Political Quotes

“It is my privilege to recognize the tremendous and meaningful work of Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. Mr. Simon is retiring this year following a distinguished career defending civil rights and civil liberties that lasted longer than that of any other ACLU leader in the country. Prior to his appointment as executive director of the Florida affiliate in 1997, Mr. Simon led the fight to defend civil rights and civil liberties in Michigan, where he served as ACLU director for 23 years. His 21 years at the ACLU of Florida make him the longest serving ACLU director in the country, and his cumulative 44-year career as a State director is the longest in the ACLU's 98-year history. As a student at City College of New York in 1965, Mr. Simon joined fellow student leaders to travel to Selma, Alabama, to march for voting rights alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This experience started a decades-long career fighting for the rights guaranteed to all Americans under the United States Constitution. In his time as executive director at the ACLU of Florida, Mr. Simon oversaw landmark work defending the rights of LGBTQ Floridians, protecting immigrants, reforming our criminal justice system, protecting free speech, preserving women's health, and strengthening the right to vote. The rights that Floridians enjoy would not be the same without the tireless work of this champion of liberty. Mr.…”