Name: Juno Walker
Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Freedom of the Press
Date of Fieldwork: December 18, 2018
Name of Organization: Civil Rights Attorney
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Andrea Taetle
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did:
We interviewed Andrea Taetle, A civil rights attorney. She showed us a documentary that covers a story where James Risen (a New York Times journalist) released government secrets to the press which then led to him going to court with the government. The film covers whistleblowers and the difference between letting the people know the things the government does in secret and committing treason.
What I learned:
I learned a lot about the case involving James Risen and the NSA. The NSA had recorded phone calls of citizens after the 9/11. It started with the fear that there could be people in the country being connected to al Qaeda and causing another terrorist attack. James Risen found this out from someone in the government and published it. We learned about how hysteria caused by tragedies can cause the government to ignore laws put in place. We also learned a little more about propaganda and how there are many people who use it to claim things are false and lead the public into believing lies.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
I learned more about the Espionage Act and how it connects to the First Amendment. While the First Amendment gives freedom of the Press, and even though the citizens have the right to know, the government doesn’t want this information to be available to potential enemies of the country, and sometimes leaking these government secrets can border on treason.
