Trial Between Oberlin College and a Local Bakery Tackles First Amendment Questions

On the Friday after Donald Trump’s 2016 election win, Oberlin College’s (OH) administration sent an email to students and faculty addressing anticipated reactions to the victory.  The email, signed by Oberlin President Marvin Krislov and Meredith Raimondo, the college’s vice president and dean of students, acknowledged “fears and concerns that many are feeling in response to the outcome of the presidential election.” The school’s email additionally included concern about the arrest three African American students.  Some students instantly determined that the arrest was racist. They began protesting that the store, Gibson’s Food Market and Bakery, was a “racist establishment” and had a “long account of racial profiling”—accusations printed on a flyer handed out in front of the food market. The protest against Gibson’s, a century-old, family business, eventually sparked a lawsuit that is scheduled to go to trial with jury selection beginning next week.