To the Editor:

“Debate Over Free Speech Under Your Feet” (news article, Jan. 31), about the banning of the tradition of political chalking of campus sidewalks at Iowa State University during an election year, is unfortunately another sign of the times concerning increased restrictions on free speech and free expression.

One of the cornerstones of our constitutional democracy is the right to express oneself despite the content of the view, regardless of whether it’s disrespectful, offensive, politically incorrect or even wrong-minded.

Curtailing this right and undermining this fundamental principle erodes the essence of what makes America one of a kind.

Norman Siegel

New York

The writer is a civil rights lawyer.

How Racism Endures

To the Editor:

Re “‘Banking While Black’ Suit Claims a Large Deposit Resulted in a Call to the Police” (news article, Jan. 26):

The racist behavior of the bank employees, the police and their supervisors toward Sauntore Thomas, an African-American who was suspected of a crime because he wished to open an account with a “large” deposit, shows the deplorable beliefs of a large segment of the American population, now and throughout our history.