Free Speech vs. Social Justice: Should Hate Speech be Protected?

Authors

  • Jacqui Higgins-Dailey Glendale Community College (AZ)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v6i4.7768

Abstract

Editor’s note: Publication by JIFP does not constitute an endorsement of the content or represent the official position of the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) or the American Library Association (ALA). Commentaries, articles, and book reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board of JIFP, OIF, ALA, or their affiliates.

There is a troubling trend within the library profession. As a result of blind allegiance to free speech absolutism, librarians are forgetting that we exist in a society. Libraries are social spaces and therefore spaces for social justice.

Author Biography

Jacqui Higgins-Dailey, Glendale Community College (AZ)

Jacqui Higgins-Dailey (jacqueline.higgins-dailey@gccaz.edu), Glendale (AZ) Community College

References

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Malik, Nesrine. 2019. “The Myth of the Free Speech Crisis.” The Guardian, September 3, 2019, The Long Read. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/the-myth-of-the-free-speech-crisis.

———. 2021. We Need New Stories: The Myths That Subvert Freedom. New York: Norton.

Williams, Stacie. 2017. “Librarians in the 21st Century: It Is Becoming Impossible to Remain Neutral.” Literary Hub. Last modified May 4, 2017. https://lithub.com/librarians-in-the-21st-century-it-is-becoming-impossible-to-remain-neutral/.

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Published

2022-07-25

Issue

Section

Commentaries