Alison Beyea, executive director of the Maine affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, will give a public talk at Lincoln Academy, 81 Academy Hill Road, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11. Titled "From the Courtroom to the Public Square: Fight for Civil Liberties in the Trump Era," the talk will be followed by questions and answers from the audience. The event is organized by Lincoln County Indivisible, which is part of the growing grassroots Indivisible movement in the United States that began after the 2016 election.

"Right now, it's so important that we pay attention to potential infringements of civil liberties and the rights of individuals," said Damariscotta resident Lee Warren, who co-founded LCI with Newcastle's Gretchen Hull in January. "The ACLU has been a strong defender of constitutional rights for nearly 100 years, and ACLU of Maine has been here since 1968. We’re really pleased that Alison Beyea has agreed to speak with us. This is a great opportunity for us to learn about the issues facing us here in Maine and how we can respond."

"We're also very glad that Lincoln Academy has provided the space to make this event possible," added Hull. "We're hoping students at Lincoln will take advantage of this real-time opportunity to be part of the conversation and the history of what's happening around them." 

With over 8,000 members, ACLU of Maine is active in the courts, as well as in the state legislature, working "to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for all Mainers."Priority issues include "criminal justice reform, reproductive freedom, racial justice, immigrants' rights, LGBT rights, women's rights, voting rights, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and religion, and privacy."

As ACLU of Maine's executive director, Beyea is responsible for overseeing the organization’s legal, legislative, public education, and development activities. A graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, her background includes advocacy for juvenile justice policy reform and providing direct legal representation to Maine children through Pine Tree Legal Assistance. She is a co-founder of KIDS Legal, a statewide legal assistance program that addresses the special legal needs of low-income Maine children. Before becoming the executive director at ACLU of Maine, Beyea was director of admissions and an adjunct professor of juvenile law at the University of Maine School of Law. 

Berea's talk will take place in Lincoln Academy's cafeteria and is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Academy's lot across the street. For more information, contact info@lcimaine.com.