Should Racist Speech Enjoy Protection under the First Amendment
Should Racist Speech Enjoy Protection under the First AmendmentPrejudice and racial stereotyping are two of this country’s greatest problems today. Many people in our society have
tried to find ways to eliminate or at least limit these types of behavior, but have met with very limited, if any, success.
Because of the complex nature of racism and racist acts, coupled with the fact the first amendment prohibits the
government from limiting the publics’ right to free expression and speech, the Federal government has been
ineffective in eliminating racist actions that pervade our society. State governments and institutions have attempted to
set up their own laws condemning such actions, but have been wholly unsuccessful.
Some of those waging a war on racism have established anti-discrimination policies, and have had these policies
challenged as a result. Central Michigan University, for example, had instituted a discriminatory harassment policy,
only to have it shot down by the Supreme Court in 1995 on grounds that the policy “necessarily requires [the]
university to assess racial or ethnic content of speech.” Since Central Michigan University is a State school, the First
Amendment prohibits it from enacting regulations that would limit an individual’s right to free speech unless the
regulations, according to a 1986 ruling by the Supreme Court, are “narrowly and precisely designed.”
As you can imagine, precisely tailoring any statute in order to prohibit racist speech is nearly impossible - and as
many other speakers have already said, banning the current racial slurs will only create new ones. Additionally, an
outright ban on racist speech and ideas could likely lead to a higher level of violence in our society.
A number of other supreme court rulings have come out in favor of protecting all speech, including racist speech,
such as:
A 1941 ruling on the case of Sullens v State, stating that the “Freedom of speech includes freedom to
speak unwisdom or even heresy.”
A 1949 ruling on the case of Terminillo v Chicago, stating that “Attacks on racial and religious groups
are protected by right of free speech in absence of showing of serious substantive evil that rises far...
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