ACLU elects its first Black president

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced on Monday that its national board had elected Deborah Archer as the organization’s first Black president.

Archer is a civil rights lawyer who has sat on the board of the ACLU since 2009 and has served as general counsel since 2017.

“After beginning my career as an ACLU fellow, it is an honor to come full circle and now lead the organization as board president,” Archer said in a statement from the ACLU. “The ACLU has proven itself as an invaluable voice in the fight for civil rights in the last four years of the Trump era, and we are better positioned than ever to face the work ahead. This organization has been part of every important battle for civil liberties during our first century, and we are committed to continuing that legacy as we enter our second. I could not be more excited to get to work.”

Congratulations to Deborah Archer, newly elected president of the ACLU national board! pic.twitter.com/DDGGJk6mTR

— ACLU (@ACLU) February 1, 2021

Archer replaces Susan Herman, who served as ACLU president for 12 years.

Apart from her work with the ACLU, Archer is also a professor and director of the Civil Rights Clinic at New York University School of Law.

The executive director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero, said in a statement, “As the country enters the post-Trump era, it is essential that those in leadership intimately understand the history that brought us to this inflection point, and the work ahead.”

“There is no one better equipped, who best personifies or is more capable to helm the future battles for civil rights, civil liberties, and systemic equality than Deborah Archer,” Romero added.