ACLU of Pennsylvania

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization that serves as an enduring guardian of justice, fairness, and freedom, working to protect civil liberties and advance equity for all. We work in collaboration with our community partners to center the voices of and collaborate with those directly impacted by the issues; informs, educates, and trains our volunteers and members to engage in targeted action; and work with the organization’s networks of relationships to lead the powerful impact of our work in many different contexts. 

ACLU-PA defends and promotes the fundamental principles and values protected by the constitutions of the United States and of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as by national, state and local civil rights laws. For more than 100 years, the ACLU has sought in particular to protect and expand:

• the freedoms of expression

• belief and association

• voting rights

• the separation of church and state

• the right to privacy

• reproductive freedom

• due process of law, including the rights of the accused and of immigrants

• limitations on the power of police

• the right to equal protection for all

The ACLU-PA’s work will be organized around the following three priority areas over the next three years. We expect that 70-80% of our time and resources will focus on these areas, while 20-30% can be reserved to respond to significant opportunities or threats to the civil rights and civil liberties of all Pennsylvanians, regardless of issue area.

1. Reducing the number of people in prisons, jails, immigrant detention centers, and under other federal, state and local governmental control, including all forms of official supervision, such as parole, probation, and bail.

We will work to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by focusing on the mechanisms by which Black and brown people, transgender and non-binary people, and people who are immigrants are disproportionately incarcerated.

2. Minimizing police and other law enforcement interaction with Black and brown communities and holding police accountable for grievous harm.

We will work to remove traditional policing from schools and communities where other interventions and resources are better suited and more effective.

3. Protecting and expanding voting rights and access, eliminating barriers that disenfranchise voters and increasing civic engagement. 

We will work to expand voting among young people; Black, Indigenous, and people of

color; communities who need language access; those who are formerly incarcerated; and those with disabilities. We will fight any attempt to limit voting rights and will work year-round in our efforts – not just in the lead-up to elections.

Please visit www.aclupa.org for more information on our current work and issues.