Reflecting on the "Keynote Lunch" with Sharon Bramlett-Solomon and Joe Russomanno's session on the First Amendment reminded me of an article that I shared with my regular English classes when I was teaching Huck Finn a couple of years ago. I use Countee Cullen's "Incident" and a lecture on the history of the n-word but this seemed like a great story to debate and I remember rich discussions. Basically, journalists at Jezebel contacted the schools of teens who were tweeting racist comments after Obama's reelection.
I remember that the journalists and publication took some flak for this and even now that I have learned about ethics in journalism I still don't know what to think. I can't tell if this is journalism, public shaming, or vigilante justice, but I must say, I love it! Just like how I felt when learning the sad details of the Westboro Church and that horrible Facebook guy, seeing the First Amendment used as a safeguard for vitriol angers me and I want to pursue social justice.
I will encourage my students to see how much empowerment the role of journalism provides and how important the First Amendment is.
Steve Whitman
Geneva High School
Geneva, Illinois
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