Hate speech is an age-old weapon against cultural minorities and political dissidents meant to intimidate and push them out of public discourse.  And free speech is an age-old American principle which says that those same minorities and dissidents have a right to express their viewpoints, even if such viewpoints clash with conventional opinions or social norms.  Although it is enshrined in the First Amendment, respect for free speech has never been guaranteed in American history, particularly for those that challenge the status quo.  That is why advocates for civil rights in the past have fought for the right to be heard, whether they were members of the ACLU or the countless grass-roots movements scattered throughout the past and the present.  As defenders of civil and human rights more broadly, they encountered and understood the evils of hate speech in their efforts to make the world a more just and equitable place, and they equally understood the importance of defending First Amendment principles as a means of protecting -- and projecting -- their own speech.