CIVILITY IN THE STREETS

Presenter: Laura Beth Nielsen, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University, Research Professor for the American Bar FoundationOn Twitter @ProfLBNielsen and #civility

Moderator: Tiffany Middleton, Program Manager, American Bar Association Division for Public EducationOn Twitter @abapubliced

This program is part of Civility and Free Expression in a Constitutional Democracy—A National Dialogue, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and conducted in partnership with the American Bar Association Division for Public Education. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Bar Association, or any of its program partners.

www.ambar.org/civility

I will use words that many people find offensive during this presentation. To fully understand one another, the problem, and the possibilities for change, using the actual words is important. And yet, some words have the power to silence and to intimidate.

A warning

Why study speech in the street? John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty

Truth drives out falsity (eventually becomes the so-called “free marketplace of ideas”)

John Milton: Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to

argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties

First Amendment to the Constitution Congress shall make no law . . .abridging the

freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble. . .

What do we know about racist and sexist speech?

In education, Stereotype Threat African-American students performed more poorly

on standardized tests at the invocation of race Later extended to stereotyped individuals of all

sorts http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/

In the workplace Recognized as a violation of Title VII because

sexual harassment is discrimination And invocations of sexual harassment achieve

performance anxiety

Survey Questions

Race Sex

Begging – Mostly Not Protected Speech

Sexual Harassment – Probably Protected

http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/

http://www.ihollaback.org/

Racist Public Speech – Mostly Protected

Might not be protected Protected

Who Has Free Speech in Public?

Racist hate speech including cross-burning usually done by members of

dominant social group – whites, to members of a subordinate group – people of color)

Sexually harassing speech (usually perpetrated by

members of dominant social group – men, to members of a subordinate social group - women)

Begging usually done by

members of subordinate social group – people in poverty, to members of a dominant group – people the think have money

Protected Speech Unprotected Speech

Frequency of Respondents’ Experiences with Offensive Public Speech

by Race and Gender

Conclusions A more complex version of

free speech One that considers equality,

location, power, privilege, and threat.

Street Harassment as a personal problem, social problem, and favoring legal limits