Deborah Archer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Deborah Archer
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Deborah Archer at the SXSW London, 2025
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| President of the American Civil Liberties Union | |
| Assumed office February 1, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Susan Herman |
| Personal details | |
| Spouse | Richard Buery |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Smith College (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Deborah N. Archer is an American lawyer and professor who works to protect people's civil rights. She teaches law at New York University School of Law (NYU Law). She also started and leads the Community Equity Initiative at NYU Law. This program helps communities get fair treatment. She also directs the Civil Rights Clinic at the Law School.
In January 2021, Deborah Archer was chosen to be the president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This was a very important moment because she was the first African American person to lead the organization in its long history.
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Early Life and Education
Deborah Archer's parents came from Jamaica. She grew up in Windsor, Connecticut, in the United States.
She went to Smith College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in 1993. Later, she studied law at Yale Law School, getting her law degree in 1996. While at Yale, she won a special award called the Charles G. Albom Prize.
Deborah Archer's Career Journey
After finishing law school, Deborah Archer worked for a judge named Alvin Thompson. This job is called a "clerkship." From 1997 to 1998, she was a legal fellow at the ACLU.
She then worked at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1998 to 2000. This group helps protect the rights of African Americans. After that, she worked at a law firm called Simpson Thacher & Bartlett until 2003.
Teaching Law and Leading Programs
In 2003, Archer became a professor at New York Law School (NYLS). She was the first person to be the dean of diversity and inclusion there. This means she helped make sure the school was welcoming to everyone. She also led the school's Racial Justice Project. This project worked on issues related to fairness and race. She also helped start the Impact Center for Public Interest Law.
Since 2009, she has been a member of the ACLU's board. The board helps guide the organization. From 2017, she has been the general counsel, which means she is the main lawyer for the ACLU board. She is also on the boards of other important groups that work for civil rights and justice. For example, she is on the board of the Legal Aid Society. In 2016 and 2017, she helped lead the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. This group looks into complaints about police misconduct.
After 15 years at NYLS, Archer moved to New York University in July 2018. At NYU, she is a professor of clinical law. She also helps lead the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law. She directs the Civil Rights Clinic, where students learn to work on real civil rights cases.
Leading the ACLU
On January 30, 2021, the ACLU board chose Deborah Archer as their new president. She became the eighth president of the organization. This was a historic moment because she was the first African American person to hold this position in the ACLU's 101-year history.
As president, she leads the board of directors. She helps decide the direction the ACLU takes in its work to protect civil rights. She took over from Susan N. Herman, who had been president since 2008. After Donald Trump became president, the ACLU saw more donations and worked on many legal cases. When Archer was elected, the ACLU said that civil rights and racial justice would be top priorities. They noted Archer's strong experience in these areas.
Awards and Recognition
Deborah Archer has received several awards for her important work.
In 2016, the New York Law Journal recognized her as one of its Top Women in Law.
In 2021, she received the John Hope Franklin Prize, Honorable Mention. This award was for her article about how highways can affect racial fairness. She also received the Stephen Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award. Another award she received was the Haywood Burns/Shanara Guilbert Award.
Personal Life
Deborah Archer is married to Richard Buery. He used to be a deputy mayor in New York City. They live in Brooklyn with their two sons.
Selected Works
- Archer, Deborah N. Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality. W.W. Norton & Company (forthcoming).
- Archer, Deborah N.; Schottenfeld, Joseph (2024). "Defending Home: Toward a Theory of Community Equity". University of Chicago Law Review, forthcoming.
- Archer, Deborah N. (2021). "Transportation Policy and the Underdevelopment of Black Communities". Iowa Law Review 106: 2125.
- Archer, Deborah N. (2020). "‘White Men’s Roads Through Black Men’s Homes’: Advancing Racial Equity Through Highway Reconstruction". Vanderbilt Law Review. 73: 1259.
- Archer, Deborah N. (2019–20). "Exile From Main Street". Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. 55: 788.
- Archer, Deborah N. (2019). "The New Housing Segregation: The Jim Crow Effects of Crime-Free Housing Ordinances". Michigan Law Review. 118: 173.
