Like its parent organization, the ACLU, the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Region Chapter is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization devoted exclusively to protecting the civil liberties of all persons, and to extending them to persons traditionally denied fundamental rights. The Chapter receives no governmental funding and is supported by individual contributions, grants from
foundations, and more than 2,800 dues-paying NYCLU members in Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Washington, Warren, Columbia and Greene counties. Through litigation, advocacy and public education, we strive to ensure that the civil liberties guaranteed to all of us by the Constitution are not infringed by the government or private individuals. Since our founding in 1991, the chapter has challenged racism and police brutality, and defended freedom of expression and privacy, including reproductive choice, right here in your community. We have protected people of color, women, lesbians and gays, and handicapped persons from discrimination. We have sought to expand the rights of the mentally ill and the homeless, and to establish the right to counsel in landlord/tenant cases. We have fought to secure the right of students to an education free of censorship. The Capital Region Chapter is a visible and articulate defender of civil liberties. Staff and board members appear frequently in the media, and in public forums to educate and promote the individual rights and fundamental freedoms that our nation is based upon.
