-initiated Committee of Public Conscience and the Crisis Subcommittee, which quickly organized demonstrations in crisis situations. In October 1964 he helped launch the weekly Times Square Vigil against the war, which he participated in nearly every week for 8 1/3 years, from October 1964, to January 1973. Between 1965 and 1975, Peck attended every major rally in Washington, D.C., and

11786-526: The Supreme court reversed itself. The rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Russia, and other countries that rejected freedom of speech and association greatly impacted the civil liberties movement in the US; anti-Communist sentiment rose, and civil liberties were curtailed. The ACLU leadership was divided over whether or not to defend pro- Nazi speech in the United States; pro-labor elements within

11928-525: The Test-Ban Treaty, the antinuclear movement was overshadowed by the antiwar movement, and didn't gain momentum again until the 1970s. After the war he became a "radical journalist". Peck joined the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1946, where he worked as the publicity officer, and later as the editor for the "CORE-lator." Peck worked for CORE, one of the main civil rights organizations in

12070-681: The USSR. This uneasy relationship between the two groups continued for decades. Five years after the ACLU was formed, the organization had virtually no success to show for its efforts. That changed in 1925, when the ACLU persuaded John T. Scopes to defy Tennessee's anti- evolution law in The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes . Clarence Darrow , a member of the ACLU National Committee, headed Scopes' legal team. The prosecution, led by William Jennings Bryan , contended that

12212-419: The United States or elsewhere" in telegrams to several sponsors of an NECLC public forum. Two of the sponsors withdrew, including theologian Paul Tillich , who said he was unable to ascertain the truth of the charge. The NECLC replied: "We are opposed to communism and other authoritarian movements. We are committed to civil liberties as a bulwark of American democratic strength at home and abroad." Another case

12354-662: The Wyoming ACLU chapter received such subsidies until April 2015, when, as part of a round of layoffs at the national ACLU, the Wyoming office was closed. In October 2004, the ACLU rejected $ 1.5 million from both the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation because the foundations had adopted language from the USA PATRIOT Act in their donation agreements, including a clause stipulating that none of

12496-503: The board was divided on whether to defend communists. In 1968, a schism formed over whether to represent Benjamin Spock 's anti-war activism. In 1973, as the Watergate Scandal continued to unfold, leadership was initially divided over whether to call for President Nixon 's impeachment and removal from office. In 2005, there was internal conflict about whether or not a gag rule should be imposed on ACLU employees to prevent

12638-520: The censorship of movies and to discourage the publication of birth control information. This conflict between the ACLU and the Catholic Church led to the resignation of the last Catholic priest from ACLU leadership in 1934; a Catholic priest would not be represented again until the 1970s. The first decision that marked the Supreme Court's major shift in policy —no longer applying strict constitutional limits to government programs, and taking

12780-581: The civil liberties of all Americans, no matter what may be their political or economic viewpoint." Clark Foreman, a former administrator of New Deal programs and in 1948 treasurer of the Wallace for President Committee, served as the director of the NECLC from 1951 to 1968. In 1953, the American Committee for Cultural Freedom, headed by executive director Irving Kristol , called the NECLC "a "Communist front with no sincere interest in liberty in

12922-682: The construction of the Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. On October 20, Peck spoke about the racist policies in front of 700 demonstrators at a NYC rally. On August 28, 1963, Peck proudly represented CORE at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , which over 250,000 persons attended. On December 7, Peck traveled to the newest Levittown in Bowie, Maryland, to picket the discriminatory housing policies. On April 22, 1964, Peck

13064-407: The credit was due to the nonviolent direct actions over the past decade. Throughout the antinuclear campaign, Peck opposed the use of nuclear weapons by all nations, and he chanted the popular pacifist slogan: "No Tests – East or West." In October 1964, when China conducted its first nuclear test, Peck took part in the first American protest against China's use of nuclear weapons. After the signing of

13206-486: The decision was limited to the state of New Jersey, the appeals court's judgment in 1928 declared that constitutional guarantees of free speech must be given "liberal and comprehensive construction", and it marked a major turning point in the civil rights movement , signaling the shift of judicial opinion in favor of civil rights. The most important ACLU case of the 1920s was Gitlow v. New York , in which Benjamin Gitlow

13348-427: The distribution of sex education information based on the premise that it was obscene and led to promiscuous behavior. Mary Ware Dennett was fined $ 300 in 1928 for distributing a pamphlet containing sex education material. The ACLU, led by Morris Ernst, appealed her conviction and won a reversal, in which judge Learned Hand ruled that the pamphlet's primary purpose was to "promote understanding". The success prompted

13490-516: The draft and anti-war protests. Around the same time it launched a project to challenge the all-white jury system in certain Southern states. In March 1976, NECLC represented James Peck , a young Freedom Rider who had been beaten unconscious by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama , in 1961. Peck sued the FBI for knowing about the likelihood of an attack and failing to prevent it. Disputes over access to government documents lasted for years. He won

13632-525: The draft. The peacetime draft passed on June 19, 1948. Continued protests by Randolph and pacifists led to Truman passing Executive Order 9981, which abolished segregation in the military. This brought an end to Peck working with Randolph. On June 5, 1948, Peck joined 75 demonstrators in a creative picket outside the White House against UMT. Peck and seven other demonstrators wore red, white and blue Uncle Sam outfits, as they goose-stepped in circles. After

13774-409: The eulogy at his funeral. Peck gave the opening speech on May 19, when several dozen activists continued the march from where Moore was shot down. After the walkers were arrested and taken to jail, Peck and others marched to the jail singing Freedom songs. On August 2, 1963, Peck was one of 30 people arrested for performing a sit-down in the street, while protesting the discriminatory state policies for

13916-418: The form of direct legal representation or preparation of amicus curiae briefs expressing legal arguments when another law firm is already providing representation. In addition to representing persons and organizations in lawsuits, the ACLU lobbies for policy positions established by its board of directors. The ACLU's current positions include opposing the death penalty ; supporting same-sex marriage and

14058-617: The group to disperse, but Peck and Mat Kauten refused, and were both arrested. Peck was carried to the police squad by four cops, and his arrest landed in the New York Times. Peck served five days in jail. Peck was arrested again at the Easter Parade with three other people in 1952. In April 1950, Peck joined the peace vigil at the Maryland AEC to protest the hydrogen bomb. Peck was briefly arrested for passing out literature in NYC during an air raid drill on September 25, 1953, but

14200-628: The labor movement in the 1930s, Peck helped to found what later became the National Maritime Union . Joseph Curran led a strike aboard a ship in March 1936, anchored in NYC. Peck picketed with the longshoremen for the first time on March 22, 1936. He then picketed again from November 1936 to January 1937. Curran led the fight against Joe Ryan. This led to the formation of the NMU, the strongest east coast longshoremen union. Peck later criticized Joseph Curran's transformation once in power of

14342-529: The landmark case United States v. One Book Called Ulysses in 1933, which reversed a ban by the Customs Department against the book Ulysses by James Joyce . The ACLU only achieved mixed results in the early years, and it was not until 1966 that the Supreme Court finally clarified the obscenity laws in the Roth v. United States and Memoirs v. Massachusetts cases. The Comstock laws banned

14484-572: The large "Walk for Peace" campaigns conducted internationally, and became involved in the "Golden Rule" campaign. The "Golden Rule" was a 30-foot ketch that set sail into the nuclear testing sites in the Pacific Ocean as an act of protest. Peck was not part of the initial crew, but participated in a week-long fast inside an AEC building, with roughly a dozen other persons in support of the Golden Rule. In June, Peck filled an open spot on

14626-475: The largest act of civil disobedience against the program. In 1957, Peck was one of the founding members of the new organization Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons, one of the leading antinuclear groups at that time. Peck was arrested with ten others at the organization's first event on August 6, 1957, for performing civil disobedience at the nuclear test site in Nevada. Beginning in 1958, Peck took part in

14768-505: The meetings. From the floor, Peck argued that the company should enforce integration in the south. Similarly, he attended Grant's 1954 stockholder meeting, where he successfully convinced business owners to desegregate their chains in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1960, Peck used this same formula to protest the stockholder meetings for Woolworth's, Grant's and Kress, as well as protesting McCrory's meeting in April 1961. The Proxies Campaign

14910-406: The money would go to "underwriting terrorism or other unacceptable activities". The ACLU views this clause, both in federal law and in the donors' agreements, as a threat to civil liberties, saying it is overly broad and ambiguous. Due to the nature of its legal work, the ACLU is often involved in litigation against governmental bodies, which are generally protected from adverse monetary judgments;

15052-658: The most popular action that day, when 15 people burned their draft cards at the White House without any arrests. Peck worked with A. Philip Randolph, a black union leader, after President Truman proposed the Universal Military Training Act (UMT), which continued segregation in the military. In April 1948, the WRL assigned Peck to head the Committee on Publicity, which was tasked with printing letters of support for Randolph's call of nonviolent resistance to

15194-459: The north during the 1960s, from 1947 to 1965, before he was removed when the organization ousted white leaders. Throughout the 1950s, CORE was a tiny organization with only a handful of members, providing Peck the opportunity to take a leading role in the organization as the head editor, until CORE grew dramatically in the 1960s. Peck was arrested with Bayard Rustin in Durham, North Carolina , during

15336-466: The passage of UMT, Peck took on an individual protest at the White House on June 22, 1948. Peck entered the White House in a public tour and quickly chained himself to a banister, and then removed his jacket to reveal a shirt with the hand-painted slogan: "Veto the Draft." This became one of his most famous protests at the time, and it garnered the attention of most news stations. He was interrogated as being

15478-447: The passengers into alleys and corridors, pounding them with pipes, with key rings, and with fists. One passenger was knocked down at my feet by twelve of the hoodlums, and his face was beaten and kicked until it was a bloody pulp." Lewis adds, "That was Jim Peck's face." Peck was severely beaten and needed 53 stitches to his head. Peck was taken to Carraway Methodist Medical Center , a segregated hospital, which refused to treat him. He

15620-456: The police chief was ordered to issue a public apology. On Christmas Day, 1947, Peck joined 15 activists outside the White House, two days after President Truman granted amnesty on solely religious grounds to 1,523 COs out of more than 15,000. This meant Peck's sentence was not removed from his record. In January 1948, Peck wrote in a letter to the editor in the New York Times , stating that 16 other countries granted amnesty to all WWII COs, and

15762-616: The pool ticket booth. On August 31, 1947, Peck was one of 28 people were arrested outside Palisades Park, and he claimed a police officer knocked him unconscious. Throughout the 1950s, Peck endorsed Martin Luther King Jr.'s Montgomery Campaign, while debating Roy Wilkins of the NAACP about how direct action was just as critically needed as legal procedures in winning civil rights. During the southern sit-in movement in 1960, Peck and other CORE members performed weekly pickets outside Woolworth stores for 15 months straight in NYC. Peck

15904-464: The poor. Red-baiting continued for decades. In 1971, after a congressman called NECLC chairman Corliss Lamont an "identified member of the Communist Party, U.S.A." and said the NECLC was "controlled" by Communists, Lamont issued a statement that "although it is no disgrace to belong to the Communist party, I have never even dreamed of joining it." He said the NECLC "is strictly nonpartisan and defends

16046-467: The practice of outlawing strikes, marriages, and labor organizing activities with the use of injunctions. The ACLU also played a key role in initiating a nationwide effort to reduce misconduct (such as extracting false confessions) within police departments by publishing the report Lawlessness in Law Enforcement in 1931, under the auspices of Herbert Hoover 's Wickersham Commission . In 1934,

16188-443: The publication of internal disputes. In the year ending March 31, 2014, the ACLU and the ACLU Foundation had a combined income from support and revenue of $ 100.4 million, originating from grants (50.0%), membership donations (25.4%), donated legal services (7.6%), bequests (16.2%), and revenue (0.9%). Membership dues are treated as donations; members choose the amount they pay annually, averaging approximately $ 50 per member. In

16330-460: The reactionary, anti-Catholic, anti-black Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a frequent target of ACLU efforts, but the ACLU defended the KKK's right to hold meetings in 1923. There were some civil rights that the ACLU did not make an effort to defend in the 1920s, including censorship of the arts, government search and seizure issues, right to privacy , or wiretapping . Government officials routinely hounded

16472-411: The refusal to do so by the U.S. "seriously belies our professions of democracy." WWII Amnesty protests continued into the 1950s, but without successfully changing any laws. On December 10, 1955, Peck led a picket of 40 people wearing his Uncle Sam outfit, demanding a Christmas amnesty . Peck and a small handful of WWII COs led the protests against the military draft in the 1940s. On March 25, 1946, Peck

16614-651: The speech rights of communists, Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, accused terrorists, pornographers, anti-LGBT activists, and flag burners. That's because the defense of freedom of speech is most necessary when the message is one most people find repulsive. Constitutional rights must apply to even the most unpopular groups if they're going to be preserved for everyone." The ACLU developed from the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB), co-founded in 1917 during World War I by Crystal Eastman , an attorney activist, and Roger Nash Baldwin . The focus of

16756-550: The ten-year anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Peck joined the controversial school bus integration protests. On December 14, 1974, Peck joined 20,000 people marching to the Boston Common, to end the racist attacks on school busing. Peck returned to Boston on in May 1975, when he joined 15,000 people in a large NAACP march. On April 15, 1978, Peck joined 10,000 people in D.C. to protest the reverse discrimination Bakke case then before

16898-604: The times in racial justice. At Peck's suggestion, a Route 40 Freedom Ride project was launched by CORE in December 1961, resulting in half the restaurants desegregating along Route 40 in Baltimore. Peck was arrested along with 14 others after attempting to integrate a restaurant. In May 1962, after he published his famous book "Freedom Ride," Peck was one of the main leaders for the Project Baltimore campaign, which led to more restaurants desegregating. That summer, Peck

17040-429: The view of one ACLU official, the NECLC made a more direct contribution to the cause of civil liberties in its McCarran Act cases, but its close association with the defendants invited suspicion that the NECLC was itself a Communist-backed organization. Di Suvero responded that the NECLC had learned the importance of avoiding identification with a single cause and therefore looked for cases involving students, prisoners, and

17182-442: The war, and Peck made it into the building without being noticed. Peck found himself at the delegates entrance door, and entered when the meeting began. He passed out his literature to most delegates before security realized what he was doing. Peck was carried out of the room by security, which gained the attention of most newspapers, and he was released without charges. In 1946, Peck was arrested in New York City for being involved in

17324-399: The year ending March 31, 2014, the combined expenses of the ACLU and ACLU Foundation were $ 133.4 million, spent on programs (86.2%), management (7.4%), and fundraising (8.2%). (After factoring in other changes in net assets of +$ 30.9 million, from sources such as investment income, the organization had an overall decrease in net assets of $ 2.1 million.) Over the period from 2011 to 2014,

17466-581: Was Kent v. Dulles (1958), argued by Leonard Boudin , in which the Supreme Court ruled that the right to travel may not be restricted without due process. After the McCarthy era, the organization won a number of high-profile civil rights cases. In 1965, it won a decision that the McCarran Act's requirement that members of the Communist Party register with the U.S. government as agents of

17608-431: Was a growing willingness to protect freedom of speech and assembly via court decisions. Starting in 1926, the ACLU expanded its free speech activities to encompass censorship of art and literature. In that year, H. L. Mencken deliberately broke Boston law by distributing copies of his banned American Mercury magazine; the ACLU defended him and won an acquittal. The ACLU went on to win additional victories, including

17750-413: Was also the leading civil rights activist in the "Proxies Campaign," a method where Peck protested segregated businesses stockholder meetings. From 1948 to 1955, Peck attended the stockholder meetings for Greyhound Company, usually holding one share of stock in the company or representing others who held stock. He was joined by Bayard Rustin a few times, and CORE members protested outside the building during

17892-561: Was among nine activists arrested for picketing outside a D.C. hotel that hosted a dinner for U.N. Security Council delegates. Peck handed out literature encouraging people not to sign up for military service. In 1947, President Truman introduced a peacetime draft in Congress, which Peck protested. Peck worked with Bayard Rustin and A.J. Muste to organize a nationwide protest against the draft on February 12, 1947. More than 500 demonstrators burnt their draft cards in more than 30 states. Peck led

18034-672: Was arrested for violating a state law against inciting anarchy and violence when he distributed literature promoting communism. Although the Supreme Court did not overturn Gitlow's conviction, it adopted the ACLU's stance (later termed the incorporation doctrine ) that the First Amendment freedom of speech applied to state laws, as well as federal laws. The Oregon Compulsory Education Act required almost all children in Oregon between eight and sixteen years of age to attend public school by 1926. Associate Director Roger Nash Baldwin ,

18176-513: Was arrested with 17 other people in Washington Square Park on July 20, 1956, during the second major protest against the air raid drills. He was arrested again with Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy, and was joined by George Willoughby and Quaker Robert Gilmore, who later became a leader for the anti-nuclear organization, SANE. In May 1960, Peck refused to take shelter during the NYC air raid drill along with 500 other persons, marking

18318-708: Was attacked by a mob of workers who destroyed his placard. When the Soviet Union resumed nuclear tests in August 1961, Peck was part of a delegation that delivered a peace statement to the Soviet embassy. Peck returned to the Soviet embassy on October 28 with 2,000 demonstrators, and he was part of the delegation that delivered the peace declaration. In 1962, Peck was directly involved in the growing antinuclear movement. On January 30, he and 200 other persons demonstrated outside an AEC building in New York. On March 3, Peck

18460-407: Was critical of both U.S. political parties throughout his life, but leaned toward a radical form of democratic-socialism. He thought a Utopian world was impossible, and that there would always be a battle between what he called the "Upperdogs" and "Underdogs." He considered himself on the side of the underdogs. Peck was a member of numerous antiwar and civil rights organizations, and spent his life as

18602-563: Was handled by Clark Foreman in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee in June 1956. In this testimony, he was interrogated about Paul Robeson who he defended to obtain a passport which the State Department denied him since he was an accused communist. In his testimony, Clark Foreman admitted knowing Alger Hiss , a controversial accused communist. Its first landmark case

18744-478: Was later popularized by Saul Alinsky, although he didn't perform such actions until the late-1960s. In 1961, Peck and 15 other volunteers traveled South in the famous Freedom Rides. Peck was arrested on May 10 in Winnsboro, South Carolina, for sitting in an integrated fashion at a lunch counter. On May 14, Peck was on the second Trailways bus leaving Atlanta, Georgia for Birmingham, Alabama . The first bus,

18886-469: Was later treated at Jefferson Hillman Hospital . The Freedom Ride was Peck's most famous action, resulting in him gaining popularity as a white civil rights hero. He traveled around the nation representing CORE in speeches, and gained even more attention for the Movement on June 5, when he confronted former President Truman about his recent remarks denouncing the Freedom Riders, making Truman seem behind

19028-435: Was more tolerant of dissent than Wilson had been. The primary explanation was that prosecutors, working under similar laws, had fewer plausible targets because almost everyone rallied to the war effort after the attack on Pearl Harbor. James Peck (pacifist) James Peck (December 19, 1914 – July 12, 1993 ) was an American activist who practiced nonviolent resistance during World War II and in

19170-448: Was one of 15 activists outside the White House, who managed to get press attention because they all wore black-and-white prison outfits to represent WWII COs remaining in prison. In June 1947, Peck attended another theatrical amnesty rally. A small group staged a "mock funeral" in front of the White House. Pallbearers dressed in formal attire and carried a coffin marked "justice." On September 25, 1947, Peck joined 40 amnesty demonstrators, at

19312-460: Was one of 42 demonstrators arrested near Times Square, after police violently attacked nonviolent anti-nuclear activists. On April 21, Peck was involved in the massive Easter protest of 5,000 demonstrators in NYC, and was quoted in the "New York Times" the next day, about the need for direct action. On May 10, more than 600 persons protested nuclear tests at the UN in NYC. Peck led one of the delegations to

19454-569: Was one of a dozen activists arrested for protesting at the French embassy in D.C. On April 29, 1950, Peck was assaulted by two American Legion members at the third annual Loyalty Day Parade in NYC, for passing out pacifist literature. He did not press charges. On July 7, 1950, Peck traveled to the U.N. Assembly at Lake Success, where it was discussed if the U.S. should enter the Korean War. Peck and three other pacifists passed out literature against

19596-542: Was one of the leaders for CORE's campaign at the opening day of New York's World Fair, protesting the discriminatory policies held by most companies sponsoring the Fair. More than 300 demonstrators were arrested on the Fair's opening day, including Peck, CORE leader James Farmer, Bayard Rustin and Michael Harrington. In March 1965, Peck represented CORE at the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, concluding with 50,000 demonstrators entering Montgomery on March 25. Peck spoke as

19738-599: Was one of the leaders for the Freedom Highways campaign , which sought to integrate highway restaurants in North Carolina. Following the Freedom Rides, Peck became good friends with William Lewis Moore , a white civil rights worker who became a martyr for the movement after he was shot and killed in the south during his solo Freedom March in the spring of 1963. When Moore was killed, Peck delivered

19880-623: Was released with no charges. In 1955 and 1956, he was arrested for refusing to take cover during the simulated air raid drills in NYC, which were brought to an end in the early 1960s due to massive civil disobedience. On June 15, 1955, Peck was one of 28 people arrested for standing in New York City Hall Park during the first major protest against the nationwide air raid drills. Peck was arrested with other pacifists such as A.J. Muste, Bayard Rustin and Ralph DiGia, as well as Catholic Worker members Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy. Peck

20022-631: Was the Jehovah's Witnesses , who were involved in a large number of Supreme Court cases . The most important cases involved statutes requiring flag salutes. The Jehovah's Witnesses felt that saluting a flag was contrary to their religious beliefs. Two children were convicted in 1938 of not saluting the flag. The ACLU supported their appeal to the Supreme Court, but the court affirmed the conviction in 1940. But three years later, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette ,

20164-452: Was the best long-term solution because the Supreme Court could not mandate liberal interpretations of the Bill of Rights. But Walter Pollak , Morris Ernst , and other leaders felt that Supreme Court decisions were the best path to guarantee civil liberties. A series of Supreme Court decisions in the 1920s foretold a changing national atmosphere; anti-radical emotions were diminishing, and there

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