In a recent article on Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether or not public school textbooks should include a textbook description of the material contained in the textbooks. While the court found that the First Amendment gave teachers the right to express their opinions, it declined to grant a right of free speech to the publishers. The Court stated, “A teacher’s right to speak on matters regarding his own subject is not unlimited.” Therefore, a publisher could not include certain words in a textbook in order to prevent criticism of their book by other teachers or students.
Does the First Amendment give teachers: A right to criticize the content of a book they own and promote? This seems to be a logical answer. However, free speech does not mean that a teacher can say anything he wants in class. The First Amendment only protects the freedoms of citizens to peacefully assemble, worship, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. A teacher cannot go around criticizing the curriculum or the administration of a public school in order to make his points. He can engage in open dialogue, but he can’t go so far as to make a derogatory remark about the basic premise of the work.
It is easy to understand why the: First Amendment gives teachers this freedom of speech. If a public official complains that a book’s premise is unbalanced, there will be repercussions. Some books will be withdrawn from the shelves; others will receive watered down reviews from bookstores and other venues. Eventually, citizens will forget what was contained in the books, and those who authored them will go unrecognized.
Free speech also gives teachers the right to engage in teaching: If a teacher wishes to write about a topic, she has every right to do so. To compare Black History textbooks with the First Amendment is to compare apples with oranges. As long as the teacher isn’t inciting violence against black Americans, she should have no problem quoting from Black history books and advocating for the rights of black Americans during a free speech activity.
Unfortunately, it is hard to see how the: First Amendment can apply to free speech when white people are busy condemning Black Lives Matter. If white Americans truly believe that the free speech rights of African Americans are being threatened, they will not only continue to promote their views, but also give free rein to speech that would cause violence against black Americans. That could include violence against the police officers who are sworn to protect and serve all citizens.
So, the answer to the original question posed is: How does the excerpt relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education? When a public figure, including a teacher, attempts to stoke the flames of a segregated minority group by falsely criticizing them, he or she crosses the line, violating the right of free speech guaranteed in the First Amendment. If a teacher cannot reasonably be expected to understand the difference between lawful advocacy for a group and inflammatory speech against a group, the teacher’s viewpoint is simply irrelevant to the classroom.