When the ACLU was established in 1920, the freedoms enumerated in the Constitution had never been fully tested in the courts, and only through persistent and broad public activism have important civil rights and liberties protections been fought for, codified in our laws, and their protections widely enforced. But every win has had to be defended and today we face renewed assaults on democracy, immigrants, Black and brown communities, transgender children, and reproductive rights.

We must therefore ask: What does this moment require of us?

Because we understand the fragility of civil rights, our strategies must be long-term and must adapt to shifts in the political terrain. States that face the greatest onslaught often have the fewest resources and those without power must continuously struggle for their most basic rights. And the pandemic and its compounding effects have had profound impacts on the constituents and communities that we serve and colleagues we serve with.

For the last four years, the ACLU has set out to meet these challenges by leveraging a surge in resources to our affiliate network to build infrastructure and expand the range of strategies we use in service of our mission. Our Strategic Affiliate Initiative (SAI) has invested $30 million in 12 affiliates with great potential to impact urgent and important issues or highly contested political terrain. This infusion of resources has not only grown our affiliates nationwide by 40 percent—and even more in SAI affiliates—but it has forever changed workforce demographics and scope of skill sets available to accomplish the work.

Read the full article about forward-thinking leadership by Kary L. Moss at Stanford Social Innovation Review.