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A powerful debunking of First Amendment orthodoxy that critiques “reckless speech,” which endangers vulnerable groups, and elevates “fearless speech,” which seeks to advance equality and democracy.

Freedom of speech has never been more important—or more controversial. From debates about what’s permissible on social media, to the politics of campus speakers and corporate advertisements, the First Amendment is incessantly in the news and constantly being held up as the fundamental principle of American democracy. Yet, in reality, it has contributed more to eroding our democracy than supporting it.

In Fearless Speech, Dr. Mary Anne Franks emphasizes the distinction between what speech a democratic society should protect and what speech a democratic society should promote. While the First Amendment in theory is politically neutral, in practice it has been legally deployed most visibly and effectively to promote powerful antidemocratic interests: misogyny, racism, religious zealotry, and corporate self-interest, in other words, reckless speech. Instead, Franks argues, we need to focus on fearless speech—speakers who have risked their safety, their reputations, and in some cases their lives, to call out injustice and hold the powerful accountable. Whether it be civil rights leaders, the women of the #MeToo movement, or pro-choice advocates, Franks shows us how their cases and their voices can allow us to promote a more democratic version of free speech.

Told through an accessible narrative and ending with a call for change that urges us to reevaluate the legal precedents and uses of the First Amendment, Fearless Speech is a revelatory new argument that urges us to reimagine what our society could look like.

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“In this bold and bracing account, Mary Anne Franks urges Americans to distinguish the legal question of protected speech from what speech society should promote. Combining concrete policy reforms with inspiring stories of individuals who speak against abuses of power, Fearless Speech exhibits the courage and concern for the public good that it advocates.”

Martha Minow, author of Saving the News
“Opened my eyes to the deep importance of making sure everyone has a right to be heard, and how the First Amendment by itself may not be sufficient.”
Chicago Tribune, Best Books for Perspective on Our Political World
“This is an important and provocative book that challenges many traditional understandings about freedom of speech. Franks urges that we do more to encourage “fearless speech” – expression that is candid, courageous, addresses topics of significant public importance, and takes positions critical of existing power. ... Beautifully written and filled with powerful examples, this book deserves a wide audience and much discussion.”

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
"This compelling book challenges our reflexive celebration of the First Amendment’s nearly unbounded protections for speech in America. Franks argues forcefully that, too often, the reality of free speech is that the worst is empowered while the vital and courageous is overwhelmed and suppressed. With multiple stirring examples of the danger to democracy that this landscape presents, Franks leads us through an illuminating journey in which the blinders are removed, producing a clearer vision of the kind of moral and just society in which truth-seeking and transformative speech is central. Her focus on the power and impact of what she calls "fearless speech" offers an important, and inspiring, message for America.”

Lee Bollinger, President Emeritus of Columbia University
"A compelling case that any just assessment of free speech means thinking outside the frame of the First Amendment.”
Kirkus Review

On Sale: Oct 15, 2024
Page Count: 256 pages
Publisher: Bold Type Books
ISBN-13: 9781645030539

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Mary Anne Franks

About the Author

Dr. Mary Anne Franks is the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law at George Washington University School of Law and the President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. Her areas of expertise include First and Second Amendment law, law and technology, criminal law and procedure, and family law. Her first book, The Cult of the Constitution: Our Deadly Devotion to Guns and Free Speech (Stanford University Press 2019), won a 2020 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal and the 2020 Association of American Publishers PROSE Excellence Award in Social Sciences. She holds a DPhil from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a JD from Harvard Law School. Previously, she was the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the University of Miami School of Law, a Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School, and a Lecturer in social studies and philosophy at Harvard University. She is Taiwanese-American and originally from Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

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Mary Anne Franks

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