The Norm Brewer lecture series has become an annual event at the University of Memphis. This was the fourth year the event was held and the turn out was fabulous! Leonard Pitts, columnist for the Miami Herald, was the featured speaker this year. Being a First Amendment lecture, naturally it was relevant for Pitts to discuss some of today’s current events that test First Amendment protections such as the Ferguson trials. Pitts started out the lecture by defining the First Amendment through an example. He said, “You may say nasty things about the three women who matter most to me in my life, you may make rude comments about my Jesus, you may call me out by name to your hearts content, and I will still say that you are within your First Amendment rights in doing so.” While most people know that the First Amendment contains the freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition, it is often hard for them to understand the fine line between free speech and hate speech. Pitts mentioned how much freedom and courage coincide. “Freedom of speech makes us vulnerable” he said. In fact, in one of his columns, Pitts describes the First Amendment as “perhaps the most dangerous words ever written”. He went on to say, “They guarantee a freedom which in the wrong hands or even in the right hands can cause upset, outrage and even topple regimes.” He furthers this thought by pointing out how frightening it is for the government to have to explain the First Amendment to those in high power, such as George Bush and Pope Francis. If America’s leaders do not know the constitutional rights, how are we, the people, supposed to know them? “It is tragic that we have to keep telling people that there is no ‘calling me out by name’ exemption in the First Amendment,” said Pitts. I have never been one to be interested in government and history. I am much more interested in Taylor Swift’s newest boyfriend and home décor, but, I am not alone. Pitts mentions a study done in 2010 of the nation’s 12th grade students and their competency in government or civics. 97% of students took a course on the subject, however only 4% were deemed advanced, 20% were deemed to be proficient and 40% were left with only basic knowledge of the subject. That leaves a whopping 36% of 12th graders lacking even a basic understanding of civics and government. Honestly, before taking the law class I am enrolled in this semester, I would probably have categorized myself as lacking even basic knowledge in government. Pitts’ lecture really got me thinking how important it is that the First Amendment be understood. If more American’s had a greater understanding of all that the First Amendment protects, how would that change our society? Pitts ended the lecture inspiring us to use our first amendment protections. As Americans, we are lucky enough to be able to share are views and thoughts, even though they may be offensive. As long as one is not directly inciting harm upon another, their speech is protected. So got out there and speak your mind, people! I really enjoyed Lenoard Pitt’s speech regarding the First Amendment, “Calling Me Out My Name.” He really put things into perspective of how unaware the majority of Americans are of their fundamental rights when he said that more Americans know the names of the five Simpsons characters than they know the five rights entitled to us in the First Amendment: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to peaceable assembly and right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. As a Pulitzer Prize winning author, Mr. Pitts could be the target of many harsh words or criticisms due to his affluent position in the writing world and his stances on various issues. However, he will always defend the American people’s right to free speech even if words attack or hurt him personally. He would do this because he says it is within a person’s first amendment rights to call him whatever he or she chooses. Pitts said, “If the government ever stepped in and tried to penalize you for what you said, I would pinch my nose but then stand up in your defense.” Furthermore, he says freedom takes courage, and the citizens of the United States need to better students and stewards of their constitutional rights. I learned so much from this enlightening speech, and I was extremely happy to see Mayor Wharton and other notable writers in the community present at the event.
The speech actually did make me think about why I want to be in the field of Journalism. I told my aunt when I was in first grade that I wanted to major in Journalism. I love to write and share my views and opinions with others. I keep a notebook with me at all times. Writing things down just make sense to me. We live in society where everything is permanent. Every status update, tweet, or Instagram picture posted to the World Wide Web will be out there on the Internet forever. This makes it scary to be a writer in today’s world because our words will be preserved FOREVER. However, it is also a little bit exciting! I want to be a writer to make people smile through my silly, personal blog. I want to be a writer because I want to write about issues that matter to me and inform the public in my future career endeavors. I want to be a writer just so I can write. I find inspiration to write everywhere, especially in Memphis. There is so much to know about this city, and so many new, exciting things happen everyday that are worthy of a story. My family inspires me, as well as my daily life at my internship, my house with my dogs and husband, and my school career at U of M. I also love to write about trips that I take to express my thoughts and feelings about experiencing a new place, food or experience. That’s why I can’t wait to move after graduation! A writer can find inspiration anywhere because there is ALWAYS something to write about. The freedom of speech is so important to the communication profession because if we did not have this fundamental right, we would not be able to do our jobs. Our words and voices are the most important tools we have to contribute to society. As Mr. Pitts said, “The First Amendment includes the most dangerous words ever written. In the wrong hands, these words can cause upset and outrage. They can topple regimes.” Words are so powerful. I cannot even imagine a world where American citizens could not say what they wanted to say or write what they wanted to write. I don’t ever want to imagine that. I am happy to be a Journo! Americans don’t know how good they got it. One of the most basic freedoms written into the Constitution is the right to free speech, and it is one of the most powerful tools a person has to defend democracy. But as Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. explained during the 4th annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture on Mar. 3, Americans are more than happy to throw away that freedom and more for even the slightest bit of safety from vague unease. Yet more are happy to throw away their freedoms if it meant that certain groups would be prevented from assailing their ears with statements that would make them upset or have feelings. It’s a sad turn for a nation that once prided itself on its constitution, a document so revolutionary it continues to inspire the basic structure of the constitutions of other nations. The rights and ideals thousands of men and women have died defending are now cast aside, at the whims of politicians and lawmakers looking only to secure their own power and through the apathy of the American public, who would rather vote for the winner of American Idol than vote for president, a body of citizens who are more willing to change the channel than change the world. More than a third of graduating 12th graders have no understanding of civics and how government works. These are the people with which we are entrusting the future. So how do we reverse the slide? Can we? According to Pitts, one of the best ways is to defend the 1st Amendment, even when its use would mean that some truly vile people—like Nazis, religious extremists or other terrible people—would get their say. And this leads to the title of the lecture—there is no “call me out my name” exemption to the 1st Amendment, and even when you’re profoundly offended, the 1st Amendment is worth defending. I recently attended the Norm Brewer 1st Amendment Lecture Series. The guest speaker, Leonard Pitts, is a profoundly researched individual. I enjoyed listening to the dots he connected in his audacious defense of the first amendment. Audacious because he mentioned it a surprising task to defend something that he hung his career hat on. Despite his disdain for the task he provided an insightful monologue about the importance of the first amendment (amongst others).
I especially liked his spiel about the importance of the fourth amendment and how we so easily throw away rights in the name of safety. He brought a key issue to the light when he spoke about the laws allowing officers to racially stereotype and steal from the people they are charged to “protect and serve.” I enjoyed hearing his connectedness to prominent issues. As a young professional entering into the field of communications and public relations, it is my duty to pay attention to media and laws that may be pertinent to the client as well as my own self-interests. Back to his charge of our easy aversion of our civil rights: I appreciated how he brought attention to the issues of our militant police force and how they have stepped on constitutional rights in the name of safety. This is an issue that I value as a black man that has been on the receiving end of racial profiling and over-bearing officers hiding behind badges and systemic prejudices. The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist was an awesome choice for this year’s lecture. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture with guest speaker Leonard Pitts, Jr. His message, both sobering and inspiring, is especially important to hear, not just because of the upheaval in our country and across the world, but because if we aren’t sharing the message, people may forget it.
So, what’s that message? Be ardent protectors of our first amendment rights. As a journalist, freedom of speech is paramount to everything I intend to do or be. To have that protection, or any of the other protections afforded to me by the first amendment, I have to first know what it means. I’m pretty lucky that I did walk away from 12th grade with a general knowledge of civics, but Pitts told us last night that more than one-third of 12th graders don’t. To get off on a small tangent for a moment, if we are failing to teach our future leaders what our rights are, how can they begin to know when they are being violated or taken away? As with most things in life, education is the key. We must do a better job of teaching our children. As Pitts said, more people can name all five members of The Simpsons family than can name all five rights afforded to us by the first amendment. Think about that for a moment and see how settled you feel. It’s not just our children that seem to be a bit confused by the first amendment. Pitts mentioned Sarah Palin and her lamenting over the Duck Dynasty crew for losing their show after expressing some controversial opinions. He made the point that I frequently find myself trying to explain, the first amendment does not protect you from backlash in a civil setting, its purpose is to protect you from the government intervention when you speak your mind. That protection is offered even to the most vile of opinions. Pitts admitted to trying to find a first amendment loophole so he would have reason to advocate for the silencing of the vitriolic speech spewed by people like the KKK and Westboro Baptist Church. It’s a feeling I can relate to all too well and though some speech might be detestable, it must also be protected so that all other speech can be protected. Yet, if we find a loophole for these groups, a loophole might be found for my speech or your speech, or the speech of us all. Pitts put it well when he said that unless you’re offending someone with your words you probably aren’t saying anything of much importance. My favorite moment of the evening occurred when the lecture was over and my companion for the evening, my 8-year-old daughter, wanted to go meet Mr. Pitts because he is a writer, and she wants to be one, too. When we did introduce ourselves and I explained why she wanted to meet him, he asked her “What are you doing to further that goal?” My kiddo is shy and just shrugged, so I helped her out and told Mr. Pitts that she writes at home all the time, which she does (her current work-in-progress is a short story about a cat named Milly, a character based off her own quirky personality). He told this burgeoning little writer how he began writing at five years old. He began sending works to publishers at 12. When he was 14 he was indeed published, and his first paid published work came when he was 18. His advice was to read and write and to do it every day. To work hard at it and not to give up. The final moment of the evening, at least for us, was to personally experience this legend of journalism personally passing on his experience to a hopeful little girl with endless possibilities in front of her. When the general lecture ended I was motivated to protect our first amendment freedoms, but after seeing him speak to my daughter, I knew who I was protecting those freedoms for. While not normally indicative of anything besides a full stomach, the pre-lecture food served outside the UC Theatre seemed to set the disappointing tone of the 4th Annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture Series on Tuesday night. As attendance was either required or offered for extra credit by three of my course instructors, I didn’t have a reason to skip out. Prof. Arant had hyped up the event for the past few weeks, telling students get there early to enjoy “some good food.” I arrived shortly after the Aramark staff set out the greens, fruit, and meat and loaded up a plate. But my high hopes were dashed upon the first few bites of lukewarm meatballs, chewy chicken and bland salad leaves. This paralleled my experience in the lecture. After Mayor Wharton’s surprise appearance on behalf of Prof. Sanford, the familiar Norm Brewer tribute played on the big screen and Leonard Pitts finally appeared. He proceeded to profess his love for the Avengers comic book series (specifically, no. 33), from where he drew one of his first First Amendment lecture examples. Pitts discussed how his expertise on the subject caused him to make hard decisions, given the fact that there are “virtually no exceptions to free speech.” He described being able to take a great deal of verbal abuse (as long as it isn’t physical), and then exercising his right to return the favor. “There is no ‘Calling Me Out My Name’ exception,” he said. The most moving (and disturbing) part of the presentation was his account of the twisted man who legally wrote multiple child pornography novels, but wasn’t susceptible to repercussions because they hadn’t actually happened in real life. I was also surprised when he was able to recount his Miami Herald columns not by their names, but by their date of publication. However, besides this, I was generally disappointed by the speech. After all the fanfare surrounding it, I thought the guest would show a more vested interest in the student body and relating his stories to current events within the student life as opposed to recounting the top moments of his journalistic career. Leonard Pitts writes about social issues — lending a voice to those who feel they are voiceless. He brought those to light during his “Calling Me Out My Name” lecture in the University of Memphis Rose Theatre on March 3.
The columnist is a man who does many things: a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and hard-hitting author of many books. He’s a columnist for the Miami Harold, and his columns are syndicated in newspapers across the country, including The Commercial Appeal. “He’s an ambassador of journalism,” said Omer Yusuf, a journalism student at the University who introduced Pitts. Pitts is a staunch advocate of first amendment rights. Even when he doesn’t morally agree, he supports the right that all Americans should be able to speak as they please with no repercussions. “You can insult my wife and daughter,” Pitts said. “You can call me the n-word. You may say nasty things, and you can call me out my name until your heart is content. But you are still using your first amendment rights in doing so.” When the Westboro Baptist Church protests funerals, they are doing so within their first amendment rights, according to Pitts. “I defend them all,” he said. “Only then do I have first amendment rights.” Among his many talking points surrounding the first amendment, there were two major takeaways during the lecture. He discussed the aftermath of the killing of an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown by a white police officer named Darren Wilson. While many people protested the shooting, Pitts said fewer people were up in arms over “the beating the first amendment took” as tear gas was launched at citizens, and officers blocked cameras and arrested reporters. Lastly, Pitts called college students to action on social issues. He said that “hashtag activism” couldn’t cut it alone, and that young adults should take their movements to the streets. “Reinvigorate [the movements] with your ideas,” Pitts said. The Norm Brewer speaker this year was Mr. Leonard Pitts. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald. Pitts’ columns are used in other newspaper publications around the country, including the Commercial Appeal. The title of his lecture was “Calling Me Out My Name”.
He started off by saying that there is great frustration regarding the First Amendment. After that, he said people can say anything they want to him because of their First Amendment Rights. The lighter moment in the lecture came when he said that more people can name all five Simpsons and not all five rights of the Constitution. This got some laughs from the audience, but it was a very good point. He also had many good quotes during his lecture. A few of them were…… “Freedom Takes Courage”, “Freedom of Speech Makes Us Vulnerable”. Also, he mentioned that he wrote a column in 2012 that the First Amendment is the most dangerous words ever written. This really caught my attention because everyone wants their rights, but really don’t think about how much damage it can cause. Pitts also called out the former President of the United States, George H. Bush and how it is tragic that he didn’t understand the First Amendment. Also, all of us don’t understand it. This also caught my attention because a lot of people probably don’t know what is in the First Amendment. The lecture lasted about 45 minutes and it was a Q and A at the end. The lecture was a lot more interesting than years past and the audience really seemed engaged during the entire thing. Overall, I felt that the 4th Annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture was very informative and inspiring.
What I learned from Leonard Pitts was the importance of being knowledgeable of and grateful for one’s rights as an American citizen. During the lecture, Pitts emphasized the fact that many Americans lack a true understanding of their rights. He also seemed to emphasize the point that Americans take their rights for granted. It was interesting to learn that a report found that although a large percentage of high school students reported taking some sort of civics or government course, a very low percentage of those students had a true understanding of civics and government. I also learned about the importance of fighting to preserve the first amendment, even though it may not always be easy or beneficial on a personal level. I thought Pitts’ take on there being no “call me out my name” exemption was interesting. He said that people could “call him out of his name” and criticize his faith and family, but he would say that they were within their first amendment rights (and then he would use his own first amendment rights to hold them accountable). He even went so far as to say that he would defend somebody who was in danger of being penalized for what they said. As an aspiring journalist, I think that freedom of speech is important to the communication field, because I think that journalists need to be free to hold people accountable, shed light on something that might otherwise be covered up, highlight key issues, etc., without being penalized by a government body, in order for a true democracy to work and be worth something. I’m a journalism major, because I enjoy writing and want to be a journalist who leaves some sort of impact or makes some sort of difference with my work. I want to be able to produce thought-provoking, inspirational and memorable content. I find inspiration from journalists I admire and from people who actually believe that I can succeed in the journalism field in the future. Overall, the experience of hearing Pitts’ lecture was very informative and positive. He seemed very credible, knowledgeable and confident as he was making his speech, and I think that he is someone that journalists can look to as a model for how to conduct yourself in the journalism field. |
Erin Willis, Ph.D.Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. Loves news. Loves food. Loves Pugs. And now, loves Memphis basketball. Go Tigers, Gooooo! Archives
April 2015
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