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REMEMBERING ANN FAGAN GINGER, 100, ‘ORACLE OF JUSTICE’ WHO FOUGHT
MCCCARTHYISM AND CHAMPIONED HUMAN RIGHTS  
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Friends of Ann Fagan Ginger
October 1, 2025
Berkeleyside
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_ For refusing to sign a loyalty oath she was barred from practicing
law, targeted by the FBI. Founder of Berkeley’s Meiklejohn Civil
Liberties Institute, pioneered the field of “peace law,”wrote the
resolution establishing Berkeley-a Human Rights City _

Ann Fagan Ginger speaks atop a car during the Free Speech Movement,
with Burton White holding the microphone, on Oct. 2, 1964., Credit:
Tom Kuykendall/Free Speech Movement Archives // Berkeleyside

 

Ann Fagan Ginger, a fearless and visionary American attorney, writer,
educator and civil rights pioneer, passed away peacefully on Aug. 20
at her home in Berkeley, just weeks after celebrating her 100th
birthday. A towering figure in human rights and international peace
law, Ann founded the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute and received
a lifetime achievement award from the National Lawyers Guild. Her
seven decades of unwavering dedication to justice inspired generations
of activists, lawyers, and scholars.

Born on July 11, 1925, in East Lansing, Michigan, to radical parents
of English-Quaker, Irish-Catholic, and Lithuanian-Jewish descent,
Ann’s commitment to social justice took root early. She graduated
from the University of Michigan Law School in 1947, one of only eight
women in her class. Despite her credentials, law firms wouldn’t hire
her because, in her words, “it didn’t occur to them that a woman
could be a lawyer.” She began her career as an administrator at the
National Lawyers Guild, the first step in what would become an
extraordinary legal journey spanning seven decades.

Ann practiced labor law in Ohio (1948-1952) before moving to Boston
with her then-husband, historian Ray Ginger, whom she had met at
Michigan. During the McCarthy era, Ann and her then-husband refused
loyalty oaths, leading to their expulsion from Harvard Business School
and relocation to New York City. For 20 years, Ann was barred from
practicing law because she refused to take a loyalty oath and was
targeted by the FBI. During this challenging period, Ann served as an
administrator and later editor of The Guild Practitioner for the
National Lawyers Guild while raising two sons, Thomas and James
Ginger. She also spearheaded efforts to dismantle McCarthyism,
including arguing and winning the case _Raley v. Ohio_  (23 April
1959) before the U.S. Supreme Court, upholding the due process rights
of a target of Ohio’s state-level Un-American Activities Committee.
In 1955, with remarkable foresight, she launched the Civil Liberties
Docket, a groundbreaking archive of civil rights litigation that
became an essential resource for lawyers and activists nationwide.
 
Ann Fagan Ginger.  (Photo courtesy: National Lawyers Guild  //
 Berkeleyside)
Ann’s courage in the face of adversity defined her activism. In
1962, she was the only woman lawyer at the first joint meeting of
Black and white attorneys in the South, co-sponsored by the National
Lawyers Guild and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in
Atlanta. There, she was photographed alongside Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. and many other civil rights leaders, speaking in favor of the
movement and presciently predicting the coming Women’s Rights
Movement. Two years later, during Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement
protests, she was photographed atop a police car during the 32-hour
sit-in in which Mario Savio also famously spoke — a powerful symbol
of her lifelong commitment to free expression. In the early 1970s, she
defended Angela Davis, amplifying her role in the civil rights
movement.

In 1965, Ann founded the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute in
Berkeley, naming it after educator and political philosopher Alexander
Meiklejohn, whose eloquent First Amendment advocacy during the Cold
War she deeply admired. Under her leadership, MCLI became a powerhouse
for legal research, education, and advocacy, training hundreds of
interns and volunteers while publishing influential works and
providing crucial amicus briefs to courts. In 1995, she spoke at the
UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, amplifying her global
influence. In 2009, through MCLI, she presented a report at the CERD
conference in Geneva, introducing the Oscar Grant case and exposing
U.S. failures to meet obligations under the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, while advocating
for the Cuban Five.

Ann pioneered the integration of public international law, military
law, and constitutional law into what she termed “peace law,” a
legal innovation that helped secure acquittals for nuclear weapons
protesters and other activists. Her expertise made her a sought-after
expert witness and lecturer at institutions including UC Hastings,
Santa Clara University, and San Francisco State University.

 
Ann Fagan Ginger educating East Bay community members on the three
International Human Rights Treaties ratified in the United States.
 (Photo courtesy of her friends  //  Berkeleyside)
Her legal achievements were groundbreaking. She authored or edited two
dozen books, including “The National Lawyers Guild: From Roosevelt
Through Reagan” (1988), “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal” (1998),
and the award-winning “Challenging U.S. Human Rights Violations
Since 9/11” (2005). Her scholarship emphasized the enforceability of
international human rights treaties in U.S. courts, a domain of legal
thought that she pioneered. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in
2005, she exposed human rights violations on the international stage,
advocating for justice for affected communities. Throughout her
career, Ann’s support for conscientious objectors helped many
navigate their legal cases, reflecting her commitment to peace and
individual rights.

Ann’s impact extended far beyond the courtroom. Serving alternately
as Chair or Vice-Chair of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission
for 13 years beginning in 1986, she wrote the resolution establishing
Berkeley as a Human Rights City and likely influenced the city’s
1986 Nuclear-Free Berkeley Act. She spearheaded Berkeley’s
groundbreaking effort to become the first U.S. city to file compliance
reports with international human rights treaties; work that began
around 2009 and influenced a 2010 California State Assembly resolution
encouraging other localities to follow suit.

 

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Her lifetime of service earned numerous honors: Outstanding Woman of
Berkeley (1990), a Lifetime Achievement Award from Berkeley’s
Commission on the Status of Women (2009), a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the National Lawyers Guild, and recognition from the Women’s
International League for Peace and Freedom (2019), whose California
leaders called her a “jewel.”

As attorney Peter Goldberger wrote in celebrating her centennial,
“Her intellect, courage, creativity, and determination make her a
worthy role model for all those who strive to combine the highest
professional standards with a dedication to steady principles.” Rev.
Daniel Buford, former MCLI Director, called her “the oracle of
justice” — a sentiment echoed by hundreds of interns, colleagues,
and activists who regarded her as a beacon of human dignity and
freedom.

 
Ann Fagan Ginger with one of the two dozen books she wrote and a
photograph of her in 1962 at the first joint meeting of Black and
White attorneys in the deep South.  (Photo courtesy of her friends
 //  Berkeleyside)
Ann is survived by her son, James Ginger, of Berkeley. She was
preceded in death by her son, Thomas Ginger, a lawyer who passed away
in 1998 from multiple sclerosis complications, and by her beloved
companion of over 20 years, J.R. “Richard” Challacombe, a writer,
photographer, journalist, environmentalist, anti-imperialist, and WWII
conscientious objector, who died in May 2020. Ann was previously
married to Ray Ginger and later to James F. Wood; both marriages
eventually ended.

Ann’s legacy lives on through the countless lives she touched and
the legal precedents she established. Her century of courage,
intellect, and unwavering commitment to justice continues to inspire
all who strive for a better world.

A memorial service will be held in honor of United Nations/Human
Rights Day, a day Ann deeply cherished. The service is planned for
Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2:30 pm.

A second service celebrating Ann’s life will take place on Saturday,
June 6, 2026, at 2:30 pm at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian
Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., where she was a long-time member.

Details will be announced on the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian
Universalists website and on the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
website and Facebook page.

A tribute page has been created where donations to the Ann Fagan
Ginger Legacy Fund may be made to support publication of her work in
human rights and peace law, including her forthcoming memoir. The page
also invites those touched by Ann’s life to share memories, stories,
and photos celebrating her enduring impact on justice and humanity.

Ann is survived by her son, James Ginger, of Berkeley. She was
preceded in death by her son, Thomas Ginger, a lawyer who passed away
in 1998 from multiple sclerosis complications, and by her beloved
companion of over 20 years, J.R. “Richard” Challacombe, a writer,
photographer, journalist, environmentalist, anti-imperialist, and WWII
conscientious objector, who died in May 2020. Ann was previously
married to Ray Ginger and later to James F. Wood; both marriages
eventually ended.

Ann’s legacy lives on through the countless lives she touched and
the legal precedents she established. Her century of courage,
intellect, and unwavering commitment to justice continues to inspire
all who strive for a better world.

A memorial service will be held in honor of United Nations/Human
Rights Day, a day Ann deeply cherished. The service is planned
for SATURDAY, NOV. 29 at 2:30 pm.

A second service celebrating Ann’s life will take place
on SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2026, at 2:30 pm at the Berkeley Fellowship of
Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., where she was a long-time
member.

Details will be announced on the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian
Universalists website [[link removed]] and on the Meiklejohn Civil
Liberties Institute website
[[link removed]] and Facebook page
[[link removed]].

A tribute page [[link removed]] has been
created where donations to the Ann Fagan Ginger Legacy Fund may be
made to support publication of her work in human rights and peace law,
including her forthcoming memoir. The page also invites those touched
by Ann’s life to share memories, stories, and photos celebrating her
enduring impact on justice and humanity.

 

 

SEE ALSO:

Ann Fagan Ginger, Venerable Defender of Civil Liberties, Dies at 100

She was among the last of a generation of activists and lawyers who
weathered the Red Scare, and then helped train a new cohort in the
decades that followed.

By Clay Risen
October 2, 2025
New York Times
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* Ann Fagan Ginger
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* Civil Liberties
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* FBI
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* Angela Davis
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* Human Rights
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* Berkeley
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* Red Scare
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* McCarthyism
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* McCarthy Period
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* Free Speech Movement
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* FSM
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* civil rights movement
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* voting rights
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* Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
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* National Lawyers Guild
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