1978 July 9

Nazis Skip Skokie – Demonstrate in Chicago Instead

 

A rag-tag American Nazi group had waged a nearly two-year legal battle to win the right to hold a demonstration in the predominantly Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois. Represented by the Illinois ACLU, they finally won in an important decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, but on this day chose not to appear in Skokie and instead staged a short demonstration in Marquette Park in Chicago, where they were surrounded by protesters.

A national controversy over hate speech erupted when on October 4, 1976 National Socialist Party, led by Frank Collin, sought a permit for a demonstration in Skokie, Illinois, a heavily Jewish community. When their request was denied, the Illinois ACLU agreed to take the case. After a protracted legal fight arising from attempts by the Village of Skokie to prevent the demonstration, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, on May 22, 1978, upheld the Nazi’s First Amendment rights to a demonstration permit. (The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, leaving the Seventh Circuit decision standing.)

When the Illinois ACLU agreed to represent the Nazi group, a controversy erupted within the national ACLU and many members resigned from the organization. When the Illinois ACLU and the ACLU national office issued an explanation of the fundamental free speech issues in the case and asked for a financial contribution a substantial number of new members joined the ACLU and a considerable number of contributions were made.

The issue of the free speech rights of Nazis first arose in the 1930s, following the rise of Hitler in Germany and the resulting spread of pro-Nazi militaristic groups in the U.S. The ACLU Board of Directors confronted the issue and, on April 30, 1934, developed a police holding that the First Amendment did protect the First Amendment rights of Nazi groups. On December 5, 1941, the New Jersey Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a state “race hate” law directed at Nazi groups.

Read: Philippa Strum, When the Nazis Came to Skokie: Freedom for the Speech We Hate (1999)

Watch then-ACLU Diretor Aryeh Neier discuss the Skokie controversy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhsF8uouU6c

Read: Samuel Walker, Hate Speech: The History of an American Controversy (1994)

Learn more at a timeline on the Skokie free speech controversy: http://www.skokiehistory.info/chrono/nazis.html

Find original documents on the Skokie affair at the Illinois Digital Archives: http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/skokiepo001

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