Defending Rights & Dissent

From KeyWiki
(Redirected from Defending Dissent)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
DDissent.JPG

Defending Rights & Dissent was formerly Defending Dissent Foundation, and was initially launched as the First Amendment Foundation.

'McCarthyism is back'

In an article titled "McCarthyism is back, and it’s coming for the peace movement" dated August 10, 2023,[1] Defending Rights & Dissent defended Code Pink and the People's Forum after the New York Times cited them in an article about Chinese Communist Party infiltration of leftist activist groups in America.[2] The Tricontinental Institute [3] also published a statement titled "McCarthyism Is Back: Together We Can Stop It" criticizing the New York Times article.[4]

The initial signers:

Individuals

'Still Spying on Dissent'

A 2019 report[5] by Chip Gibbons of Defending Rights & Dissent titled "Still Spying on Dissent: The Enduring Problem of FBI First Amendment Abuse" claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation "has repeatedly monitored civil society groups, including racial justice movements, Occupy Wall Street, environmentalists, Palestinian solidarity activists, Abolish ICE protesters, and Cuba and Iran normalization proponents." While stating that their activities are used for counterterrorism purposes, Chip Gibbons et al assert that the groups are practicing their First Amendment rights.

Acknowdgements

This report would not have been possible without the generous support of our foundation partners:

And these individuals:

"We would also like to thank Emily Berman, Patrick G. Eddington, and Michael German for providing their expertise and feedback. This report was copy edited by Susan Gaissert. Cover artwork by Autumn Towne. Layout and design by Maya Martin-Udry.

2009 from Orig Defending Dissent Foundation

2009 Mission

Defending Dissent Foundation’s mission is to protect and advance the right to dissent in the United States.

Here’s how we do it:

  • We translate grassroots civil liberties concerns into national policy debate and action;
  • We alert grassroots activists to civil liberties threats;
  • We educate the public, the press and policymakers as to how dissent is crucial to democracy.[6]

History

The Defending Dissent Foundation was founded in 1960 as the National Committee to Abolish HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee). Along the way it changed its name to the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation and garnered the attention of J.Edgar Hoover "for our outspoken advocacy in defense of the right to dissent. Over the course of two decades, the FBI accumulated over 130,000 pages in their NCARL dossier, including evidence of an assassination plot against then-director Frank Wilkinson. The FBI neglected to share information about the impending assassination, which fortunately never materialized."

In 2007, it changed our name again, to the Defending Dissent Foundation to "more accurately reflect our mission".[7]

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors as at Oct. 3, 2009 is as follows:[8],[9]

Vice Presidents:

Board Members:

Staff

The Staff as at Oct. 3, 2009 is as follows:[10]

References

  1. ↑ McCarthyism is back, and it’s coming for the peace movement (accessed August 14, 2023)
  2. ↑ A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul (accessed August 13, 2023)
  3. ↑ A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul (accessed August 14, 2023)
  4. ↑ McCarthyism Is Back: Together We Can Stop It (accessed August 14, 2023)
  5. ↑ Still Spying on Dissent: The Enduring Problem of FBI First Amendment Abuse (accessed August 13, 2023)
  6. ↑ DD website, About Us
  7. ↑ [http://www.defendingdissent.org/now/about-us/history/DD website, History, July 2013}
  8. ↑ Directors
  9. ↑ Dissent website: About
  10. ↑ Dissent website: About
Retrieved from "https://keywiki.org/index.php?title=Defending_Rights_%26_Dissent&oldid=636261"