People Power is a project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that was created to oppose the restrictionist immigration policies of the Trump administration and to promote a series of other left-of-center ideological issues, including LGBT interests, restrictions on police surveillance, and expanded abortion.¹

Campaigns

As of July 2018, People Power’s “grassroots army”² claimed a membership count of roughly 1.84 million.³ People Power brings ACLU campaigns to cities and towns in order to change and resist policy from the ground up.⁴ “

Freedom Cities” advocates for LGBT interests, closing the wage gap, restrictions on policing, and left-wing housing policy.⁵

“Let People Vote,” another initiative, calls for left-wing election administration approaches, an end to electoral gerrymandering, and “voter restoration policies” for ex-convicts.⁶

People

Faiz Shakir became the national political director for the ACLU in early 2017, and oversees the operation of People Power. Previously, Shakir was vice president of the left-wing think tank Center for American Progress, and served as senior adviser to U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).⁷

People Power has also hired former Obama administration and Bernie Sanders campaign staffers.⁸

1. Gabbatt, Adam. “ACLU Launching People Power to Resist Trump Immigration Policies in ‘freedom Cities’.” The Guardian. March 10, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/09/aclu-people-power-freedom-cities-trump-immigration-policies.
2. “Join the ACLU’s Grassroots Force: People Power.” PeoplePower.org. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://peoplepower.org/.
3. Maharidge, Dale. “Can the ACLU Remake Itself as a Mass Movement for Progressive Change?” The Nation. April 26, 2018. Accessed June 14, 2018.
4. Newman, Ronald. “The ‘Freedom Cities’ Campaign: Resistance Through Progress at the Local Level.” American Civil Liberties Union. March 14, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://www.aclu.org/blog/freedom-cities-campaign-resistance-through-progress-local-level.
5. Newman, Ronald. “The ‘Freedom Cities’ Campaign: Resistance Through Progress at the Local Level.” American Civil Liberties Union. March 14, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://www.aclu.org/blog/freedom-cities-campaign-resistance-through-progress-local-level.
6. “Join the Campaign to Let People Vote | ACLU People Power.” People Power. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://vote.peoplepower.org/.
7. Maharidge, Dale. “Can the ACLU Remake Itself as a Mass Movement for Progressive Change?” The Nation. April 26, 2018. Accessed June 14, 2018. https://www.thenation.com/article/can-the-aclu-remake-itself-as-a-mass-movement-for-progressive-change/.
8. Gabbatt, Adam. “ACLU Launching People Power to Resist Trump Immigration Policies in ‘freedom Cities’.” The Guardian. March 10, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018.