A Peppered History
The United States, and the world, has a long history of censoring things deemed inappropriate; art and literature have been censored for centuries. I remember when I was a student in high school, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was censored due its profanity and sexual content. Students are now free to read this novel, and it is also included in most curriculums, as it should be; The Grapes of Wrath won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction. You might say that people censor things which make them uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this means that people, and eventually governments, censor protests whose goals make them uncomfortable.
A Step Back In Time
Prior to, during, and after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the NAACP was subjected to many instances of censorship due to the civil rights protests they were orchestrating. One notable case is Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, 372 U.S. 539 (1969) [1]. In 1959, during the time of the national communist witch hunt, the Florida legislature targeted organizations for people of color in an attempt to get membership records [2]. Court records indicate that the president of the Miami Branch of the NAACP was "adjudged in contempt and sentenced to fine and imprisonment for refusing to divulge contents of the membership records of that Branch to a committee created by the Florida Legislature, which was investigating the infiltration of Communists into various organizations" [1]. The US Supreme Court later overturned the conviction, stating that the evidence pointing to possible communist involvement in the NAACP Miami branch was "indirect, ambiguous, and mostly hearsay testimony" and that the president's conviction "for refusal to divulge information contained in the membership lists of the Association violated rights of association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments" [1].
In 1956, the Alabama Attorney General's office sued the NAACP "in an attempt to prevent them from operating in the state under a state law that mandated filing certain information with the government", specifically a list of its members [2]. In NAACP v. Alabama, 377 U.S. 288 (1964), the state of Alabama argued that the NAACP violated the state's constitution and laws, which led to the state prohibiting the NAACP from doing business. In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the NAACP, stating that "there was substantial compliance with the procedural rule, and failure to consider [the NAACP's] asserted constitutional rights was wholly unwarranted" [3]. This case was most notable because it "'equated the freedom of association' to other First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech and assembly" [2].
In 1966, a NAACP chapter in Mississippi decided to boycott local stores because they were being treated unfairly. Store owners sued the NAACP for interfering with their businesses and causing monetary loss [2]. The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision, declaring the boycott illegal. It was not until 1982 that the decision was overturned by the US Supreme Court [4].
Why Were Organizations And Individuals Charged?
Individuals and organizations were explicitly and implicitly targeted because their actions made others uncomfortable. Being that these occurred around the civil rights movement, it is obvious that what made others uncomfortable was the African American race and the rights being afforded to them, or being fought for. In every instance, the US government stepped in and carried out charges against the groups and individuals, essentially censoring their civil rights protests. Thankfully, the US government eventually stepped in and overturned original rulings in favor of the individuals and organizations.
Learning From The Past...Or Not
For most people, we can look back at the past and recognize the absurdity in allegations and court rulings. Human beings were not being given the inalienable rights granted to them by the constitution. Note, though, the specific words I used to begin this paragraph; "most people". Unfortunately, there are people who still do not, or refuse to, recognize that African Americans and other non-white people are still not being given the rights they deserve. If you are one of those people, I have done research to prove people of color are still not being given the same rights as white people in my article here. The issues still exist. And now, when people on a public platform (NFL players) are deciding to use their voice for the greater good, these protestors are being silenced. The people censoring them are the same who silenced them in the 1950s and 1960s. The people are NFL fans who use their sense of patriotism to censor the protests, calling them disrespectful to veterans. The business are the individual team organizations and, soon-to-be, the NFL; several team owners have stated they will bench players who protest the anthem and the NFL has officially planned to revise NFL rules requiring players to stand during the national anthem. The government is our very own President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, to name a few; President Trump has repeatedly called for players to be suspended or fired for kneeling, while VP Pence pulled his $242,500 publicity stunt by flying to Indianapolis, IN, walking out of a colts vs 49rs game because of the protests, and flying back. The current overall response to the NFL protests is disturbing, to say the least. It would appear as if we have gone backwards instead of forwards.
What Can You Do?
The first thing you can do is make your voice heard. Let people know you support the protests. Provide opponents with literature and data that support your stance and show them that social injustice still exists. I have literature and data for you here if you do not have the time to do research.
The next step would be to get involved in your underprivileged or at-risk community. Do some volunteering. If you don't have the time or maybe these sort of environments make you anxious, that is ok (although I would encourage you to try to ease yourself into these sorts of environments), donate to a reputable, charitable organization that works in the at-risk community.
You know, I liked the idea of making America great, and I believe others did to, which is why we have the current administration in the White House. It is unfortunate that the administration seems to be reverting us back to the pre-civil rights era, but we can certainly stop them. If you are a republican (I am a republican) make people aware of the fact that the current administration is misrepresenting the republican platform. If you are a democrat, congratulations, you get a free pass and an "I told you so" voucher. Let's work together to make America great! - I'm Abreos Ollos and I approve this message.
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