good afternoon my name is catherine i'm the president of against racism i thank media center for allowing me to speak today liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist that of all right is the dread of tyrants it is the right which they've st of all strike down they know its powers frederick douglas a plea for free speech in boston eight hundred and sixty dollars mr douglass was trying to impress on the listeners the impact of having a meeting in boston to address how short slavery be abolished shut down by what douglas described as a mob of gentleman douglas lamented that the mob trampled on the right to free speech unhindered by the boston mayor and official we know that tyrants want to stop the expression of free speech and the news now is a silencing in death a saudi arabian journalist jamal khashoggi who advocated free speech in his home country according to the committee to protect journalism twenty seven journalists were murdered around the world this year and two hundred and sixty two were imprisoned in two thousand and seventeen we hear our president declare that journalists are the enemy of the people and recently he condoled the assault other journalist all presidents swear an oath to uphold the constitution which includes freedom of speech and freedom of the press journalism is free speech and is the cornerstone of our democracy our local media the print and online local coverage and the belmont media center help to keep us educated citizens they bring us the important event government and school related events and issues sytycd affect our daily lives we are grateful for their service and for their support to our diverse community although the constitution guarantees free speech history has shown that the voices of opposition can often be suppressed for example the civil rights era in the sixty's is littered with examples of rights advocates such as martin luther king or fannie lou hamer who had their right to free speech silenced by jail time and beatings from the rights of black and african americans to those of the l b g t q community to immigrants to the disabled to muslims and all those who are often deemed as other in our country being able to speak freely is essential to ensuring our country lives up to the promise of the declaration of independence of like liberty in the pursuit of happiness so what is free speech the st amendment states congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances free speech protects the rights of those we agree with and those we don't it is the ability to freely express ideas when debating ideas we can have a robust discussion that serves our democratic values every right carries with it a responsibility it's not ok to yell fire in a movie theater slander and libel are both and eighty nine dollars when the constitution was started the meaning of free speech was clear and common sense and for most of us it still is we see it as an individual right however the meaning of free speech seems more complex in today's world in recent times the supreme court has ruled that corporations now the same rights to free speech as individuals and that unlimited monetary contributions aren't a form of free speech do we really want to live in a society where the more money you have the more free speech you get hate speech is not illegal one has the right to express ideas one does not have the right to attack someone hate crimes are illegal the f b i s definition of a hate crime is quote a traditional offense like murder arson or vandalism with an added element of bias for the purposes of collecting statistics the f b i has defined a hate crime as a criminal offense against a disability sexual orientation ethnicity gender or gender identity hate crimes should be reported to the police our state also has a massachusetts civil rights act which protects the rights of all residents and visitors to massachusetts to be free from bias motivated threats intimidation and coercion t interfere with their civil rights this act protects rights to use public parks in transportation walk on public streets attend school live peacefully and enjoy other basic rights if you think you are a victim of unfortunately hate crimes and incidents of bias have been on the increase in recent years our neighbors and reading for example are now dealing with a spate of any sematic are feeding in their town and are having a rally against it to morrow so what  speech according to merriam webster speech that is intended to insult offend or intimidate a person because of some trait such as race religion sexual orientation national origin or disability hate speech may not be a crime unless the choose to incite lawlessness are considered a true threat when hate speech becomes weaponized to deliver hateful messages as it does was social media we verge towards intimidation and violence as an example we would all agree that using the radio waves as they did in rwanda to incite genocide was not free speech but an example of hate speech inciting lawlessness  cautionary tale for us all we must also be vigilant sources that we read with russian bots and others attempting to exploit divisions in our society hate speech is morally unacceptable and a community should counter it we need to make a strong statement to say that hateful rhetoric rhetoric that demeans one of us demeans us all the people who pay most dearly are often people who are trying to make america live up to its principles and ideals to make it a more just equitable and inclusive place there's a fundamental difference between opposing someone's ideas and harassing someone for who they are or what they represent hate is usually aimed at one identity aspect of an individual for example their religion or a just ability i remember the words of professor ali hassan me at a recent panel on muslim culture saying that when you see a person only is one part of who they are you robbed of their dignity hate speech is not harmless lisa feldmann barrett professor of psychology at northeastern university said and i quote there is a difference between permitting a cultural casual brutality and entertaining an opinion you strongly oppose the former is a danger to civil society and to our health the latter is the lifeblood of democracy speech of the st kind which bullies and torment is from the perspective of our brain cells literally a form of violence unquote studies now using brain imaging being done to show the effects on the brain from the stress of being targeted bullying can be hate speech we know that bullying has long term effects on its victims we don't condone bullying in schools because we know the harmful effect it has on the child who was bullied as well as its negative effect on the culture of the entire school and thus on learning that is why most schools including belmont's have n t bullying policies workplaces often have anti harassment policies to ensure a good work the meet to movement has brought to light the need to address rassmann in the workplace attacks are not free speech and efforts to curb hurtful behavior do not deny anyone the right to express their ideas we use words such as micro aggressions to find ways to call that you today as the every day verbal nonverbal and environmental slights snobs or insults whether they have intentional or unintentional which communicate hostile derogatory or negative messages to target person space solely upon their marginalized group membership these every day slights take their toll and i would contend are more than micro in their effects i had the privilege last year of participating in a student led discussion with our belmont high school students who call themselves black and belmont i was saddened to hear their stories of verbal slights including a reference to a noose and an insult of one's religion coming from so many of our young people how can we say we're an inclusive welcoming community when our young people must endure this and just recently that young man who bumped into a woman  cannot outlaw hate speech we can be a counterweight to its effects each of us can stand up and reject hate speech when we hear it each of us can strive to express our ideas freely but without resorting to language of this hateful or demeaning we can reach out to others to make sure they are welcome and supported we can understand that being a diverse community is cause for some is a is a cause for celebration of the human spirit we must continue to ensure that all are respected and treated with dignity we need to keep in mind the damage the hate speech causes to individuals and to the fabric of our society it may be a fine line at times between ensuring free speech and opposing hate speech i believe the future of our democracy depends on both i leave you with a quote from james baldwin to about hate please try to remember that what they believe as well as what they do and cause you to endure does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity james baldwin the fired ex time