Leaders or leadership of any form demonstrate a high-quality effort in leading others. A strong leader has high-quality traits and core foundational values that help them reach and help others. We can find leaders in any community and in any culture. Leaders stand out as a voice for their peers and their communities. An organization that comes to mind when I think about leadership and who I think should be recognized is the ACLU. The American Civil Liberties Union was created by a small group of individuals around 1919-1920 as a means to fight back against unlawful civil liberties abuses. Today, they are one of the biggest defenders for the rights based in the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU consists of a million plus members, hundreds of staff attorneys, thousands of volunteer attorneys, and offices throughout the nation.
What I enjoy about this organization is that they are here to protect the rights of every individual no matter what background, culture, community, or section of life you come from. They are here to make sure that everyone has a voice and that no one is to be mistreated in any way. They are truly of and for the people. Day in and day out they continue to fight government abuse and defend individual freedoms. Their fights continue in the form of speech and religion, a woman’s right to choose, the right to due process, citizens’ rights to privacy, and so on. Some of their biggest battles throughout the past few years have been gaining recognition not only throughout our nation but has garnered the attention of those globally. They have paved the way for all individuals to take a stand and to empower all of our community activists. We have been through such tough times in the past few years, but it is a breath of fresh air to know that there are people out there that are not going to give up on us and that they are steadily involved in creating future generations of activists and community leaders.
The people that make up this organization are truly inspiring in the way that they dedicate their lives to helping others. This is not an organization of money and positional power. They are the leaders that we lean on to make a difference. I had the opportunity to briefly work with them through a local community initiative and what they wanted us to get out of their meetings was the opportunity to be educated on the issues that we are currently fighting against, our rights, and how to help and educate others. I tip my hat off to all of you out there that are willing to create a better world and the ACLU epitomize that vision. We are all leaders in our own particular ways. Much like the ACLU, leaders band together to make a difference.
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