“My View,” Dr. Lucien Lombardo, Letter to the Editor, The Citizen Newspaper, published August 14, 2020
Dr. Lucien Lombardo speaks at the Harriet Tubman Center for Justice & Peace, Inc. sponsored Town Hall Community Meeting held on June 27, 2020 at the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn, NY (Photo credit: Lisa Brennan, HTCJP Board Secretary)
In a letter published July 30, 2020, Andrew Dennison asks: “Where was my free-speech last month?” Legislator Dennison should look in the June 26 edition of the newspaper. His free speech rights were recognized and his views about racism were published for all to read.
Once his First Amendment rights were respected, Mr. Dennison must have understood that people would react to his words. Given his position as a county legislator (or as a private citizen) this must be why he wrote. We believe what rankled Mr. Dennison was that those who responded to his words (many whose voices were not heard in the past because they did not look like Mr. Dennison, i.e., people who experience lives as Black people) were able to make their voices heard in the legislative meeting and in the newspaper.
Many who responded to Mr. Dennison’s words in a critical way did look like Mr. Dennison (were white) but these Mr. Dennison dismisses as "left-leaning," "Democrats" (not people like him).
In essence, people (whether Black or white) speaking up against what they perceive as "racist" statements (rather than tacitly accepting them) is the problem Mr. Dennison is really addressing — not First Amendment rights.
Mr. Dennison should recognize by now that voices of people who do not look like him will be speaking their truths whether he likes it or not! Their voices will matter! He can listen and learn, just as those who disagree with him should listen to and learn from him. They did this when the Cayuga County Legislature (or "Democrats" as Mr. Dennison says) “pushed a diversity resolution” in July of 2019.
The First Amendment says, “Congress shall Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Mr. Dennison’s right to free speech was not restricted in any way. In fact, Mr. Dennison seeks to restrict free speech by his veiled threats to sue The Citizen and two prominent people of color in the community, whom he singles out by name (even though a wide range of people, Black and white, spoke out against his previous letter).
Listening to and learning from diverse voices and experiences can make us uncomfortable and make life more complicated, but it is what makes our community fairer and more just for all.
Lucien Lombardo
Auburn
Lucien Lombardo is a board member and past chair of Harriet Tubman Center for Justice and Peace.