American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. Cleveland Chapter.

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 by Roger Baldwin and a group of associates formerly of the National Civil Liberties Bureau. The Cleveland chapter of the union was founded in 1922 and remained active throughout the 1920s and 1930s focusing on cases concerning unionization, Communism, and religious freedom. The chapter closed during World War II, but was revived in 1950 with the advent of McCarthyism. In 1954, the national ACLU recognized the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio as the official affiliate responsible for helping local Ohio chapters coordinate more easily on larger statewide cases and issues. The Cleveland chapter continued to struggle with budget woes and lack of membership following its revival. In the 1950s and 1960s the chapter focused its efforts on political rights; in the 1960s and 1970s the group became concerned with the rights of educators, students, prisoners, the mentally ill, and women. Among other initiatives, the Cleveland chapter completed an extensive court observation project of the Cuyahoga County justice system and helped to raise money for the legal defense funds of those indicted in the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization formed to "defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties" guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States was first established in the in 1920 by Roger Baldwin and a group of associates formerly of the National Civil Liberties Bureau. In the years after World War I, a fear of communism known as "The Red Scare" was overtaking America. In 1919 and 1920 Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer began having those considered left wing radicals arrested and deported without regard to their constitutionally protected rights against unlawful search and seizure (the Palmer raids). The formation of the ACLU became the outgrowth of opposition to what became known as "The Palmer Raids" and other such violations of civil liberties. This early ACLU also focused on the rights of labor unions to meet and organize. Through the years the organization has grown to address many challenges to civil liberties and today the American Civil Liberties Union focuses on defending first amendment rights, equal protection under the law, due process rights, and privacy rights.

The Cleveland chapter was established in 1922 as an affiliate of the ACLU along with a Cincinnati chapter. Youngstown had the first affiliate in Ohio beginning in 1920 which played an important role in publicizing the work of the ACLU and bringing about the formation of the Cleveland and Cincinnati chapters. The Cleveland chapter was active throughout the 1920s and 1930s focusing on cases concerning unionization, Communism, and religious freedom. The ACLU's popularity both nationally and locally suffered during World War II as national attention shifted to global affairs. The Cleveland chapter closed but was revived in 1950 with the rise of a second red scare known as McCarthyism. The Cincinnati and Youngstown chapters were also revived during this period and eventually five more chapters throughout the state were started. During this same period with the rise of the activities of the National and Ohio House on un-American activities committees and other civil liberty issues of the day, there was a movement to begin an official Ohio affiliate of the ACLU, which culminated in the Granville Conference on April 1, 1951. Three weeks later the group met again and the ACLU of Ohio was born with Jack Day as the first state chairman. The Ohio affiliate was recognized by the national ACLU on January 23, 1954 with Oscar Steinman as chairman. The Ohio affiliate was created as a way for the local chapters to coordinate more easily on larger statewide cases and issues. Currently, the office of the ACLU of Ohio is located here in Cleveland at the Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center on Chester Avenue and has nearly 30,000 members and supporters.

After the rebirth of the Cleveland chapter in 1950, it faced struggles as it was plagued by frequent budget woes and lack of membership. It was a very dangerous time to be a member of the ACLU as it was seen as sympathetic to communists during a period of extreme anticommunist feelings. It gained publicity by holding debates and radio talks about civil liberties throughout the city. The chapter focused its first lobbying efforts on maintaining communist and fascist rights. The Cleveland chapter worked through its issues and although most of its legal action through 1968 was in the form of amicus briefs, it did take on some cases that became very famous and influential. Some examples are the Oscar Smilak case, 1953, Mapp v. Ohio in 1961, and the famous obscenity case Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964.

Efforts of the Cleveland chapter in the 1960s and 1970s focused on the rights of educators, students, prisoners, the mentally ill, and women. The chapter was also focused on obscenity challenges. It worked with the National Committee against Repressive Legislation (NCARL) which strove to put an end to the House Un-American Activities Committee/House Internal Security Committee and Subversive Activities Control Board which were still in existence until 1972 and had gotten their start back in the red scare of the 1950s. The Cleveland Chapter did an extensive court observation project in the early to mid 1970s that monitored the Cuyahoga County Justice System and it also worked to help raise money for the legal defense fund of those indicted in the Kent State incident among other initiatives.