In celebration of the unveiling of the First Amendment tablet at the National Constitution Center, free speech defenders Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School, Nadine Strossen of New York Law School, and Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education join for a discussion of why the First Amendment matters today. A dedication ceremony with remarks from the Honorable J. Michael Luttig, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (former); Jan Neuharth, chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum; and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, follows.
This program is presented in celebration of the newly installed First Amendment tablet at the National Constitution Center donated by the Freedom Forum, which works to foster First Amendment freedoms for all. The design and installation of the tablet was made possible by the Honorable J. Michael Luttig and Elizabeth A. Luttig.
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Participants
Randall Kennedy is Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on contracts, criminal law, and the regulation of race relations. His most recent book is Say It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture. A member of the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Association, Mr. Kennedy is also a Trustee emeritus of Princeton University. He clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court.
Nadine Strossen is John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, Emerita, at New York Law School. From 1991 to 2008, she served as President of the American Civil Liberties Union, the first woman to head the nation’s largest and oldest civil liberties organization. She is currently a member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, as well as the Advisory Boards of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Heterodox Academy, and the National Coalition Against Censorship. She is the author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship (2018).
Greg Lukianoff is President and CEO of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He is the author of several books, most recently The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure with Jonathan Haidt. Greg is also an Executive Producer of Can We Take a Joke?, a feature-length documentary that explores the collision between comedy, censorship, and outrage culture, both on and off campus.
J. Michael Luttig served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 15 years, from 1991 to 2006. He is currently counselor and special advisor to The Coca-Cola Company and its board of directors. Previously Judge Luttig was counselor and senior advisor to The Boeing Company CEO and board of directors. He also previously served as assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and was assistant counsel to President Ronald Reagan. From 1983 to 1985, he served as a law clerk and special assistant to the chief justice of the United States.
Jan Neuharth is the chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. Prior to joining the Freedom Forum, Ms. Neuharth practiced law with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker in Los Angeles, and worked on Capitol Hill as a press assistant for Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker. She is on the National Constitution Center’s Board of Trustees.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- National Constitution Center, We the People, "Why the First Amendment Matters Today"
- Jeffrey Rosen, Constitution Daily, “Remarks from the First Amendment Tablet ceremony”
- Jeffrey Rosen, The Atlantic, "Elon Musk is Right About Free Speech on Twitter"
- Randall Kennedy, Say It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture
- Nadine Strossen, HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship
- Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
- Peggy McGlone, The Washington Post, "Newseum donates its distinctive First Amendment facade to Philadelphia history center"
- Stephan Salisbury, The Philadelphia Inquirer, "50 tons of marble incised with the First Amendment is heading to Philadelphia"
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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