History of Hate Speech and Group Libel Law

Starting in the 1940s and 50s, various American civil rights groups responded to the atrocities of World War II by advocating for restrictions on hateful speech targeting groups on the basis of race and religion. This program examines the evolution of group libel as a legal framework for addressing hate speech and its specific harms. Participants will analyze the 1952 Supreme Court case Beauharnais v. Illinois and the ideological shift toward individual rights in the 1960s. The curriculum also covers critical race theory critiques, specifically the work of Richard Delgado and the proposed implementation of tort law for responding to racist insults where traditional defamation frameworks fail.