For 2018, the Fleischaker/Greene Scholars in Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting are exploring a right fundamental to American life and democracy — the right to protest, complain, dissent and have our voices heard.
The First Amendment has always been a living, breathing, pulsating fact of national life. As students of journalism and history, we strive to tell that rich story and apply it to our own time.
By Cameron Coyle, F/G Scholar
The past few years have seen protest in sports become a hot-button issue, with the discussion growing and becoming more multi-faceted seemingly each day.
Many sports fans use the games they watch as a form of escapism. They want to come home after a long day’s work and watch Monday Night Football while attempting to block out the problems which plague their reality.
However, many athletes—particularly African-Americans—see the sports they play as the vehicle which helped them escape from impoverished communities, so naturally they want to seize this platform to shine light on issues that have afflicted their society. Continue reading Protest and sport: A timeline of dissent by American athletes after Jackie Robinson
By Emma Austin, F/G Scholar
Under U.S. law there has never been a legal definition of “hate speech,” whether protected by the First Amendment or not. The American Library Association defines hate speech generally as “any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or class of persons.” Continue reading Protecting the First Amendment while resisting hate speech
By Emma Collins, F/G Scholar
The debate about the legacy of the suffrage movement has been in the news cycle lately with the coverage about voters in this past election going from the polls to Susan B. Anthony’s grave to place their “I voted” stickers on her tombstone as a tribute for her work. News coverage pointed out that this tribute was particularly fitting because a record number of women were elected as governors and to Congress during this election cycle. Continue reading The right to vote for some, not all: An analysis of racism in the women’s suffrage movement
By Evan Heichelbech, F/G Scholar
Listen to Kent State survivor Alan Canfora talk about the importance of rhetoric and how words had consequences in the Vietnam War era of dissent as well as today with President Trump. Canfora compares similar language between then Ohio Gov. James Rhodes and Trump.
By Evan Heichelbech, F/G Scholar
Mary Beth Tinker is nearly five decades removed from the landmark Supreme Court ruling which told her she didn’t have to shed her constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate, but she credits more than just the Supreme Court justices for her 13-year-old self’s victory in the case. Continue reading Protests and social media: How dissent and technology intersect to empower
By Evan Heichelbech, F/G Scholar
It’s impossible to adequately study protest in the United States without discussing the Vietnam War era of dissent. The late 1960’s through the early 1970’s was a formative time for Americans when it came to exercising their First Amendment rights, and the height of the tension came on May 4, 1970 at Kent State University. Continue reading What we learned and why we went to Kent State and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
By Emma Austin, F/G Scholar
Thousands of Donald Trump supporters lined up outside Eastern Kentucky University’s Alumni Coliseum on Oct. 13 in the hours before his rally to campaign for Republican congressional candidate Andy Barr.
Some were turned away after the venue hit capacity, but not everyone in Richmond was there to wear Make America Great Again hats or even to see the president. Continue reading Richmond Trump rally draws protest
