	Multicultural Summer Institute Summer 2003

	Rapping (about) the First Amendment Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Reading	Matsuda, Mari."Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim's Story." Gender, Sexuality and the Law. Eds. Nan Hunter and William Eskridge. Westbury, NY: Foundation Press. 1997. 491-495. Walker, Samuel. "Hate Speech and the American Community." Hate Speech: The History of an American Controversy. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. 1996. 159-167.
Supplemental Reading	Articles on the Sarah Jones controversy from The Washington Post, The Village Voice and FAIR
GOAL	Overview of first amendment jurisprudence Multidimensional analysis of the Sarah Jones censorship controversy around "Your Revolution" Discussion of Eminem vs the Pet Shop Boys

http://faculty.oxy.edu/ron/msi/03/07292003.htm

Beginning of Colloquium Announcements

Lecture Notes available on the web
First Version of paper #3 due WED 9am; Final Version Fri Noon

OUTLINE:

I. First Amendment jurisprudence

II. Sarah Jones and Gil-Scott Heron

III. Eminem, Pet Shop Boys and GLAAD (this link actions regarding Eminem)

Random Vocab
Palimpsest: A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible. Often used metaphorically to give the impression of how one can not read one text without also seeing another one, either on top or below it.

Ur-: Original; prototypical: ur-feminist; ur-language. Commonly used as Ur-text. Example: "The Matrix" and "Star Wars" are Ur-texts for all science fiction movies which follow them.

[From German ur-, original. See Ursprache.]

Intertextual: Relating to or deriving meaning from the interdependent ways in which texts stand in relation to each other. (Example: the ways in which Sarah Jones "talks to" and references Gil-Scott Heron's work, and also the way she brings up Jay-Z and LL Cool J and especially Shaggy's "Boombastic."

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Adapted from material found at www.aclu.org

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of speech, of the press, of association, of assembly and petition -- this set of guarantees, protected by the First Amendment, comprises what we refer to as freedom of expression. The Supreme Court has written that this freedom is "the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom." Without it, other fundamental rights, like the right to vote, would wither and die.

UNPROTECTED EXPRESSION

The Supreme Court has recognized several limited exceptions to First Amendment protection.

FIGHTING WORDS In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), the Court held that so-called "fighting words ... which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace," are not protected. This decision was based on the fact that fighting words are of "slight social value as a step to truth." This is where proponents of hate speech codes attempt to locate their constitutional defense of such statutes. In R.A.V vs St. Paul (1992) the Supreme Court ruled (9-0!) that a cross-burning statute which prevented activity which would that would arouse anger, alarm, or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, or gender is unconstitutional. Hate speech codes have been on shaky legal ground since...
DEFAMATORY SPEECH : libel (written) / slander (written) In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), the Court held that defamatory falsehoods about public officials can be punished -- only if the offended official can prove the falsehoods were published with "actual malice," i.e.: "knowledge that the statement was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." Other kinds of "libelous statements" are also punishable. This was the case where the NAACP (and NYT) were sued by an Alabama county commissioner for libel in order to attempt to prevent the civil rights organization from raising money through advertising.
OBSCENITY Legally "obscene" material has historically been excluded from First Amendment protection. In the 1973 Miller v. California decision, the Court established three conditions that must be present if a work is to be deemed "legally obscene." It must 1) appeal to the average person's prurient (shameful, morbid) interest in sex; 2) depict sexual conduct in a "patently offensive way" as defined by community standards; and 3) taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Justice Potter Stewart once delivered a famous one-liner on how to define obscenity: "I know it when I see it."
SPEECH WHICH ADVOCATES "IMMINENT LAWLESS ACTION"
This is the "you can't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded auditorium" exception, incitement to riot, etc.
ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NOT SYMBOLIC SPEECH
In other words, activities that do not intend to send a specific message that can be obviously understood by the recipient of the message are not entitled to First Amendment protection (wearing sunglasses, exposing piercings etc..)

There are some other limits on the First Amendment, for example the Government can regulate the Time, Place and Manner in which certain speech is communicated under certain restrictions.

"Seven Dirty Words You Will Not Hear On Television" (FCC v. PACIFICA FOUNDATION, 438 U.S. 726 (1978).)

shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, mother-fucker, and tits

QUESTION: What words are missing from this list? What can you deduce from this?

Walker “Hate Speech” and Matsuda “Considering the Victim’s Story”

QUESTION: How does government regulation of hate speech impinge on First Amendment freedom of expression rights? How would Matsuda and Walker answer this question differently?

NOTE: The FCC's indecency rules define indecent speech as "language that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs."

In 2002

Sarah Jones "Your Revolution" (Real Audio version) (MP3 version)

Radio Station: KBOO-FM, Portland, Oregon
Date/Time Broadcast: October 20, 1999, on the program "Soundbox," between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Material Broadcast: "Your Revolution"

(Various female voices)

your revolution
dedicated to all the women and men struggling to keep their self-respect in
this climate of misogyny, money-worship, and mass production of hip-hop's
illegitimate child, "hip-pop", and especially to Gil Scott-Heron, friend,
living legend and proto-rapper, who wrote
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, and
continues to inspire me.

your revolution will not happen between these thighs
your revolution will not happen between these thighs

the real revolution
ain't about booty size
the Versaces you buys
or the Lexus you drives

and though we've lost Biggie Smalls
your Notorious revolution
will never allow you to lace no
lyrical douche in my bush

your revolution will not be you
killing me softly with Fugees
your revolution ain't gon' knock me up
without no ring and produce little future MCs
because that revolution will not happen between these thighs

your revolution
will not find me in the
backseat of a Jeep with LL
hard as hell
ya know, doin' it & doin' it & doin' it well
ya know, doin' it & doin' it & doin' it well

your revolution will not be you
smackin' it up, flippin' it, or rubbin' it down
nor will it take you downtown or humpin' around
because that revolution will not happen between these thighs

your revolution will not have me singin'
ain't no nigger like the one I got
your revolution will not be you
sending me for no drip drip VD shot

your revolution will not involve me feeling your nature rise
or helping you fantasize
because that revolution will not happen between these thighs
and no, my Jamaican brother, your revolution
will not make you feel boombastic and really fantastic
have you groping in the dark for that rubber wrapped in plastic

you will not be touching your lips to my triple dip of
french vanilla butter pecan chocolate deluxe
or having Akinyele's dream
a six-foot blowjob machine

you wanna subjugate your queen;
think I'ma put it in my mouth
just 'cause you made a few bucks
please brotha please!

your revolution will not be me tossing my weave
making believe I'm some caviar-eating, ghetto mafia clown
or me givin' up my behind just so I can get signed
or maybe have somebody else write my rhymes?
I'm Sarah Jones, not Foxy Brown

your revolution makes me wonder, where could we go
if we could drop the empty pursuit of props and the ego
we'd revolt back to our Roots, use a little Common Sense, on a Quest to make love De La Soul, no pretense...but

your revolution will not be you flexing your little sex and status
to express what you feel;
your revolution will not happen between these thighs
will not happen between these thighs
will not be you shaking and me faking between these thighs
because the revolution, that's right, I say the real revolution, you know the real revolution, when it finally comes, it's gon' be real

Gil-Scott Heron "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live

Eminem "White America" from The Eminem Show (2002)

Intro
America
Hahaha
We love you

How many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours?
The stripes and the stars for the rights of men who have died for the protect?
The women and men who have broke their necks for the freedem of speech the United States Government has sworn to uphold

Yo, I want everyone to listen to the words of this song

Or so we're told...

Verse 1
I never woulda dreamed in a million years id see
So many mutha fuckin people who feel like me
Who share the same views
And the same exact beliefs
Its like a fuckin army marchin in back of me
So many lives I touched
So much anger aimed at no perticular direction
Just sprays and sprays
Straight through your radio wavs
It plays and plays
Till it stays stuck in your head
For days and days
Who woulda thought standin in this mirror
Bleachin my hair wit some Peroxide
Reachin for a T shirt to wear
That I would catipult to the fore - front of rap like this
How can I predict my words
And have an impact like this
I musta struck a chord wit somebody up in the office
Cuz congress keeps tellin me
I aint causin nuttin but problems
And now they sayin im in trouble wit the government
Im lovin it
I shovelled shit all my life
And now im dumpin it on

White America!
Little Eric looks just like this
White America!
Erica loves my shit
I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
Verse 2
Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself, if they were brown Shady lose, Shady sits on the shelf
but Shady's cute, Shady knew Shady's dimples would help, make ladies swoon baby, ooh baby! Look at my sales
Lets do the math, If I was black I would've sold half, I ain't have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that
but I could rap, so fuck school, I'm too cool to go back, gimme the mic, show me where the fuckin' studio's at
When I was underground, no one gave a fuck I was white, no labels wanted to sign me almost gave up, I was like
Fuck it, until I met Dre, the only one to look past, gave me a chance, and I lit a fire up under his ass
helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he's got
Like damn, we just swapped. Sittin' back lookin' at shit, wow, I'm like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now?
Chorus (X2)
Verse 3
See the problem is I speak to suburban kids who otherwise would of never knew these words exist
whose moms probably woulda never gave two squirts of piss, till I created so much motherfuckin' turbulence
straight out the tube, right into your living room I came, and kids flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre
That's all it took, and they were instantly hooked right in, and they connected with me too because I looked like them
that's why they put my lyrics up under this microscope, searchin' with a fine tooth comb, its like this rope
waitin' to choke, tightening around my throat, watching me while I write this, like I don't like this (Nope)
All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working round the clock, to try to stop my concerts early
surely hip hop was never a problem in Harlem only in Boston, after it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom
so now I'm catchin' the flack from these activists when they raggin', actin' like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch, or say faggot
shit, just look at me like I'm your closest pal, the posterchild, the mother fuckin' spokesman now for...
Chorus (X2)
Outro
So to the parents of America
I am the derringer aimed at little Erica, to attack her character
The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns
Sent to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress
And piss on the lawns of the White House and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker
To spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of hypocrisy
Fuck you Ms. Cheney! Fuck you Tipper Gore! Fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarassment will allow me to have, Fuck you!
I'm just kiddin' America, you know I love you...

Pet Shop Boys "The Night I Fell In Love" from Release (2002)

I was backstage
couldn't believe my luck was in
I saw him approach
wearing a most approachable grin
When he said hello
I was surprised he spoke so politely
I said I'd liked his show
Well he just smiled
I guess it happens nightly
and so
I fell in love

We went to his room
he had a video camera
I was so nervous
I had to try hard not to stammer
He said
'I'm glad you liked the show
that crowd was dope out there tonight, alright
You wanna see some more?
Well be my guest
You can have a private performance'
I'd fallen in love

I didn't ask why
though he seemed like such a regular guy
he said we could be
secret lovers
just him and me
Then he joked
'Hey, man!
Your name isn't Stan, is it?
We should be together!'
And he was passionate
I guess I would rate
him a nine out of ten
by then
I'd fallen in love

When I asked
why have I heard so much
about him being charged
with homophobia and stuff
he just shrugged

Next morning we woke
he couldn't have been a nicer bloke
Over breakfast made jokes
about Dre and his homies and folks
Neither of us asked if or when
we would see each other again
but I thought that was cool
'cause I was already late for school
by then
I'd fallen in love

January 02, 2001

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today offered context and resources for journalists covering possible Jan. 3 Grammy Award nominations for Eminem's controversial release The Marshall Mathers LP. GLAAD appreciates the conflicts and complexities inherent in reporting on Eminem and his music. Eminem's music and production values have been acclaimed as artistic breakthroughs by many of the nation's music critics. Yet his lyrics advocating violence against lesbians and gay men send explicit messages that endorse hatred. Because Eminem's target audience is largely comprised of adolescent boys beginning to form their adult attitudes towards gays, lesbians and women in general, GLAAD believes it is important for journalists to discuss issues of lyrical and corporate responsibility when reporting on Eminem, especially if his work is recognized in the general categories (e.g., Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year). Here are some aspects of the controversy for consideration in your coverage:

The inseparability of Eminem's music and his violent, anti-social lyrics.
The refusal of Eminem, Interscope Records and Universal Music Group to take personal/corporate responsibility for the lyrical content of The Marshall Mathers LP.
The implications of general category Grammy nominations as a high-profile platform for Eminem's messages of violence.

For more information about Eminem (including additional album lyrics and interview excerpts), please visit GLAAD Online. If you have further questions, please contact GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Scott Seomin at (323) 634-2012, or via e-mail at seomin@glaad.org

EXCERPTS OF LYRICS FROM THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP

From the song "Killing":

"You faggots keep eggin me on
til I have you at knifepoint, then you beg me to stop?
SHUT UP! Give me your hands and feet
I said SHUT UP when I'm talkin to you
YOU HEAR ME? ANSWER ME!
Or I'ma kill you!"

From the song "Criminal":

"My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge
That'll stab you in the head
whether you're a fag or lez
Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest
Pants or dress - hate fags? The answer's 'yes'"

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.