Our history:

The non-partisan community of Harvard alumni now known as Crimson Courage emerged in April, 2025, on the heels of numerous alumni petitions urging President Garber and the Harvard Corporation to resist the unlawful demands and unconstitutional overreach of the federal government. Several alumni leaders brought together all of the petition writers with other key allies to work in concert. We took our name from one of the campaigns that was folded into the group.

Just six weeks after our first meeting, we hosted our blockbuster launch webinar with an audience of over 5,000, kicking off a campaign to gather alumni signatures on an amicus brief written by alumni in support of Harvard’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. Crimson Courage and a number of other groups gathered over 12,000 signatures from Harvard alums on the amicus brief in under two weeks. Between the webinar, a press conference that preceded it, and visibility efforts at Commencement and reunions in June of 2025, Crimson Courage has burst onto the scene, raising awareness and creating new opportunities for alumni around the world to support Harvard, higher education, academic independence, freedom of speech, and democracy. In August, 2025, as reports of an impending agreement with the federal administration proliferated, Crimson Courage wrote another letter to encourage Harvard to stand strong, garnering over 15,000 signatures in less than two weeks from Harvard alums, students, current and former faculty, current and former employees, and members of the public.

In the coming months, the Crimson Courage campaign will continue to stand up for academic freedom for all by continuing to support Harvard's legal action, encouraging Harvard to stand firm against federal government intrusion, and working to support alliances of college and university alumni across America. We commit to this work in an effort to do our part in protecting the Constitutional rights of U.S. institutions of higher education, as well as the rights and opportunities of current and future students and faculty at Harvard and beyond.

Our purpose:

Crimson Courage is a group of Harvard alumni who have joined together, both to support and to mobilize Harvard to champion academic freedom, constitutional and human rights, civil liberties and democracy in our country. We do this in recognition of the integral role of academic freedom in protecting democracy and the vast contributions of higher education to improving the lives of Americans for generations. As Crimsons, we hold special regard for Harvard and its 388 years of advancing knowledge, research, innovation and social well-being in the United States and across the globe.

The alumni members of Crimson Courage are alarmed at the growing attacks, especially from federal and state governments, against institutions of higher learning and the very foundations of academic freedom.

Equally, we are alarmed at the readiness of some institutions of higher learning to accede to arbitrary demands from the government and other quarters, thus compromising academic freedom and constitutional rights, both as a result and in advance of pressure to do so.

Crimson Courage draws a line in the sand, and says, “No more!”

Crimson Courage calls on Harvard and its alumni to stand up for higher education autonomy, for academic freedom, and for democracy.

Our vision, mission, values and principles:

Our vision is a democratic United States with civil, human and constitutional rights, applied without bias or prejudice, for all.

Our mission is to protect our democracy by supporting academic freedom and constitutional rights at Harvard and institutions of higher education nationally.

Our values and principles are declared below. As leaders and volunteers of Crimson Courage, we affirm our shared adherence to these values and principles and our commitment to furthering them through our work.

●      We will respect and to the best of our ability uphold human and constitutional rights, civil liberties, and fundamental freedoms for all, without bias or prejudice.

●     We will foster a culture of curiosity, care and respect.

●     We will be transparent and accountable in our actions.

●     We hold as true that academic freedom bestows both rights and obligations upon institutions of higher education and their members as outlined in CC's Principles of Academic Freedom in Democracy. All institutions of higher education must actively protect their rights and uphold their obligations under academic freedom in service to their community and to democracy.

●      We will champion Harvard’s right to protect academic freedom and the university's independent governance from external threats; and to prevent unlawful actions in determining who is hired to teach, who is admitted to learn and what is taught at Harvard.

●      We will expect Harvard to account for preserving academic freedom, civil liberties, and constitutional and humans rights through its own policies and practices - for all faculty, associated scholars, students, staff and others with affiliations to the university.

●      We will support and partner with those working toward same ends, including alumni of other institutions.

●      We affirm that no one, in the government or in the private sector, is entitled to infringe on academic freedom nor on civil rights and liberties at Harvard - or at other institutions of higher education.

●      We commit ourselves to upholding these values and principles absolutely and without exception.