General Info

American Civil Liberties Union, also known as ACLU, is an organization dedicated to defending and expanding the civil liberties of all people in the United States. The organization is comprised of affiliates in each state. The ACLU of Northern California, based in San Francisco, is the affiliate that works to protect civil liberties in this region of the country. The ACLU-NC was founded in 1934 during the general strike to fight against police abuse of striking longshoremen. The association supports various civil liberties issues ranging from the rights of immigrants and reproductive rights to abolition of the death penalty and the rights of lesbians and gay men. In addition to the direct litigation, ACLU engages in public education, inform the media, educate and lobby legislators, organize grass-roots activists to enliven the public debate and disseminate information through its membership and volunteer chapters.