Richard Salem, a former U.S. Community Relations Service federal mediator known for his role in mediating a potentially violent confrontation between a group of neo-Nazis and American Survivors of the Holocaust in 1976, will speak at the University Wednes day about his experiences and the issues they raised.
Salem’s speech will address the topic, “Should We Mediate with Neo-Nazis?”
The University law school’s Appropriate Dispute Resolution program (ADR) is sponsoring the free event in an effort to explore alternate ways for communities to handle group conflicts.
“These issues come up a lot in terms of hate speech,” said Lisa Kloppenberg, director of the ADR.
The 1976 dispute began when Frank Collin, the leader of the neo-Nazi National So cialist Party of America, was denied the right to protest in a Chicago park without a $350,000 bond. The group decided to relocate its demonstration to the small town of Skokie, Ill., causing distress among the thousands of Holocaust survivors living in t he community. The village of Skokie contacted the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice, which assigned Salem and Werner Petterson to mediate the dispute.
“I think the ‘Skokie-neo-Nazi Conflict’ was special because it attracte d worldwide attention, raising issues that people discussed over the next several years,” Salem said.
The conflict reached the Supreme Court in 1978, when the court ruled that requiring a bond interfered with the neo-Nazis’ constitutional right to fr eedom of speech. Just days before the demonstration, Salem persuaded the group to conduct its rally at a free speech plaza in Chicago, thus avoiding a potentially violent situation. Conflicts over free speech “force us to examine our community and diversi ty and how to handle them,” Salem said.
The rights of both groups involved had to be considered because of the clash between free speech and personal rights.
Jane Gordon, assistant dean at the Knight Law Center, said, “What we can learn from him [Salem] raises a lot of critical questions concerning how we approach the community.”
Salem will address the events of the Skokie-neo-Nazi Conflict and the issues it raised. The speech will cover whether conflicts should be mediated and whether demonstrations should be banned when there is potential for physical or emotional harm. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Room 175 of the Knight Law Center.?