Editing American Civil Liberties Union (section)

==Leadership==
The ACLU is led by a president and an executive director, [[Deborah Archer]] and [[Anthony D. Romero]], respectively, as of March 2024.<ref>"[https://apnews.com/article/deborah-archer-aclu-president-adad34b7c6c77190830f9fb35513147a ACLU, for first time, elects Black person as its president]", [[Associated Press]], February 1, 2021, Retrieved February 2, 2021.

</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anthony D. Romero |url=https://www.aclu.org/bio/anthony-d-romero |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Officers & Board of Directors |url=https://www.aclu.org/officers-board-directors |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en}}</ref> The president acts as chair of the ACLU's board of directors, leads fundraising, and facilitates policy-setting. The executive director manages the day-to-day operations of the organization.<ref>''[https://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/about/aclu_bylaws.pdf Bylaws of ACLU, Inc.]'', Organizational Policy No. 501 (undated). Article V. Officers, Section 5 (President) and Section 15 (Executive Director). American Civil Liberties Union website (www.aclu.org/financials, "Related Information"). Retrieved May 9, 2015.</ref> The board of directors consists of 80 persons, including representatives from each state affiliate and at-large delegates. The organization has its headquarters in [[125 Broad Street]], a 40-story skyscraper located in [[Lower Manhattan]], New York City.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/aclu-high-manhattan-article-1.583550|title = ACLU is high on Lower Manhattan|last = Croghan|first = Lore|date = February 28, 2005|work = [[New York Daily News]]|access-date = March 10, 2015}}</ref>

The leadership of the ACLU does not always agree on policy decisions; differences of opinion within the ACLU leadership have sometimes grown into major debates. In 1937, an internal debate erupted over whether to defend [[Henry Ford]]'s right to distribute anti-union literature.<ref name=W102/> In 1939, a heated debate took place over whether to prohibit [[communism|communists]] from serving in ACLU leadership roles.<ref name=W1323/> During the early 1950s and [[Cold War]] [[McCarthyism]], the board was divided on whether to defend communists.<ref name=W176201/> In 1968, a schism formed over whether to represent [[Benjamin Spock]]'s anti-war activism.<ref name=W2845/> In 1973, as the [[Watergate Scandal]] continued to unfold, leadership was initially divided over whether to call for President [[Richard Nixon]]'s impeachment and removal from office.<ref>Walker, pp. 292–94</ref> In 2005, there was internal conflict about whether or not a [[gag rule]] should be imposed on ACLU employees to prevent the publication of internal disputes.<ref>Sherman, Scott, [http://www.thenation.com/article/aclu-v-aclu "ACLU v. ACLU"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204031044/http://www.thenation.com/article/aclu-v-aclu |date=December 4, 2018 }}, ''The Nation'', January 18, 2007.</ref>