ACLU

U.S. left-of-center civil liberties advocacy

Background

The ACLU was founded on January 19, 1920, by Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, and Albert DeSilver, growing out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau established during World War I to defend conscientious objectors and antiwar activists. In its early decades, the organization defended free speech across ideological lines, including the right of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups to march, while also litigating landmark civil rights cases. Over time, its case portfolio shifted toward causes aligned with the political left—reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, immigrants' rights, and voting access—prompting critics to argue it had moved away from principled neutrality. The ACLU of North Carolina was founded in 1965 as the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union by attorneys James Mattocks and Charles Lambeth, initially to challenge the state's 'speaker ban' law restricting communist speakers at public universities; it now has nearly 30,000 members and a Raleigh-based staff of more than 20. The national ACLU raises hundreds of millions of dollars annually from a broad individual donor base and private foundations, with totals spiking sharply after the 2016 Trump election. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the organization 'Left-Center' and AllSides rates it 'Lean Left.' Against Trump's second term, the ACLU filed over 110 lawsuits within the first 100 days, targeting executive actions on birthright citizenship, the Alien Enemies Act deportations, transgender passport policies, and documentary proof-of-citizenship voting requirements; the ACLU of North Carolina has filed parallel state-level actions, including a 2026 class-action suit over warrantless immigration arrests in Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh.

Sources

1. ACLU History | American Civil Liberties Union
2. American Civil Liberties Union – Wikipedia
3. About the ACLU | American Civil Liberties Union
4. Financial Info | American Civil Liberties Union
5. ACLU Media Bias | AllSides
6. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Bias and Credibility | Media Bias/Fact Check
7. Defeat, Delay, Dilute: ACLU Versus President Trump
8. 60 Years of Fighting for Justice – ACLU of North Carolina
9. About Us | ACLU of North Carolina
10. Five Individuals Launch Class Action Lawsuit Over Warrantless Immigration Arrests in North Carolina – ACLU of North Carolina

Profile compiled 2026-07-19; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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