Hundreds stopped by Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) tables on 9th Street in South Philadelphia on Wednesday for two things Philadelphia has generated lots of over the years: cheesesteaks and liberty.
FIRE, a Philadelphia-based institution since its founding in 1999, held the “Free Cheesesteaks for Free Speech” event as part of a larger $3.1-million pro-free-expression campaign featuring broadcast ads, billboards and digital promotions. The group initially focused on fighting speech restrictions on college campuses and recently broadened its mission to include other forums. It hopes the effort will raise awareness of ongoing battles to honor the text and the spirit of the First Amendment.
Those who came by the tables outside cheesesteak titans Pat’s and Geno’s received free steak sandwiches — 1,791 in total, commemorating the amendment’s 1791 ratification — and tee-shirts emblazoned with the message “Free Speech is fire [with graphics of flames in place of the word].” A Benjamin Franklin impersonator orated about the Constitution’s speech protections, and attendees got to speak with FIRE staffers about how they could get involved in the cause to uphold them.
“Everybody supports some kind of free speech, usually free speech for folks who they agree with or folks they support,” FIRE legal director Will Creeley said. “What we’re trying to do is remind everybody out there that free speech protects all of us, that the First Amendment protects everybody in the United States no matter your views, no matter your age, race, gender, sexual orientation, you name it — it protects all of us. And we’re trying to inspire folks to reclaim that fundamental American appreciation for freedom of speech and remind everybody that we’re here to protect your rights when they are threatened.”
Creeley was pleased with the reception his organization received.
“We were thrilled,” he said. “It seems like we had a good turnout…. I think a good time was had by all.
Residents of the Greater Delaware Valley are seeing and hearing advertisements amplifying this message all over their community. Over 100 billboards on highways declare “FREE SPEECH: MADE IN AMERICA. DEFENDED BY FIRE.” and “LOVE FREE SPEECH? JOIN FIRE,” among other remarks.
Another of the nonprofit’s promotions is a television spot featuring the rapper Ice-T as he recalls becoming the first-ever musical artist whose recordings were slapped with a “PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT CONTENT” sticker. Another video ad includes monologues from Philadelphians about why free speech matters to them. Other spots show human-rights activist Keshia Thomas and former Emerson College Student K.J. Lynum tell poignant stories of moments they stood up for freedom of conscience or expression.
FIRE has handled numerous high-profile cases in academia and elsewhere, including that of the University of Pennsylvania Law professor Amy Wax, who has spoken controversially about issues like affirmative action and immigration. The group has defended the tenured professor against efforts by her own institution’s administrators to punish or fire her.
While many who FIRE has aided are students or faculty who have offended campus leftists’ sensibilities, those defended by the group include individuals and associations of various political stripes. Creeley said FIRE’s is a cause people of free-speech lovers from many walks of life can partake in and suggests those who want to do so go to join.thefire.org to learn about the organization’s work.
He said major fronts in the free-expression battle now include state legislatures where some right-wing or left-wing lawmakers seek to restrict ideas or sentiments they consider “beyond the pale.”
“Free speech is a value that will always be challenging to those in power,” Creeley said. “It allows us to speak our minds even when others wish they wouldn’t.… For as long as there have been people, there have been people telling other people to shut up, so the idea that we can live next to each other even if we don’t agree about God, the government or just what the weather’s going to be like later and not kill each other over these things but instead trade ideas in a pluralistic democracy, that’s real progress but it only can be secured by continued vigilance.”
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
