NEW YORK โ Today, the ACLU launched The Peopleโs Archive, a dynamic digital museum that combines photography, audio, print, and video chronicling the organizationโs key civil rights and civil liberties milestones throughout its over 100-year history.
This digital museum experience tells the story of how the ACLUโs pivotal legal cases have helped to defend the Constitution and the very principles upon which our nation was founded 250 years ago. The Peopleโs Archive visitors will also have an opportunity to hear excerpts from some of the ACLUโs landmark arguments before the Supreme Court, including Speiser v. Randall (1958), Engel v. Vitale (1962), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005), Trump v. Barbara (2026), and more.
โDemocracy grows stronger each time people come together to defend their rights and freedoms,โ said Yasmin Cader, ACLU deputy executive director for program, strategy, and culture. โThe victories weโve won for civil rights and civil liberties give us a foundation to build on and a responsibility to keep going. As a new Supreme Court term begins, that work continues.โ
The Peopleโs Archive highlights the ACLUโs work across decades โ from the 1920s to the 2020s โ highlighting critical moments where the ACLU intervened when civil rights and civil liberties were at stake, such as racial justice, free speech in schools, reproductive freedom, privacy, and more. It also illustrates how many of the issues the ACLU championed at the time of its founding over a century ago โ including free speech, immigration, racial justice, womenโs rights โ remain under threat today.
The Peopleโs Archive serves as living proof that our nationโs institutions are strong enough to endure periods of devastating rollbacks, the abuse of power, and attacks upon marginalized communities. This digital museum experience will leave visitors with the recognition that, together, the people are stronger than any presidential administration, legal challenge, or dark moment in our nationโs history.
The Peopleโs Archive can be experienced here.
