Affirming the joy of free speech

The Feb. 22 gathering, in UB’s Center for the Arts, took place amid growing debate on campuses across the country about what speech should be permitted, and nationwide attention on the regulation of speech on social media. 

The event was organized by the law school’s Jamila Lee ’15, vice dean for student affairs; Kristen Kelly, associate director of the law school’s Office of Equity and Belonging; and law students Serena Brahaspat ’25 and Deja Graham ’24 with assistance from Ashley Abbott, student life coordinator, and Kara Davis, special projects coordinator.  It was further supported by UB’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and the UB Law Alumni Association’s Social Justice and Racial Equity Committee. 

At the center of the event was a panel discussion examining the First Amendment, what it protects, and why it’s important. School of Law Professor Athena Mutua, Buffalo Common Council member Mitchell Nowakowski, and Rev. Mark Blue, president of the Buffalo chapter of the NAACP, addressed issues ranging from book banning to the war in Gaza, and from artificial intelligence to controversial speakers. The panel was moderated by Brahaspat.

Mutua, a scholar of Critical Race Theory, noted that until recently she had taken the right of free speech somewhat for granted. “About three years ago,” she said, “there was this serious attack on what the former president called divisive concepts, and an attack on Critical Race Theory. A year in, we looked up and there were over 500 bills, resolutions and government declarations that had been proposed in every state except Delaware that sought to ban things like Critical Race Theory, concepts like white privilege, practices and methodologies like systemic analysis. And all of the speech that I had taken for granted meant something quite real.” 

Those challenges, she said, have galvanized support for free speech among those who think and speak for a living. “In a moment when those freedoms you take for granted are under attack,” she said, “then you must act. Free speech, to me in this moment, means lots of speech, more speech, and a fight to maintain that right.”

The balance between free speech and the goal of inclusivity on campus was tested in a UB visit last spring by conservative commentator Michael Knowles, who came at the invitation of a student group. Nowakowski noted that UB provided support to students who may have felt attacked by that appearance, as well as space for alternative opinions. “Free speech also comes at a cost,” the Council member said, “but I always believe the benefits outweigh the negative.” 

For his part, Blue noted that free and open speech forces citizens to listen to ideas from outside their own experience and belief systems. “You may not like it, but we all have the right to be heard,” he said. “We all have the right to our own opinions.”

Mutua also said that recent moves to ban books in public schools, and assertions that universities lack conservative voices, point to how free speech rights and the intellectual enterprise are intertwined. 

“When we talk about free speech, we’re talking about not only the right to speech, we’re talking about expression, we’re talking about the right to be heard, and we’re also talking about the freedom to learn,” she said. “All of that is caught up in free speech. … It is about freedom of research, freedom to teach and freedom to speak as an academic.”

A pre-program reception included a voter registration drive, organized by Erie County Legislator Howard J. Johnson, Jr. The main event began with opening remarks by Prof. Seval Yildirim, UB’s vice provost for inclusive excellence; performances by Crossfyah, a UB dance team; and two poetry readings by law student Tara Lucombe ’25 and UB Law graduate Jesutowo “Kola” Adeniji ’20.