Hilde Lysiak, the 15-year-old former publisher of the Orange Street News, celebrated the power of the freedom of the press during a speech accepting the RTDNA Foundation’s 2023 First Amendment Award.
“If history teaches us anything, it is that the vacuum left in the wake of silence will always be filled by those in power at the expense of those who are not,” Lysiak said.
Lysiak said when she was younger, she viewed the First Amendment as a shield that could protect her as she sought to report the truth. Now, she has a different appreciation for it.
“If we as a people don't have the right to say what we believe or report what we see, then we can't truly call ourselves free,” she said.
Watch her full speech below.
(Photo: Chorus Photography)