The mission of the National Lawyers Guild is to create a community of attorneys on the NYU campus and champion progressive causes. Its members fought fascism, defended workers’ rights, defended refugees, and challenged the use of nuclear weapons. Learn more about its history. And join the Guild today. There are many ways to get involved! Here are just a few:
NLG members fought against fascism
Several national lawyers guild members have fought against fascism. These groups often use legal methods to prevent citizens from speaking their minds and preventing them from exercising their First Amendment rights. While the ACLU pretends to uphold the rule of law, the NLG explicitly states that it does not give legal counsel to groups that promote hate speech and extremism. The NLG even pushed the FBI to overturn the “race identity extremist” designation of black people.
The NLG’s membership is made up of hard-left and white middle-class individuals who opposed the government’s policies. This group is the biggest sponsor of Antifa. Some of its literature even promotes the Antifa movement’s violent terror tactics. But the NLG continues to support them despite their history of opposing fascism. So why would the NLG defend Antifa? Let’s look at the history of their activism and see if we can learn from the past.
They defended labor rights
The National Lawyers Guild was one of the first legal advocacy organizations. The group fought for human rights through resolutions demanding anti-lynching legislation, an end to racial discrimination in the ABA, and more public defenders. It supported labor’s right to collective bargaining and full-scale Social Security and called on the government to establish neighborhood legal aid bureaus. The NLG is considered the oldest network of human rights activists working in the legal system.
During the Gulf War, the Guild organized legal support for groups fighting U.S. intervention in Central America. These activists developed innovative strategies for international and domestic human rights. In 1991, they filed a federal suit against the U.S. government for alleged civil rights violations committed against Earth First! organizer Judi Bari. The Guild’s attorneys were also instrumental in the successful defense of Judi Bari, who had been the victim of a bomb attempt.
They defended refugees
For over 70 years, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) has been an advocate for social justice and domestic issues. The organization’s membership consists of lawyers who focus on multiple issues rather than narrow professional practices. Whether an issue is a labor, immigration, civil rights, or other matters of public concern, NLG members will fight to improve the world for everyone. From defending refugees to advancing women’s rights, NLG members have been at the forefront of social justice movements and have stood up for those who are marginalized in society.
Among NLG’s many accomplishments, the organization was one of the first non-governmental organizations to publish reports exposing violations of international human rights standards. In addition, the NLG was instrumental in founding the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, which focused its opposition to secret evidence deportations and attacks on First Amendment rights. In addition to these successes, NLG lawyers have long provided legal support to environmental movements, helping to establish a national Green Scare hotline and know-your-rights resource.
They challenged the use of nuclear weapons
The first nuclear states emerged after the Cold War, often with a loose collection of hostile tribes, a thin veneer of a leader, and no history of modern statehood. They may also have rulers who lack the constraints and societal values of their older neighbors. These examples include Idi Amin and Muammar el-Qaddafi. Their rise to power brought with it the prospect of nuclear war, and these nations resisted this possibility.
While nuclear weapons can be lethal and ineffective, they have important benefits to states. Despite their destructive potential, nuclear weapons also impose caution on weak states, which is crucial in war and peace. Even when used sparingly, nuclear weapons make states cautious about putting their armies in harm’s way. They can never win a war, but they can lose everything. As a result, nuclear weapons have been an unwelcome reality for humankind.