The American Civil Liberties Union announced that Deborah Archer is its new president.
Elected by the national board of the Union, Archer is the first Black woman to take the reigns of the 69-person board in the organization’s 101-year history.
Archer takes over from Susan Herman, who resigned after leading the board for 12 years.
Herman presided over some watershed moments and a number of movements, from the rise of civil liberties in the digital age to the Trump administration.
Archer is an established teacher, scholar, and civil rights leader.
She kicked off her career at the ACLU as the Marvin M. Karpatkin Legal Fellow. Since 2009, she has been a member of the ACLU board, and since 2017, she has been a member and general counsel of the executive board of the committee.
Furthermore, Archer serves in the New York Civil Liberties Union on the board of directors. So, it’s needless to say that she’s more than qualified for her new role.
As president, she brings plenty of experience on constitutional matters and racial justice.
To Archer, the honor of leading the American Civil Liberties Union is all hers.
The ACLU has become a crucial voice in the fight for civil rights, especially during the turbulent years of the Trump administration. Right now, she believes that we are in the best position to face the coming work.
Since its founding, the ACLU has been part of all crucial battles for civil liberties.
The board met virtually to vote for the next president.
The board comprises 69 members, with 51 directly elected by the ACLU board; the remaining 18 members are elected by the national and affiliate board members.
The board also oversees matters relating to financial management along with the relationship between the ACLU and its affiliates.
The latter involves supplying provisions and giving support to the affiliates.
Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of ACLU, believes that in the post-Trump era, it’s crucial for those in leadership positions to understand the history that has brought us to this point and acknowledge the work ahead.
To him (and to many others), Deborah Archer is the best-equipped leader to helm the organization’s future battles for systemic equality, civil liberties, and civil rights.
Professor Archer is a tenured professor of clinical law along plus a director of the Civil Rights Clinic at the New York University School of Law, and she’s even the co-faculty director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU Law.
In 2016, the New York Law Journal awarded her one of its Top Women in Law for the year. So, it’s no exaggeration to say Archer is the most qualified person to lead the ACLU.
Congratulations, Deborah!
