Dec. 1, 2010

ACLU Turns 90

In celebration of the American Civil Liberties Union's 90th anniversary, the ACLU of Southern California recently unveiled an exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. Titled "'No Victory Ever Stays Won' The ACLU's 90 Years of Protecting Liberty," the installation displays dozens of panels, guiding visitors through the legal issues the ACLU has pursued since its founding in 1920. Mixed media artwork, Japanese internment documents, and photographs of the Civil Rights Movement are among the installations illustrating the work of the organization to protect Americans' constitutional rights. Its legal work to overcome racial segregation, defend women's reproductive rights, and support marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples is also celebrated online at www.aclu90.org, where clicking on photos of women voting in the 1920s, or police officers escorting African American students to school, leads visitors to descriptions of the many milestone cases the ACLU has championed. The Japanese American National Museum isn't the only site where the ACLU is celebrating its birthday; traveling exhibits will visit venues from Colorado to Washington, D.C. The Los Angeles exhibit will continue through Dec. 11. Left: A panel depicting soldiers bringing a Japanese woman to the internment camps in California during World War II. Middle: The "Racial Justice" panel. Upper right: Immigrants' rights is a long-standing issue the ACLU has faced its entire existence. This panel shows some of those struggles. Lower right: A patron takes a closer look at removal notices posted in Japanese neighborhoods in L.A. by the U.S. Government in 1942