ACLU of the District of Columbia

2020-2021

Annual Report

This past year saw democracy at its best, as voters stood up for our rights at the ballot box in November 2020. And our democracy faced a grave threat, as insurrectionists threatened a peaceful transition of power in January 2021.

Our Mission

Throughout the tumultuous year, our mission remained true: to protect and expand the civil liberties of all those within the District. This included neighbors, friends, and family living in working in Capitol Hill on January 6, when mobs attacked the Capitol. It included visitors who came to the city to protest, and local children in foster care. It included those incarcerated at the DC Jail and those most at risk of COVID-19. And it included you: our donors and members who supported us every step of the way.

D.C. Statehood is Constitutional

“So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we’ll be called a democracy.”

– ACLU Founder, Roger Baldwin

The ACLU of DC operates in three simultaneous, integrated ways: educating the public, lobbying for legislative change, and suing in court. Together, these paths serve to both protect our constitutional rights and expand our freedoms in the District.

OUR WORK

At the D.C. Council
In the Courts
With the Public

OUR ISSUES
Anti-Discrimination

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/equal-protection
Criminal Justice Reform

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/criminal-justice
Racial Justice

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/racial-justice
Disability Rights

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/disability-rights
Due Process

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/due-process
Free Speech

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/freedom-of-speech
Immigrant’s Rights

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/immigrants-rights
LGBTQ+ Rights

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/lgbt-rights
Police Misconduct

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/police-practices-and-police-misconduct
Privacy

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/privacy
Religious Freedom

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/religious-liberty
Youth Rights

https://www.acludc.org/en/issues/youth-childrens

ACLU of DC

OUR PEOPLE

ACLU-DC staff and Board stepped up in a thousand different ways this year, including with personal testimonials on their values and desire for change on our blog.

“I am terrified to admit this, but I will tell you one of my truths: I don’t know what the plan is. I don’t have a policy proposal, or a litigation strategy. But I know that I can do what I can in my day-to-day, and ask the important questions to those in my community: how are you doing? Can I get you something to eat? ”

READ MORE
Elaine Stamp

Paralegal

“Media loves to capitalize on Black trauma and it’s easy to focus on the ongoing uphill battles Black people have had to climb in the United States – and continue to climb – but at the core the purpose of Juneteenth is to uplift our community. Togetherness and radical love. ”

READ MORE
Natacia Knapper

Managing Organizer

“I decided I didn’t want to be part of the criminal legal system anymore. I had firsthand experience with how this affects a Black boy who ends up in the criminal legal system. I believe that [supporting returning citizens] was the most foolproof way to stop this cycle.”

READ MORE
Courtney Stewart

Board Member

OUR STAFF

Monica Hopkins

Executive Director

Natacia Knapper

Managing Organizer

Lauren Padgett

Development Officer

Brigid Slipka

Director of Philanthropy

Thema Thomas

Digital Communications Strategist

Ahoefa Ananouko

Policy Associate

Scott Michelman

Legal Director

Michael Perloff

Staff Attorney

Arthur B. Spitzer

Senior Counsel

Stacia Wallis

Executive Assistant

Jada Collins

Intake Specialist

Nassim Moshiree

Policy Director

Tara Patel

Dunn Fellow

Elaine Stamp

Paralegal

Nathan Warner

Deputy Director of Operations

Suzanne Ito

Senior Communications Advisor

Veronica Mosqueda

Campaign Organizer

Loren Rahming-Curtis

Operations Associate

Amber Taylor

Strategic Communications Director

OUR BOARD

 

View Board Members

Cooperating Attorneys

 

American Immigration Council

Covington & Burling LLP

Jenner & Block

Morris Fischer LLC

National Immigration Law Center

Oxfam

Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP

University of California, Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Hogan Lovells

Knight First Amendment Institute

Munger Tolles & Olson

National Immigration Litigation Alliance

Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan

Washington Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Arnold & Porter

Human Rights First

Loevy & Loevy

National Immigrant Justice Center

National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Reporters Committee

Texas Civil Rights Project

Yale Law School Clinic

Financials

 

The ACLU-DC is comprised of two organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia and the ACLU Foundation of the District of Columbia. Contributions to ACLU-DC Foundation are tax deductible for charitable purposes, while ACLU-DC membership dues are not.

ACLU Foundation of the District of Columbia

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EXPENSES

ACLU of the District of Columbia

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