Suzanne Nossel

Suzanne Nossel is CEO of PEN America. She was formerly executive director of Amnesty International USA and deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations at the State Department.

Articles by this author

In 2014, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign community rallied in support of Professor Stephen Salaita, who was terminated from his tenured faculty position for criticizing Israel on social media. (Photo: Jeffrey Putney/flickr/cc) Views
Wednesday, August 05, 2020
The Censorship of 'Cancel Culture' May Ultimately Be Most Dangerous for Social Justice Champions
Since President Donald Trump came to office, he has let loose a torrent of bigotry through his attacks on immigrants, minorities and women. It’s no surprise that his noxious rhetoric has fed the urgency of citizen-led efforts to banish hate. The #MeToo movement, mounting popular opposition to...
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The Constitution’s guarantee of free speech isn’t limited to speech we agree with. (Photo: Getty Images) Views
Friday, June 19, 2020
Those Who Exercise Free Speech Should Also Defend It—Even When It's Offensive
Protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd and systemic racism have been boisterous, righteous assertions of the constitutional liberties of free assembly, expression and speech — even as police have too often breached those rights. Yet as a wider precept, free speech is losing ground. As...
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Detained Myanmar journalist Kyaw Soe Oo carrying his daughter is escorted by police for his ongoing trial at a court in Yangon on June 12, 2018. (Photo: CNN) Views
Friday, May 03, 2019
The Alarming Assault on the Free Press
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo , Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists who had worked for Reuters and exposed the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys, recently received word that their final appeal had been denied by Myanmar's Supreme Court. his means that the two reporters -- both fathers of children...
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