Out Spotlight

Today’s Out Spotlight is the first openly gay person and the first Latino to become executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Today’s Out Spotlight is Anthony Romero.

Anthony Romero was born in New York City on July 9, 1965, to Demetrio and Coralie Romero who emigrated from Puerto Rico, settling in the Bronx to raise their family. When he was young, Romero’s father faced discrimination for a job promotion. A lawyer hired through his father’s union won him the promotion, and the extra earnings helped the family purchase a new home and their first car.

Romero was the first member of his family to graduate high school. He graduated from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1987 and from Stanford University Law School, and is a member of the New York Bar. He was a Dinkelspiel Scholar at Stanford University, a Cane Scholar at Princeton, and a National Hispanic Scholar at both institutions. In 2003, he was named Stanford’s first Public Interest Lawyer of the Year.

Romero became executive director in September 2001, four days before the September 11th attacks. He is the first openly gay man and the first Hispanic director of the civil liberties institution. Under his direction, the ACLU has achieved its highest level of membership and tripled its budget. This growth has allowed the organization to expand its efforts to champion causes such as lesbian and gay rights, racial justice and reproductive freedom.

In response to post-9/11 government policies, he helped create the ACLU’s “Keep America Safe and Free” campaign, which aims to protect basic freedoms during times of crises. The campaign was successful in its opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act and litigation regarding the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody. In his capacity as ACLU head, he was involved in opposition to several policies taken under the Bush administration's 'War on Terror'. Referring to the August 17, 2006, federal court declaration that the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" was unconstitutional, Romero called the court's opinion "another nail in the coffin in the Bush administration's legal strategy in the War on Terror".

He was named one of TIME magazine’s 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America in 2005. Additionally, Time has called him "The Champion of Civil Rights". In 2007, he and co-author and NPR correspondent Dina Temple-Raston published “In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror,” a book that takes a critical look at civil liberties in this country at a time when constitutional freedoms are in peril.

Romero has also received an honorary doctorate from the City University of New York School of Law.

In 2010, the ACLU completed the largest fundraising campaign on behalf of civil rights and civil liberties in American history. “Leading Freedom Forward: The ACLU Campaign for the Future,” along with the ongoing Strategic Affiliate Initiative, launched an unprecedented effort to build the organization's infrastructure by increasing funding to key state affiliates, enhancing advocacy capabilities nationwide and securing the ACLU's financial future.

“When you’ve seen prejudice, you understand that we aren’t finished, that we’re still perfecting this American experiment.”