Annual Report 2017 - 2018
Read the 2017-2018 ACLU SoCal Annual Report
With gratitude for your generosity, we are excited to celebrate our affiliate's 95th anniversary with you. The outpouring of public support for the ACLU's mission is a vote of confidence from millions of individuals across the country that we take very seriously, and honor through our dedicated advocacy.
In our first two decades, the ACLU SoCal fought against police brutality, racial injustice, and religious persecution. Our lawyers went to court to take stands for free speech, the rights of immigrants, the right of an attorney to meet with a client, and more.
Since those early years, the ACLU SoCal has taken on other vital matters: gender equity, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, economic justice, and more. But in all of these causes, old and new, there is never a single court decision or legislative victory that makes injustice a thing of the past. No victory ever stays won.
Card-carrying members of the ACLU have long been one of our most- valued assets. Though we have been mobilizing our members to engage in constituent activism for decades, the ACLU is now answering the call of the Trump era, working diligently in regions where threats and opportunities for human rights abound. We are informing voters of the power held by county supervisors, sheriffs, and district attorneys and publicizing where individuals running for office stand on key issues. These efforts are creating a sustainable base of members and voters who will be with us in 2018 and beyond.
Looking to the future, the ACLU will call upon our new and invigorated base of members, the majority of whom are women for the first time in our organization's history, to fight with us as we dare to create a more perfect union.
From our founding in 1923 to the present, our strength is working together. It takes all of us — staff and board, donors and members, community partners and volunteers — keeping constant vigilance against injustice.
In this report we've selected a few highlights of our work from this past year. We hope you share our pride in all that we've accomplished together.