Bonus: Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans | America's Unwritten Constitution

When Texas refused a Confederate flag license plate, was it censoring a citizen or just choosing its own words? A Yale TA breaks down the free speech case Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans. This bonus lesson walks through the two questions before the Supreme Court: whether a specialty license plate is government speech or private speech, and, if private, whether Texas engaged in viewpoint discrimination by rejecting the design. The TA lays out both sides' arguments, distinguishes the plate from a public monument, and flags an apparent inconsistency in Texas's position, then leaves viewers with questions to debate. Chapters: 00:00 The parties and the license plate 02:26 Free speech and incorporation 03:17 Government speech or private speech 04:27 Texas's case for government speech 06:22 SCV's case for private speech 08:42 The viewpoint discrimination test 11:26 Inconsistencies in Texas's arguments 📚 Learning objectives: After watching, you'll be able to: - Distinguish government speech from private speech - Explain why that distinction changes the applicable free speech standard - Describe the doctrine of viewpoint discrimination - Evaluate the competing arguments in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans 📺 Watch the full playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLABHWcbOLwlY 🎓 Enroll on Coursera for assessments and a certificate: https://www.coursera.org/learn/unwritten-constitution 🌐 Explore more learning opportunities on Yale Online: https://online.yale.edu/courses/americas-unwritten-constitution