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days later, it was submitted to the states for ratification. But as the people began to examine the document, they came to share the sentiments of those who advocated that the Constitution include a set of specific guarantees among them, the right to free speech, freedom of religion, due process of law and freedom from governmental search and seizure. The people ratified the Constitution only after its framers pledged to add to it such protections. Congress added those protections in 1789, and in 1791 two-thirds of the states ratified the first ten amendments to the constitution, which became known as the Bill of Rights.

But ratification marked only the beginning of the quest for individual freedom in the United States. The Bill of Rights did not end the enslavement of Africans and their descendants, and it slighted or ignored the rights of Native Americans, women, children, gay people, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled, and others.

In the early 1900s, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were founded to strengthen and advance efforts to remedy the inequities that prevented millions of Americans form enjoying full freedom. These and other organizations gradually developed the resources to challenge constitutional violations on behalf of people who never could have protected their freedom by themselves. In a very real sense, these organizations have operated alongside government as a kind of fourth, and wholly independent, branch, providing the "eternal vigilance" so necessary to ensuring preservation of the freedoms

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that are the foundation of our democratic way of life.

The fight to preserve American freedoms, which has never been easy, continues to this day. Slavery ended in 1863, but the persistence of racism in various forms has compelled African Americans to fight for equality of opportunity more than a century since. Women fought for and won the right to vote in 1920, but 75 years later, they are still struggling to secure their right to privacy and reproductive freedom. Religious minorities must still fight to freely practice their faiths, and those who espouse unpopular political viewpoints must still defend their right to speak and publish. Threats to the separation of church and state still arise, as do challenges to freedom of the press. Censorship of books from the King James Version of the Holy Bible to Where's Waldo is becoming more frequent. Music to which some choose to listen is considered a menace and is also at risk of censorship. And now there are new civil liberties issues to preserve, such as cyberspace privacy and the rights of people with AIDS and HIV. The fight to keep freedom's flame burning must never stop. Civil liberties battles never stay

won.

For years, the struggle to fully realize the principles established in the Bill of Rights has been a major theme of life in the United States. We celebrate the ongoing struggle in the 204th year of the Bill of Rights, believing that much remains to be achieved and protected. We must never forget that it is a Bill of Rights, not a list of suggestions.

Sheryl Thomas-Smith Director of Public Education ACLU of Ohio Cleveland

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