Freedom of speech is under serious threat in the west, primarily in the US with policies and regulations infringing on this core value in democratic societies. Universities form policy in order to silence opinions they find contradictory to their values, causing students and teachers alike to risk academic punishment for statements which normally would be guarded within the First Amendment. The central argument behind these infringments are individuals subjective feelings towards, as one may put it, controversial opinions. The aim of this study is through an argument analysis, illustrate the values of freedom of speech in contrast to the demands of primarily minority groups and their advocates, using respectable philosophers and scientists such as John Stuart Mill to answer the question if infringements are applicable in democracies. The conclusions drawn in this essay based on all relevant arguments concludes the answer to be no; a democracy should not infringe on the freedom of speech to safeguard individuals from negative emotional reactions as a result of any legal speech.

Equality in educational access has long been an area of concern for U.S. educators, policy makers, and advocates. Congress issued a mandate in 1969 to identify the needs of gifted students and to ensure that those needs were being met. However, the needs of gifted minority students were not specifically addressed. Little is known about how African American mothers are affected by the demands of raising and advocating for their gifted child. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of African American mothers raising gifted children. The theory of womanism was used to explore the experiential anecdotes offered by the participants and to guide in analysis of developing themes. In addition, critical race theory was used to further examine the narratives offered by the participant mothers. Nine African American mothers whose children were identified as academically and intellectually gifted participated in interviews; analysis of data included use of the hermeneutic circle and resulted in the identification of 4 essential themes and 8 subthemes. Subthemes, that seemed particularly meaningful to participants, included othermothering, exasperation, resilience, and the Black male experience. Findings highlight the mothers'€™ resilience when dealing with instances of microaggressions and microinsults. Additionally, findings elucidated their desire to see every child succeed through othermothering behaviors. Implications for positive social change include contributing to the body of knowledge regarding the needs and challenges affecting African American mothers raising gifted children.