Civil Rights
The ACLU is frequently asked to explain its defense of certain people or groups—particularly controversial and unpopular entities such as the American Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Nation of Islam. We do not defend them because we agree with them; rather, we defend their right to free expression and free assembly. Historically, the people whose opinions are the most controversial or extreme are the people whose rights are most often threatened. Once the government has the power to violate one person's rights, it can use that power against everyone. We work to stop the erosion of civil liberties before it's too late.
Since we can't take on every worthy case, we usually select lawsuits that will have the greatest impact, cases that have the potential for breaking new ground and establishing new precedents that will strengthen American freedoms.
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY
10004-2400
ADL was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all." Now the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency, ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.
ADL builds bridges of communication, understanding and respect among diverse groups, carrying out its mission through a network of 30 Regional and Satellite Offices in the United States and abroad. With an array of educational, legislative, diplomatic, and interfaith initiatives, our office acts as an important resource for the community at-large.
605 Third Avenue
New York, NY
10158-3650
Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's, and consumer advocacy organizations. Since its inception in 1979, AFJ has worked to advance the cause of justice for all Americans.
Alliance for Justice is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions are tax-deductible. Alliance for Justice does not support or oppose candidates for public office.
Washington, DC
20036
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities.
20006
Through our detailed research and determined campaigning, we help fight abuses of human rights worldwide. We bring torturers to justice. Change oppressive laws. And free people jailed just for voicing their opinion.
Human rights change starts with the facts. Our experts do accurate, cross-checked research into human rights violations by governments and others worldwide.
We use our analysis to influence and press governments, companies and decision-makers to do the right thing.
Through petitions, letters and protests, campaigners worldwide press for action from the people and institutions who can make change happen.
AALDEF focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans, including immigrant rights, voting rights and democracy, economic justice for workers, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.
AALDEF engages in the following activities:
litigates cases that have major impacts on the Asian American community;
provides legal resources for community-based organizations and facilitates grassroots community organizing efforts;
conducts free, multilingual legal advice clinics for low-income Asian Americans and new immigrants;
educates Asian Americans about their legal rights;
comments on proposed legislation and governmental policies; and
trains students in public interest law and encourages them to use their legal skills to serve the community.
10013-2815
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all.
The Center’s work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from ending mass incarceration to preserving Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.
Part think-tank, part advocacy group, part cutting-edge communications hub, we start with rigorous research. We craft innovative policies. And we fight for them — in Congress and the states, the courts, and in the court of public opinion
120 Broadway
Suite 1750
New York, NY
10271
Founded on 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) began its work on behalf of civil rights activists, and, over the last four decades, has lent its expertise and support to virtually every popular movement for social justice.
We use daring and innovative legal strategies which have produced many important precedents. CCR is often “ahead of the curve” in both identifying a problem and in suggesting novel or radical legal responses which, over time, become accepted and respected precedents and theories.
CCR accepts cases and projects based on principle and the value of the struggle itself, not solely by using a calculus of victory. There are cases which CCR has worked on tenaciously for decades before success was achieved, yet we stood by the cause and the client. We will continue to take these types of cases because justice demands it.
As we look to the future, CCR will continue to be at the forefront of legal thinking, using the law creatively in the service of justice.
Through our human rights work, we will strengthen the international rule of law to promote justice and oppose armed and other forms of aggression.
Through our racial justice work, we will strive to complete the unfinished civil rights movement, targeting racial profiling and other modern-day manifestations of racial repression.
We are dedicated to restoring the fundamental right to habeas corpus and will continue to combat the illegal expansion of executive power and the American torture programs that have undermined fundamental rights in the name of the so-called “war on terror.”
History has repeatedly taught us that the hard-won victories of yesterday can never be taken for granted. As society changes, new threats to our rights arise, even as old ones are defeated. CCR will continue defending progressive movements for social change and devising new strategies to ensure that fundamental rights are the rights of the many and not just the few.
7th Floor
New York, NY
10012
The mission of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles is to help renew the civil rights movement by bridging the worlds of ideas and action, to be a preeminent source of intellectual capital within that movement, and to deepen the understanding of the issues that must be resolved to achieve racial and ethnic equity as society moves through the great transformation of the 21st century.
8370 Math Sciences, Box 951521
Los Angeles, CA
90095-1521
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
EJI works to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment, protect human rights, confront our history of racial inequality and create hope in marginalized communities.
36104