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{{short description|Former Director of the American Civil Liberties Union}}
{{short description|Former director of the American Civil Liberties Union}}
{{for|the American public radio personality|Ira Glass}}
{{for|the American public radio personality|Ira Glass}}
{{Infobox officeholder
⚫
[[File:Ira Glasser receiving Drugpeace award.jpg|right|thumb|Glasser receiving the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace award in 2015]]
| name = Ira Glasser
⚫
'''Ira Saul Glasser''' (born 1938) was the fifth executive director of the [[American Civil Liberties Union|American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)]] from 1978 to 2001. His life was the subject of the 2020 documentary ''Mighty Ira''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Education (FIRE)|first=Foundation for Individual Rights in|title=Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story|url=http://www.mightyira.com/|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Mighty Ira|language=en}}</ref>
| image = Ira Glasser receiving Drugpeace award.jpg
⚫
| caption = Glasser receiving the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace award in 2015
| office = 5th Executive Director of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]]
| term_start = 1978
| term_end = 2001
| predecessor = [[Aryeh Neier]]
| successor = [[Anthony D. Romero]]
| president = [[Norman Dorsen]] <br />[[Nadine Strossen]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|4|18}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
}}
⚫
'''Ira Saul Glasser''' (born April 18, 1938) is an American [[civil liberties]] activist who served as the fifth executive director of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001. His life is the subject of the 2020 documentary ''[[Mighty Ira]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Education (FIRE)|first=Foundation for Individual Rights in|title=Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story|url=http://www.mightyira.com/|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Mighty Ira|language=en}}</ref>


== Early years ==
== Early life and education ==
Ira Glasser was born on April 18, 1938, at [[Brooklyn Jewish Hospital]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York.<ref>{{cite book|last=Golenbock|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Golenbock|title=In the Country of Brooklyn: Inspiration to the World|date=October 6, 2009|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-125381-2|page=43}}</ref> He earned a graduate degree in mathematics from [[Ohio State University]]<!--Wikipedians do not use "The" as part of Ohio State's name; it is considered a marketing gimmick, and routinely deleted.-->.
Ira Glasser was born on April 18, 1938, at [[Brooklyn Jewish Hospital]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York.<ref>{{cite book|last=Golenbock|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Golenbock|title=In the Country of Brooklyn: Inspiration to the World|date=October 6, 2009|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-125381-2|page=43}}</ref> He earned a graduate degree in mathematics from [[Ohio State University]]<!--Wikipedians do not use "The" as part of Ohio State's name; it is considered a marketing gimmick, and routinely deleted.-->.


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== Executive director ==
== Executive director ==
The ACLU website credits Glasser with transforming the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] "from a '[[mom and pop]]'-style operation concentrated mainly in a few large cities to a nationwide civil liberties powerhouse."<ref>[https://www.aclu.org/about/staff/13342prs20000906.html ACLU Chief Ira Glasser to Retire in 2001; 23-Year Tenure Transformed "Liberty's Law Firm" ]</ref> Indeed, at the end of Glasser's directorship the ACLU maintained staffed offices in all fifty states, the [[District of Columbia]], and [[Puerto Rico]]; when he became director in 1978, only about half of the states had staffed offices. Glasser raised the ACLU's annual income from $4 million in 1978 to $45 million in 1999.
The ACLU website credits Glasser with transforming the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] "from a '[[mom and pop]]'-style operation concentrated mainly in a few large cities to a nationwide civil liberties powerhouse."<ref>[https://www.aclu.org/about/staff/13342prs20000906.html ACLU Chief Ira Glasser to Retire in 2001; 23-Year Tenure Transformed "Liberty's Law Firm" ]</ref> At the end of Glasser's directorship the ACLU maintained staffed offices in all fifty states, the [[District of Columbia]], and [[Puerto Rico]]; when he became director in 1978, only about half of the states had staffed offices. Glasser raised the ACLU's annual income from $4 million in 1978 to $45 million in 1999.


Although the ACLU had protected civil liberties generally through [[litigation]], Glasser expanded the focus of the ACLU's activities through [[lobbying]] and public education programs.
Although the ACLU had protected civil liberties generally through [[litigation]], Glasser expanded the focus of the ACLU's activities through [[lobbying]] and public education programs.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Lc5b8Flto Ira Glasser on Free Speech | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)]</ref>


Glasser retired in 2001; he was succeeded as executive director of the ACLU by [[Anthony D. Romero]].
Glasser retired in 2001; he was succeeded as executive director of the ACLU by [[Anthony D. Romero]].


In his retired life, Glasser serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the [[Drug Policy Alliance]].
In his retired life, Glasser serves as the president of the board of directors of the [[Drug Policy Alliance]].


== Publications ==
== Publications ==
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* ''Visions of Liberty: The Bill of Rights for All Americans'' (1991)
* ''Visions of Liberty: The Bill of Rights for All Americans'' (1991)
* ''BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters'' (narrator) – Produced by [[Flex Your Rights]]
* ''BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters'' (narrator) – Produced by [[Flex Your Rights]]
* Why we must fight for the right to hate. (author, 21st January 2023) - Published in Spiked.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:Jewish activists]]
[[Category:Jewish American activists]]
[[Category:American Civil Liberties Union people]]
[[Category:American Civil Liberties Union people]]
[[Category:People from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:People from Brooklyn]]

Latest revision as of 15:02, 19 December 2024

For the American public radio personality, see Ira Glass.
Ira Glasser
Glasser receiving the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace award in 2015
5th Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union
In office
1978–2001
PresidentNorman Dorsen
Nadine Strossen
Preceded byAryeh Neier
Succeeded byAnthony D. Romero
Personal details
Born (1938-04-18) April 18, 1938 (age 86)
New York City, U.S.

Ira Saul Glasser (born April 18, 1938) is an American civil liberties activist who served as the fifth executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001. His life is the subject of the 2020 documentary Mighty Ira.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Ira Glasser was born on April 18, 1938, at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.[2] He earned a graduate degree in mathematics from Ohio State University.

Early career

[edit]

In the early 1960s, Glasser taught mathematics at Queens College (CUNY) and Sarah Lawrence College. From 1963 to 1967, he was the editor of Current magazine. In 1967, Glasser joined the New York Civil Liberties Union as associate director. In 1970 he became the NYCLU's executive director, in which capacity he served until he became the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1978.

Executive director

[edit]

The ACLU website credits Glasser with transforming the American Civil Liberties Union "from a 'mom and pop'-style operation concentrated mainly in a few large cities to a nationwide civil liberties powerhouse."[3] At the end of Glasser's directorship the ACLU maintained staffed offices in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; when he became director in 1978, only about half of the states had staffed offices. Glasser raised the ACLU's annual income from $4 million in 1978 to $45 million in 1999.

Although the ACLU had protected civil liberties generally through litigation, Glasser expanded the focus of the ACLU's activities through lobbying and public education programs.[4]

Glasser retired in 2001; he was succeeded as executive director of the ACLU by Anthony D. Romero.

In his retired life, Glasser serves as the president of the board of directors of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Publications

[edit]
  • Doing Good: The Limits of Benevolence (co-author, 1978)
  • Visions of Liberty: The Bill of Rights for All Americans (1991)
  • BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters (narrator) – Produced by Flex Your Rights
  • Why we must fight for the right to hate. (author, 21st January 2023) - Published in Spiked.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Education (FIRE), Foundation for Individual Rights in. "Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story". Mighty Ira. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  2. ^ Golenbock, Peter (October 6, 2009). In the Country of Brooklyn: Inspiration to the World. HarperCollins. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-06-125381-2.
  3. ^ ACLU Chief Ira Glasser to Retire in 2001; 23-Year Tenure Transformed "Liberty's Law Firm"
  4. ^ Ira Glasser on Free Speech | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

References

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