Free Speech

As we mark Banned Books Week, it’s important to keep in mind that censorship efforts can come from all across the political spectrum. A case in point comes from the 1990s and was sparked by a complaint from someone concerned about preventing rape.

Publicola, the ever-informative local news site, has posted a report that provides new perspective on King County’s decision last December to cancel a contract to run ads on Metro buses that sharply criticize Israeli government actions.

On July 11, the Richland School Board voted 4-1 to bring Sherman Alexie’s young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian back to all its high school classrooms. This welcome action reversed the board’s vote in June to exclude the novel from all high school classrooms after it was piloted for the 9th-grade curriculum.

Candidates for elected office in Seattle now will be able to discuss their opponents in statements published in the pamphlet that voters receive in election season.  The ACLU-WA began working for this common-sense policy change a decade ago.

This month, the Richland School Board voted 3 to 2 to exclude Sherman Alexie’s award-winning book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from Richland high school classrooms. Alexie’s semiautobiographical novel won the National Book Award for young adults in 2007. It tells the story of Arnold “Junior” Spirit, a teenager growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, where Alexie also grew up. Junior struggles as an awkward but bright 14-year-old who loves drawing comics. The book tackles many tough issues, including racism, alcoholism, poverty, death, as well as more typical teenage struggles like fitting in. The book was piloted for Richland’s ninth-grade language arts curriculum because of its realistic portrayal of the high school experience and compelling theme of perseverance. The piloting teacher acknowledged that the book contains some profanity and sexual references.

For those of you who took last week’s pop quiz on street speech, you will be glad to know that some area police officers also are brushing up on free speech rights of people on sidewalks and in public plazas.

Earlier this week, we wrote about the fact that some Washington state farmers markets have policies or practices that limit free speech activities, such as petition signature gathering and handing out political material.   We asked you to sign a petition to the statewide organization asking them to protect the free speech rights of all market-goers.  And over 800 ACLU-WA supporters responded! Thanks to their efforts, the Washington State Farmers Market Association has heard the concerns and is eager to make changes.  We will work with the Association to help them develop educational materials, model policies, and guidelines for market organizers across the state.  Thanks to all of you who responded, and thanks to the Washington State Farmers Market Association for recognizing the importance of free speech in our public spaces!

University of Washington Law School prof Ronald Collins and coauthor Sam Chaltain have come out with a new book of interest to anyone who cares about freedom of speech. We Must Not Afraid to Be Free: Stories of Free Expression in America (Oxford U. Press) explore some of the challenging issues and colorful individuals involved in important controversies over what free speech means in America.

Working in my office in downtown Seattle last Wednesday afternoon, I was pleased to hear the sounds of chanting and looked out to see people peacefully marching down the street holding signs. As spring inches its way to Seattle, I hope we will see more of the same, with people bringing their varied messages to the streets, sidewalks, parks, and squares all around our city.