My film is a documentary; I interviewed students in my school about whether or not they thought there was free speech in schools. I interviewed six students; originally my plan was to interview more students, but the students I interviewed provided much more in-depth answers than I expected. Therefore, I ended up needing less interviews. Freedom of speech is important [...]
"Freedom" tells the story of three students fighting for controversial issues at their school. The contentious issues are diversity, sexuality, and dress code. Though they are encouraged to speak their minds, the administration basically ignores them when they bring their solutions to the table. The students then conclude that the only way for their voices to be heard is if [...]
The tittle of my film is black and white, I chose this name because freedom of speech is not as simple as some may think,there many diffrent aspects that apply when you think of freedom of speech which of some are listed in the film. To get an idea of freedom of speech in schools it\'s only makes sense to [...]
I thought it would be a good idea to not just have my ideas in the video, but other people at my school as well. I was surprised at the amount of people that WANTED to talk into the camera, that WANTED to give their imput on my documentary. I loved making this film, talking to my school principal about [...]
Kids' Right to Read Protests Efforts to Censor Young Adult Author Ellen Hopkins in Oklahoma
Biographies of "Friends" participating in NCAC's 35th Anniversary - A Night of Comedy with Judy Blume & Friends.
Kids' Right to Read Opposes Censorship at Panther Valley Middle School
Kids' Right to Read Objects to Censorship in Kentucky High School
Kids' Right to Read Protests Efforts to Remove Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
NCAC and the College Art Association recently filed an amici curiae brief in United States .v Stevens in the Supreme Court, heard October 6. Although the subject matter - images of animal cruelty - is extremely distasteful - the case raises critical First Amendment questions that would affect a wide variety of valuable expression and undermine fundamental constitutional principles.
The following is the Judiciously Using Surveillance Tools In Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act support letter, commending the senators for introducing legislation that will amend many provisions of law that have diminished Americans’ privacy over the last eight years. The letter also urges Congress to pass the bill as soon as possible.
I think girls these day have to much pressure to be a grown up to fast. And to make decisions that they shouldn't be faced with. One thing girls have a problem with is pressured to be intimate with a guy. Then if she gets pregnant she has more decisions to make. To get married, have the baby, give it [...]
I was the leader/director of this project, we aimed at exposing the faults and corruptions of the United States government. We were told that we could use any form of speech available to us. Yes, we received a certain amount of controversy for our political views, but the video was a massive success and has spread around our school, giving [...]
Temecula Valley Unified School District
North Pocono High School
My music video depicts a student walking through campus in a backwards moving environment. He is the only one moving forward and sticks out from everyone else in his world. When this visual is combined with the lyrics from the song, we begin to hear the free speech subtext of the film. The chorus of the song plays, "Sheep Go [...]
Several school districts did not show President Obama’s Back to School Speech on September 8th.
Author Ellen Hopkins reads for Banned Books Week Manifesto. In an interview with NCAC and ABFFE's Kids Right to Read director, she says, "My book Burned had been and continues to be censored in Pocatello, Idaho... Burned is not available anywhere, including stores and libraries everywhere. I tend to be outspoken and so the Banned Books Week Manifesto came out [...]
Celebrate NCAC's 35th Aniversary - A Night of Comedy with Judy Blume & Friends by placing a tribute ad in the special anniversary journal.
RSVP here for NCAC's 35th Anniversary - A Night of Comedy with Judy Blume & Friends.
We write to protest the decision to remove all images of Mohammed from the forthcoming book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Jytte Klausen, which will be published by Yale University Press in early October. The University’s role in that decision compromises the principle and practice of academic freedom, undermines the independence of the Press, damages the University’s credibility, and diminishes its reputation for scholarship.
Kids' Right to Read Project Interview with Ellen Hopkins, author of the Banned Book Week Manifesto
The National Coalition Against Censorship, joined by 11 leading academic, civil liberties, journalism and free speech organizations, today sent a letter to Yale University officials protesting the school’s decision to remove all images of the prophet Mohammed from a scholarly treatise, The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Professor Jytte Klausen.
This film is basically about a group of children gossiping about Johnny, a boy who has allegedly said something horrific, but has actually just been "caught" praying. The idea for this came about when I thought about how in schools today, on behalf of both the students and the teachers, you can get away with saying the most profane and [...]
This was a great chance for somebody like me to get up on stage with a microphone and with a comedic style talk about a real life issue. I am Hispanic, born and raised in Mexico, which makes me a majority. And as an (18 year old now) adult, having people calling you "Mrs" on the phone is something [...]
I Remade a music video of the band NIN's song " Closer " and tried to submit it for a competition at my school for an award, but it was denied because it had inappropriate language. So i had the choice to show the video with a edited version that would censor out the profane words of the video, or [...]
My stop motion film expresses my feelings about Christianity and the Bible. During my film I display flip-flopping emotions towards the Bible, such as ripping its pages, feeling guilt, praying for forgiveness, fearing god, and being force "fed" its rules and laws. I chose this topic because I feel very strongly about religion and Christianity specifically because of its heavy [...]
Letter to Leesburg City Commission Aug 21, 2009
Voices Against Book Censorship interviews author, blogger Lee Wind
Sometimes you struggle with the freedom of speech at school. Sometimes you can't say the thing you want. However, if you change your life by showing your talent, you can get spotlighted and you will be able you say your words
It is a country song about riding in trucks. It expresses my friends and I and how we like to ride in trucks. It shows are friendship and how we like to just hangout and make fun videos in our spare time. In the film we are acting out different scenes from the lyrics of the song. I am the [...]
This video was made to encourage those who are going to keep their head up and not give and to always believe "Yes You Can". The classroom scene was more for to represent the youth of our nation in standing together and saying what they should be saying against the voice of failure yes we can.
There are many effective ways to respond to censorship challenges. In the past individuals and groups who support free speech have raised awareness about specific incidents and overarching trends through social network groups and causes, including Facebook and Twitter. Individuals have created petitions, organized marches and held 'read-ins' of banned materials at local public libraries. Get Informed: Check out the Kids Right [...]
The making and back story of the project its self is the reason to be chosen for free speech in school. In my film class the final was a music video. Being the comedic artist I am I had many ideas and came up with a ghostbuster crime fighting trio. It seemed like a great idea until faculty and administration [...]
NCAC filed an amicus brief last week in U.S. v. Stevens, warning that a law banning depictions of animal cruelty violates the First Amendment right to free speech and that the exemption it provides for work with “serious value” rings hollow, given the long history of censorship of disturbing or unpopular images.
Since neither Tom nor I had our own story to tell, we decided to film a documentary about a fictional but disturbingly realistic situation where a student's fundamental rights were clearly violated in a Chicago public high school. Because of writing an intellectual and thought-provoking paper on adolescent views towards sex, the student is unjustly punished by his teacher for [...]
My topic is called help me help you help americaWell for some reason I love helping the homeless. I just love them. So everyone knows about “tent city?” well let me sum this up there kicking out homeless from a certain spot. And I think it’s idiotic. I admit when I was a little late to find out Regina called [...]
The Kids' Right to Read Project Interviews Author, Chris Crutcher
