The chapter discusses the relationship between civil liberties activism, rights-based activism and social movement politics during the ‘long 1960s’. This period witnessed a rights-consciousness that became central to political activism and the National Council for Civil Liberties proved receptive to this evolution. A generational shift in the organization’s membership and leadership, alongside the recruitment of a highly professional staff and the assembling of expert volunteers meant the NCCL distanced itself from its ‘pro-Soviet’ reputation and became more relevant. Although it remained an organization with links to the left, the new expertise generated a more independent reputation. Organizations like the NCCL provided a platform for ‘progressive professionals’ to pursue radical politics in a practical fashion. Similar organizations characterized the decade’s activism by engaging with manifestations of counter-cultural politics alongside more mainstream and institutional forms of politics. The 1960s was not quite a distinct decade of revolution, rather politics changed through drawing on the old and the new, driven by both the expert and the ‘do-it-yourself’ activist.