Civil-Liberties Group Rejects Grants With Antiterror Clauses

The American Civil Liberties Union has decided to turn down $1.15-million in grants from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations rather than accept antiterrorism clauses in the institutions’ grant agreements.

“It is a sad day when two of this country’s most beloved and respected foundations feel they are operating in such a climate of fear and intimidation that they are compelled to require thousands of recipients to accept vague grant language which could have a chilling effect on civil liberties,” said Anthony D. Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, in a written statement.

The Ford Foundation requires its grantees to agree that they “will not promote or engage in violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state” or “make sub-grants to any entity that engages in these activities.” Recipients of Rockefeller Foundation grants must agree not to “directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.”

Mr. Romero said that “ambiguities” in the foundations’ requirements were too significant for his organization’s board and leaders to ignore or accept. “They include potential prohibitions on free speech and other undefined activities, such as ‘bigotry,’ as part of a misconceived war on terror,” he said. “Indeed, vague terms such as ‘bigotry’ often have charged meanings in a post-9/11 world. The ACLU cannot effectively defend the rights of all Americans if we do not stand up for those same rights ourselves.”

Added Mr. Romero: “Let us be clear, we do not support terrorism. We all have a role to play in protecting our country from those who would harm us further. But we should not trample — or allow others to trample — on our most valued principles that have made us the beacon of freedom around the world.”

In a written response, Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation, said that her foundation has been proud to support the the civil-liberties union’s mission of defending free speech. “We do not, however, believe that a private donor like Ford should support all speech itself, such as speech that promotes bigotry or violence,” she said. “We accept and respect the fact we have a different mission from the ACLU, even while we share the same basic values.”

Gordon Conway, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said in a statement that his organization’s grant language reflects the foundation’s “legal responsibility to ensure that its funds are used for charitable purposes and do not support terrorism. It does not seek to, nor should it, hinder free speech and academic freedom.”