News & Commentary

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Newark Rebellion, the ACLU-NJ revisited the events of July 12-17, 1967, through live-tweeting the events as they would have unfolded in real time.

By Rebecca Livengood, Skadden Fellow, ACLU-NJ

In a classroom, on a football field and in a prison – these were the battlegrounds for some of the most fervent clashes waged in defense of civil liberties in New Jersey since 1960. Award-winning journalist Mary Jo Patterson provides an exclusive front-row seat to these skirmishes in the book, On the Frontlines of Freedom, a look at the first 50 years of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. Patterson chronicles the rich and colorful history of the ACLU-NJ against the backdrop of changing social and political tides in New Jersey and America. The main fighters are the men and women who were brave enough to stand up for what was right, even in the face of unrelenting opposition. They were supported by the troops of the attorneys, staffers and civil libertarians who founded and worked at the ACLU-NJ since its founding in 1960. On the Frontlines of Freedom highlights the crucial work of the organization over the past 50 years and pays tribute to those who were bold enough to stand on the front lines.

By licensing police officers — the most immediately powerful agents of the state — we protect citizens, promote standards of professionalism and address the all- too-common problem of police officers who are terminated from one department for misconduct getting a job in another town.