“I’m going to start out today in a sort of unorthodox way. I just want you to ask me questions about what you’re interested in, things you want to know, so we can have a conversation.”
“I like your tie. Where’d you get it?”
“How did you get involved with the American Civil Liberties Union?”
“What’s a typical day like at work?”
“How can we maintain privacy rights in an increasingly digital age?”
“What are your thoughts on the death penalty?”
This is how the conversation began.
As Anthony Romero began to discuss the protection of civil liberties with the upper school last week, we didn’t just sit passively listening to a lecture. We engaged in an active conversation about important issues and changes in the United States.
Anthony Romero is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization that works by taking on court cases, among other things, “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.” Mr. Romero spoke to the upper school about his background, his work with the ACLU, and modern issues up for debate including gay marriage, New York stop and frisk policies, gun control, privacy rights in the digital age, treatment of prisoners, and more.
But what stood out most to students was the way he carried himself. Though Mr. Romero is a very influential person with a significant amount of power and abilities, he spoke to us with real interest. He spoke eloquently to the upper school in an intriguing way that maintained conversation well into fourth period, all with nothing prepared beforehand.
Many speakers of Mr. Romero’s position might have seemed more distant, displaying a professional facade that simply would not communicate effectively with high school students. But Mr. Romero showed us that our opinions, questions, and sentiments really mattered — he wanted us to initialize the conversation. For every question that was asked, Mr. Romero would write down the name of the student who had asked a certain question, so as to make his responses that much more relatable and accessible.
After most of Mr. Romero’s time was up, the entire upper school except for the 10th grade was dismissed for class. The lucky sophomores who got more time to get to know him and inquire more about the law had the additional opportunity because of how well Mr. Romero and his work relate to their final project on 18 different landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases. Watch the video below to explore more of the civil liberties conversation with the sophomore class.
Mr. Anthony Romero sparked a conversation that has not stopped since his arrival. Commenting on his visit, Mrs. Gallin said, “The ACLU may seem now like a celebrated organization, and it was presented as such to us last week. It’s important to recognize, though, that such a distinguished and very safe place in the American pantheon has in fact rarely been enjoyed by the ACLU and its members. In his personal life, in his story, in the work he does, Anthony Romero represents the constitution that the ACLU defends, very often having to take a dangerous and sometimes hated position from the point of view of many, many Americans, often a majority. He reminded us of the fragility of rights and our duty to accept that the right thing to do is often the hardest and least popularly accepted, at least at first. One of the most extraordinary things about Anthony Romero was that he made all those challenges immensely appealing and accessible. He seemed to like us so much, and we returned that respect and affection with enthusiasm and energy. It was a great moment at Hewitt, and honestly I was as proud of Hewitt students as I was captivated by his ideas.”
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