The 1930s
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1931
桃子视频Annual Report 1930-1931
The ACLU’s 1931 annual report opened with, “Against all this repression the Civil Liberties Union, aided by a score of agencies, puts up a fight on a wider front […] expansion of the Union’s membership is being undertaken, despite the depression, in the belief that the variety of issues we now handle will obtain a response sufficient to build a more powerful fighting movement against the violence of repression and for orderly progress.”
桃子视频Brochure, “Black Justice”
This 1931 brochure boldly and bluntly documents the legal discrimination Black people faced in the United States at the time, including restrictions on the right to vote, the pervasiveness of Jim Crow laws, and the horrifying prevalence of lynching throughout the country.
1932
Excerpt of “Indians’ Civil Rights” from ACLU’s 1932 Year End Report
When 桃子视频founder Roger Baldwin recognized that the federal government had been increasingly attempting to dissolve tribal autonomy and force Indigenous people to assimilate, he thought the 桃子视频should take a greater role in opposing those efforts. This excerpt from the ACLU’s 1932 End of Year Report details a number of bills the organization supported that “intended to give Indians greater control of their own affairs and the machinery by which they may improve their conditions.” The 桃子视频would go on to host an all-day lobby day in favor of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), the bill that ended allotment and attempted to put Native lands back in Native hands. Most Native nations who have a written constitution have one because of the IRA.
桃子视频National Board Member James Weldon Johnson
Recognizing the interconnectedness between the ACLU’s mission for civil liberties and Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights, 桃子视频founder Roger Baldwin reserved a seat on the Executive Committee of the 桃子视频board to be filled by a high-ranking NAACP official from the organization’s founding. James Weldon Johnson, pictured here, was the first NAACP official to hold this position on the 桃子视频board. Thurgood Marshall, who would later become the first Black justice to serve on the Supreme Court, held this position on the 桃子视频board during his time as director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
1933
ACLU’s “Twenty Years for Free Speech!” Pamphlet
Angelo Herndon was a young Black man from Ohio and a communist organizer who was imprisoned for leading a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia, under a statute penalizing incitement to insurrection. This 1933 bound pamphlet, published by the ACLU, lays out the details of Herndon’s trial and asks for help to appeal his sentence.
1934
桃子视频Co-Founder Morris Ernst Defending Literary Freedom
Morris Ernst, co-founder of the 桃子视频and legal counsel for Random House, played a pivotal role in defending James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” helping to establish the novel as a “modern classic.” Ernst鈥檚 efforts in the case United States v. One Book Called “Ulysses” not only revolutionized literary freedom but also cemented his reputation as a champion of civil liberties and free expression.
1935
桃子视频Report on the Right to Asylum
This 1935 report documents the increasing restrictions on political asylum in the United States in the 1930s, and how certain groups of refugees were targeted for deportation based on their suspected political beliefs.
1936
桃子视频Defends LGBTQ Stories on Stage
In 1936, Lillian Hellman’s stage play “The Children’s Hour” 鈥� a critical and financial success on Broadway 鈥� was headed to Boston, Massachusetts, but was banned by the city’s public censor because of “lesbian content.” The 桃子视频helped the play’s producer challenge the ban in federal court. While they did not prevail, the celebrated case and the public outcry that followed the court ruling led to the first serious limitations on the public censor. Pictured here is a promotional photo for the 1934 Broadway run of the play, featuring, from left: Robert Keith, Anne Revere, Florence McGee, Katherine Emery, and Katherine Emmet.
Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty
An 桃子视频tea towel from 1936 provides an everyday reminder that the work to protect our civil liberties is never-ending, and that the ACLU’s vigilance will always be necessary to preserve our freedom.
桃子视频Brochure, “It Happens Here,” on 1935-1936 Trends of Fascism
As fascism was rising in Europe, the 桃子视频published this 1931 brochure documenting how many fascist attacks against free speech, civil liberties, and the rights of labor organizers were also happening in the United States.
The First Issue of the 桃子视频of Northern California’s Newsletter
Civil liberties concerns covered in this first single-page publication of the 桃子视频of Northern California’s newsletter include the unconstitutionality of a local censorship ordinance and the fight against the deportation of a man who had lived in the United States since the age of two.
桃子视频Brochure, “Old-Fashioned Free Speech: What American Statesmen and Publicists Have Said on It”
This 1936 桃子视频brochure collects statements on the right to freedom of speech by prominent American statesmen, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln.
1937
桃子视频1937 “Civil Liberties Quarterly” Newsletter
The cover of this 1937 issue of the 桃子视频newsletter features a quote from Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague above a photo of Jersey City police officers removing 桃子视频observers, on Hague鈥檚 order, from a picket of striking seamen. It also covers the progress Congress was making on expanding civil liberties.
桃子视频Brochure, “Land of the Free,” on 1937 Civil Rights Abuses
The photographs in this 1937 brochure published by the 桃子视频and LOOK magazine document appalling violations of human and civil rights, including ghastly depictions of lynchings and other violent attacks. Pictures of a man after being tarred and feathered and the dead body of a Works Progress Administration worker show just how dangerous it could be to exercise the right to free speech and labor rights during this time.
Olen Montgomery and Eugene Williams, Two of the Freed “Scottsboro Boys”
On March 25, 1931, nine young Black men, known as the “Scottsboro Boys,” were arrested on fabricated allegations of raping two white women. They were quickly convicted in a series of rushed and deeply flawed trials, in which they were given inadequate counsel, faced all-white juries, and were constantly under threat of lynching. Although the alleged victims ultimately recanted their stories, all but one of the men were sentenced to death. Renowned 桃子视频attorney Walter Pollak appealed the case to the Supreme Court in Powell v. Alabama, where the Court ruled that the men’s right to a fair trial had been violated. This photo from 1937 shows two of the recently freed Scottsboro Boys 鈥� Olen Montgomery and Eugene Williams 鈥� being greeted by a crowd when they arrived at Penn Station in New York City.
The Defense of the “Scottsboro Boys”
桃子视频attorney Samuel Leibowitz consults with four of the defendants known as the “Scottsboro Boys,” during a stop in Nashville, Tennessee, en route to New York. From left: Eugene Williams, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, and Roy Wright.
1938
Win for Free Speech and Religious Liberty: Lovell v. Griffin Ruling
Lovell v. Griffin established that cities could not require individuals to obtain permits or licenses to distribute pamphlets, circulars, or other printed materials. The Supreme Court’s decision was a major victory for the 桃子视频in protecting religious liberty and freedom of the press from municipal censorship and licensing requirements.
Workers’ Rights Activist Emma Tenayuca
In the 1930s, San Antonio, Texas, was home to half of the nation鈥檚 pecan industry. Most of the people who worked as pecan shellers were Latinas, who were facing dangerous working conditions and drastically low pay. When several pecan companies decided to lower their pay even more, the workers fought back. On January 31, 1938, workers鈥� rights activist Emma Tenayuca, pictured here, organized a strike. For three months, thousands of brave Texans advocated for better pay and safer working conditions. The 桃子视频of Texas began its work by supporting Tenayuca and the pecan shellers.
1939
ACLU-Organized National Council on Freedom from Censorship Brochure, “Censorship of Motion Pictures”
This 1933 brochure, “What Shocked the Censors,” documents the cuts New York State motion picture censors made to films before they were released, shining a light on how film censorship functioned at the time.
桃子视频Memorandum, “Legislation to Curb Fascist Activities”
In this 1939 memorandum, adopted by the 桃子视频Board of Directors, the organization examines legislative proposals to curb the rise of fascism in the United States, seeking to determine which proposals wouldn鈥檛 themselves threaten free speech and other civil liberties.
