Past Events
First Amendment Days Celebrations
2020 – Celebrated on social media due to COVID-19
2017 – “Be Heard”
- Keynote: Glenn Smith, “Shining a Light in Darkness: The Vital Role of the First Amendment in Community Journalism”
- Events: Freedom Sings, Depth and Dialogue sessions, Democalypse March, Feast on the First
2016
- Keynote: Steve Thomma, “The Press, the Presidency and the Campaign”
- Events: Feast on the First, Democalypse March
2015
- Keynote: Gene Policinksi, “The First Amendment in the 21st Century”
- Events: Feast on the First, Caucus Cup Debate
2014
- Keynote: Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Civil Rights Pioneer: Iowa’s History of Advancing Justice for All Iowans
- Events: Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Government Spying: Threats to Privacy and Your Rights Online
2013
- Keynote: Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center
- Events: Caucus Cup Debate, Poetry Slam, Freedom of Art Panel
2012
- Keynote: Ken Paulson, “Re-booting America: News for a New Generation”
- Events: Caucus Cup, Poetry Slam, Freedom Sings, Freedom March, Greenlee Orientation, Feast on the First, Occupy 101: a Beginners Guide to Protests
2011
- Keynote: Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center
- Events: Caucus Cup Debate, Poetry Slam, ArtWalk, Depth and Dialogue Sessions
2010
- Keynote: Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune investigative reporter, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Events: Poetry Slam, Panelist Sessions, Depth and Dialogue Sessions
2009
- Keynote: Odell McGhee, Polk Country District Judge
- Events: Freedom March, Depth and Dialogue Sessions
2008
- Keynote: David Satter, “Russia after the Presidential Elections: Is There Hope for Democracy?”
- Events: Discussion titled, “Post Traumatic ‘Press’ Syndrome and the State of the Media,” Freedom March, Feast on the First, “The First Amendment in a Post-9/11 World”
2007
- Keynote: Helen Thomas, Former White House Bureau Chief, now a columnist for Hearst
- Events: The Five Freedoms March, Depth and Dialogue Sessions, Speaking Freely: The Future of Talk, Satire and the First Amendment
2006
- Keynote: Bill Israel, “Stealing Reality: The Rise of the Right, the Fracture of News and Lessons Learned from Karl Rove”
- Reza Aslan, “Political Cartoons, Cultural Sensitivity and the First Amendment”
- Events: Freedoms March, Feast on the First, Creating Creative First Amendment Events
2005
- Keynote: Gene Policinski, Judith Krug, Michael Kent Curtis, “The First Amendment: Past, Present, and Future”
- Events: Freedom of Expression in an Age of Fear, Guinness Book of World Records, Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher to Atheist, A Religious Feast on the First Amendment, 100 years of Journalism Serving Iowa & the World, Petition- The Forgotten Freedom, Feast on the First
2004
- Keynote: Terry Anderson, Ann Cooper, Larry Heinzerling, “Attacks on the Press – Not Just Abroad”
- Events: Feast on the First
2003 – “Freedom Sings”
- Events: Performance by Freedom Sings, Feast on the First