INDIANAPOLIS – The ACLU of Indiana and the national ACLU today announced a $2 million planned endowment gift from Larry Lee of Fort Wayne, a longtime civil and human rights advocate. Lee’s gift, made in honor of two Fort Wayne families whose leadership helped transform the city, will provide significant, long-term support for the ACLU’s litigation and public education work across Indiana and the nation.
Lee’s endowment recognizes the lasting impact of Leonard and Ruth “Rikki” Goldstein and Ian and Mimi Rolland, whose civic leadership and generosity helped shape Fort Wayne and expanded opportunity for thousands of residents, including through pivotal efforts to advance school desegregation and strengthen civil rights in the community.
“This gift is about carrying forward a legacy of conscience and courage,” said Larry Lee. “Fort Wayne has seen what determined people can do when they refuse to accept injustice as normal. I’m honored to celebrate the Goldsteins and the Rollands, families who helped bend our community toward fairness, and to invest in the ACLU’s work to protect civil rights and civil liberties for the next generation.”
Lee has been a civil and human rights advocate since the early 1960s. He has written frequently on civil rights issues in Fort Wayne, participated in marches and demonstrations, including rallies for justice in Meridian and Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 2010 and 2011, and helped launch the grassroots effort to rename Clinton Street as Martin Luther King Boulevard. He has also served in civic leadership roles with the Fort Wayne Urban League and other community organizations.
“This is the kind of visionary gift that strengthens our ability to respond when rights are threatened, today and years from now,” said Neil Hudelson, Director of Philanthropy at the ACLU of Indiana. “An endowment means stability and staying power. It means we can keep going to court, keep educating the public, and keep showing up for our rights across the state.”
Lee’s endowment will be shared between the ACLU of Indiana and the national ACLU, providing long-term resources to defend civil liberties in courts, communities, and beyond.
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