The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut is saddened to learn of the passing of William “Bill” Olds, a staunch defender of civil liberties and the organization’s first full-time executive director, who died on Friday, September 30. Bill took the helm of the ACLU-CT, then known as the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, in 1970, and his steady hand guided the group for twenty-five years, until his retirement in 1995.
The Hartford Courant once dubbed Bill, a Bloomfield resident, “Mr. Civil Liberties,” and he more than earned the title. Bill was a friend to the marginalized, an ally to the vulnerable, and a champion of civil liberties for all. Under his direction, the ACLU-CT overturned Connecticut’s ban on the use of state funds to provide abortion care for low-income women, cleared the way for the first woman firefighter in New Haven, secured religious observance rights for inmates at the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution, fought against forced sterilization of children with mental disabilities, and sought equality in education. With clarity and conviction, he eloquently defended the rights to peaceful assembly and free speech, including for groups with which he strongly disagreed. In Bill, freedom found a champion of consistent principles and unwavering certitude. His devotion to equality and justice were evident to all who knew him, and he gracefully shouldered his mantle as a constant civil liberties ambassador.
The entire ACLU-CT family is grateful beyond measure to Bill and his entire family for his years of shepherding civil liberties in the Constitution State. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Astrida, and their daughters.
