vol. 43, no. 5

clu news|

Volume XLIli

June-July 1978

8 No. 5

Supreme Court action

challenges Briggs Initiative

The Briggs anti-gay school teacher

initiative is unconstitutional, and Secre- |

tary of State March Fong Eu should be

ordered to remove i

November ballot, according to a lawsuit

filed on May 30 by the California

Federation of Teachers, joined by the.

ACLU of Northern California as friend

_of the court.

A termination hearing is required by

the proposed controversial statute for

any teacher who has engaged in "public

homosexual conduct.'' The statute

defines homosexual conduct as

"`advocating, soliciting, imposing,

encouraging or promoting of private or

public homosexual activity directed at,

or likely to come to the attention of

school children and/or other

employees." s

If the initiative is even to appear on ;

the ballot, the pre-election challenge

maintains it will have a chilling effect

on the First Amendment rights of those

school employees who may wish to

speak out in opposition to the initiative

- during the campaign.

The 60,000-member California

Federation of Teachers, represented by

the public interest law firm, Gay Rights

Advocates, claims that the measure vio-

lates its members' rights to due process,

equal protection, privacy and free

expression. The teachers' organization

is joined by 12 additional petitioners,

it from the-

pees individual straight and gay

whose constitutional

threatened by the measure.

Volunteer attorney Stephen Bomse is

| representing the ACLU as friend of the

| court. |

' Backers of the initiative, who

| gathered in excess of 600,000 signatures

to assure its placement on the ballot,

say that it will allow local school boards

to bar homosexuals from schools in

California. Although a request to pull

| the initiative off the ballot prior to the

election is extraordinary, the challenge

claims it is merited in this unique

instance.

``Even a non-homosexual teacher

rights are

teachers, as well as other organizations ~

Board members elected

ACLU members chose seven new

directors and six incumbents to serve on

the Northern California Board. of

Directors at the annual election held in

May. The new members of the Board

will begin their terms of office in

September.

In accordance with revised By-laws,

adopted by the Board in 1976, this was

the second ACLU Board election where

the organization's policy makers were

elected by the general membership.

The thirteen newly elected Board

members will join twenty-eight mem-

bers currently serving terms on the

Board. The entire Board includes four-

teen chapter representatives, each elect-

ed by an ACLU-NC chapter, and

twenty-nine at-large members, elected

by the membership.

A- total of 416 eligible ACLU voters

chose to cast their ballots in the last

election. Eighteen candidates were

nominated for thirteen positions.

Board officers will be elected at the

| September meeting.

The newly elected Board members

are:

Irving R. Cohen (incumbent)

Marlene De Lancie

Jerome B. Falk, Jr.

Gail Ann Fujioka

Cherie A. Gaines

Donna J. Hitchens

Naomi Lauter (incumbent)

Charles C. Marson

Caryl Mezey (incumbent)

Iris Mitgang

Warren Saltzman neuer

Pat Schultz (incumbent) -

Frances Strauss (incumbent)

Bringing free speech

to the suburbs

_ The conflict between extending the

right to free expression to today's

suburban ``Town Square'? - the

shopping center - and the private

property interests of the shopping

_ center owner has been brought to the

State Supreme Court for resolution by

the ACLU of Northern California.

In 1971 two high school students and

their teacher were refused an oppor-

tunity to solicit signatures on a petition

to the President of the United States in

opposition to the United Nation's reso-

lution equating Zionism with racism on

the private Pruneyard shopping center

property located in the San Jose area.

The peaceable petitioners left the |

premises, but later took their case to

the Santa Clara Superior Court where

they were denied the right to resume

collecting signatures on the private

shopping center property. That

decision, Robins v. Pruneyard

Shopping Center, was affirmed by the

California Court of Appeal in January,

1978, which held that : "The owner of a

continued on page 4

`

who campaigned against the initiative

could be subject to firing for violating

the statute's vauge definition of

`advocating or promoting private homo-

sexual conduct',"' Stephen Bomse said

at a press conference May 30.

While under current law teachers are

not permitted to proselytize in the class-

room on behalf of any sexual

preference, and certainly not to make

sexual advances to students, the briefs

contend that the Briggs initiative is so

broad and so vague that it could be

utilized in such an arbitrary manner as

to bar a teacher from being a member

of the ACLU (which supports the rights

of homosexuals) - from speaking

about the gay rights movement in a

current events class - or from

oS the writings of Gertrude

continued on page 4

By Amitai Schwartz

ACLU Staff Counsel

On April 12, 1971, the Palo Alto Police Department and

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department obtained a warrant

to search the offices of The Stanford Daily, a student

jnewspaper at Stanford University, for unpublished photos

"assaulted police officers at a demonstration at the University

: hospital a few days earlier.

Seven years later, on May 31, 1978, the United States

Supreme Court expressly upheld the search, sending shock

waves through the First and Fourth Amendments, and

practically assuring that unannounced searches for evidence

held by people, such as reporters, who are not criminal

i suspects themselves, will become standard procedures, to be

used by local police.

ACLU Board member Jerome Falk, advisory" counsel

Anthony Amsterdam, along with Robert Mnookin and Steven

of legal proceedings. They are now requesting that the

will join their action as amicus curiae.

The principal question in the Stanford Daily lawsuit,

originally filed in federal district court in San Francisco, was

whether the search of a newspaper office is permissible even

though the newspaper is not suspected of involvement in crime

.and there was no reason to believe that a subpoena for the.

which might reveal the identity of people alleged to have

Mayer represented The Stanford Daily during the seven years _

Supreme Court consider re- hearing the case, and the ACLU |

nes

Photo courtesy of The Stanford Daily

A Palo Alto Police Officer examines film during a surprise search of The Stan-

ford Daily on April 12, 1971. The legality of the search was recently upheld by

the U.S. Supreme Court.

`Search sends shock waves to a `free press'

evidence would be impractical.

Since the-police search of The Daily office was very unusual,

the lack of precedent also meant that there were very few

previous opportunities for the courts to condemn them.

The district court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found

that such searches of newspaper offices are unconstitutional,

unless the police demonstrate in a particular case that evidence

is likely to be destroyed or removed before it could be obtained

by subpoena.

Ordinarily, when evidence is needed for a court proceeding,

a subpoena is issued by a court, allowing the party holding the

evidence to find it and bring it to court. The subpoena also

allows the party with the evidence an opportunity to challenge

the necessity for the evidence, and to assert any justifiable

claims of confidentiality, before the evidence a be

disclosed.

The type of search warrant used in The Daily case is ae

without notice, and it provides no opportunity to challenge the

need for the evidence or to assert the right of confidentiality.

In the case of a search of newspaper offices, the warrant

authorizes police officers to rifle through files in the search for

the evidence named by the warrant. Such a search disrupts

news-gathering, chills news sources. through breaches of

confidence that may occur when police ransack files, puts the

press into the business of gathering information for the

government, and, in many cases, can cause the press to shy

away from controversial crime stories which might provoke

continued on page 2

June-July 1978

aclu news

ACLU Supports

San Quentin Six

defendant's appeal

"San Quentin Six'' defendent Johnny

Larry Spain was deprived of his consti-

tutional right to a fair trial and there-

fore his conviction for conspiracy and

murder should be reversed, according

to a brief filed in May by the ACLU in

the California Court of Appeal.

Johnny Spain, whose trial was the

longest in California history, was

convicted of conspiracy with prison

author George Jackson. At trial, the

state contended that the death of two

San Quentin Prison guards during the

notorious events which took place on

August 21, 1971 resulted from a

conspiracy among Jackson and his

supporters to free the radical author

from prison.

The five other San Quentin Six

defendants were found not guilty after

five years of pre-trial and trial pro-

ceedings.

On August 21, 1971 a fatal battle

took place in San Quentin Prison's

adjustment center between prison

guards and inmates, leaving dead three

guards and three inmates, including

George Jackson.

Entering the appeal as amicus

curiae, along with California Attorneys

for Criminal Justice (CACJ), ACLU

maintains that the chaining and

shackling of Spain during the entire

trial proceedings, and additionally, a

secret communication between a juror'

and the judge, concerning valuable trial

information, violated the defendant's

right to a fair trial.

ACLU staff counsel Alan Schlosser

contends that the painful shackles con-

stituted the imposition of cruel and

unusual punishment, and violated

Spain's right to due process of law by

causing irreconcilable prejudice in the

minds of the jury. `"How could a juror

regard Spain as anything other than a

vicious and untrustworthy person, if his -

predilection for violence could only be

restrained by a massive and inhumane

use of chains, shackles and restraints?"'

Mr. Schlosser said.

The second issue addressed by the

ACLU arose from a juror's secret

conversation with the trial judge.

Following Spain's conviction, trial

- attorney Charles Garry learned that a

juror had earlier approached the trial

judge about an undercover agent's

testimony. She informed the judge that

questions asked of the undercover agent

witness concerned the murder of her

friend by a man she believed to be a

Black Panther. This revelation was

directly contrary to the juror 's prior

testimony during jury selection

proceedings that there were no

instances of violence in her background

which would affect her ability to judge

the case, nor did she associate the Black

Panthers with crimes of violence.

ACLU attorneys claim that this trial

court action breached a cardinal .

- principle of judicial ethics by violating a

defendant's constitutiorial right to be

present, and to have his counsel

present, at all critical stages of the pro-

ceedings. The juror's communication

with the judge, and the judge's decision

while pursuing their dedication to

_ observing that there is `"`no direct authority. .

were such a critical stage.

course of their deliberation, her own

Three new law interns are enriching

the ACLU Foundation's legal program

constitutional law as~part of ACLU's

annual summer law intern program.

The internship. awards - a

combination of special endowments

and work-study agreements, are

granted to students who have

demonstrated an interest in pursuing

legal careers in the field of individual

rights.

Students joining the ACLU's summer

staff are:

Ilene Nelson - _ recipient of the

Hastings Internship, financed each year

by a special endowment to the ACLU

Foundation, is a third-year law student

at Hastings College of Law with an

M.A. degree in social work from the

`University of Chicago. Currently she is

working on a lawsuit under California' S

new Privacy Act.

Kevin Fong - recipient of the Ralph

Atkinson Internship, named for the late

ACLU Board member from Monterey

who devoted much of his life to support-

ing civil liberties work, has completed

his second year of law school at Harvard |

Students

join legal staff

ACLU's summer "law-clerks." Seated

left to right are: Kevin Fong, Ilene Nel-

son and James Morales.

Law School.

Mr. Fong is editor-in-chief of the

Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties

Law Review, and, while interning at the

ACLU, he is involved in a First

Amendment law-suit representing the

rights of community groups to solicit

door-to-door support. He is a native of

San Francisco.

`James Morales - recipient of the

Edison Uno Internship, named for the

late Japanese-American civil liberties

leader, will begin his third year of law

school at the University of Michigan

this September.

Mr. Morales has just completed a law

intership in New York focused on

employment discrimination. At the

ACLU he is responding to individual

civil liberties complaints brought each

day to the office, as well as working on

litigation regarding police abuses. He is

also a local.

Law Students Civil Rights Research

Council (LSCRRC) has made a grant to

the ACLU to support a part of the

summer program. Staff Attorney Alan

Schlosser supervises the summer intern

staff.

Stanford SEALCHD conics som rue

unannounced searches of their offices.

A majority of the Supreme Court - all the Nixon ap- |

pointees, plus Justice White, appointed by Kennedy and |

+ author of the leading opinion - found that police need not |

convince a judge that a subpoena will be impractical before a

warrant to search press offices may be issued. Indicating the |

vision of the Burger Court, and illustrating its insensitivity to

the profound consequences of its decision, the Court began by

.for the district

court's sweeping revision of the Fourth Amendment." .

In fact, there was `"`no direct legal authority" against The.

Daily search because it is a relatively new police tactic. The:

Court was willing to hold that surprise searches of the press

under warrants are permissible simply because courts had not

condemned them in the past.

The American revolution was kindled in part by the

colonists' experience with search warrants used by the British.

It was the unrestricted power of search which was seen as an |

oppressive instrument for stifling freedom of expression and -

freedom of the press.

Justice Frankfurter once wrote that the words of the Foueth:

Amendment are not just a literary composition. They are not

to be read as they might be read by a man who knows English

_ but has no knowledge of the history that gave rise to the words.

But the Burger Court read the words of the Fourth

Amendment to mean that the framers of the Bill of Rights did !

not forbid warrants where the press was involved, did not

require special showings that subpoenas would be impractical,

and did not insist that the owner of the place to be searched, if

connected with the press, must be shown to be implicated in

the offense being investigated.

The Court's literal reading of what is not prohibited by the.

Fourth Amendment turns the Amendment around full circle.

What the Court has done is to say that "probable cause" to

believe that a place contains evidence related to a crime is

sufficient for the issuance of a search warrant. Hence any

officer who can convince a judge that "probable cause"' exists

that the juror could remain on the jury,

Moreover, the friend of the court

brief asserts that the juror divulged to

the other members of the jury in the

personal evidence which had not been

discussed in the open court room. In

addition, her close emotional

connection with the woman who had

been killed by an alleged Black Panther

member, made her unfit for future

service in the trial as as a juror.

Spain was the only San Quentin Six

defendant. who was associated with the

Black Panther Party.

814 Mission St.

| Membership $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a subscription to the aclu news

| and = Se eae is for ies baonal aoe Ebony publication, Civil Liberties.

- Gain

may raid a newspaper office, or the offices of a doctor, a

lawyer, an accountant, a teacher, or any other party in

possession of evidence theoretically relevant to the govern-

ment, even though the party raided was not suspected of in-

volvment in any crime.

After the Supreme Court announced its decision, Attorney

| General Griffin Bell said the federal government would only

infrequently use search warrants to raid newspapers. Chief

in San Francisco made similar remarks. Those

assurances are illusory. The history of Fourth Amendment

abuses is clear: once a police tactic is approved by the courts,

its occurrence becomes more frequent. In the end, the single- .

minded police purpose of catching law-breakers prevails over

other interests.

Undoubtedly, it is the less poe

"alternative'' media

| which will entertain the most frequent police raids, because

| they are the least powerful and most susceptible to harassment

by the police.

Ironically, the Supreme Court decision will give rise to a (c)

course of police actions which will abundantly illustrate what

results from authorizing police to rummage through media

| offices. Then the Supreme Court will find the history of the

Fourth Amendment that it missed, and the history of the use of

this new police tactic employed in The Daily raid, - be

apparrent.

Direct authority prohibiting future raids, however, may be

forthcoming. One can look forward to state courts' in-

dependently reading state constitutions to prohibit these

tactics, and the Legislature and Congress are already con-

sidering laws to thwart the High Court's disregard for First

}and Fourth Amendment rights.

Resolution of the National Board of Directors, June 13, 1978

The ACLU will undertake in legislative, judicial and public

forums an organizational commitment of the highest priority

to reverse the decision in Zurcher v. Stanford Daily.

8 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in January-February, June-July,

August-September and November-December

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of N orthern California

Warren Saltzman, Chairperson David M. Fishlow, Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich, Editor

Publication Number 018040 :

- Ste. 301, San Francisco, California 94103 - 777-4545

LEGISLATIVE

June-July 1978 .

aclu news

STOP 0x00A7.1437

The House Subcommittee on.

Criminal Justice has completed

hearings on the proposed federal

Criminal Code revision H.R. 6869 (S.

1437) and has moved to actual

consideration of the bill. Several

members of the subcommittee have

expressed extreme dissatisfaction with

S. 1437 and have particularly criticized

the broad and unnecessary expansion of

the federal police power.

Their objections reflect many of the

concerns raised by the ACLU.

As far as substantive law is |

~ concerned, the subcommittee appears

to have rejected S. 1437 and instead

intends to simply reorganize current |

statutes, and to make limited

recommendations for non-controversial

changes in current law including

deletions of obsolete statutes.

In the sentencing area, the subcom-

mittee is writing its own proposal.

e First, it is attempting to create mech- -

anisms for appelate review of sentences.

cent Second, it may mandate the Judicial

Conference of the U.S. to assemble and

disseminate to judges data on current

sentencing practices and the availability

of alternatives to incarceration.

The Judicial Conference may also be

asked to promulgate advisory

guidelines. The danger of this approach

is that the standards of review appears to

be so vague that little reform will be

accomplished. Moreover, vesting the

Judicial Conference with advisory

power fails to recognize that judges thus

`far have not taken action to correct

abusive sentencing practices, and there

is no indication that they will do so in

the future. Thus the proposal may be

an illusory reform.

The issue of criminal code reform,

therefore, is not dead. We must

continue to press the Judiciary

Committee and the entire House to

reject S. 1437, as the subcommittee has

done. =

It is the judgement of the ACLU's

Washington office that the Judiciary

Committee should not consider the

criminal code bill this session even in

the truncated form that the

subcommittee is writing. There is a sub-

stantial risk that supporters of S. 1437

could engineer the adoption of onerous

- provisions by the committee and the full

- House with the resulting product as bad

_asS. 1437.

Reprinted, with permission, in advance of

publication in the June, 1978 issue of, Civil Liber-

ties Alert, A Legislative Newsletter of the Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union / Washington Office.

-Jarvis-Gann `cuts and trims' civil liberties

_ By Brent Barnhart

ACLU Legislative Representative

SACRAMENTO, June 16. By the time this article appears,

virtually everyone will have a fairly solid idea of what state

programs are to be cut in the wake of Proposition 13. But at

this writing we can only report virulent rumor. What follows is

an attempt to report the mood of this place two weeks into the

| Age of Jarvis-Gann.

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but Jerry Brown seems to

: have performed with more real leadership in the last two weeks

' than he has ever displayed before. Before June 6th there were

| the usual sly comments: Question, 0x00B0

`What do you suppose

Jerry will do when Prop 13 passes?'' Answer, ``Depends which

wall he happens to come bouncing off of at the time." But in

the last two weeks one senses a grim respect for Brown's

resolute handling of a rough situation with not. a little

thoughtfulness and grace.

There's little doubt that the Legislature will be able to

respond with adequate cuts and funding adjustments to cope

- with the loss of property tax revenue. Assembly Speaker Leo

McCarthy shows a particularly steady hand in the directives

that emanate from his third floor office. And Senate Finance

Chairman Al Rodda, who currently chairs the ``super''

Conference Committee, displays his usual diligence and

| thoroughness.

But the demeanor displayed by most legislators is

disorientation. - Normally by the middle of June, both fiscal

and substantive matters have begun to shape up so that

everyone - legislators, staff, agency personnel and lobbyists

- may arrange their priorities, proceed with negotiations and

put final touches to legislative packages that have survived the

gauntlet of committees and floor sessions.

Jarvis throws a monkey wrench into all of that. First of all,

apprehension as to one's own political future understandably

results from a mass voter uprising. Three veteran incumbent

legislators were turned out of office in the primary election

_alone, and the general election is only five months away. But

what is most disorienting is the fact that almost all legislative

packages of any real scope have some measurable fiscal

"impact. And no one knows at this point what is to be axed.

For example, AB 2662 (Brown) provides some significant

amendments to the California Public Records Act which we

support. Since the effect of the bill is to make public records 0x00B0

more available to the public than they are currently, the fiscal

analysts reason that it will cost government more money -

i.e., more pesky citizens will be demanding more access to"

_more records. We can expect AB 2662 to die.

: On the other hand, funds for new prison construction will

probably not be forthcoming. And that may adversely affect

passage of SB 709 (Presley), the District Attorneys Association

| package whith significantly expands determinate sentences

originally set by SB 42. Thus law-and-order may be turned

away, along with the people' s right to keep abreast of its gov-

| ernment's activities.

But there are more subtle dangers. Die to the general

| disorientation it's very hard to get anyone's attention on

anything substantive. Trying to push a complex medical

privacy bill, such as SB 418 (Behr), is pretty tough for anyone

with a short attention span. And given the general mania for

"cut and trim,"'

packages which look like they will bring in untapped revenue,

or enable California to latch onto some additional federal

money.

For example, AB 3540 (Cordova) was billed as a means of

securing $3 million federal dollars for an Attorney General's

Medi-Cal Fraud Unit. All California had to do to get that

money was to pass a law assuring access to the Attorney

General, without legal process, to the private medical files of

Medi-Cal beneficiaries. On Thursday, June 15, the Criminal

Justice Committee resisted the temptation, showing some com-

mendable solicitude for beneficiaries' right of privacy, and the

Fourth Amendment nent of physicians and other peels care

providers.

Abortion update

The cut and trim ethic made popular in the Age of Jarvis-

Gann may not, however, be the death-blow for funding of

Medi-Cal abortions in California. Despite the difficulty of

getting Medi-Cal funding for abortions due to the elimination

of federal reimbursement for such procedures (which we

discussed in the January/February and May issues of ACLU

News), word from the Brown administration is that the

Governor still intends to include full funding for Medi-Cal

abortions in the budget he submits to the legislature.

In his speech to the California legislature following the June

6, 1978 primary election, the Governor announced that though

the voters have mandated severe cut-backs in government

spending, his administration will not cut back where ``vital

human services"' are at stake. ;

As applied to abortion funding, persons speaking for the

Governor have made it very clear that Medi- Cal abortions are

included within such ``vital human services.'

Initiative Wat ch

necessary from a key committee, the

unsuccessful petition drive began. With

two strikes, it has now moved back

it is very difficult to talk legislators out of .

After it failed to receive the votes

Briggs was not only successful at

procuring the signatures necessary to

place the anti-gay school teacher

initiative on the ballot, (See story p. 1),

but his bid for the voters to consider a

_ new death penalty law - expanding the

number of crimes now punishable by |

death, while diluting due process guar-

antees currently, available to death (c)

penalty defendants - also appears to

be successful.

Although the Secretary of State he

Here's what you can do

to stop S.1437/H.R.6869

e Write to your representative in

Congress today. Urge him/her to

reject $.1437/H.R.6869, as the

subcommittee on Criminal Justice

has done.

e ACLU "

Congressmember Donald Edwards'

district*, the only Northern

California House - Judiciary

Committee member, = should

immediately contact his office in San

Jose at (408) 292-0143, or write to

him at the address below, urging

him to vote no on S.1437/H.R.6869

members in

: a i comes eee she full

Judiciary Committee.

Mail for members of the Hone

may be addressed to: House Office

Building, Washington, D.C. 20515.

For further information on

S.1437/H.R.6869 write to the ACLU

at 814 Mission Street, Suite 301, San

Francisco 94103 and request a

detailed report.

*Representative Edwards' 10th

Congressional District includes Southern - yen

Alameda County and northern Santa Clara

County.

not yet certified the death penalty

initiative for inclusion on the November

ballot, Briggs claims to have collected

enough signatures - more than

300,000 - to repeal the death law

passed by the California Legislature last

August, and replace it with what he

calls a more "effective death penalty"

law. The Secretary of State has until "

June 29 to certify the petition.

Others fail to Qualify

Proponents of four other measures

failed to gather the requisite number of

signatures to qualify an anti-affirmative

action measure, an anti-busing law, a

bill to ban state funds for abortions,

and a law to restrict farmworkers'

rights to organize unions. ACLU

| opposed all four measires.

The failure to collect enough

signatures to place the anti-busing bill |

on the ballot has not, however, deterred

its proponents. They have now brought

| it back to the legislature.

The Constitutional Amendment,

which would amend the state's equal

protection clause to prohibit busing for

school desegregation, unless the schools

were segregated by intentional govern-

ment action, had previously been

I | stopped in the legislature last February.

again to the legislature, where the

Senate again approved it on June 15,

and the Assembly Judiciary Committee

must consider it by June 29. It could

still squeak through committee, and be.

approved on the Assembly floor in time

to qualify for the November ballot.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Alan

Robbins of Los Angeles, who also lead

the petition drive.

Job snap aieemeit

ACLU's community action and pub-

lic education programs will be further

advanced by a Field Organizer

position being added to the staff. The

new staff position was authorized by the

Board of Directors at its May meeting.

Working in large measure outside the

San Francisco office, the field organizer.

will be responsible for much of ACLU's

``srass-roots action,'' and public

education programs. A search is

underway for such a staff member, with

a demonstrated interest and knowledge

of civil liberties, and with experience in.

community organizations.

Individuals who are interested in

applying for this new staff position,

should ok We 4545 immediately. to

sre detailed job description.

SEs

Tequcsi a GB seewi ye Sei

Poe

rs June-July 1978

aclu news

No. Penins ula

Initial steps toward formation of the

North Peninsula Chapter of ACLU-NC

were taken at a meeting of northern San

-Mateo County members, convened on

May 31 in Kloss Hall, Congregational

Church, San Mateo.

An interim Board of Directors was

named, and the following officers

selected: Chairperson - Tom Hufford,

Vice Chairprson - Gretchen Smithey,

Secretary - Danetta Ervin, and

Treasurer - Richard Keyes.

The Board met on June 13 .at the

home of Marlene De Lancie. At this

time Chapter By-Laws were approved

for submission to the Board of ACLU-

NC at their July meeting.

The next meeting of the Northen

ioe Chapter i is scheduled for ues

This new chapter extends from the

northern boundary of San Mateo

County, south through San Carlos,

including coast-side communities.

For further information please

contact Marlene De Lancie at 777-

4545.

Monterey

An indication of the increasing parti-

cipation in the work of the Monterey

Chapter. was the attendance of 10

Chapter members at the ACLU Board-

Chapter Conference in Soquel last

April. It was certainly the highest per _

capita participation in Northern

California. |

The Monterey Chapter endorsed the:

ACLU-NC position against Proposition

13. The Chapter's statement opposed

the Jarvis-Gann Initiative on the consti-

tutional grounds that the

repeal/amendment procedures are a

basic violation of the democratic

`process in that it requires % of the

``qualified electors' to effect any

changes, if the measure is passed. The

statement was carried at the top of the

letters-to-the-editor column of the

Sunday Monterey Peninsula Herald.

The Chapter was a participant in the

"NO on 13 Coalition," which involves

some twenty organizations on the

Monterey Peninsula.

The Chapter's bi-monthly open

meeting, on June 13 focused on:

Abortion-A Fundamental Rights

Under Attack. Speakers included

Board member Susan Killam; Janine (c)

Robbinette, Education Coordinator,

and Shirley Fulton, Public Affairs

Chairperson, of Planned Parenthood of

Monterey County.

Board member Cory Miller is under-

taking to organize a Salinas meeting for

the ACLU members in that area.

Salinas participation is made difficult

by the fact that chapter meetings are

normally held in Carmel, 25 miles

away. If Salinas members show

sufficient interest, regular sub-chapter

meetings will be held for those living in

that area.

The Monterey Chapter has accepted

the goal of 13 new members to be.

recruited by the chapters, as suggested

at the Board-Chapter Conference.

Special steps will also be taken to renew

the memberships of 50 or more

members whose annual dues have

lapsed.

: @ .

Gay Rights

A large number of ACLU members

marched in the Gay Freedom Parade

up Market Street to the Civic Center in

San Francisco on Sunday, June 25th.

The American Civil Liberties Union has |

always supported equal rights and

justice for all. Those who participated

in the parade, did so in order to

physically demonstrate their particular

support for justice for gay persons.

Following the parade, members of

the Gay Rights Chapter-hosted a booth

at the Civic Center, in which to furnish

information and to recruit members for

the ACLU.

ACLU members also participated in

a Gay Freedom Rally at St. James Park

in San Jose at noon on Saturday, June

24th.

~

2 =

San Francisco

Changes have been made in the

Chapter's procedure for electing

members to the Board of Directors. The |

next election, scheduled for the spring,

will allow members to submit ballots by

mail, without attending the annual

meeting. These changes will bring the

Chapter up-to-date with the affiliate's

current election schedule. :

Plans are underway for the San

Francisco Chapter to hold a public.

meeting this fall on the subject of

censorship of violence in the media.

Mt. Diablo

Mt. Diablo Chapter members save

AUGUST 27, for a late afternoon, early

evening barbecue picnic-cum-annual

meeting. The event will be held at the

Grinsteads, 2153 La Salle Drive, in

Walnut Creek. For directions, call any

Mt. Diablo Chapter Board member.

Our guest speaker will be Amitai

Schwartz, ACLU staff counsel, on

`"`How to Set Up a Local Police Practices

Project."

The Membership Committee is pre-

paring an information table to be set up

at a local Co-op. The intention is to

make the public aware of ACLU and

local chapter activities, and, hopefully,

to gain new members. If successful, this

would become a regular membership

activity.

A Nominations Committee for new

officers has been appointed. Any

members wishing to suggest

nominations, or willing to participate

on any committees, or in other chapter

activities can contact Secretary John

Mendonca (687-6939) or President'

David Bortin. We need you!

Sacramento

The Sacramento Chapter's pot-luck

dinner in May was a great success and

netted a substantial sum for our

depleted treasury.

Thanks are due David Fishlow for a

stimulating discussion of the Skokie

case; to our Chapter Board members

for a well organized and thoroughly

enjoyable evening; and to our member-

ship for an excellent turnout.

Members are reminded that

nominations for officers and Board

members are still open. The elections

will be held in September this year.

Mail nominations to Pat Macdonald at

2749 Tenth Avenue, Sacramento

95818, or phone 455-4259.

Berkeley-Albany-

Kensington

An update on marijuana litigation

was the subject of the June 4 Berkeley-

Albany-Kensington Chapter meeting

with attorney Mark Soler leading the

discussion.

A public forum on the Berkeley

Police Department's use of helicopters

and dogs was held on June 21.

Participants on the panel represented

diverse views during the informative

and thought provoking discussion on

this critical issue.

Only one Chapter Board meeting will

be held during July and August. For

details regarding the time, date and

place of the summer meeting, contact

the Chapter Chair, Ginger Gould at

848-7200.

B e

pee page I

Stein or Oscar Wilde in an English

class.

Furthermore, all school employees'

right to privacy is seriously abridged by

the Briggs initiative, where their private

sexual conduct can be subject to

people with whom they associate - and

the organizations or churches which

they promote - are all grounds, at the

| very least, for investigation.

`"`Singling out homosexuals for -

unfitness hearings invites a campaign of

harassment against them," it `forbids

teachers to express facts or opinions"

protected by the First Amendment, and

"Yends itself to arbitrary, discrimina-

tory and erratic enforcement by school

boards,"

F ederation of Teachers.

Boyce leaves staff

A stalwart member of the ACLU

staff, Deborah Boyce, will be "retiring"

from ACLU business on July 15, to

begin full-time art studies. She will

leave her position as Administrative

Assistant after five years.

| During her tenure at ACLU, Ms.

|Boyce served as the Administrative

Assistant to the Executive Director,

provided staff back-up to the Board of

Directors, and co-ordinated the

/-ACLU's many-faceted volunteer

programs.

Aside from such official duties, she

often contributed art-work to the

ACLU News, and to other ACLU publi-

cations, authored a thorough speakers

bureau manual for the northern

California Death Penalty Coalition, and

was an invaluable worker for the annual

Bill of Rights Day Celebration.

Her many contributions to the ACLU

will be sorely missed by Chapter acti-

vists, volunteers, Board and staff

members who have all depended upon

her creativity and commitment to

further the work of the ACLU. )

scrutiny - their very lifestyle - the |

| broader protection of free speech rights

according to the California

,reside in

| communities - the greatest share of

San Jose residents' time is spent in

CHAPTERS

Suburbs

continued from page I

private shopping center is not obligated

to permit access to his property for

dissemination of ideas, where the center

has not been dedicated to public use

and where the communicated in-

formation is unrelated to the business

of the center."

According to the undisputed facts

submitted by the plaintiffs at the trial,

this decision comes in sharp conflict

with the reality of today's suburban

California communities. Ninety-three

percent of the population in San Jose

rural and suburban

shopping centers. In fact, San Jose's

downtown business district had so

declined as a commercial area that the

County ceased maintaining statistics on

retail sales by 1973.

The ACLU argues that the State

Supreme Court has the power to

consider the Pruneyard case solely on

independent State Constitutional

grounds - California's free speech

clause - Article 1, Section 2 of the

state Constitution,* which provides for

than does the federal constitution.

Susan L. Paulus and Susan Popik of

the Petit and Martin law firm,

volunteer attorneys representing the

ACLU as amicus curiae, claim that this

case raises profound questions

regarding the impact of our modern,

suburban institutions on a fundamental

freedom - the right to communicate

one's political views peaceably. Paulus

and Popik state that, "this case may

determine whether Californians will

have a right to share their views face-to-

face with fellow citizens in the malls of

suburban shopping centers - the focal

point of today's suburban life - and to

solicit their support on matters of

political concern."

In the Pruneyard case, the state high

court will be asked to resolve the

conflict between the State Con-

stitution's guarantee to protect pri-

vate property, and the state constitu-

tion's protection of free expression in

the privately-owned public domain of

the shopping center. =

Faced with that same question, -the

U.S. Supreme Court suggested. that.

property interests would prevail in its

1972 decision.

In urging the State Supreme Court to

| decide in favor of the right to free .

expression, ACLU attorneys conclude

that free speech is `"`a vital freedom

which cannot be allowed to fade into

memory simply because the `town

square' of today's world is the

privately-owned mall of the very public

| suburban shopping center.

"Although a property owner has the

right to determine its use; the State

Constitution demands that once the

landowner elects to invite the public

onto his property, he cannot then close

it to the public for dissemination of

ideas."

ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_1949.MODS ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1968.batch ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1969.batch ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1970.batch ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1971.batch ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1972.batch ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1973.batch ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1974.batch ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_1975.batch ACLUN_1976 ACLUN_1976.MODS ACLUN_1976.batch ACLUN_1977 ACLUN_1977.MODS ACLUN_1977.batch ACLUN_1978 ACLUN_1978.MODS ACLUN_1978.batch ACLUN_1979 ACLUN_1979.MODS ACLUN_1980 ACLUN_1980.MODS ACLUN_1981 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1983.batch ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log Every person may freely speak,

write and publish his or her sentiments

on all subjects, being responsible for

the abuse of this right. A law may not

restrain or abridge liberty of speech or

| press. Article 1, Section 2, Constitution

of the State of California.

-- A tributeto -

- A Remarkable Woman Sait |

Imogen Cunningham -

= me -~ ee = _

1884-1978 |

Co-founder of the American Civil

| _ Liberties Union of Northern California

cy | : A special supplement to the ACLU News, June 1978 | : S

i

p

=

_ A salute to our founder

bration of a great life, we must inform our.

membership of the death of the. vice-

California, Helen Salz. She died at the age of 94

on Friday morning, May 19.

with Alexander Meiklejohn and Ernest Besig,

Northern California. From that time on, Helen

supported this organization in every way

possible, including serving on its Board of

Directors for the entire 44 years that she and it

co-existed.

This special supplement to the ACLU News

was made possible by donations from

individual members of our present Board of

Directors. We have also appointed a committee

to establish an annual debate which will bear

Helen's name. Helen always wanted to hear the

best arguments on all sides of any question -

the clash of ideas never ceased to excite her. We

expect this annual debate to create. that

excitement for others, and to remind us what

this remarkable person meant to the ACLU.

Warren Saltzman, Chairperson

Board of Directors, _

| ACLU of Northern California

hi

| It is with a deep sense of loss, but in cele- |

chairperson of the ACLU of Northern}

Forty-four years ago, Helen Salz, together |

founded the American Civil Liberties Union of

A founder

cherishes _

_ her memory

~ Roger Baldwin, founder of the ACLU.

By Roger Baldwin -

I first met Helen Salz on a trip to San Francisco

for the ACLU in the early 1930's, when the little

group based on Stanford formed by me in 1926

became a really active branch under the vigorous

leadership of Ernest Besig. I was struck at once by -

Helen Salz' charm and humor, as well as her

obvious interest in political and social issues

around her. Although I met her only a few times

after that on visits to San Francisco she was one of

The following is the text of Ernest Besig's

remarks presented at a private memorial service

held on Sunday, May 21, for Helen Salz. Ernest

Besig was the Executive Director of the ACLU of

Northern California from 1934 to 1971.

W. are not here to mourn Helen's passing,

but to salute a remarkable woman. Because she

believed strongly in civil liberties, she became |

associated with the ACLU - and that is why Iam -

here before you.

In the later years, after most of her contemp-

oraries left the scene, Helen referred to me as her

"oldest" friend. It is true that I knew her for many

years. We met in August, 1934, just after the San

- Francisco General Strike.

Chester Williams and I had been sent to San

Francisco from Los Angeles by our ACLU national

office to oppose the violence and vigilantism that

accompanied the strike. Helen was among the

people we contacted. And when it became clear

that a branch of the ACLU should be re-

established in Northern California, Chet Williams

recruited the first Board of Directors for the ACLU

including: Alexander Meiklejohn, Helen Salz,

Mary Hutchinson and Dr. Charles A. Hogan, who

became its first Chairman.

I returned to Los Angeles. The new group had

problems, lost its first executive, and was leader-

less when the Holmes-Eureka lumber strike broke

out. Three pickets were killed, eight were

wounded by company goons and 150 persons

were arrested and no attorney was willing to

represent them.

At that juncture, I received a telegram. From

whom? From Helen Salz, urging me to come to

Northern California and especially Eureka, for 30

days. Thirty days.

I came, but I'm afraid Helen got more than she

bargained for. The Eureka incident was followed

by a lynching in Yreka, and then the Santa Rosa

tar and feather party. I got so involved that I

forgot to leave after 30 days, and that's why Helen

is responsible for my being in San Francisco for 44

years.

Ai was a staunch civil libertarian. She

opposed the anti-picketing, anti-leaflet, and

`"move-on" ordinances that community after -

community enacted during the depression years.

And with the outbreak of World War II, she

opposed the exclusion and detention of citizens of

Japanese ancestry.

I remember her as part of a Board delegation

that went to Los Angeles by train at that time to

discuss strategy on that issue with the Southern

California branch of the ACLU. And after the

war, in and out of the ACLU Board, she raised her

voice against McCarthyism, the un-American

Activities Committee, the federal loyalty and

security program, the States Levering Act Oath

for public employees, the U.S. special oath for

professors that Alex Meiklejohn worked so hard

against, and the suppression of free speech for

students at U.C. .

In short, Helen not only believed in freedom,

but for over 40 years she was in the vanguard of

those who were fighting to re-win our freedom at

a time when it wasn't popular to support civil

liberties.

In order to brief Helen on the facts of each

issue which would come before a Board meeting,

we would lunch together - first at Solari's on

`Geary Street, and later at Bardelli's. Invariably we

ordered fillet of sole. That prompted Helen to

conclude that we were fillet of sole mates. .

I miss Helen particularly at election time. For

many years I helped her prepare her absentee

ballot. On each proposition, I was required to

present the pro and the con arguments. And, after

discussion, Helen would make up her mind and

punch her ballot. Indeed, I assisted her at last (c)

_November's election, when she could not

complete the job.

Helen, my fillet of sole mate, won't be at the

June election. But I salute a remarkable and

delightful woman, and a fellow-battler in the

cause of freedom, at a time when it wasn't

popular. - =

the few board members and volunteers who so

impressed me that I came to identify her with the

very spirit of our center in Northern California.

Her judgments were so fair, her wit so gracious

and her devotion so unqualified that she was an

' exceptional symbol of what the ACLU stands for.

Two years ago I wrote a tribute to her and to

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn when you all gave her

honors at the 1975 Bill of Rights Celebration. She

- alone of all of you, I am sure, was just my age, 92

then, and she was quite as lively and alert as I, and

wittier, to judge by reports of her speech. On my

recent visit I inquired first of all about her, only to

find that she was too ill to see callers. So I wrote a

- note of greeting and affection, too late I fear for

her even to read it, for she was gone only days

later.

I shall cherish the memory of a gallant lady, a.

stalwart in good causes, including ours, an

expression of the spirit that keeps democracy

alive.

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

A portrait sketch by Helen Salz (1955) _

Co-founder with Helen Salz of the ACLU of

Northern California

Wren a friend of his died, a man,

who I wish were a friend of mine,

_ wrote, "I shan't miss him. I have all of

his life ... at my disposal .... Ina

lucky life like mine there are one or

two people you don't miss when

they're gone; living or dead they're -

looking over your shoulder. Anyway,

I'm an optimist, and I abide serene in

the starry confidence that we or our

latest TIS shall see [their] likes

again.'

When the friends and family of

Helen Salz gathered in her home a few

days after she died to mark her

passing, they came not to mourn a

death, but to celebrate a life.

Ha. had touched each of those

present in some special way, and lest I (c)

sound mawkish or maudlin, I should

note that the ways in which she

touched us were as often puckish as

solemn, irreverent as often as serious,

often comic and cheering; never

sentimental. She had touched each of

us in some important way, and that's

why we came together to talk about

her. 3

. To talk about her, and to admire

the art objects and other memorabilia

interested in the causes to which she

was to contribute so much, she spoke

simply of what to her seemed an unfair

distribution of opportunity; the stifling

_of the human spirit and the destruction

of the creative impulse in mankind |

which the imposition of arbitrary.

authority - and poverty - could

wreak on those without the resources

to overcome them.

To her the California labor struggles

of the 1930's must have represented yet

another confrontation between

authority and creativity. She knew the

two forces were unalterably and

inevitably opposed, and she knew also

that if life were to be worth anything at

all, the creative forces would have to

overcome the limited and _ the

authoritarian. |

She probably did not presume in

1934, nor did anybody else, that the

little enterprise she helped to launch

would eventually have 20,000

members, or that it would one day

have a staff of professional and

volunteers, working full time as

lobbyists and litigators and community

educators in the field of civil liberties,

or that the little group would

eventually extend its work far beyond

To Celebrate

her life

By David M. Fishlow

Executive Director ACLU of Northern California

of a long and richly varied life with

which she had filled her home, and to

reflect upon the meaning she had had

for each and all of us.

As others of these recollections

show, Helen was a great launcher - of

enterprises and of people. Because she

had strong ideas about the particular

kind of school San Francisco needed,

she launched a school. She launched

her children on their separate ways to

accomplishment, and helped to launch

her grandchildren and_ great-

grandchildren in similar fashion.

She helped launch the careers of

young artists, too - perhaps "creative

lives" would be a more apt expression

- because she really understood what

the pursuit of happiness was all about.

She recognized that the pursuit was the

important part ... that the happiness

was more a felicitous result of the quest

rather than its goal.

And that is probably why she was

instrumental in the launching of the (c)

ACLU in Northern California.

I did not know Helen when she was

young (she was 60 when I was born),

but when she recalled her younger

days, and how she had become

~

its first efforts to protect the right of

what she called "the workmen" to

organize.

Yet follow the progress of the ACLU

she did, and she was proud of its

accomplishments. She remained active

on the Board until she could no longer

hear the debates, despite the increase in

decibels which occurred over the years.

Aina through it all, as in her

interest in education and art and

poetry and the development of the

individuals in her family and among

her friends, she held fast to the

confident belief that people would do

fine things if they but had the

opportunity.

She believed in trying to create the.

opportunities.

In her capacity as the launcher of

people and enterprises, she created

many. And that makes her responsible

for many of the fine things created by

those who enjoyed the opportunities

she helped create.

We shan't miss her. We have her -

whole life at our disposal. And, in part

because she was there, we'll see her

likes again.

Summer Resort (1940)

| by Helen Salz

Faces glossy, empty

or brittle, worried, delicately wrinkled.

Our American morale is gone, They say,

the people are pampered with easy money.

Smooth round tables like great pond-lilies

rise from the lawn, magical food on the tables,

waiters, whitestarched enigmas,

come eager to serve.

The people, They say - a cigar ash is scattered -

are pampered with easy money

so they will never work

(in the distance the drums are rumbling. )

We are a free nation

most privileged, most democratic,

`(he adjusts his bifocal thoughtfully) -

we are weakening the country's fibre;

electric stoves for the farmer, running water for all,

nylon stockings ... my maid, she interrupts gently,

has my almost new fur coat ...

Everyone has radios, automobiles.

No one, They all say in stern voices,

starves in America today

(in the distance the drums are rumbling).

Oh sharecropper the air is sombre and forbidding,

and the highway too kempt and clear a place

to house your squalid children.

Miner with the quick hoarse cough

your strike is lost, -your leaders jailed,

your drab belongings litter the a street.

Take your children to. the cities, -

to the high narrow cities

they can make flowers, gay posies for sportswear

they can pull bastings far into the night.

Take them to the cities - to the shrimpcanning towns,

take them to the mills.

Their fingers are swift,

they can earn money,

they can buy you a bed.

The lawn is jade, closeclipped,

the sprinkler casts rainbow streamers;

America, they repeat, istheland _ -

_ of equal opportunity.

But they are a little dreary under their bright awnings.

- They are a little bored at their bright tables.

They are a little frightened

for in the distance,

they, too, hear the drums rumble.

Laas

Ses

{

She renewed our dedication

By Joseph Remcho

ACLU Staff Counsel, 1972-1976 |

| Le entire office always knew when one of

the staff was talking to Helen Salz. She had a

hearing problem during the time I knew her and

whether we had to or not we always yelled into

the phone. The conversations were usually short.

Can you join me for a drink? Four-thirty? Fine.

She always got through on the telephone. And we

always made an early date.

Invariably the day of the planned drink was

busy. As often as not some picky judge would

choose to draw the line on extensions of time on

just the day I was to see Helen. A couple of

months usually intervened between visits, so the

joys of capping off a busy day with a trip through

`rush hour traffic to engage in conversation with

someone who could hardly hear you were less

than apparent. By the time I reached her front

door, however, I would be faintly embarrassed by -

my mid-day urge to postpone the meeting. Ten

minutes later I had forgotten it. She was an

important and special person in my life.

Helen and | talked about a lot of things which

were - as she would put it - none of anyone's

business. If the truth be told we both enjoyed a bit

of gossip now and then. We also talked a lot about

politics and civil liberties and law. She was

approaching ninety when I met her and her

hearing difficulty limited conversation, so I didn't

learn a lot of law from her. I was, however,

constantly reminded of why I became a lawyer.

More often than not I would' walk into her

living room freighted with all manner of personal

and civil liberties baggage: cases that started out

with a flash and had degenerated into petty

drudgery and squabbles; disagreements with

ACLU board members over policy; ceaseless

demands from desperate people whom neither |

nor fifty more staff lawyers could have helped.

Helen had a generally sympathetic ear but she

didn't get much in the way of complaints from me,

nor I suspect from other members of the staff. I

like to think that was because she understood our

problems without the need to speak of them and

that-she let us know she had more important

things to talk about. She would probably say that,

"it is hard to feel sorry for yourself," at the top of

her voice.

W. all learned a little history from Helen and

she brought us ever so slightly into her world of

family, art and poetry. But mostly the talk was of

civil liberties. She had a passion for civil liberties

_ and she knew right from wrong. Her eagerness to

see the ACLU in new areas of the law was

tempered by a solid old fashioned sense of what

civil liberties were all about. She put the small

stuff in perspective and reminded us of why we

got into the civil liberties business in the first

place.

Each meeting was a remarkable transfusion of

energy, passion and enthusiasm. I always left with

a sense of grand possibilities, renewed dedication,

and a personal sense of well-being that

approached euphoria.

Helen said it was the scotch.

A way of life

By Margaret Salz Lezin

L writing about my mother as a civil liber-

tarian from the perspective of a family member,

it's difficult to think about Mother and her partici-

pation in the ACLU as something special, or apart

from just the way she was. She was by nature and |

in principle dedicated to fair play, justice, and

integrity.

She had the full support of my father, who,

while he often differed with her on political issues,

fully respected her independent. stance. |

remember their lively discussions and

disagreements on many issues such as labor

unions, the role of Norman Thomas, lockouts,

and respect for picket lines. But I also remember

their united support of the ACLU.

_ Somehow, I think it's important to bring out

that Mother never played the role of the woman |

_ leader, the zealot, the adventurer. To me, she was

a very busy wife, hostess, mother, artist, reader,

poet, and defender and promoter both of her

principles and the people who crossed her life -

all blended in importance and usually intertwined.

At many an ACLU board meeting she might

well have been wondering if she should redo the

right eyebrow on her most recent portrait ot

Chairman Bishop Parsons; if Alice Heyneman

would mind that Mother suggested she wear a

different colored scarf with her new suit; if she

should write down the funny and slightly wicked

verse running through her head; if Ansley would

enjoy meeting with the two new ACLU board

members - all of this while listening with

pleasure to Alexander Meiklejohn express exactly

what she wanted to hear said about the issues

before the Board.

Sometimes people would say that Mother was

courageous and she would answer that it just

wasn't so - it probably was just her lack of

imagination that enabled her to do things that

other people might fear. And so it always seemed

to me that.what my mother did as a civil liber-

tarian came naturally to her; it seemed as integral

a part of her life and my father's as always

changing each night for dinner.

She was sure of herself, open to new ideas and

willing to make mistakes. I know she felt that if

one had made one's best decision at a certain time,

it was quite fruitless to dwell later on one's error.

This allowed her to take a stand and since she was

fearless, she took many. _

Faith in freedom

oo I marvel at `Americanism' :

and the fantastic costumes she wears

these days. Black hoods, Ku Klux

masks, army puttees. She is dressed

as a Vigilante and says to the fruit or

cotton picker, struggling for better.

working and living conditions, `Dirty

foreigner, we'll tar and feather you;

you re un-American.' Or she is

dressed as a judge, and says to the

striker or picket, "You're a Red and a

- vagrant anda rioter.... six months

... go and learn to be a good

-American citizen.'

Again, she is dressed as a director

on a Board of Education, and says

sternly to a religious sect, whose

belief forbids saluting or bowing to

images, Either your children salute

, the flag or they can't come to school.

It is a matter of indifference to us that

our forefathers came to this country

to assure religious freedom. ' Then

she is dressed as a Regent of a

University and proclaims, `We will

consider it un-American to introduce

the name of Karl Marx in history or

government courses.' And finally,

she looks over the length and breadth

of the land and says, `Be good

Americans; don't think.'

Look closely; there is something

strangely familiar about these

figures. You can penetrate these

disguises. They are Hitler's costumes!

Woven of intolerance, cowardice,

self-interest, ignorance and fear, they

are the garb of every tyrant and per-

secutor since the beginning time.

| Die warp and woof of genuine

Americanism is faith in freedom,

knowledge, courage and justice.

Written to the Editor of Emanu-El

and Jewish Journal by Helen Salz in

1936,