Free-speech activist, public speaker, recording artist and author Simon Tam will be leading a lecture for the 17th annual First Amendment Days.

Tam’s lecture will take place in Tuesday, April 9 at 8:15 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Memorial Union. “A Name Worth Fighting For: How Being Asian Got Me in Trouble” will discuss Tam’s experience with racism, life as a musician and the legal battle over the band’s name, and will be followed by a live musical performance. The musician will also be speaking in a few classrooms across Iowa State’s campus. 

In 2004, Tam formed a dance-rock band of all Asian-Americans after leaving his previous group “The Stivs.” When coming up with a name for his new band he decided to turn something negative into a positive, while also using a double-entendre to alter his listeners opinions. Eventually he decided to name the group “The Slants,” playing on racial stereotypes. In 2009 Tam attempted to patent the name “The Slants” but was rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Tam refused to settle and conform to the foggy legal scripts preventing him and his band from exercising their right to free speech. Tam and his legal team decided to take legal action and the case, Matal v. Tam, took about a decade to conclude. Unfortunately for Tam and his group, the case proved to be a great distraction from the musical process.

“At times, I had to walk away from being a full-time musician, so I could pick up additional jobs to pay for legal cost,” Tam said.”It meant using energy and focus on fighting the government instead of creative expression.”

Even with an enormous amount of support from the Asian-American community, the case mostly fell on deaf ears. It wasn’t until Tam’s team began to dissect certain inconsistencies between what the government was telling them and what was stated in the United States Constitution that the case was take seriously. In 2017 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Tam’s favor, concluding the case.

He has since continued to support various first-amendment related causes and continues to be an avid activist for free speech. He has also done Ted Talks in reference to the cause and his own experiences, he has also become an author. His book, “Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court” about the specifics of his case, will release April 30.

In an interview Tam offered a little bit of insight on his case, saying he viewed the case on more of a “moment-to-moment” basis as opposed to seeing it as this huge mountain to climb. Tams’ story is one of struggle and resilience, his message is rooted in the necessity of power and securing an identity.