On September 25, 2020, Director john a. powell spoke at an online panel discussion with Professor Nadine Strossen on "Current Free Speech Challenges on Campus and Beyond," as part of the Campus Speech Battles Conference hosted by the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania. Director powell critiqued notions of free speech absolutism, discussed the importance of acknowledging the harm caused by speech, and introduced a framework for understanding speech as a social right. In light of recent events and the COVID-19 pandemic, Director powell discussed the chilling effect and unconstitutionality of the federal government's recent restrictions on critical race theory and anti-racist trainings, as well as the racialized and classed realities hindering equal participation in an increasingly online society.
