Reflections on Charlottesville

Reflections on Charlottesville: Revisiting Hate Speech and the First Amendment

Monday, October 2, 2017 | noon-2 p.m. | Law School, Room 230

Recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, raise the fundamental question of the extent to which longstanding First Amendment protection for hate speech should be revisited. Worldwide, there is a surge in racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and many of those close to political power are engaged in such expressions. The U.S. has robust protection for such speech, but some European countries do not. To what extent should the U.S revisit its approach to hate speech?

This panel will explore this question as well as whether there are suitable alternatives that are better in this evolving political and technological landscape.

Panelists

  • Eric M. FreedmanSiggi B. Wilzig Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Rights
  • Jonathan Lightfoot, PhDAssociate Professor of Teaching, Learning and Technology, and Director of the Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice
  • Barbara StarkProfessor of Law and John DeWitt Gregory Research Scholar

Moderator

  • Ellen YaroshefskyHoward Lichtenstein Professor of Legal Ethics and Executive Director of the Monroe H. Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

Co-sponsored by OutLaw and the Muslim Law Student Association