Journalist Jelani Cobb Visits Exeter, Talks About Free Speech
This past Tuesday, journalist, author and educator Jelani Cobb delivered an assembly in which he examined the concept of free speech and how the First Amendment is used in society. In the evening, he held a talk concerning equality, race relations and privilege in America.
Prior to becoming the IRA Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, Cobb was a professor of history and the director of African American Studies at the University of Connecticut. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 2015.
Cobb was invited to campus for the second time by The Exonian and his visit was funded by the Strickler Fund. “I personally was really excited to have him because I read some of his pieces in the New Yorker, and I really admire his work,” Editor-in-Chief Rose Horowitch said.
Cobb began his assembly by describing the laissez-faire approach America has taken to the First Amendment, meaning that one can exercise their right to freedom of speech without censorship. However, this also leads to the misuse of the First Amendment to advance “anti-democratic ideals.”
Such instances include the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville this summer and the mocking depictions of Islam in the satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo. Such controversial incidents call the morality of peopl’s right to free speech into question. However, Cobb advocated for the preservation of the First Amendment to maintain democracy. “There has been an unprecedented scale of assault on the First Amendment,” he said. “However, we need freedom of speech to avoid a scenario in which we develop an inflated sense of our own capacity and ideas.”
History Department Chair William Jordan thought Cobb’s speech applied to the polarized political environment at PEA. “I appreciated the idea that it’s important to allow different kinds of viewpoints to be heard, even ones we disagree with,” he said. “One of the problems we have here is that a majority of people here are liberal or moderate. We don’t have a lot of conservatives.”
Jordan emphasized Cobb’s point about how without opposing views, students aren’t able to strengthen their existing ones. “His analogy of the boxing was a great depiction; If you’re only hitting a bag, then you’re not becoming a good boxer,” he said. “You have to have a sparring partner.”
However, some students disagreed with this message. “I understand his point of view, but I also disagree. The misuse of the First Amendment can still hurt others and marginalize one group, especially concerning the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville,” lower Genesis Baez said. “People shouldn’t be targeted, even if it is in the name of freedom of speech.”
Cobb acknowledged these misuses, discouraging engagement with the people who have “ridiculous” arguments. He emphasized the importance of being informed when making claims, saying that “when you have an extraordinary claim, it must be backed up with extraordinary evidence.”
Students and faculty appreciated the content and delivery of Cobb’s message. “I learned a lot more about how to present a political argument that isn’t an attack,” lower Maureena Murphy said. “On campus it’s easy to create an argument that makes someone feel attacked. However, he presented his argument in a way that was more about the conversation than disagreeing.”
Baez appreciated Cobb’s personal backstory. “I found it inspiring that although his father and grandfather were boxers, he decided to take up a different career path and write,” Baez said. “I also appreciated how informative he was, because he was discussing the historical view of education, describing how his parents once went to segregated schools.”
“I appreciated that he spoke about the issue of free speech with some nuance,” Jordan said. “He recognized how you don’t understand your views fully until you have to defend them.”