ACLU of Washington Award Recipients
1973-2020
WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS AWARD
Our most esteemed award for outstanding and sustained contributions to the cause of civil liberties and freedom.2020 University of Washington Center for Human Rights
Accepted by Angelina Godoy on behalf of UWCHR, for long-standing dedication to social change and justice, and the rigorous research and partnerships in response to Washington’s role in the immigration detention/deportation pipeline. The ACLU-WA and our allies rely on the Center’s solid data and analysis to carry out our work on the ground.
2019 None given
2018 Kathleen Taylor
For four decades of advancing freedom, fairness, and justice. Kathleen was the executive director of the ACLU of Washington from 1980 to 2019 leading the organization as it grew from a 2-person to nearly 50-person staff and during a time when the ACLU-WA was a leader on issues that continue to be of crucial concern today, ranging from WA's successful initiative in 1991 that created state abortion protections that do not depend on Roe v Wade to the advancement of important reforms to laws that have long oppressed low income and minority populations, including drug laws, criminal procedures, and police conduct.
2017 None given
2016 Marsha Botzer
For being a leading pioneer, activist, and educator on behalf of the civil rights of transgender people. She has displayed courage in taking stands for the causes of sexual minorities long before they had even gained public awareness.
2015 Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
For promoting justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through legal services, advocacy, and community education. NWIRP has done outstanding work to ensure that our legal system enforces the guarantees of the Bill of Rights to all people in America, citizens and non-citizens alike.
2014 Floyd Jones and Alene Morris
Alene, for her longstanding commitment and persistence to challenging traditional power structures and urging women to become leaders; and Floyd, for his unwavering support of liberty and fairness for the last 40 years as a wise financial advisor to the ACLU-WA, and a generous supporter whose gifts allowed the ACLU-WA to significantly expand the strength and sophistication of our work.
2013 Jackie McMurtrie
For her devotion to the pursuit of justice on behalf of individuals wrongly convicted and imprisoned in Washington state. She founded the nation’s third Innocence Project and has built it from a small volunteer program into a prestigious clinical program involving scores of students and dozens of releases.
2012 Diane Narasaki
For remarkable leadership and advocacy spanning more than 30 years to advance freedom, justice and fairness, especially for Asian Pacific Islanders and immigrant communities. Her strategic and inclusive leadership style has brought many people together to advance racial justice, police accountability, voting rights and citizenship rights.
2011 Peter Greenfield
For his decades of representation of vulnerable populations, domestic violence victims, and those daring to challenge police practices on constitutional grounds. He also handled the landmark 1974 case Spence v. Washington, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protected a war protestor's right to display an American flag with a peace symbol on it.
2010 None given
2009 Phil Bereano
For a lifetime of tireless activism advancing civil rights for LGBT and people with AIDS, and for pioneering advocacy to address technology’s impacts on civil liberties.
2008 Hubert Locke
For his decades of committed leadership, scholarship and public service in defense of civil and human rights. Locke has been an advocate for social justice with a special interest in fairness in the criminal justice system. He as often tackled civil liberties issues in his weekly column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
2007 Wing Luke Asian Art Museum and Executive Director Ron Chew
For showcasing the history of Asian Americans in the struggle for civil rights.
Wing Luke has been a leader in telling the story of Asian American efforts to achieve dignity and equality. Ron Chew has involved numerous segments of the community in the museum’s work.
2006 Marcy Bloom
For providing courageous leadership in advocating for civil liberties and the fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Bloom served for 18 years as the executive director and guiding force of the Aradia Women’s Health Center, Seattle’s first nonprofit abortion and gynecological health center. Aradia stands as an inspiration and model for clinics across the nation.
2005 None Given
2004 Candace Morgan
For championing intellectual freedom in libraries and on the Internet in her career with the Fort Vancouver Regional Library. There, for the past twenty-one years, she has made intellectual freedom the cornerstone of her work in librarianship. Morgan has done extensive public advocacy work, including testifying before the U.S. Senate, and helping to set the national standard for intellectual freedom on the internet in libraries and public spaces.
2003 Larry Gossett
For his life-long advocacy for civil rights, social justice, and civil liberties. Gossett worked tirelessly on behalf of communities of color, challenging racism in the schools, criminal justice system and local government. His efforts have not been limited to people of color. LGBTs, protestors, and jail inmates have benefited from his leadership.
2002 None Given
2001 John Fox and Jean Colman
For their leadership and compassion in empowering forgotten members of society. John Fox, as head of the Seattle Displacement Coalition, has devoted a quarter-century to advancing the rights of tenants, the homeless, and street youth, and has fostered the recognition that civil liberties are an essential part of that struggle.
Jean Colman, as head of the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition since 1987, has worked with low-income women to help them insist on fair treatment, change unjust state policies, and break the myths about who received public assistance and why.
2000 Alan and Andrea Rabinowitz
For their leadership in philanthropic organizations that advance grassroots democracy, equality, empowerment through education, and freedom. They are nationally recognized thinkers and mentors in social change philanthropy and, together, have guided numerous foundations devoted to funding progressive causes.
1999 Bill Wassmuth
For consistent and outstanding contributions to the causes of civil rights and civil liberties, including more than 30 years of courageous effort to end bigotry in the Northwest through his leadership of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment.
1998 Planned Parenthood and Lee Minto
For their leadership in keeping Washington in the forefront of reproductive freedom by working steadfastly to ensure the choices of motherhood, abortion, and adoption are legal, safe and accessible to all.
1997 Jacob Lawrence
One of America’s most productive and celebrated visual artists for his powerful portrayals of the struggle of African Americans for freedom and dignity. More than any other prominent American visual artist, his imagery conveys a sense of struggle and hope associated with African American life.
1996 Thomas W. Hillier II
Federal public defender for his commitment to the right of indigent individuals to counsel when facing criminal charges and for his efforts to advance fairness in criminal law.
1995 Washington Supreme Court Justice Robert Utter, retired
For his support of individual liberty and equal access to justice, including his pioneering work using the state constitution as a basis for extending civil liberties and his eloquent opposition to the death penalty.
1993 Ricardo R. Garcia
For his lifelong commitment to improving opportunities and promoting equality for low-income people of all races, especially migrant and seasonal farm workers and immigrants from Mexico.
1992 Judge Solie M. Ringold, retired
For his lifelong contributions to the preservation of civil rights and liberties as an activist, a lawyer and a judge.
1991 Henry Gay
Publisher and columnist for the Shelton-Mason County Journal for his “ferocious independence” and unwavering defense of free speech and the Bill of Rights.
1990 Cherry Kinoshita
For her leadership in the successful effort to gain redress for Japanese Americans who were interned during WW II.
1989 Mary Gallwey
Former ACLU-WA Board President and lifelong civil libertarian, for her contributions to the ACLU at both the local and national levels.
1988 Alex Gottfried and Art Kobler
For their long service to the ACLU-WA Board - each served for more than 30 years - and their guidance of the organization during that period.
1987 John Caughlan
Seattle attorney for his lifelong work for civil liberties, including his defense of free speech for the local Communist Party during the 1930s, which subsequently cost him his job.
1986 None Given
1985 Frederick T. Haley
Head of the Brown and Haley Candy Company, for his outstanding support for civil rights, racial equality, equal opportunity and opposition to McCarthy-era witch hunts.
1984 Ed Henry, receiving for himself and the other founders of the ACLU-WA
For their work during the 1930s to establish a formal ACLU structure in Washington State.
1983 Arthur Barnett
A long-time Seattle civil rights lawyer and social justice activist, for his work against internment laws and his representation of Gordon Hirabayashi.
1982 Carl Maxey
A Spokane attorney, for his work to end the discriminatory practices of public restaurants and private clubs in eastern Washington as well as his work for the separation of church and state.
1981 Church Council of Greater Seattle
For its consistent support of equality, justice and human rights.
1979 Edward R. Murrow (posthumously)
For excellence in broadcasting and attention to civil liberties and civil rights issues.
1978 KING Broadcasting
For its leadership in the broadcast industry in the area of civil liberties and civil rights.
1977 None Given
1976 Francis Hoague and Kenneth MacDonald
Seattle attorneys, both past presidents of the ACLU-WA, for their distinguished record of service to the ACLU and the Bill of Rights.
1975 Justice William O. Douglas
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Douglas was given the award for his outstanding commitment and contributions to the cause of civil liberties and freedom.
1974 Dr. Giovanni Costigan
Former University of Washington Professor of History for his service on the ACLU’s National Advisory Council and his service to the ACLU-WA.
1973 Dr. Melvin Rader
For his vigilant fight against the state’s version of the Un-American Activities Committee and his defense of the ACLU against charges of communism.
KATHLEEN TAYLOR CIVIL LIBERTARIAN AWARD
Presented to individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to the cause of civil liberties and justice.2020 Lila Silverstein and Neil Fox
For their monumental victory at the Washington Supreme Court in State v. Gregory, outlawing the death penalty. Thanks to their careful detailed, persistent, and compelling work, the Court was able to conclude that the association between “race and the death penalty is not attributable to random chance” and is thus unconsitutional under our state constitution’s prohibition on cruel punishment.
CIVIL LIBERTARIAN AWARD
2019 Award Renamed Kathleen Taylor Civil Libertarian Award Commemorating Kathleen Taylor’s decades of leadership as Executive Director and marking her retirement.2018 None given
2017 Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN)
For its response to heightened activities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, including development of a hotline to report immigrant raids, a text alert system for impacted people, and Know Your Rights information in many languages.
2017 Every Student Counts Alliance of Spokane
For successfully pushing for reform of student discipline policies in the Spokane School District.
2016 Seattle’s Community Police Commission
For its determined efforts to combat biased policing and excessive use of force by the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and to bring transparency, fairness, and accountability to SPD’s interactions with members of the public.
2015 Felix Vargas of Consejo Latino and Jeremy Peterson of Tri-Cities Community Solutions
For their determination and savvy in their demand for fairness and justice for the Latino community.
2014 The pro-bono teams from Perkins Coie who worked on Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon and Montes v. City of Yakima: James Williams, Breena Roos, Camille Fisher, David Steele, Carol Kness, Joel Higa, Chris Knowlden, Kevin Hamilton, Abha Khanna, William (Ben) Stafford, Kimball Mullins, Rose Kelly, Rike Connelly, Mica Simpson
For their dedication, advocacy, and thousands of hours of superb pro bono work to challenge deficient government systems that deprived minorities and the indigent of basic civil rights.
2014 Ben Haggerty, aka Macklemore
For his outspoken support of gay rights and civil liberties.
2013 Arsalan Bukhari
For his vigorous and diligent work promoting fair treatment, respect, and understanding for Muslim Americans and the protection of their civil liberties.
2012 Major Margaret Witt
For tireless efforts and perseverance through years of litigation to win a landmark case against the military, helping pave the way for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
2011 Patricia Flores and Paula Zambrano
For their tremendous work to mobilize the Latino community in Yakima to oppose a misguided gang bill promoted by the Attorney General. Flores and Zambrano organized parents to engage in the legislative process through community meetings, petitions, and letters.
2010 None given
2009 Jeffery Robinson and Amanda Lee
For their work on the John Adams Project to represent the high-value detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
2008 The York and Schneider Families of Cathlamet, Washington, parents of Wahkiakum High School students at the time, for their steadfast determination as plaintiffs in a precedent-setting ACLU-WA case against student drug testing.
2007 ACLU-WA Voting Rights Restoration (VRR) Project Volunteers
(Robert Wilhite, Maria Elena Ramirez, Mina Barahimi, Marcia Skok, LeeAnn Woodrum, Julia McLean and Bess McKinney) who assisted over 400 individuals seeking to restore voting rights lost through felony convictions.
2006 David Taylor and Don Scaramastra
For showing exemplary commitment and skill in gaining a landmark victory for effective legal representation regardless of wealth.
2005 Brenda Bauer & Celia Castle, Pamela Coffey & Valerie Tibbett, Gary Murrell & Michael Gyde, Judy Fleissner & Chris Gamache, Kevin Chestnut & Curtis Crawford, Jeff Kingsbury & Alan Fuller, Lauri Conner & Leja Wright, Allan Henderson & John Berquist, Marge Ballack & Diane Lantz, Tom Duke & Phuoc Lam, Karrie & Kathy Cunningham
For courageously representing people in Washington who want their families and partnerships recognized by the law.
2004 David Skover
For his successful 2003 campaign to obtain a pardon from New York’s Governor Pataki for Lenny Bruce’s 1964 obscenity conviction, which brought widespread, public attention to the comedian’s culturally transformative legacy of free speech.
2003
Western Freedom Alliance
For its community organizing, culminating in the Bellingham City Council’s passage of the anti-PATRIOT Act resolution.
Tacomans United For Fairness
For its successful opposition to Initiative One, which would have repealed Tacoma’s equal rights protections for LGBTQ+ people.
2002
Adam Kline
For his key leadership in defeating overbroad anti-terrorism and wiretapping bills.
Rita Zawaideh
For her work, immediately after September 11, to ensure that Arab Americans throughout Western Washington had a support system in place to deal with incidents of racial harassment, racial profiling, and potential investigation by law enforcement.
2001
Paul Dayton, Christopher Osborn, Andrew Parnes, Edwin Matthews, William Mauk, and Roger Peven
For their work saving the lives of three men charged with capital offenses and in recognition of the tireless efforts of attorneys who take on the enormously challenging work of defense in death penalty cases.
Lise Olsen
For her three-part series on the administration of the death penalty in Washington State published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Writing with exceptional intelligence and depth, Olsen documents numerous critical and shocking flaws in capital cases.
2000
The Selah Committee to Save Our Library
The Selah Committee, for successfully resisting a crusade to install mandatory filters on all computers in the town’s public library.
The Burlington-Edison Committee for Science Education
The Burlington-Edison Committee for effective activism to end the teaching of religious doctrine as science at Burlington-Edison High School.
1999
Jane Jervis, President Evergreen College
For defending the decision of the Evergreen student panel to invite death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal to speak at commencement, despite immense public pressure to cancel the engagement.
Rob Killian
For his dedicated work as the leading spokesperson and advocate in Washington for legalizing the use of marijuana for those needing its medicinal benefits and leading a successful campaign to pass the Medical Marijuana Act.
1998 Kathryn Lyon
For her courageous and important work to bring to light gross violations of due process in the Wenatchee child sex abuse prosecutions.
1997 The Safe Schools Coalition
For its outstanding and pioneering work to end gay bias in Washington schools. The Coalition steadfastly promotes greater tolerance within our schools, courageously advocating fairness on behalf of a very vulnerable group of young people.
1996 Ralph Mero, Ira Stohl and Kristina Hjelsand
Mero for his leadership of the death with dignity movement in Washington; Stohl and Hjelsand for their fight against censorship in Bellingham.
1995 None Given
1994 State Senator Cal Anderson
Washington’s first openly gay state legislator, for his steadfast defense of civil liberties in the legislature.
1993 Richard Aroner, Alice Erickson, Victor Goertzel, Charles Henderson, Walt Linburg, Margaret Newcombe, Mildred Proctor, Elizabeth Smith, Jack Titland, Janet West, and Virginia Wiener
For being long-time ACLU-WA office volunteers.
1992 Janice Marie Bell and Harriett Walden
For their work against police harassment and founding of Mothers Against Police Harassment.
1991 Jim Lobsenz and Perry Watkins
For defending the rights of gays to serve in the military.
1990 Robert Beckerman and Robert Boruchowitz
Beckerman for his long-time fundraising work; Boruchowitz for defending the rights of the accused.
1989 ACLU cooperating attorneys
1988 Alan Burch and Betsy O’Halloran
Burch for defending free speech of students; O’Halloran for challenging the drugtesting of student athletes.
1987 The SW Washington ACLU Chapter and Marian English, Chapter President
For revitalization of the civil libertarian movement there.
1986 Founders of the Joint Legal Task Force: Bob Gibbs, Isabel Safora, Dan Smith, Linda Turner, Katherine Weber
1985 Herdis Benediktson and Alice Phillips and Seattle Public Library Board
Benediktson and Phillips for their long-time volunteer service; Library Board for
standing up against censorship.
1984 Congressman Mike Lowry
For his long-time support of civil liberties issues at both the local and federal levels.
1983 None Given
1982 Tim Ford
For his work against the death penalty and leadership in prison litigation.
1981 None Given
1980 None Given
1979 Fred Noland and Rose Marie Van Winkle
Noland for his work against desegregation; Van Winkle for her financial management.
1978 None Given
YOUTH ACTIVIST AWARD
2017 Youth United of AuburnFor leadership in advancing inclusivity in Auburn public schools and pushing the school district to offer Know Your Rights trainings on immigration issues for students and families.
2016 Veronique Harris
For her passion and dedication to civil rights, shown through in her involvement in activism for civil liberties with the ACLU.
2015 Acacia Salisbury
For her committed activism and eloquence in speaking out against injustice as an accomplished spoken-word artist.
2014 Sienna Colburn
For her leadership in the movement to support Mark Zmuda, a vice principal and swim coach at Eastside Catholic School who was fired for being married to a man.
2013 Carlos Padilla
For his energetic and articulate activism in support of reforming national immigration policy, and in seeking justice for “Dreamers” – youthful non-citizen immigrants who arrived in the US as children and grew up without legal status.
2012 Russell Dickerson, III
For bravery and determination in confronting and challenging a school system that allowed physical, racial, and sexual harassment.
2011 Gaby Rodriguez
For her courageous efforts to shine a spotlight on the illegal discrimination faced by pregnant and parenting teens in school.
2010 None given
2009 Colin Moyer
For challenging the teaching of creationism in his science class and for promoting freedom of speech at his school.
2008 Ian Feis, a Mount Vernon High School senior and co-founder of the Gay-Straight Alliance, and Kaitlyn Donnelly, an officer in Mount Si High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance, for their courageous leadership for equality.
2007 Alexandra "Alex" Hudson
Helped found the ACLU student club at Western Washington University, advocating for civil liberties on issues such as Net Neutrality, human rights at Guantanamo, Hurricane Katrina, and drug and alcohol education.
2006 Claire Lueneburg and Sara Eccleston
For making a determined stand on behalf of freedom of the press rights for student journalists.
2005 Tristan Bullington
For outstanding leadership organizing students to advocate for civil liberties at Washington State University.
2004 Erik Hansen, Michael Keating, Jr., Luke Passalacqua, and Nick Tezak
For their swift and courageous work to organize a well-attended, public rally in support of the Martin family in the aftermath of a cross burning incident in Arlington.
2003 Corrigan Gommenginger
For bravely fighting back in defense of his rights and the rights of other LGBTQ+ students at Federal Way High School and across Washington State when the student government arbitrarily and unfairly refused to recognize the GSA he organized.
2002 Emerald Ridge High School Gay-Straight Alliance
For courageously carrying out a protest action to raise awareness about the harassment of gay students, in the face of concerted opposition, teaching the community a useful lesson about tolerance for diversity and respect for freedom of speech.
TORCH OF LIBERTY
1998 Floyd and Delores JonesFor conceiving and underwriting a video documentary of the history and philosophy of the ACLU, produced by PBS Seattle’s KCTS Channel 9 for national public distribution.
Updated 1/2021
