Serving the students and the University community since 1893.

10/29/2019, 9:10pm

Human Relations Commission panel sparks conversation about free speech

(From left) Ted Shaw, Mark Dorosin and Stephanie Perry-Terry speak at a panel.The Orange County Human Rights Commission held a panel on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough.

Amena Saad

BY Amena Saad

The Orange County Human Relations Commission held its 2019 annual community discussion on Monday night. This year, the conversation centered around what the Constitution says about citizens’ rights in times of protest and the understanding of American liberties.

The discussion featured three panelists: legal expert and UNC Law School professor Theodore Shaw, Orange County Commissioner Mark Dorosin and activist-entrepreneur Stephanie Perry-Terry. Allison Mahaley, vice chairperson of Hillsborough's Human Relations Commission, facilitated the discussion.

At the start of the event, all three speakers expressed their appreciation and respect for Julius L. Chambers, a well-known civil rights lawyer and former UNC Law School student. In addition to his activism, Chambers is known to have endured firebombings of his house, office and car throughout his fight against racial segregation.

In her opening remarks, Perry-Terry honored Chambers’ legacy by quoting his famous line, “Just keep fighting.” She went on to advocate for the importance of one’s freedom to speak their truth, asserting that to deny this right is to make way for inequity and injustice. As an activist, Perry-Terry has fought, and plans to continue fighting, for equality and change.

“It is my firm belief that we were not simply born to inherit and maintain the world that we awaken and find ourselves in," Perry-Terry said. "In fact, I believe it’s just the opposite. We are born to awaken to a world that we can consider on, reflect on, act on, and then improve on. We can do this in relationship with others to make a better (world) and ultimately to transform the world that we find ourselves in. When we do this individually and collectively, life feels more abundant and powerful, but when we don’t do this, life can be filled with drudgery, despair and powerlessness."

Editors Picks

Column: We just changed our social media policy. Here’s why.

Heel Talk episode 12: Faculty and staff petition UNC against return to campus

Column: Six places on campus you need to know about as an incoming student

Dorosin argued that conversations surrounding the First Amendment today point out an issue of context.

“Often when lawyers and academics talk about the First Amendment, it’s in a very abstract way, and it really is, regrettably, divorced from the experience of people that are on the ground, particularly of people who have a legacy of being marginalized,” Dorosin said.

He later expands on the importance of analyzing the First Amendment in the context of what’s going on in our community, specifically the rise of the alt-right and issues surrounding the confederate flag. Dorosin quoted former Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who once said “a page in history is worth a volume of logic.”

Alex Chantilas, a sophomore at UNC studying public policy and environmental studies, said he believes student engagement in community initiatives like this one is crucial to enacting meaningful change.

“Being a student at UNC doesn’t mean that we can detach ourselves from the issues in our community," Chantilas said. "What Ms. Perry-Terry said about creating spaces for dialogue really resonated with me, and I agree that we can be doing a lot better to build a community of empathy, understanding and collective activism, even in the face of disagreement.”

Mahaley encouraged crowd participation toward the end of the event, and a community member asked panelists for specific examples on how to dismantle the segregation that exists within our communities. Dorosin responded by referencing the activism exhibited by the Roger’s Road community in Orange County, and the organizing they did to remove a landfill that had been placed within their community.

“We have to hold elected officials accountable, and we cannot allow them to say these policies are facially neutral or not explicitly segregatory,” Dorosin said.

@amena_saad5

city@dailytarheel.com