'It belongs to you': Inaugural First Amendment Festival unites freedom, fun

The five freedoms of the First Amendment — religion, speech, press, assembly and petition — were on full display Saturday in the rolling hills of Union City, as crowds assembled to enjoy the inaugural First Amendment Festival at Discovery Park of America.

The festival, created by a partnership between the Discovery Park and the Freedom Forum, marked the first of its kind for the nation and provided both celebration and education for one of America’s most important parts of the Bill of Rights.

“If we can’t talk, we can’t do much of anything,” said attendee Kevin Jennings, standing beside a life-size cut-out of Ida B. Wells in the "First Amendment Walk of Fame" trail.

“I support our country — and (the First Amendment) was part of its founding. We can live how we want, talk how we want, worship how we want. That’s what makes our country free. That’s the whole definition of freedom.”

The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.

Events like the First Amendment scavenger hunt, which encouraged children to follow an elaborate hunt for the freedoms in the amendment, as well as a video booth, trivia games and a public art installation allowed attendees to exercise their creativity — and their walking shoes — in their appreciation of their freedoms.

“This is our first time being here,” said Rosie Fuller, as she climbed the stairs of Liberty Hall to watch the First Amendment Film Festival “We’re so excited to come see this. What an important thing to celebrate and learn about.”

Baier says it's important to have differing opinions

Following the scheduled activities that were set amongst Discovery Park’s many interactive history exhibits, attendees gathered to hear from the event’s guest speaker—longtime Fox News anchor and journalist Bret Baier, who spoke about his career and the First Amendment’s impact on his life.

“Having debates that differ in opinion — why is that so hard,” Baier said, discussing the dual importance of freely speaking and freely listening. “I think it’s really important to have people come together from different points of view, and to talk about things, and to listen first. Listen to each other first, even if you disagree.”

Baier also expressed how vital it is that citizens “own” their rights.

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“(The First Amendment is important to understand) because it’s theirs — not anyone else’s,” he said. “Oftentimes we talk about these big-picture things, and it's always somebody else, somewhere else. But this is yours. You own it. You have the freedom to express yourself with speech. You own the freedom of religion, whatever you want to practice. If you’re a member of the press, you have that right. You have the right to assembly and to petition the government on your own behalf.

“So the beauty of the First Amendment is that it’s yours—it’s no one else’s. And once you come to that ownership, there’s a lot of power in that. There’s a lot of power in knowing you can determine your own future.”

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, also attended the event.

“It is so important for our citizens to realize how vital the First Amendment is, and for them to treasure that,” she said. “I’m delighted that Discovery Park is doing this, and partnering with the Freedom Forum and putting the emphasis on— and giving people a moment to pause and think on — how important their freedoms are and how important a robust, bipartisan debate is.”

The event wrapped up with a performance from the Gatlin Brothers, drawing the curtains on an event that Freedom Forum Chair and CEO Jan Neuharth said she “hopes to repeat.”

The Tennessean’s First Amendment reporter is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 731-343-5212, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham. 

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Inaugural First Amendment Festival brings together freedom and fun