Goal for the day: To understand the dynamics of freedom of assembly
There are two threads that we need to pull when it comes to thinking about the freedom of assembly. The first is the history of how different groups at different times have exercised this right and the court cases that have supported or limited our assembly rights. The second thread is looking at the freedom of assembly from the perspective of someone who is trying to create change.
We started today with the second thread and filling out the following handout that asks, “What kind of organizer are you?” Different people approach creating change in societyin different ways because of their values and beliefs. On the handout, I asked everyone to circle one of two options going across the page. What patterns do you see in your answers? Use them to start developing your own philosophy about how to create change.
The rest of the class consisted of watching a documentary about arguably the most important freedom assembly situation of the last hundred years: the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in 1965. The documentary is from the award-winning Eyes on the Prize series.
The two threads of the class are alive in this documentary. The video illustrates how government officials have used “time, place, and manner” restrictions to restrict speech. It also shows disagreements about strategies for creating change between Martin Luther King, Jr’s organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Council and the more radical Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
We stopped and started this video for the rest of class, interspersing questions and discussion about freedom assembly. Here’s some important content:
Placing time, place, and manner restrictions on assembly depends again of the “strict scrutiny test” which measures whether the state has a compelling interest in restricting speech. In these cases of public assembly, the court uses the “public forum doctrine.” Assemblies that occur in places traditionally used for public debate – parks and the streets have greater protection than in non-public forums such as jails and military bases.
Private assemblies, sometimes that include restrictions on who can participate, are also part of freedom of assembly. We discussed the State of Alabama seeking the membership roles of the NAACP, the court ruling on whether the Jaycees, a community organization, can bar women from their meetings, and the case of the Boy Scouts expelling a scout leader who came out as a homosexual.
After seeing how the Selma march succeeded in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we went back into organizing mode and I handed out the attached strategy maps that ask you to place yourself in one of four quadrants depending on your beliefs about change. Choose between the two black boxes on the top of the map and then the two black boxes down the side. This will define one quadrant of the map that contains options for strategies that conform to your beliefs. There are four of these maps. Do this exercise for each one. This will help you discuss and choose a strategy for your issue group.
Assignment for Tuesday, September 30th
Keep working in your issue groups
There are two threads that we need to pull when it comes to thinking about the freedom of assembly. The first is the history of how different groups at different times have exercised this right and the court cases that have supported or limited our assembly rights. The second thread is looking at the freedom of assembly from the perspective of someone who is trying to create change.
We started today with the second thread and filling out the following handout that asks, “What kind of organizer are you?” Different people approach creating change in societyin different ways because of their values and beliefs. On the handout, I asked everyone to circle one of two options going across the page. What patterns do you see in your answers? Use them to start developing your own philosophy about how to create change.
The rest of the class consisted of watching a documentary about arguably the most important freedom assembly situation of the last hundred years: the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in 1965. The documentary is from the award-winning Eyes on the Prize series.
The two threads of the class are alive in this documentary. The video illustrates how government officials have used “time, place, and manner” restrictions to restrict speech. It also shows disagreements about strategies for creating change between Martin Luther King, Jr’s organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Council and the more radical Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
We stopped and started this video for the rest of class, interspersing questions and discussion about freedom assembly. Here’s some important content:
Placing time, place, and manner restrictions on assembly depends again of the “strict scrutiny test” which measures whether the state has a compelling interest in restricting speech. In these cases of public assembly, the court uses the “public forum doctrine.” Assemblies that occur in places traditionally used for public debate – parks and the streets have greater protection than in non-public forums such as jails and military bases.
Private assemblies, sometimes that include restrictions on who can participate, are also part of freedom of assembly. We discussed the State of Alabama seeking the membership roles of the NAACP, the court ruling on whether the Jaycees, a community organization, can bar women from their meetings, and the case of the Boy Scouts expelling a scout leader who came out as a homosexual.
After seeing how the Selma march succeeded in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we went back into organizing mode and I handed out the attached strategy maps that ask you to place yourself in one of four quadrants depending on your beliefs about change. Choose between the two black boxes on the top of the map and then the two black boxes down the side. This will define one quadrant of the map that contains options for strategies that conform to your beliefs. There are four of these maps. Do this exercise for each one. This will help you discuss and choose a strategy for your issue group.
Assignment for Tuesday, September 30th
Keep working in your issue groups