ACLU’s David Cole Delivers the 2019 Annual Distinguished Lecture
The national legal director of the ACLU discussed legal and grassroots resistance to the Trump administration.
Boston University School of Law was pleased to welcome David Cole, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as the 2019 Annual Distinguished Lecture in April. His talk, “Preserving Liberty in the Trump Era: Lessons from the Legal Resistance,” focused on the ACLU’s legal and grassroots actions to resist the unconstitutional and discriminatory policies enacted by the Trump administration. The organization has filed more than 200 legal actions since January 2017, and has won injunctions against a host of the administration’s initiatives. It obtained the first injunction against the Muslim ban, successfully challenged the Department of Homeland Security family separation policy, freed a US citizen held as an enemy combatant without charges, and blocked an anti-abortion policy.
Cole also stressed importance of institutions—like the press, the church, and activist organizations—where people can come together and act collectively. Grassroots efforts to defend individual rights are a necessary part of the process. “A Supreme Court or other court ruling is the culmination of massive collective action,” he said. “It’s the period at the end of a sentence, but the words are the important part.”
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