The American Civil Liberties Union is a powerful, influential and storied legal nonprofit thats often been at the center of highly-visible courtroom battles. Almost 100 years ago, the ACLU set out to defend the free speech rights of anti-war protesters. Today, its considered one of the, if not the, most influential civil liberties organizations in the country.

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump , the ACLU raised more than 24 million dollars in a single weekend. Silicon Valley investors and venture capitalists rushed to their side offering to match donations up to $25,000. Trumps election had loosened wallets. A few months later, up to their eyeballs in resistance money, the ACLU announced a grassroots organizing campaign:

During an event over the weekend attended by more than 1,500 people in Miami and livestreamed to more than 200,000 at 2,341 house parties across the nation, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a national grassroots initiative to organize communities to promote policies at the local level that respect the constitutional rights of all residents.

While the launch, headlined by TV host Padma Lakshmi and singer Milck, may have been a source for champagne flute clinks across the country, this Freedom Cities campaign sounded awfully familiar to organizers in New York City. Earlier this year, months before the ACLU launch, a coalition of worker centers representing mostly immigrant low-wage workers, the New York Worker Center Federation, began a campaign of the same name.