Friday, September 22, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (with reception to follow)

Hosted both in-person and virtually from
George Mason University
Antonin Scalia Law School

Free and open to the public.

REGISTER HERE

This symposium brings together senior scholars and exciting new voices to present cutting-edge research on the role freedom of speech plays in advancing civil rights movements (past, present and future). Scholars will present new papers exploring whether free expression helps or harms the cause of social progress, entrenching an unjust status quo or providing critical support for groups wishing to challenge it. Topics include the free speech rights of BLM protestors, the impact of speech restrictions on disability rights, Section 230, and the censoring of abolitionist newspapers in the American south.

Voices for Liberty, an initiative of the Liberty and Law Center at Scalia Law, aims to broaden debates about freedom of speech. We bring in new perspectives through incubated scholarship, campus speakers, and public events. Register today, and scroll down for details about the symposium agenda and parking / directions.

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Conference Program

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time Zone (EDT) / Minor details subject to change

8:30 – 9:30 CHECK-IN / REGISTRATION AND COFFEE

9:30 – 9:40: OPENING REMARKS

• JoAnn Koob, Assistant Professor and Director, Liberty and Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University
• David E. Bernstein, Distinguished University Professor and Executive Director, Liberty & Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University

9:40 – 10:40: Paper #1: “The Attack on BLM: How Speech Controls Worked to Suppress the Black Lives Matter Movement”

• Paper Author: Alec Greven, Research Fellow, Institute for Free Speech
• Discussants: Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney, Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, ACLU; and Timothy Zick, John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship, William & Mary Law School, William & Mary
• Moderator: Christopher Newman, Associate Professor, Scalia Law School, George Mason University

10:40 – 11:00 BREAK

11:00 -12:00: Paper #2: “Free Speech for None or All: Abolitionist Speech during the American Civil War”

• Paper Author: Nicholas Mosvick, Buckley Legacy Project Manager, National Review Institute
• Discussants: Kathleen M. Brown, David Boies Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania; and TBD
• Moderator: Debi Ghate, Initiative Director, Voices for Liberty, Liberty and Law Center, George Mason University

12:00 – 1:20 KEYNOTE LUNCHEON

• Keynote: Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institute
• Open to all registrants

1:20 – 1:30: BREAK

1:30 – 2:30: Paper #3: “Free Speech as a ‘reasonable accommodation’: How limiting free speech amounts to disability discrimination against people with psycho-social disabilities.”

• Paper Author: Reuben Kirkham, Lecturer in Inclusive Technologies, Monash University
• Discussants: Robert Dinerstein, Professor of Law Emeritus, Washington College of Law, American University; Doron Dorfman, Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School, Seton Hall University
• Moderator: JoAnn Koob, Assistant Professor and Director, Liberty and Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University

2:30 – 3:00: AFTERNOON BREAK AND REFRESHMENT

3:00 – 4:00: Paper #4: “Section 230 As a Civil Rights Statute”

• Paper Author: Enrique Armijo, Adjunct Professor of Law, Wake Forest Law, Wake Forest University
• Discussants: Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA Law, University of California, Los Angeles; and TBD
• Moderator: David E. Bernstein, Distinguished University Professor and Executive Director, Liberty & Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University

4:00 – 4:15: QUICK BREAK

4:15 – 5:00: CLOSING PLENARY

• Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, Emerita, New York Law School
• Debi Ghate, Initiative Director, Voices for Liberty, Liberty and Law Center, George Mason University

  5:00 – 5:05: CLOSING REMARKS

• JoAnn Koob, Assistant Professor and Director, Liberty and Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University
• David E. Bernstein, Distinguished University Professor and Executive Director, Liberty & Law Center, Scalia Law School, George Mason University

5:00 – 6:00 COCKTAIL RECEPTION

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REGISTER HERE