Center for Constitutional Rights

We are living in one of the most dangerous political environments in memory. This era is defined by the resurgence of unapologetic white nationalism; the criminalization of poor, Black, Brown, and LGBTQ communities; a human rights crisis along the Southern border; attacks on reproductive rights that are taking states back to the pre-Roe era; and systematic efforts to strip communities who might fight back of their voices in the political process.  The repercussions of deepening attacks on human and civil rights will be with us for generations if we do not meet them head on.

This moment is reminiscent of the words of civil rights and labor leader A. Philip Randolph: “Freedom is never granted; it is won.  Justice is never given; it is exacted.  Freedom and justice must be struggled for and the struggle must be continuous, for freedom is never a final fact, but a continuing evolving process.” 

The most powerful forces for ill in our country’s history — xenophobia and abuse of immigrants, corporate behemoths consolidating their power at the expense of all of us, “justice” corrupted by racial hatred, a patriarchy bent on stripping women of their rights and enabling violence against them — will inevitably seize power without a fight, and today they are on the march. 

However, our country’s Constitution and its people are powerful weapons that, time and time again, have successfully pushed them back.  In Rasul v. Bush, Gideon v. Wainwright, Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, Dellums v. Bush, Miranda v. Arizona, Tinker v. Des Moines, Roe v. Wade, and countless other cases in the modern era, the Courts have rightly sided with progressive activists and movements, providing essential protections civil liberties.  At Seneca Falls and Port Huron, on the buses of Montgomery and on the streets outside the Stonewall Inn, movements have flexed their muscle, forcing Americans to reckon with the fundamental rights and dignity of all people.

The Center for Constitutional Rights was built to wield the U.S. Constitution and to partner with powerful movements in times like these.  Working side-by-side stalwart social activists and organizations as Black Lives Matter, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Communities United for Police Reform, and countless others, we push back on the worst rights abuses and transform moments like this into opportunities to make proactive positive change. Together, we have won meaningful victories and set key precedents around voting rights, warrantless wiretaps, reproductive justice, the right of non-citizens to sue in U.S. courts, executive power, racial profiling, due process, environmental justice, and solitary confinement among many other issues.  This approach has worked, and now we must double down on it.  We must be bolder and more strategic, we must fight harder and partner more closely with our allies across the country. 

With your support, we will be more deeply linked to our partners, more able to respond quickly to the latest and most egregious rights violations, and better able to go toe-to-toe with the forces of hatred and oppression.

This moment demands that all of us engage deeply in the struggle for freedom.  We hope you will join us.