Penny Stamps Speaker Series

Oct. 5, 2018

An Oct. 4 lecture in the Penny Stamps Speaker Series was about artist Emory Douglas’ lifetime body of work, the history of the Black Panther Party and the early days of black voting rights.

Douglas covered a wide array of subject matter within the overarching context of his work, which looks at the oppression of people across the globe by governmental powers.

This lecture is part of the Penny Stamps Speaker Series through the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design.

The Israeli leader’s image in question was on a single slide among nearly 200 other slides not related to Israel that were presented over the course of an hour. Douglas’ work is critical of a wide range of world leaders, including several U.S. presidents. The video of the talk may shed more light on his message.

Here is the description from the Stamps website.

The Stamps program is intentionally provocative and the school is clear with students about this. The school does not control or censor what speakers present.

Part of the introduction to this series includes this:

The menu of speakers is diverse and dynamic and we do not control or censor what they say.
You may find that you discover even more about yourself and the world around you from that which you debate or those with whom you find conflict in view.
Discovering what you do not agree with will help you find your voice as much or more perhaps than the things you find resonance with.

Undergraduates receive academic credit (1 credit) for attending 11 of 14 scheduled Stamps events this year.

Students are able to select which events to attend.

Our Statement on Freedom of Speech is excerpted here:

Freedom of speech, for both invited speakers and community members, is a bedrock principle of our academic community.

We follow content-neutral procedures for speakers. There are instances where some or many members of our community may find a speaker or the content of their speech reprehensible or hateful. A speaker’s appearance on our campus does not imply any endorsement.

By protecting the constitutional right to free speech and expression for those we disagree with, we are protecting our own right to express that disagreement. If our laws and practices allowed us to prevent objectionable speech, the very groups that today are exercising their own speech rights to protest against such a speaker, might have those rights threatened in the future.

Full Statement on Freedom of Speech