Ramona Ripston, who led the ACLU of Southern California for nearly four decades, died on Saturday. She was 91.

Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement:

“On Saturday, we lost my friend Ramona Ripston, a civil liberties icon in Los Angeles and one of the country’s most dynamic advocates for justice and equality.



“In her nearly four decades as leader of the ACLU’s Southern California affiliate, Ramona’s office transformed institutions and countless lives. Ramona became the first woman to lead a large ACLU affiliate in 1972, and she continued to blaze trails throughout her long career. Counting among her many victories as director, the ACLU of Southern California successfully litigated an end to segregationist policies at the Los Angeles Unified School District and won a voting-rights lawsuit that paved the way for the election of Los Angeles County’s first Latina county supervisor in the modern era.



“Ramona was a fierce and unrelenting opponent of injustice and oppression, whose commitment to the protection of civil liberties and civil rights directly improved people’s lives. All of us here at the ACLU have something to learn from the passion and persuasion she brought to her work every day. She leaves behind a powerful legacy of selflessness that will continue to inspire advocates both inside and outside the ACLU.”

For more on Ramona's incredible life and legacy, please read the ACLU of Southern California's statement on her passing as well as her obituary in the Los Angeles Times.