Michael Render (aka "Killer Mike") is a Grammy-winning rapper and community activist, one half of the critically acclaimed duo Run the Jewels. Erik Nielson is assistant professor of liberal arts at the University of Richmond and co-editor of "The Hip Hop & Obama Reader" (Oxford UP, 2015). They recently co-authored an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in Bell v. Itawamba County School Board.

(CNN) If your child attended a school where male athletic coaches were accused of sexually harassing female students, would you want school administrators to investigate the allegations or punish the young man who made them public?

In an important case now before the U.S. Supreme Court -- Bell v. Itawamba County School Board -- a Mississippi high school decided to punish the young man for expressing his concerns in a rap song, in the process raising serious questions about students' First Amendment protections as well as broader questions about the role of race in determining when those protections apply.

The case dates back to December 2010, when several female students told a fellow student, aspiring rapper Taylor Bell, that two of their coaches were allegedly engaging in highly inappropriate sexual behavior -- allegations that the girls eventually affirmed in sworn affidavits.

Drawing on the long tradition of social protest in rap music, as well as the profane and violent rhetoric that is common to the genre, the song takes (metaphorical) aim at the coaches with phrases like "f***ing with the wrong one gon' get a pistol down your mouth (Boww!)"

Bell, who had a nearly spotless disciplinary history, recorded the song away from school during winter break, and he never played it or performed it on campus.

Nevertheless, school officials -- who, it should be noted, did not investigate or deny the allegations against the coaches -- eventually learned about the song and suspended Bell, forcing him to attend an "alternative" school for six weeks. During the disciplinary process, administrators never notified police. They never bothered to search Bell's locker.

Photos: Remembering '90s rap Dr. Dre, left, and Snoop Dogg were two of the hottest hip-hop stars of the 1990s. In August, Dre announced that he has a new album coming out. Here's a look back at some of the other stars of '90s rap. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap They really did make you wanna "jump, jump." From their backward clothes to their infectious hit single "Jump," the rap duo Kris Kross signified the fun that was 90s rap. Chris Kelly died of a drug overdose in May 2013. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Gang Starr was known for their prolific and profound lyrics. In 2010, founding member Guru, at right with DJ Doo Wop in 2005, died of cancer. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap "Here's a little story all about how ..." DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (whom you may know now as movie star Will Smith) kept us grooving with "Summertime." Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap He may want to be known as "Snoop Lion" now, but back in the day, Snoop Dogg played up the gangsta/pimp image. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Remember when A Tribe Called Quest left their wallet in El Segundo or fell in love with "Bonita Applebum"? Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Da Brat was a labelmate of Kris Kross on So So Def Records and became one of rap's top-selling female artists. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap They didn't have a long career in the rap world, but Digable Planets' "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" in 1993 helped introduce a generation to a fusion of jazz and hip-hop. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap We still love the Beastie Boys. MCA, aka Adam Yauch, died of cancer in 2012 Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Wreckx-n-Effect helped popularize New Jack Swing with their hit "Rump Shaker." Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth are best known for their hit "They Reminisce Over You," which paid tribute to the death of one of the members of Heavy D & The Boyz. Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Das EFX had heads bopping in the 1990s. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Heavy D, right, fronted Heavy D & the Boyz and was much beloved before his death in 2011. Here he performs with singer Tyrese at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Two words for you: "Wild Thing." Tone Loc's hit peaked in 1989, but we were still kind of jamming to it in the '90s. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap The Michael Bivins-produced group Another Bad Creation was viewed as an attempt to ride the wave of kid rappers like Kris Kross. Their album "Coolin' at the Playground" was released in 1991. Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin of Kid 'N Play had us all trying to do the kick step. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Remembering '90s rap New Jersey natives Naughty by Nature gave the world the ultimate in party jams and an ode to the genre with "Hip Hop Hooray." Hide Caption 17 of 17

And yet after Bell appealed his punishment, arguing that his song was being misrepresented, the School Board upheld his suspension on the grounds that he had "threatened, harassed, and intimidated" school employees. The School Board's misguided decision was later upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a divided opinion.

Now if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it has the chance to get things right.

As we argued in an amicus brief filed on Bell's behalf -- a brief that has drawn the support of numerous scholars and well-known rap artists alike -- Bell wasn't being punished for making threats against school employees, even if that was the school's justification. Instead, he was being punished for using the wrong art form, rap music, as his voice of protest.

Rap, which grew out of black and Latino communities that were facing urban decay at its worst, has been contentious, sometimes polarizing, for as long as it has existed. No doubt, this is in large part because of rappers' willingness to confront institutions of power and openly defy social conventions with language that is provocative, even offensive, to some.

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Bell certainly uses this type of language in his song, at times directing it at specific individuals, but in doing so he is following a long line of platinum-selling rappers -- including Ice Cube, Eminem, Nas and Jay Z -- who have built careers and made millions doing the same thing.

Throughout those careers, none of their fans ever believed that Ice Cube would kill former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, that Eminem would kill his wife, Kim, or that Nas and Jay Z would kill each other -- all claims the rappers made in their songs.

Likewise, we don't assume that Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King or Johnny Cash carry out the (sometimes extreme) violence depicted in their art -- because we acknowledge it as art.

But as we have noted before , rap is often denied that respect, particularly in the criminal justice system, where amateur rappers, almost always young men of color who lack the name recognition (and bank accounts) of their professional counterparts, are routinely prosecuted for their music, either because people believe that rap should be read literally or because they just don't like it.

The administrators at Itawamba Agricultural High School just didn't like it. Although they maintai n that the song was "disruptive and threatening," none of them acted as though the song were a real threat; even the Fifth Circuit denied that it rose to the level a "true threat" (a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment).

Instead, what's clear is that people were offended by Bell's brazen attempt to stand up for his fellow students. During Bell's hearing before the school's Disciplinary Committee, one committee member made the school's motivations clear , telling Bell, "Censor that stuff. Don't put all those bad words in it. ... The bad words ain't making it better."

This isn't the first time officials at Itawamba Agricultural High School have tried to silence and marginalize students they find offensive.

Now it's Taylor Bell's turn.