Acacia O'Connor

About Acacia O'Connor

Acacia works on youth free expression issues at NCAC and is coordinator of the Kids' Right to Read Project. Her work at NCAC combines many of her passions, including but not limited to: literature, libraries, language and freedom of speech. Also an Italian translator, Acacia received her Master's degree in Literary Translation Studies from the University of Rochester. Prior to pursuing her MA, she spent a year in Southern Italy teaching English literature and American culture through a Fulbright fellowship. She received her BA from Vassar College with a double major in English and Italian.

On the 6th Day of Censorship the Censors Gave to Me… Nude Adults Laying

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:29-05:00December 10th, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship Years of Censorship Battles 120 Days of Sodom Egyptian Breasts Milking Nude Ladies Dancing Lords Banned for Witchcraft Bush Monkeys Swimming Nude Adults laying A golden chastity key Aristophanes‘ The Birds Catholic French outrage, a Clear Channel Dove and no art in Newark library A school administration in South Dakota pulled an entire set of encyclopedias off library shelves after discovering [...]

On the Fifth Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me…A Golden Chastity Key

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:27-05:00December 7th, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship Years of Censorship Battles 120 Days of Sodom Egyptian Breasts Milking Nude Ladies Dancing Lords Banned for Witchcraft Bush Monkeys Swimming Nude Adults laying A golden chastity key Aristophanes‘ The Birds Catholic French outrage, a Clear Channel Dove and no art in Newark library Joy Crane's chastity belt sculpture was too risque for the "family-friendly" Brookings Art Council Annual Juried Art Exhibit in [...]

On the Fourth Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me…

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:25-05:00December 6th, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship Years of Censorship Battles 120 Days of Sodom Egyptian Breasts Milking Nude Ladies Dancing Lords Banned for Witchcraft Bush Monkeys Swimming Nude Adults laying A golden chastity key Aristophanes‘ The Birds Catholic French outrage, a Clear Channel Dove and no art in Newark library Aristophanes? You mean the Greek playwright? If he was censored, it was, like, forever ago. Right? The Censorship [...]

On the Third Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me…

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:22-05:00December 5th, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship Years of Censorship Battles 120 Days of Sodom Egyptian Breasts Milking Nude Ladies Dancing Lords Banned for Witchcraft Bush Monkeys Swimming Nude Adults laying A golden chastity key Aristophanes‘ The Birds Catholic French outrage, a Clear Channel Dove and no art in Newark library An ad for Girbaud jeans in France sparked controversy in 2005 among French and Italian Catholics for being [...]

On the Second Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me…

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:19-05:00December 4th, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship Years of Censorship Battles 120 Days of Sodom Egyptian Breasts Milking Nude Ladies Dancing Lords Banned for Witchcraft Bush Monkeys Swimming Nude Adults laying A golden chastity key Aristophanes‘ The Birds Catholic French outrage, a Clear Channel Dove and no art in Newark library In 2004 a billboard rented by Project Billboard was slated to be posted in Times Square during the [...]

On the First Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me…

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T12:59:47-04:00December 3rd, 2012|Blog|

The Twelve Days of Censorship No art in Newark library This post is part of our Twelve Days of Censorship series, reporting the gifts of the Ghosts of Censors Past and Present in honor of the holiday season. On the First Day of Censorship, the Censors Gave to Me... no art in Newark Public Library. The Newark Public Library is [...]

Teens Win Censorship Battle Against Sony Over “Read It” Video

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T16:38:59-04:00November 29th, 2012|Blog|

Lansdowne public librarian Abbe Klebanoff came to us last week, dismayed over Sony's censorship of a video she and her students had made to encourage teens to read. The video takes Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and transformed the song into "Read It", with a dance to boot. When the kids tried to upload the video to YouTube, Sony sent them [...]

Parent Attempts to Have “Most Dangerous Game” Removed in Colorado School

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T16:46:36-04:00November 15th, 2012|News|

New York City may have been on pause for a bit after superstorm Sandy, but censorship attempts were certainly not taking a break. The mother of an 8th grader at Bromley East Charter School in Brighton, Colorado evidently lodged a complaint to the school's administration and to the media about one of the most frequently taught short stories of all [...]

We Made It Through Sandy…

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-15T16:31:48-04:00November 15th, 2012|Blog|

...with some minor scrapes. This photo of NCAC's block in the South Street Seaport in Manhattan was taken during superstorm Sandy. Our building was flooded with 5 feet of mucky saltwater, there was electrical damage and we're still grappling with being displaced. As we're winding down the calendar year, and especially now after operating with no phones, limited e-mail and [...]

“Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” Will Stay in Missouri Library

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:49:40-05:00October 25th, 2012|Blog|

Today the Brentwood Public Library board handed down its unanimous decision to keep Uncle Bobby's Wedding, a picture book by Sarah S. Brannen that had recently drawn objections from a patron. Library Director Vicky Wood initially offered a written response to the complaint, affirming the library's duty to provide access to a variety of materials: "Today, even in Brentwood, there [...]

Banned Books WILL Be Taught in Fremont CA

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T13:19:25-05:00October 24th, 2012|Blog|

Great news! Bastard out of Carolina and Angels in America will be taught in Fremont to all those who wish to learn, notwithstanding the Fremont Unified School District's decision to ban the books from its English curriculum. Thanks to the efforts of Rev. Jeremy Nickel of the Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the class will begin tonight and continue throughout the school year. [...]

Censorship is More Terrifying than Stephen King Books

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-14T17:45:43-04:00October 24th, 2012|Blog|

The American Library Association teamed up with us this week on a letter to the Rocklin Unified School District, where they are currently considering pulling Different Seasons by Stephen King out of school libraries. After her ninth grade son brought the book home from the library, a parent complained about sexual content in the book, specifically in the story "Apt Pupil." [...]

King County Library System FTW: Defending Manga

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T12:45:45-04:00October 24th, 2012|Blog|

In King County, WA, the public library system responded to a complaint over a manga novel, Hero Heel 2, in the best possible way: by reaffirming the freedom of access of its patrons and responsibility of parents. Yay, librarians! Like graphic novels and comics, manga is sometimes misunderstood by readers and parents who (wrongly) presume that because the books contain a large [...]

So meta: Stephen King Book Challenge Irony

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-14T17:45:42-04:00October 19th, 2012|Blog|

In evaluating and reviewing a recent challenge to Stephen King's Different Seasons (Signet, 1982) in a high school library in Rocklin, California, we were amused to read the following passage in King's the story "Apt Pupil". In the passage, the main character, 13-year-old Todd, is discussing his interest in and research into the Nazi death camps during World War II: "At first the [...]

Huzzah! “Robopocalypse” to Remain in Knox County Schools

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-19T06:23:10-04:00October 16th, 2012|Blog|

Score one for the robots freedom to read supporters! A seven-person committee in the Hardin Valley Academy, in Knox County, TN has decided that Daniel H. Wilson's "Robopocalypse" should stay in the school's curriculum. The best-selling science fiction book about a hostile robot takeover was selected as the STEM Academy's summer read to keep students engaged in a light but [...]

YFEP Film Contest, “You’re Reading WHAT?!?!” Deadline Extended!

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-20T13:24:01-04:00October 15th, 2012|Blog|

Teen Free Speech Fighters! There's still time to enter the Youth Free Expression Project's annual film contest and potentially win $1,000 cash prize and a $5,000 scholarship to the New York Film Academy. We've extended the deadline to November 25, so get out your cameras and tell us a creative story about a time where an adult or other individual [...]

Sherman Alexie: “I love to scare the already terrified assholes”

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T16:46:33-04:00October 12th, 2012|Blog|

Guernica magazine featured a great interview with frequently challenged and banned author, Sherman Alexie. Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has appeared on the ALA's most challenged list in both 2010 and 2011; the Kids' Right to Read Project has defended the book in Missouri, Oregon and Washington state, to name just a few. In the interview, Alexie answers [...]

YA Author Keith Gray’s Wise Words on Book Censorship

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:49:36-05:00October 11th, 2012|Blog|

During Banned Books Week last week, the PEN American Center featured an essay on the topic of book censorship and young adult readers by author Keith Gray. In his article, Gray talks about how he is frequently worrying about, not his teen readers, but the gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are basically any adult who might be on the road between the teen [...]

A Lesson in Irony: Chicago Author Banned From Banned Books Talk

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T12:45:43-04:00October 10th, 2012|Blog|

Last week, in the midst of the media derecho catapulting the celebration of Banned Books Week, we came upon this article in the Chicago Tribune written by author James Klise. Klise manages a high school library in Chicago and is the author of Love Drugged, which Booklist called “An excellent novel for classroom and GSA discussion."Love Drugged was also an ALA Stonewall Honor Book in 2011 [...]

Remembering Banned Book Crusaders: Barney Rosset

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-02-25T12:37:25-05:00October 4th, 2012|Blog|

“If you have freedom of speech, you have freedom of speech,” publishing legend Barney Rosset was quoted as saying. Rosset was responsible for the publication of many celebrated works of American literature, especially those that pushed the envelope in terms of sexual content. A staunch defender of the freedom to read, Rosset risked his reputation, business, and life on his [...]

Video: Adorable Children Reading From Banned Books

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-05T23:18:54-05:00October 4th, 2012|Blog|

On September 23, we brought our Banned Books Library to the Brooklyn Book Fest and let passersby read to us from some of their favorite titles. Better than cat videos, that's for sure! Check out the whole playlist on our YouTube channel. Want to participate in the Banned Books Week Virtual Readout? Shoot your own video! Click here for more [...]

Banned Authors Speak: Matt Loux

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:32:02-05:00October 4th, 2012|Blog|

School is back in session, and that means censorship attempts are back en force as well. Kids' Right to Read has tackled several challenges to summer reading selections recently, including on to Sidescrollers, a graphic novel by Matt Loux (Oni Press). The book about a group of slacker friends, was named one of the Young Adult Library Association's top ten [...]

Read the ACLU of Texas’ Banned Books Report

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:48:08-05:00October 3rd, 2012|Blog|

The ACLU of Texas published their 16th annual Banned Books Report for the occasion of Banned Books Week this week and it both looks amazing and has great content. In addition to detailed information about books that were challenged and banned across the state in 2012, the report has a great interview with writer and activist Tony Diaz. Diaz joined NCAC and [...]

Remembering Banned Authors: Maurice Sendak

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T16:46:27-04:00October 3rd, 2012|Blog|

Millions of enchanted readers were saddened by the passing of beloved children’s book author Maurice Sendak at the age of 83 in May. His books, the most well-known being Where the Wild Things Are, captivated the imaginations of readers both young and old with their sometimes dark, fantastical stories. Because of the nature of his tales, many critics and censors marked his work [...]

Free Access to the Missourian’s Challenged Books Report

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-14T17:46:47-04:00October 2nd, 2012|Blog|

Not long ago, The Missourian published its excellent J-student project of tracking and reporting on book challenges and bans across the state of Missouri. This week, the newspaper -- which uses a subscriber access model -- will be allowing all visitors to read and access the reporting, for free! Click here to read about what types of books were challenged in [...]

Free Speech Orgs Host Banned Books Reading Tomorrow!

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-08-02T12:43:29-04:00October 1st, 2012|Blog|

NCAC's event with Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is tomorrow night! E-vite your friends, mark your iCalendars, write it on your hand, whatever, just come! What: Readings from everything from "Fifty Shades of Grey" to "Fanny Hill" to "Joe Blow" by readers including sexologist Dr. Logan Levkoff, comedy duo MURDERFIST and more. Where: The Village PourHouse, 64 3rd Ave in the East Village When: Tuesday, [...]

Remembering Banned Authors: Ray Bradbury

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-02-25T12:38:54-05:00October 1st, 2012|Blog|

Throughout Banned Books Week we will feature banned and challenged authors who left us in 2012. This week celebrates these great writers and their works, which helped form the identities of many readers, young and old. A name now almost synonymous with American Science Fiction, Ray Bradbury brought that genre into the mainstream. Today, his books – which at the [...]

NCAC, ALA talk Banned Books on KPFA’s Project Censored

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-07T23:31:40-05:00October 1st, 2012|Blog|

NCAC Executive Director Joan Bertin and Kids' Right to Read Coordinator Acacia O'Connor joined KPFA radio out of Berkeley, CA on Friday, speaking about the prevalence of book challenges today and the debate over a book ratings system. Barbara Jones, Director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom also called in, along with Tony Diaz, founder of Libro Traficante, who shed some [...]

Artists Speak Out Against Cancellation of Amiri Baraka Talk at Caldwell College

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-10-30T11:01:19-04:00September 13th, 2012|Blog|

The staff at The Visceglia Gallery were very much looking forward to the opening of its GET IT ON THE RECORD exhibit, a collection of works by twenty-one African-American artists investigating the "collective history of Black America." As part of the exhibit, poet Amiri Baraka had been invited to speak. That invitation was rescinded, however, because the College President and others [...]

“Bulging Nipples” in New Yorker Cartoon Draw Facebook Censorship

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:48:05-05:00September 13th, 2012|Blog|

Bulging nipples are definitely not appropriate for mixed company, a.k.a. The Facebook. Even if they are microscopic in size. Even if they are drawings and especially if they are on Eve. Or so determined Facebook this week when it suspended The New Yorker's account after it posted a Mick Steven's cartoon featuring Adam and Eve on its Facebook page. The social networking [...]

Graphic Novel “Sidescrollers” Cut from Enfield Summer Reading List

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-14T17:46:34-04:00September 5th, 2012|Blog|

A parent of an incoming freshman in Enfield, CT took a complaint about the graphic novel Sidescrollers to the district Board of Education and succeeded in having the book axed from the list. In addition, the board decided to take responsibility for creating the reading list out of the hands of its teachers and funnel it through a board committee and [...]

Wisconsin Parks Department Bends to Will of Radio Host, Bans Play

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:48:01-05:00September 5th, 2012|Blog|

SummerStage will not be performing their "diabolical" play at Lapham Peak State Park in Wisconsin as previously scheduled, as a right-wing radio host put the fear of God in The Department of Natural Resources. The Progressive reported the DNR pulled "The Bible: Complete Word of God, Abridged" after evangelical clergyman Vic Eliason dedicated an hour-long radio rant calling for them to [...]

Missourian Publishes “Unfit to Read” Banned Book Project

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-14T17:46:47-04:00August 29th, 2012|Blog|

A belated update, but one worth taking a second look at if you've seen it already. Missouri School of Journalism Associate Professor Charles Davis organized a group of students in working on an awesome project about book challenges in schools from across the state. Using Freedom of Information Act Requests, the participants gathered data on censorship issues in Missouri and [...]

“Robopocalypse” Challenge in Knoxville, TN

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:48:00-05:00August 28th, 2012|Blog|

This summer, the Hardin Valley Academy wanted to keep its STEM students interested in school subjects during their vacation. After determining that the best way to do this was probably not by assigning weekly physics equations, the school assigned Daniel H. Wilson's best-selling sci-fi novel Robopocalypse (Doubleday) as the program's summer read. A parent of an incoming freshman voiced his concerns [...]

NCAC Talks Textbook Censorship on Pacifica Radio

By Acacia O'Connor|2024-10-25T12:23:10-04:00August 11th, 2012|Blog|

NCAC was invited to join Thresholds, a show on KPFT Pacifica radio out of Houston Texas in a conversation about textbook censorship and Texas and beyond. Kids' Right to Read Project Coordinator Acacia O'Connor spoke about the dangers of the censoring impulse alongside Rene Bellwied, Theoretical Physicist and member of the National STEM Committee. Texas is notorious for its desire [...]

News Round-up: Book Challenges, Huck Finn Racism and Whoopi

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:47:59-05:00July 17th, 2012|Blog|

The news is blossoming today with book challenge-related stories, and we thought we'd take a moment to share. 1.) A teacher's aide in Dubuque, Iowa was fired (though she apparently about to quit anyway) after disrupting classes by insisting that Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist book that shouldn't be taught in schools. Afterward, a judge [...]

Rejection in Fremont, Year 3 and Dealing With Life Through Good Books

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:47:58-05:00July 11th, 2012|Blog|

The San Francisco Bay area is not the likeliest location for a censorship debate. Or one would think, at least. The area had already come up in our censorship battles lately, but more as the Magical Free Expression Castle on the Coast. San Francisco is the home of Todd Parr, author of the recently-censored The Family Book and Patricia Polacco's embroiled In [...]

Author of “In Our Mothers’ House” Speaks

By Acacia O'Connor|2019-03-20T13:25:58-04:00June 25th, 2012|Blog|

Patricia Polacco, the prolific children's book author who wrote In Our Mothers' House answered NCAC's questions about the objections which have recently been raised in Davis County, UT. Complaints have centered around the non-traditional nature of the family depicted in the book and the fact that the family has two moms.

(Banned) Books that Shaped America at LOC

By Acacia O'Connor|2021-12-14T10:58:05-05:00June 22nd, 2012|Blog|

On June 25, the Library of Congress will open its summer exhibit "Books That Shaped America." The exhibit will be on display through the end of September in the Southwest Gallery, located on the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, DC. Many books on the list of notable tomes won't surprise you. And it certainly didn't surprise [...]

Read Objectors’ Complaints About Family Books

By Acacia O'Connor|2020-01-03T13:47:54-05:00June 20th, 2012|Blog|

Through records requests, the Kids' Right to Read Project was able to get access to the official complaints filed by parents and citizens who objected to the content of The Family Book and In Our Mothers' House. The excerpted passages below make clear some of the discomforts these individuals felt and what viewpoints they use to justify their desire to remove [...]

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