In the face of an increasingly hostile federal administration, it’s more important than ever to arm our communities with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their rights and fight for justice. The Firewall Podcast, hosted by Sharon Baker of TELEDUCTION, serves as a powerful tool, as part of the national ACLU Firewall for Freedom Initiative, in our ongoing fight against attacks on immigrant communities, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ students, and so many others.
It's our duty and honor to provide vital, actionable information to empower people across Delaware and beyond.
In our inaugural episode, we explore one of the oldest and most powerful tools in the fight for civil liberties: refusal.
We trace the ACLU’s roots back to the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, where attorney Arthur Garfield Hays defended the right to teach evolution in Tennessee, a landmark stand for thinking freely in America. Nearly a century later, that same spirit shapes today’s battles over bodily autonomy, protest rights, and immigration protections.
We speak with Hays’ grandson, attorney Hayes Butler, about the generational legacy of legal defiance, and hear from ACLU of Delaware Executive Director Mike Brickner on how refusal guides our modern strategy to protect democracy.
Together, we unpack how state leaders can use their legal authority to resist federal overreach, and why Delaware is positioned to lead the nation in saying no to injustice. Because building a firewall for freedom begins with one act: refusing to cooperate with harm.
