A civil liberties giant steps down as head of ACLU Minnesota

With President Donald Trump in a constitutional showdown over his ban on refugees from predominantly Muslim countries, it would hardly seem the time for the voice of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota to bow out.

He realizes it, too.

“This is the fight you want if you join the ACLU,” Chuck Samuelson said, sitting at his desk in his small suite of offices in St. Paul last week.

But after 20 years at the helm of the state’s best-known civil rights nonprofit, Samuelson will tell stakeholders Thursday he’s retiring as executive director, effective Feb. 28.

He’s been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to walk or even type. He leaves during an intense time for the ACLU, which has offices in all 50 states.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/a-civil-liberties-giant-steps-down-as-head-of-aclu-minnesota/413234373/