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Monday, September 16, 2002

The First Amendment played a crucial role in the epic struggles of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others engaged in sit-ins, protests, marches and other demonstrations to force social change.

The rights of free speech and assembly enabled civil rights protesters on the streets of Birmingham and Selma, Ala., and other cities throughout the South to force society to improve the treatment of African-Americans.

The First Amendment right of assembly was the foundation of the civil rights movement of the 1950s, said Western Kentucky University journalism professor Linda Lumsden, who has written on the role of freedom of assembly in the womens-suffrage movement.

The civil rights movement featured various forms of free expression, University of Columbia law professor Jack Greenberg said in an interview in 1999.

Greenberg, who served as the director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. from 1961 until 1984, listed the petition for redress of grievances by students in Columbia, S.C., the march from Selma to Birmingham, the freedom rides, the sit-ins and the demonstrations in Birmingham as prime examples of civil rights advocates engaging in First Amendment-protected activities.

University of Pennsylvania professor Robert Richards, author of Freedoms Voice: The Perilous Present and Uncertain Future of the First Amendment, agreed that the First Amendment was the key tool of the civil rights movement.

Without the First Amendment and the protections breathed into it by the courts, the movement would not have flourished as much as it did, Richards said.

Lumsden said that the peaceful, nonviolent protesting raised public consciousness, challenged peoples beliefs and attacked the forces of power.

The Supreme Court is influenced by the cultural, political and societal influences of the times, Lumsden said. It helped the civil rights protesters that their cause was so sympathetic.

Not only was the First Amendment essential to the civil rights movement, but the movement itself also galvanized First Amendment ideals into legal precedent. In his 1965 book The Negro and the First Amendment, legal scholar Harry Kalven foresaw the unique changes in First Amendment law that would grow out of the civil rights movement.

In fact, Kalven wrote, We may come to see the Negro as winning back for us the freedoms the Communists seemed to have lost for us, a reference to civil liberties sacrificed during the anticommunist red scare era of the 1950s and early 60s.

First Amendment expert Robert ONeil, founder of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, said many areas of First Amendment law were shaped by the civil rights movement.

The sources of pressure created by the civil rights movement coincided at a time when the courts were receptive to the expansion of First Amendment principles, ONeil said.

The cases that grew out of civil rights-era activism clearly show the force of the First Amendment in persuading the Supreme Court to issue rulings in favor of the demonstrators. Nearly all the cases involving the civil rights movement were decided on First Amendment grounds, Greenberg said.

Margaret Blanchard, the William Rand Kenan journalism professor at the University of North Carolina, said that the civil rights protesters broke new ground in organizing together for certain causes, using various kinds of symbolic expression and emphasizing the right to march.

Blanchard said numerous court decisions across the country sided with civil rights protesters who challenged parade ordinances. The ordinances vested too much power in city officials who could and sometimes would deny permits because they disliked the group or its cause.

The Supreme Court issued several rulings protecting civil rights advocates from criminal charges for engaging in First Amendment-protected activity. In the 1963 decision Edwards v. South Carolina, the high court struck down the breach-of-the-peace convictions of 187 African-American students who marched to the South Carolina Statehouse carrying signs with messages such as Down with Segregation.

Saying the circumstances in this case reflect an exercise of these basic constitutional rights in their most pristine and classic form, the Court ruled that the government could not criminalize the peaceful expression of unpopular views.

In its 1961 decision Garner v. Louisiana, the court overturned the disturbing-the-peace convictions of five African-Americans who engaged in sit-ins at an all-white caf counter in Baton Rouge. In his concurring opinion, Justice John Harlan wrote that a sit-in demonstration is as much a part of the free trade of ideas as is verbal expression.

Harlan wrote that a sit-in was entitled to the same level of First Amendment protection as displaying a red flag as a symbol of opposition to organized government, a form of expression that the Supreme Court protected in the 1931 case Stromberg v. People of California.

Numerous other First Amendment-related Supreme Court decisions stemmed from events during the civil rights movement. Among these cases ONeil lists NAACP v. Alabama (1958), which protected the free-association rights of NAACP members from official harassment, and NAACP v. Button (1963),which ensured access to courts and protected the associational freedoms of public-interest groups.

In NAACP v. Alabama, state officials demanded the names and addresses of all the members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of Alabama. But the Supreme Court held that compelling the disclosure of membership lists would violate members First Amendment free-association rights.

The high court wrote that privacy in group association may in many circumstances be indispensable to preservation of freedom of association, particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs.

UNCs Blanchard said, NAACP v. Alabama established the right of people to join together to advocate causes even in hostile environments.

Five years later, in NAACP v. Button, the Supreme Court ruled that the NAACP had the right to refer individuals who wanted to sue in public school desegregation cases to lawyers and to pay their litigation expenses. (This case also relates to the First Amendment freedom of petition, and is covered in that section.)

A Virginia law had forbidden any organization from compensating an attorney in a case in which it had no direct monetary interest, and also had forbidden organizations from intervening between lawyer and client. State officials charged the NAACP with violating these rules by encouraging people to become plaintiffs in desegregation cases, referring them to private attorneys and then paying their litigation expenses.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that the NAACPs actions were modes of expression and association protected by the First Amendment.

Greenberg called Button extraordinarily important because it represented the beginning of the public-interest law firm.

It is also worth noting, though it did not involve freedom of assembly, that another landmark First Amendment-related case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, grew out of the civil rights movement. That 1964 case bolstering press freedom is discussed in the press section.

Each of these cases demonstrates the role that the First Amendment played in the civil rights movement and likewise shows the important role that the civil rights movement played in the development of First Amendment freedoms.

It is likely that the same First Amendment doctrines would not have developed at the same rate and with the same force or conviction were it not for the civil rights movement, ONeil said.

The Supreme Court in these various rulings strengthened peoples right to assemble peaceably as well as to speak out and petition government in protest against injustices.

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Civil rights & First Amendment | First Amendment Center ...

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The mainstream media is freaking out over what it thinks are going to be restrictions on its First Amendment rights under President-Elect Donald Trump.

Everything we have everything that makes us unlike any other nation flows from those words and the protections they offer for free expression, Margaret Sullivan, the media columnist for The Washington Post wrote on Nov. 13. Donald Trumps presidency is very likely to threaten those First Amendment rights.

Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of journalists, said in a statement: Trump has consistently demonstrated a contempt for the role of the press beyond offering publicity to him and advancing his interests.

This is not about picking sides in an election, the statement added. This is recognizing that a Trump presidency represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.

The groups board consists of Associated Press executive editor Kathleen Carroll, New Yorker editor David Remnick, CBS New correspondent Lara Logan, Univision boss Isaac Lee and many other mainstream media journalists.

Yet, the left and especially President Obama have shown repeatedly their indifference to the First Amendment, a fact these journalists carelessly ignore in making their case against Mr. Trump.

Mr. Obamas administration set dangerous precedents, and the left, for years has been shutting down the opposition through their use of safe-spaces and trigger warnings.

For nearly eight years, President Obama massively expanded his authority on national security issues: on the prosecution of whistleblowers, secret surveillance courts, wars without congressional authorization, and drone campaigns without public oversight, wrote Tim Mak of the Daily Beast. During this time the left, with the exception of some civil liberties groups, remained largely silent.

The New York Times and the ACLU had to sue Mr. Obamas administration to get basic legal documents on the governments position on targeted killing through drone strikes as if some part of U.S. law should be secret.

And it was Mr. Obamas Department of Justice that subpoenaed the telephone records of AP journalists to track down a leak. It also investigated Fox News journalist James Rosen and named him as a co-conspirator in a leak about North Koreas nuclear program. The Justice Department charged Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department contractor who was Mr. Rosens source, with violating the Espionage Act.

The Justice Department used security badge access records to track the reporters comings and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained court affidavit, The Post reported at the time. They traced the timing of his calls with a State Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report. They obtained a search warrant for the reporters personal emails.

Mr. Obama used the Espionage Act against government whistle-blowers who shared secret information with reporters more than any other administration in history, the Daily Beasts Mr. Mak reported.

Now thats some scary stuff.

And as the Federalist noted, the lefts infringement on First Amendment rights isnt just through the expansion of executive powers, its also cultural.

When mainstream media outlets collectively applaud the boycott of a rural pizza parlor, or the ruination of Brendan Eich, or the persecution of florists and bakers and elderly nuns who hold disfavored political views, it sends a strong message that freedom of speech doesnt mean anything, the Federalists John Daniel Davidson wrote.

On college campuses across the country, liberal professors encourage their students to boycott and protest conservative speakers, shout down administrators who dare to challenge them, and segregate themselves from anyone who might have a different view. Couched in the language of safe spaces and trigger warnings, the Lefts enforcement of political correctness has created a climate of intolerance that goes beyond the campus, Mr. Davidson added.

Indeed.

So before the collective freakout of the mainstream media, speculating about Mr. Trumps presidency, perhaps they should take an inward look of whats happened in the last eight years.

Mr. Obamas presidency created some uncomfortable precedents when it came to secrecy. Transparent, it was not.

This is a good rule: Dont answer any questions when they start yelling at you, Mr. Obama advised Mr. Trump when reporters started shouting questions at the two after their first Oval Office meeting this month.

Mr. Trump is just inheriting Mr. Obamas legacy.

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Media worry about First Amendment rights under Trump but ...

In the shadow of a landmark where student activism helped change the world, Longwood University will invite the public to make their voices heard during the Oct. 4 Vice Presidential Debate.

In 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led a student walkout at all-black Moton High School. The students two-week strike launched a court challenge that became part of the Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Now a National Historic Landmark that is affiliated with Longwood and located a short walk from the debate venue, the Moton Museum will be proud to help welcome a new generation of activists to Farmville on debate day: A field behind the school where Moton students once played will serve as the debates First Amendment Field.

The area will be reserved for public speaking, debate, protest and discussion on the day of the debate. Activists, protestors, concerned citizens and students are invited to address topics important to them from the stage and podium being set up there.

Creating a space for students as well as members of the broader community to engage with the issues they are passionate about... underscores Longwoods commitment to freedom of speech, peaceful protest and civic engagement.

The Moton Museum exists to honor student activism in the civil rights era, said Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV. Creating a space for students as well as members of the broader community to engage with the issues they are passionate about, and locating that space next to the museum, underscores Longwoods commitment to freedom of speech, peaceful protest and civic engagement.

The field behind Moton historically has been a site where citizens have asserted their First Amendment rights, said Larissa Fergeson, university liaison to the Moton Museum and professor of history at Longwood. Barbara Johns and her fellow students planned their strike on that field. Fifty years ago, in July 1966, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Stokely Carmichael gave a speech to an integrated audience here, a mere month after he coined the term Black Power at a rally in Mississippi.

Longwood University is dedicated to the development of citizen leaders, Reveley said. As the university prepares to be a host once again to history, it was vitally important for us to offer our students and members of the public the opportunity to be heard on the issues that spark their passion.

First Amendment Field is open to the general public from10 a.m.-6 p.m.onOct. 4.Those who wish to speak are strongly encouraged to pre-register for 10-minute time slots via this webpage. Latecomers may register on site if any remaining time slots are available. First Amendment Field will have a stage outfitted with a podium and PA system.

The physical address for First Amendment Field is 800 Griffin Blvd., Farmville, VA. Questions should be directed to Sherry Swinson at swinsonsd@longwood.edu.

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Be heard at First Amendment Field - Longwood University

By M.D. Kittle / August 14, 2016 / First Amendment, Free Speech, News, Power Abuse, Wisconsin / No Comments

There is a vital need for citizens to have an effective remedy against government officials who investigate them principally because of their partisan affiliation and political speech.

By M.D. Kittle / August 8, 2016 / Commentary, First Amendment, Free Speech, National, Wisconsin / No Comments

Thats precisely what I expected from a party whose platform includes rewriting the First Amendment

By M.D. Kittle / August 3, 2016 / First Amendment, Free Speech, News, Power Abuse, Wisconsin / No Comments

The question that arises is do conservatives have civil rights before Judge Lynn Adelman?

By M.D. Kittle / August 2, 2016 / First Amendment, News, Power Abuse, Wisconsin / No Comments

Now, years after defendants unlawfully seized and catalogued millions of our sensitive documents, we ask the court to vindicate our rights under federal law.

By M.D. Kittle / July 25, 2016 / First Amendment, National, News, Politics & Elections, Wisconsin / No Comments

Moore has uttered some of the more inflammatory, ill-informed statements in Congress.

By M.D. Kittle / July 14, 2016 / First Amendment, Judiciary, News, Power Abuse, Wisconsin / No Comments

The process continues to be the punishment for people who were found wholly innocent of any wrongdoing, she said.

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First Amendment - Watchdog.org

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is contained in the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment has proven to be one of the most fundamental and important in respects to the rights attributed to the populace of the United States. Originally, the First Amendment was implemented and applied solely to Congress. However, by the beginning of the twentieth century, it was upheld that the First Amendment is to apply to all forms of government, including state and local levels. The Supreme Court decided that the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause would apply to the 1st Amendment, and thus rendering such a decision.

As stated in the United States Constitution, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, of of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Though a relatively short and concise assertion, the text provides for quite an encompassing set of rights that protect the citizens of the United States, and some of the most important and basic human rights. The First Amendment has many clauses that relate to each of the concepts that it sets out to protect. Religion is discussed in two clauses, one regarding the establishment of religion, and the other the free exercise of religion.

This proves to be one of the most important rights to secure by the Fathers of the Constitution, for so many people of European descent immigrated to the American Colonies to avoid religious persecution, and to find a safe haven to practice their religion of choice without any dire consequences. The First Amendment prohibits the government to establish a formal or national religion for the nation. It also addresses that there will be no preference of any particular religion, including the practice of no religion, or non religion.

The 1st Amendment guarantees the people of the United States the free exercise of religion, without interference from governmental factions. This right would also extend to any organization or individual infringing on such right, and would be deemed as unconstitutional.

One of the most commonly referred to clauses under the 1st Amendment is the freedom of speech. This clause has proven to be of great importance, particularly in the twentieth century and continues on with such regard in our lifetime. Under the text of the First Amendment, many issues are addressed regarding Freedom of Speech, and restrictions to exist in which such a practice may prove to be harmful to the general population or public. An example is the concept of sedition, and how this conduct can lead to insurrection against the government.

Other concepts also addressed include commercial speech, political speech, obscenity, libel, slander, and symbolic speech, such as the desecration of the American Flag. Under the First Amendment, there have been important and key court cases that have established a form precedence in how to apply the Amendment to these kinds of circumstances. The Freedom of the press is also included, and subject to similar restrictions as the freedom of speech.

The rights to petition and assembly often seem to be overlooked, for freedom of religion and speech are most commonly associated with the 1st Amendment. The right to petition is important because it gives citizens the opportunity to address their government in issues that have relevance and importance to the commonwealth. The formulation of an assembly, under the First Amendment, can be interpreted as citizens gathering and unifying for the purpose of communicating views or opinions on national issues, and for the relaying of pertinent information. The right to assembly is often related to that of petition, in such a way where citizens may assemble in the process of petitioning the government.

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First Amendment - constitution | Laws.com