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On April 5th, the Interfaith Center of New York will hold a full-day conference for the city’s religious and civic leaders, exploring the emerging challenges for religious leadership under the presidency of Donald Trump. The distinguished keynote speaker of this conference will be Donna Lieberman, Esq., the Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. In addition to discussing the essential work of the NYCLU, Ms. Lieberman will share her vision of New York City – exploring how the history and character of the city we love can serve as moral resource for resistance to the Trump agenda.
Under Ms. Lieberman’s leadership, the NYCLU has been widely recognized as one of the state’s leading voices for freedom, justice, and equality, advocating for those whose rights and liberties have been denied. NYCLU has achieved exceptional work from Reforming the Rockefeller Drug Laws through an aggressive, statewide campaign to protecting protest by publishing two major reports on police tactics at demonstrations.
Fighting for families has also been a central priority under Ms. Lieberman’s tenure. By prevailing in a landmark lawsuit in which a state appellate court unanimously ruled that New York State must recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples who were lawfully married in other states or countries, love won.
Moreover, NYCLU has also engaged in challenging the government’s misuse of anti-Muslim national security arguments as a pretext for violations of individual rights, including; the Bush administration’s use of torture, detention at the U.S.-Canada border of American citizens who attend Islamic conferences, the FBI’s use of secret National Security Letters and corresponding gag orders, and the federal law giving government agents virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans’ international e-mails and telephone calls. NYCLU under Ms. Lieberman has simply achieved too many other achievements to name that have helped make NYC the beacon of freedom, justice and diversity that it aspires to be for all.
Ms. Lieberman began her public interest legal career as a criminal defense lawyer in the South Bronx office of the Legal Aid Society, and she later acted as executive director of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW. She served on the faculty of the Urban Legal Studies Program at City College for nearly a decade.
This conference is a professional development and capacity building opportunity for religious leaders, allowing faith leaders to learn about social issues, create networks for mutual support, and meet civic leaders and service providers. We invite all concerned New York City faith leaders to attend this retreat to share your actions and ideas, and explore opportunities to work together to address the concerns of your communities.
