National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee
Encyclopedia
The National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee was an organization formed in 1951 to "to reestablish the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights", and was called the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee until 1968. They became known for defending the rights of citizens blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee
, including political activists (some Communist
) whom the ACLU and other civil rights
groups refused to or did not defend. Their first "landmark case" was Kent v. Dulles
, in which the court ruled that the right to travel may not be restricted without due process.
After the McCarthy
era, the organization won a number of high profile civil rights cases. In Peck v. State of Alabama and the FBI, NECLC sued the FBI for damages on behalf of James Peck
, a young Freedom Rider who had been beaten into unconsciousness by the Ku Klux Klan
in Birmingham, Alabama
in 1961. In an unprecedented decision, the court ruled against the FBI that the government has the common law duty to protect citizens when it has notice of impending violence. In Farmworkers v. A&P (1974), the NECLC successfully defended the right of the United Farm Workers
to boycott
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company for selling non-union
grapes and lettuce
.
In the 1980s, the NECLC successfully represented a Pennsylvania child welfare
worker who had exposed the illegal practices of his employers
(Prochaska v. Pediaczko, 1981), and worked for ten years to obtain a visa for the wife of assassinated Chilean president Salvador Allende
(Allende v. Secretary of State, 1987).
In 1998 the NECLC was merged into the Center for Constitutional Rights
.
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
, including political activists (some Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
) whom the ACLU and other civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
groups refused to or did not defend. Their first "landmark case" was Kent v. Dulles
Kent v. Dulles
Kent v. Dulles 357 U.S. 116 is a landmark case on the right to travel and passport restrictions as they relate to First Amendment free speech rights...
, in which the court ruled that the right to travel may not be restricted without due process.
After the McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
era, the organization won a number of high profile civil rights cases. In Peck v. State of Alabama and the FBI, NECLC sued the FBI for damages on behalf of James Peck
James Peck
James Peck may refer to:*James H. Peck , American judge in Missouri impeached for abuse of power*Sir James Peck , British civil servant and local government officer...
, a young Freedom Rider who had been beaten into unconsciousness by the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in 1961. In an unprecedented decision, the court ruled against the FBI that the government has the common law duty to protect citizens when it has notice of impending violence. In Farmworkers v. A&P (1974), the NECLC successfully defended the right of the United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
to boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company for selling non-union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
grapes and lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
.
In the 1980s, the NECLC successfully represented a Pennsylvania child welfare
Child welfare
Child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability...
worker who had exposed the illegal practices of his employers
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
(Prochaska v. Pediaczko, 1981), and worked for ten years to obtain a visa for the wife of assassinated Chilean president Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
(Allende v. Secretary of State, 1987).
In 1998 the NECLC was merged into the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
.