ACLU rejected $20,000 AHA donation for McMillen's alternate prom

According to Matthew Sheffield, a spokesman for the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, the organization arranging the event, the A.C.L.U. of Mississippi did not have authority to decline the gift.

“We asked someone at the A.C.L.U. to assist us in handling all the donations, and that person told them we were not interested and that is not true,” he said.

“Although we support and understand organizations like yours, the majority of Mississippians tremble in terror at the word ‘athiest,’ ” Jennifer Carr, an ACLU of Mississippi fundraiser, wrote in an e-mail to the AHA, according to The New York Times.

Kristy Bennett, the legal director of the A.C.L.U. of Mississippi, said in a telephone interview that the Humanist Association had attached conditions to its gift that the organizers of the event would have trouble meeting, among other issues.

“Constance has had a lot of controversy around her over this, and in looking at the best interest of our client, I don’t know any more controversy would have benefited her,” Ms. Bennett said.

Todd Stiefel, a member of the Humanist Association who donated the money with his wife, Diana, said he was “extremely disappointed in the A.C.L.U.”

“You’d think they would have learned a lesson from the very case they’ve been working on,” he said. “The school board was trying to avoid a controversy by silencing a controversial minority, and now the A.C.L.U. is making the same mistake.”

The sentiments expressed by the ACLU of Mississippi staff person in the referenced e-mail do not reflect the views of the ACLU of Mississippi or the National ACLU in any way. The ACLU remains a stalwart defender of freedom of belief and expression for all.

Mr. Sheffield said that after getting answers to a few questions, their board would decide whether to accept the gift.