Blog #3: Six Freedoms

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 First Amendment and BLM Protests

        The First Amendment is something that is heavily debated in this country and the question of whether or not something applies under the First Amendment can be applies to a number of recent events. Something that people don't realize is that the First Amendment is something that prevents the government from interfering with your six freedoms (Separation of church and state, Freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and petition). Where it becomes confusing is when a private corporation or property blocks one of these. It is difficult for someone who feels their First Amendment was denied by a private actor to sue and win, because they are not the government. 

The First Amendment – INDIVISIBLE – DOOR COUNTY, WI

    There are 3 Federal Law policies that apply to the First Amendment: F.A. protection is not absolute, F.A. is not a shield against laws of general applicability, and freedom of the press is a fundamental, personal right, not an institutional one. The First Amendment will condone a lot of things, but there are some things that go beyond the First Amendment. For example, "incitement" is defined as "speech that causes violence or lawless action." Something like this is not allowed under the First Amendment since it puts people in danger. An example of this would be some of the Black Lives Matter protests that have been occurring around the country recently. Certain protests that have involved during down businesses, attacking innocent people, and other things that have been done in the name of Black Lives Matter, even though the majority of the time they are not actually associated with the organization, would not be protected under the First Amendment. 

    Something that would be protected by the First Amendment would be the peaceful protests conducted in order to raise awareness to their cause. An example of this that I found came from a New Jersey article about students protesting for racial justice in schools. The article looks at students Montclair High School and their goal to end racial inequities in their school system. This also influenced dozens of other districts to do the same, and the result was peaceful protests for ending racism in their schools. This is completely viable under the First Amendment, as no one is being put in harms way and falls under freedom of speech, assembly, and petition. 

Marchers on East Ridgewood Avenue after a teach-in hosted by Ridgewood for Black Liberation on Thursday, August 6, 2020.
Marchers on East Ridgewood Avenue



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