For 65 years, the ACLU of New Jersey has defended liberty and justice guided by the vision of a fair New Jersey for all.
Founded in 1960 and based in Newark, we are a non-partisan organization that operates on several fronts – political, legal, cultural – to bring about systemic change and build a more equitable society.
Throughout the years, our advocacy has covered a range of issues, focusing in particular on the rights of those who have been historically most marginalized: people of color, immigrant communities, people impacted by the criminal legal system, LGBTQ+ communities, and others who have been denied the rights we are all entitled to.
Whether it’s holding law enforcement accountable, preserving the right to free speech, or defending the right to have an abortion, the ACLU-NJ has fought for liberty and justice for all for more than six decades.
Since our founding, we have worked to preserve, advance, and extend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every New Jerseyan by the state and federal constitutions in courts, in the legislature, and in our communities. Along the way, we have partnered with community organizations to ensure that our work is guided by the needs of New Jerseyans across the state.
Even as our democracy faces unprecedented threats under the Trump administration, the ACLU-NJ has worked to ensure New Jersey takes its place as a civil rights leader. In the past few years alone, the Garden State has legalized cannabis in a way that centers racial and social justice and enacted new protections to safeguard reproductive freedom, advance immigrants’ rights, achieve fairer elections.
New Jersey has also achieved enormous strides toward decarceration in our state. Through victories in the courtroom and in the Legislature, our efforts contributed to New Jersey’s historic reduction in its prison population by more than 50 percent since 2011. And we’ve seen the impact of this work: data shows that early releases during COVID-19, elimination of cash bail that ensured most people can remain at home while awaiting trial, and other criminal legal reforms have not caused an increase in violent crimes or repeat offenses.
Over the course of the past several years, the ACLU-NJ has impactfully advocated for fundamental rights in the courts, in the legislature, and in communities across the state at unprecedented rates. In that time, the organization has more than doubled in size, expanding the scope of our work at the same time. Today, we are uniquely positioned to combat attempts to slash individual rights, especially in the face of national challenges.
We’ve been defending civil liberties for 65 years, and we’re ready to continue our mission for generations to come.
