Historical SLAPPs: NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.

By: Lauren Smith

In the preservation of free speech and petition rights, multiple suits have paved the way. NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. is one of those cases. In 1982, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states cannot prohibit the peaceful protest of a political boycott. This ruling followed after a coalition of Black Mississippi citizens launched two boycotts against white businesses in the area. In response, the boycotted merchants filed a lawsuit in Mississippi state court.  Despite not being labeled as such at the time, this suit was a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. 

Under the First Amendment, citizens are entitled to “free speech” and “petitioning” activities. Unfortunately, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPS) undermine these activities by staging years-long court battles that drain defendant resources and time.

The case began in March 1966 when a coalition of Black citizens proposed a targeted list of racial equality demands to the elected officials of Claiborne County, Mississippi. The demands were refused. [1] As a result, the NAACP voted to begin a boycott against white businesses in the area. [2] The boycott was temporarily lifted in 1967 when the first black police officer was employed. [3] The boycott was reinstated, however, after two Claiborne County police officers killed Roosevelt Jackson, a young black man. [4]. Black citizens who entered businesses faced consequences, such as having their car tires slashed and having their names published in a local newspaper. [5] Yet, no violence was ever exacted on the boycotted businesses and merchants.  

In 1969, the boycotted merchants sued the NAACP, Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP) and 146 other individuals. [6] Charges included malicious interference with a plaintiff’s business, a violation of a Mississippi boycott statute, and violation of the state antitrust statute. [7] This action was in direct retaliation against the peaceful boycotts of local-area businesses. Lower state courts, and the Supreme Court of Mississippi, held that the boycott was unlawful. [8]

After 11 years of court abuse, the case finally reached the United States Supreme Court in 1982. The Court reversed previous rulings, and held that the boycott activities, as they related to merchants, were nonviolent and thus protected by the First Amendment. [9] The Court further held that the defendants were not “liable for damages resulting from the consequences of their nonviolent protected activity.”

For more on NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., click here.

[1] NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.