By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate

It’s easy for a lover of the arts to find something to enjoy in our Creative Capital. Providence’s theaters, galleries, studios, and concert halls offer great shows, exhibits, and music, and often times its streets, sidewalks, and parks do, too.

One musician who has taken to Providence’s sidewalks is Manuel Pombo. A 62-year-old former factory worker and laborer, Mr. Pombo plays his saxophone for the love of it and for the unsolicited donations that help him make ends meet. Unfortunately, Mr. Pombo has been threatened with arrest many times over the past two decades and was once arrested for playing his saxophone on public sidewalks and street corners. Mr. Pombo, like anybody else, should be able to exercise his free speech rights on the city’s sidewalks without interference. That’s why we’ve filed suit against the City of Providence seeking a court order allowing Pombo to exercise his right “to perform on public property, free from harassment or orders to move by police,” and declaring the “existing permitting and enforcement policies and practices” to be “in violation of established interpretation of the First Amendment.”

Even if you’re not a fan of the sax, it’s clear that busking, or playing music publicly for money, has a long history and is clearly part of a person’s First Amendment right. As one of our volunteer attorneys pointed out: “Mr. Pombo has Benjamin Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Sting as models.  If busking was good enough for Benjamin Franklin, it should be good enough for Providence.”

It should come as no surprised that it’s not just music that we’re working to protect. The ACLU has taken on a number of cases to protect free speech rights in Rhode Island. Recently, we have:

You can read about the many other free speech cases we've taken over the years here. Be sure you know your free speech rights by reading our pamphlet on protesting