•
The Cost of Liberty
From Scopes to Skokie,
the American Civil Liberties Union
has protected free speechfor all.
Even Nazis.
r
endy Joyrich was on
her way to a 1977
United Synagogue
Youth convention in
Ohio when word
spread that Nazis were
fighting to march in
Skokie, Ill.
The American Civil
Liberties Union had
come to the defense of
the American Nazi
Party, which effectively
had been banned from
demonstrating in the city
that was home to an esti-
mated 7,000 Holocaust
survivors.
"I was talking about it
a lot at the convention,"
recalls Ms. Joyrich, now
30, an ACLU board mem-
ber and chair of the state
legislative committee. "I
argued for free speech.
Nobody agreed with me."
Many Jews did not
approve of the ACLU
position — including
Wendy's mother, Ida
Joyrich. A survivor, Mrs.
Joyrich canceled her
membership after the
organization announced
it would support the
Nazis' right to march.
She was torn because
of a longstanding belief
that free speech — no
matter how hateful —
should not be banned.
Yet this case "felt like
a horrible insult,"
prompting Mrs. Joyrich
to join thousands of oth-
ers across the country
who stopped supporting
the ACLU — formed in
1920 as the first public
interest law firm
devoted to pro-
tecting individual
rights afforded by
the U.S. Constitu-
tion and the Bill
of Rights.
Many like Mrs.
Joyrich believe
that "rights need
to be protected
and sometimes it
is important for
someone to take
positions that are
not always popu-
lar."
Though memo-
ries of Skokie still Wendy Joyrich
linger, Mrs. Joyrich has
ter how well we are
since rejoined the Union.
doing," Dr. Warshay
"I would not want to live
says. "We tend to be
in a country where this
open to the rights of oth-
organization could not
ers who have been perse-
exist," she says.
cuted."
Since its inception, the
It has been 16 years
ACLU, a non-profit, non-
since attorney David
partisan organization,
Goldberger, now a law
always has attracted
professor at Ohio State
large numbers of Jewish
University, first accepted
volunteers and financial
the Skokie case on behalf
supporters. Officials esti-
of the ACLU. And it still
mate that 30 percent of
is a topic of discussion
its 250,000-member na-
when Michigan's ACLU
tional organization are
Executive Director
Jewish.
Howard Simon speaks to
Sociologists suggest
a Jewish group.
Jews gravitate to the
"It is just amazing,"
ACLU largely because of
Mr. Simon says. "We
the Jewish history of
handle so many different
persecution, and the
cases. Yet this one
group's support of the
always comes up. They
minority.
want to know why we
"We are living in a
took it.
Christian country," says
"I, too, am outraged
Wayne State University
and frightened when I
sociologist Dr. Leon
see Nazis. Half of my
Warshay. "And we are
family was destroyed by
always insecure no mat-
the Holocaust," he says.
"I believe we did the
right thing in defending —4
the Nazis in Skokie.
"Everybody in this
country has more rights --\/
today because the ACLU
did not shirk from
defending the First
Amendment under the
worst of circumstances in
which we defended
Nazis."
Mr. Goldberger was
serving legal director of.
the Illinois ACLU whent--,
– -
the case came up.
The American Nazi
Party had first applied
for permits to march
throughout
Chicago
proper. Only Skokie
responded by quickly
passing an ordinance <
that made costs for polit-
ical groups to rally so
high that no one could „2\
afford a demonstration.
The Skokie ordinance
was a direct violation of
the First Amendment's
right to free speech. It
‹,
was the ACLU's job to
correct the injustice, its
:
members agreed.
"I had some discomfort
knowing they (the Nazis)
stood for everything I
opposed," Mr. Goldberger
says. "But this was one
of those situations where
I was the ultimate
<
resource for unpopular
cases. No one else would
take the case."
In the end, the Nazis
did not march. But the =/
court ruled the Skokie
ordinance unconstitu-
tional, holding that "it is