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HISTORY
NCARL was founded in 1960 as the National Committee to Abolish HUAC – the House Un-American Activities Committee (NCAHUAC). In its early years, directed by Frank Wilkinson, NCAHUAC’s focus was grassroots organizing. Frank traveled the country, following the little HUAC committees as they called local people to testify about their politics and name names of so-called subversives. Frank helped people meet, organize together and speak out about the First Amendment abuses being done. Wilkinson went to hundreds of communities over the decades, speaking to every kind of constituency.
At the same time, Frank was tailed throughout the country by the FBI, which considered his work subversive and dangerous. He was set up by a Justice Department informant, who told HUAC that she had invited him to a communist party meeting to speak. Armed with that “information,” HUAC in Atlanta called Frank to testify before it. He took the First Amendment, meaning he did not ask for immunity under the Fifth Amendment, stating that he had a constitutional right of association free from government intrusion. He was cited for contempt of Congress, went to court in Georgia, was convicted, and appealed the case up to the Supreme Court. On the basis of the one informant’s testimony the Supreme Court upheld the conviction by one vote. Frank went to jail for a year.
When he was released, to great celebration, he continued organizing against HUAC, and eventually helped dissolve it.
NCARL – renamed after HUAC was no longer – then worked on a range of criminal law issues. It organized opposition to the massive criminal code revision – S. 1 – sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Thurmond in the late 1970s. That major package eventually was dropped after significant and diverse opposition. Other issues of concern included the opposition to McCarran-Walter prohibitions on travel based on mere membership, which was largely successful in repealing the Cold War measures. In the 1980s, NCARL organized another major coalition effort - an affirmative effort to pass the FBI First Amendment Protection Act, which would have outlawed First Amendment-based investigations, and removed many of the Cold War and earlier First Amendment and due process laws still on the books. The bill, H.R. 50, got significant support in the House of Representatives, but was not reintroduced after 9/11/2001.
Click here to read an article by our Director, Kit Gage, that describes the consistent pattern by which the government demonizes dissent. This is an important guide for a Post-911 world.
Since September 11, 2001, NCARL has worked to educate people about some of the worst excesses of law and policy aimed at stopping terrorism which, we argue, are largely ineffective and simultaneously a huge step back on First Amendment and due process areas. We helped organize the first national conference of advocates for local bill of rights resolutions – Grassroots America Defends the Bill of Rights – October 18-19, 2003.
We are also thrilled that our sister organization, First Amendment Foundation (FAF), is currently working with author Robert Sherrill on a book about Frank Wilkinson’s life. Publication is expected in 2004. You can find out more information about the book on FAF’s website www.defendingdissent.org/faf/.