Our work isn’t about one person, one party, or one issue. It’s about all of us, we the people, coming together and daring to create a more perfect Indiana.
Through advocacy, education and litigation, our attorneys, advocates and volunteers work to preserve and promote civil liberties including the freedom of speech, the right to privacy, reproductive freedom, and equal treatment under the law. We stand in defense of the rights of women and minorities, workers, students, immigrants, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and others who have seen bias and bigotry threaten the rights afforded to all of us in this country by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We hold the government accountable by filing lawsuits against government entities that are violating Hoosiers rights. We work with Hoosiers in their communities and in the Statehouse to defend individual freedoms including free speech, women’s right to access abortion, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and disability rights, as well as protecting human rights for people who are incarcerated. Join us in the fight to defend Hoosiers' rights by subscribing to our action alerts.
Founded in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the nation's foremost guardian of liberty, defending individual rights and enhancing and preserving liberties that are guaranteed in the U.S. and Indiana Constitutions and civil rights laws. We are nonprofit, nonpartisan, and dedicated to defending and protecting the individual rights and personal freedoms of all. Here in Indiana, the ACLU was established in 1953 as the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Indiana adopted its current name in 2006.
The ACLU has a long history of fighting to protect the rights and freedoms of people throughout the country:
- 1920s the ACLU acted on behalf of newly arrived immigrants victimized by the Palmer Raids;
- 1930s the ACLU advocated for workers protesting deplorable labor conditions;
- 1940s the ACLU protested the forcing of Japanese-Americans into internment camps;
- 1950s the ACLU supported those who fought the witch hunts of the McCarthy era;
- 1960s & 1970s the ACLU defended those who spoke out for equality and civil rights.
Today the ACLU continues its defense of individual rights on many fronts. Some of these are recurring battles, such as fighting racial and gender-based discrimination and securing reproductive freedom. Other challenges are constantly emerging such as those raised by tensions between privacy and technology.
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The ACLU Organization in Indiana
A nonprofit membership organization, we do not receive public funds, tax dollars or government support. Our strength comes from more than 30,000+ supporters whose tax-deductible donations fund our free legal services and educational outreach, and whose annual membership dues support advocacy, organizing and lobbying activities to promote civil liberties.
There are two separate ACLU entities in Indiana:
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Inc. is a tax-exempt, non-profit advocacy organization to which membership dues are paid. Dues paying members who reside in Indiana are automatically members of both the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and the national American Civil Liberties Union. Membership dues and other contributions to the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Inc. or the national American Civil Liberties Union are not tax-deductible.
- The ACLU of Indiana Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit charity that provides legal assistance and conducts educational programs and activities. Donations to the ACLU of Indiana Foundation or the national ACLU Foundation are tax-deductible.
