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Thomas A. Baltus Civil Libertarian of the Year Awards
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THOMAS A. BALTUS CIVIL LIBERTARIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
The tradition of honoring a Civil Libertarian of the Year appears to have begun in 1980 when the Flint ACLU honored Michael Evanoff, a longtime progressive attorney instrumental in the formation of the UAW in the 1930's. The award was renamed the "Thomas A. Baltus Civil Libertarian of the Year Award" in 1983 to commemorate the passionate service given to the cause of civil liberties by activist attorney Tom Baltus who passed away tragically that year. Recipients of the award are listed below.
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CIVIL LIBERTARIANS OF THE YEAR
1980: Michael Evanoff
progressive attorney supportive of the UAW s effort to organize in the 1930s
1981: Edgar B. Holt
local NAACP and ACLU founder, civil rights activist, crusader for the dispossessed
1982: Paulette Bremer
feminist and president of Flint NOW, activist for the rights of area women
1984: Richard Dicks
Flint Director of Public Safety, advocate for more African-Americans on Flint s police force
1985: Lisa Hairston
African-American woman who waged successful fight against racist hiring policy
1988: Linda Pylypiw & Shelley Spivack
ACLU attorneys who litigated an abortion rights case all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court
1989: Anita Garen, Gary Lengyel, Jim Richardson
pro-choice activists who tirelessly campaigned for the defeat of an anti-choice state proposal
1990: Fran Cleaves
longtime civil rights activist and labor crusader in the Flint area
1991: Harry Newblatt
ACLU founder, activist attorney, civil liberties crusader for 4 decades
1992: Rev. Charlotte Cowtan
successfully led effort in Flint s adoption of a policy forbidding discrimination due to sexual orientation
1993: Bob Craig
labor activist, feminist, crusader for racial justice & students rights
1994: Stewart Newblatt
U.S. District Court Judge with a 4-decades long record as civil liberties activist
1995: Bob Emerson
State Representative, an advocate for civil liberties in the Michigan legislature
1996: Lillian Robinson, Janice O Neal, E. Hill Deloney
opponents of environmental racism in the form of a wood burning plant in northeast Flint
1997: Ken Siegel
Flint District Court Judge, career-long advocate for the rights of students and juveniles
1999: Harold Ford
ACLU Flint Board member and civil liberties activist for 3 continuous decades
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THOMAS A. BALTUS
Tom was a unique human being. His kindness and generosity and his lack of pretense were obvious to all who knew him. To his work he brought intelligence, dedication, creativity, and a sense of justice, which made him sensitive to the plight of the poor, the powerless and the victims of discrimination.
Tom was born September 1, 1946. He graduated from the St. Joseph Collegiate Institute in 1964 and attended John Carroll University. He received a B.A. decree in 1968 and joined VISTA where he worked as a research assistant for the NAACP and the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee. He was a newswriter for the Milwaukee Courier. He attended the University of Wisconsin Law School. He worked for the Appellate Defender Section of the Milwaukee County Public Defender and he worked as a field investigator for the Equal Rights Division of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. Tom received a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship which led him to Flint in 1974 as a staff attorney with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan. While there, Tom specialized in consumer law. Tom was a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM), the National Lawyers Guild, and the Genesee County Bar Association. Tom was honored by the WLAM, for his outstanding contributions to the cause of equal rights for women. He was Chair of the Legal Aid Committee of the Genesee County Bar Association. Tom participated in the People s Law School. He was a member of the ACLU and served as one of its cooperating attorneys. Tom worked on behalf of the Sexual Assault Crisis Center. He was a founder and officer of the Citizens Organized Against Sexual Assault and active in the Flint Citizens for a Fair Budget. He served on the Community Housing Resource Board ,was an organizer and member of the Freedom of Choice Coalition of Flint and an active member of the Garland Street Block Club.
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