I Support the ACLU Because...

“My motivation to become involved with the ACLU stems from my background as a Persian-American Quaker, which has made me attentive to the breadth of America's promise to all its citizens -- foreign-born and native, powerful and powerless, popular and unpopular.  The ACLU continues to be at the forefront of the battle to help America live up to that promise, and I wanted to help with the effort.

It's hard to prioritize the many critical issues that the ACLU is involved in, but I would say that the racial, gender, and economic justice aspects of our work are particularly important to me. In any society, the powerful can take advantage of others deliberately or even inadvertently.  This problem is particularly stark in modern-day America, where the imbalance between the powerful and the less powerful is extreme, growing, and very difficult to overcome.  There are many who seek to consolidate their power at the expense of others, and the ACLU helps right the scales by defending justice, freedom and fairness.”

- Jahan Sagafi
ACLU-NC Member & Donor


“At a very young age, I became interested in civil liberties issues, particularly free speech. Today, some of the greatest issues facing us are those of immigrants’ rights and racial profiling, which can take many forms.

It can be easy to take for granted the jealously guarded balance between individual liberty and civic participation. There are many people and groups, who, if they had their way, would dramatically shrink individuals’ rights. Much of the work of the ACLU is focused on preserving those rights. And, while you may not always agree with every stand or position of the organization, just having the ACLU there helps to preserve the rights of every individual.”

- Ken Sugarman
ACLU-NC Member & Donor


“In 1978, just after I graduated from law school, there was an anti-gay initiative on the ballot, and even at that time, it was the people at the ACLU who cared enough about the issues of LGBT community to take a stand against it. I was so impressed by their selflessness and their commitment. After that, my partner and I were nominated and served on the Board of the Monterey County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern CA.

I would describe the ACLU as the only organization whose sole purpose and whose sole client is the Bill of Rights. And while issues vary from time to time, currently the most important ones are the attacks on personal freedoms in the ‘war on terror.’

The ACLU allows me as an individual to channel my passion for the issues I care about - both local and national - into creating an effective response.”

- Mickey Welsh
ACLU-NC Member & Donor