The First Amendment and the Black Lives Matter Movement

The First Amendment is crucial in the US Constitution as it outlines a citizens freedoms. Within the first amendment there are six freedoms which include; freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly. 

A perfect example of the First Amendment coming into recent play is through the Black Lives Matter Movement. On May 25th, 2020, in the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States, George Floyd a male African American father and fiance was brutally and inhumanely murdered at the hands (or knee) of an armed police officer. After the media attention of the execution of Floyd, it brought to life and shed light on the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter was already an established social movement however the recent death of Floyd, caught on camera, gave the social movement national media attention. The national attention brought protests all across the nation. Citizens were using their first amendment rights to speak freely and publicly and assemble peacefully. In May, I myself attended two peaceful protests and watched as hundreds of my community members gathered together at the town hall to exercise their first amendment rights. (Attached below is the photograph I snapped of my Mom) 

The first amendment condones freedom of assembly however under the constitution the assembly must be peaceful. The protests that I attended in my hometown with my mom and in my boyfriend's town were lawful under the first amendment. However, the First Amendment does not excuse violent acts of demonstrating resistance such as looting or battery. I recently was talking to one of my friends about the Morse V Frederick Case from 2007 which is often debated by people because the Court ruled 5-4 that the case was not protected under the First Amendment. What do you think?

In 2007 a high school student, Joseph Frederick, hung a banner across the street from his school that displayed, “Bong Rips for Jesus.” He was suspended for the act and then proceeded to sue the school on conditions that his first amendment rights were violated. The case was brought to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that the school officials did not violate the First Amendment and that Frederick was not protected under the Amendment because he cannot promote illegal drug use at a school event. Do you think the court ruled correctly? Or do you think that Fredericks rights to freedom of speech were violated?

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/first-amendment

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/us/george-floyd-protests-different-why/index.html

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/06-278