FIRE kicks off $1M+ Nashville campaign with free hot chicken for free speech

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 10, 2023 – The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression will kick off a new $1.4 million Nashville free speech campaign by giving away 1,791 free “hot mess” chicken sandwiches at Big Shake’s Hot Chicken on Wednesday, July 12 at 11 am CT. 

The “Free Hot Chicken for Free Speech” event celebrates the 1791 passage of the First Amendment and is part of FIRE’s larger expansion into Nashville to raise awareness and support for free speech.

The city-wide campaign will include more than $500K in pro-free speech TV advertisements airing on WKRN-TV, WZTV-TV, WSMV-TV, WTVF-TV, and streaming platforms. FIRE will also have radio ads on nine stations and 40 billboards up across the city. All billboards can be found on this map. 

The video spots will run from July 10 to August 6. They include an ad featuring Daryl Davis, whose story is a testament to free speech. A professional blues musician, Daryl has spent decades traveling the country convincing Klan members and other extremists to renounce their bigotry — through conversation. You’re free to use this ad in your reporting, with credit to FIRE.

And we will run ads featuring the powerful story of KJ Lynum, who fought to resist censorship on campus, as well as a spot called “Free Speech Around the World.”

“We’re pouring ourselves a cup of ambition and doing for free speech what Nashville’s already done for country music — grow it, promote it, and spread it far and wide,” said Daniel Burnett, FIRE’s senior director of communications. “Nashville’s incredible music and arts scene is a living example of freedom of speech in action. This city models for the rest of the country — and the world — what it means to create a vibrant culture of free expression and live it out every day.”

For questions, interview requests, or to RSVP to the event, please contact Tony Franquiz at 443-243-6366 or franquiz@longwellpartners.com. 

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.