Attacks on artistic expression are proliferating at a frightening rate, and any connection with lesbian or gay matters brings campaigns for suppression. This censorship is affecting the visual and performing arts, museums and movies, television and art exhibits and it is occurring in small towns and big cities everywhere in the country. Last year in Cincinnati, Ohio, the owner, manager, [...]
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult was challenged by one parent who objected to sexual references, profanity, and violence, including bullying and suicide, in the book and asked that it be removed from the Beardstown Middle/High School library in Beardstown, IL. A committee comprised of teachers, a school principal, a librarian, and a school psychologist reviewed the book and recommended that it be retained in the high school adult fiction section of the school library. The school board voted to retain the book in the high school section of the library, but students are required to get parental permission to check it out.
A local group, Citizens Against Pornography, and some community members objected to a dozen titles in the young adult section of the St. Louis County Libraries. The group has asked that the library impose restrictions on the books, such as using a "rating" system to classify books, or requiring that teens get written permission from a parent or guardian to check the books out. NCAC and ABFFE sent a following letter to the school board in response.
Joint Letter to Huntsville City Board of Ed. Opposing Removal of A Lesson Before Dying "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines was challenged in the Huntsville City (AL) Schools by two parents who objected to sexual references and profanity in the book and asked that it be removed from the ninth grade required summer reading lists. The [...]
Governor David Paterson The Executive Chamber State Capitol Albany, New York 12224 Re: A.11717/S.6401-A Dear Governor Paterson: We write on behalf of the New York Civil Liberties Union and the National Coalition Against Censorship to express opposition to A.11717/S.6401-A – legislation related to the rating and distribution of video games – and to urge that you veto this legislation. [...]
Joint Letter to Appling County Board of Ed. Urging Return of Censored Classics, Of Mice and Men, Brave New World, and Native Son Board of Education Appling County Schools 249 Blackshear Highway Baxley, GA 31513 July 16, 2008 Dear Members of the Board of Education: We write to encourage you to reconsider your decision to remove the [...]
This is an interview between Amy Wilson (aka Amy Freelunch), and Svetlana Mintcheva (Libertad Lane) Director of Arts Advocacy at the National Coalition Against Censorship. Svetlana has been involved in forming an in world version of that organization (the Virtual Coalition Against Censorship). Q. There seems to be a lot of acceptance in the SL community that an entity like [...]
After a month of resisting pressure to close its critically acclaimed exhibition, Imaginary Coordinates, the Spertus Museum finally buckled, citing the “risk of alienating its core constituency.” Reportedly, members of the “key audience” were offended by what they interpreted as anti-Israel points of view.
Only 6 years ago, the Supreme Court held that “virtual” child pornography – sexual depictions that appear to, but do not, involve actual children – is protected by the First Amendment, for the same reasons that simulated sex in films like Lolita is protected.
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest producer of pork products, has raised the stakes in its resistance to organizing efforts by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) by filing a lawsuit alleging that the union’s advocacy violates The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a federal law designed to combat organized crime.
In the run-up to this summer’s Olympics, several organizations are shining a spotlight on China’s abuses of press freedom and censorship of the Internet.
Arkansas Tech University postponed a student production of John Weidman and Steven Sondheim’s “Assassins” – a historical play about presidential assassins – because administrators thought the sight and sound of gun violence in the play could be disturbing in light of recent campus shootings.
Superintendent Michael J. Stuart 2200 Eureka Way Suite B, Redding, CA 96001 [email protected] June 23, 2008 Dear Superintendent Michael J. Stuart, We have been following the controversy involving Principal Woollard’s objections to a recent edition of the student-run school newspaper Shasta High Volcano because of a photo of a student burning an American flag and an editorial defending the [...]
We write regarding complaints about a middle school health teacher who apparently responded to students’ questions in a sex education class about homosexuality, masturbation and oral sex. We understand some parents have called for her termination and that in response the district has put her on paid-administrative leave while conducting an investigation.
Joint Letter Opposing Removal of Award-Winning book The Fighting Ground from Elementary School Library Bay District School Board 1311 Balboa Avenue Panama City, FL 32401 June 18, 2008 Dear Members of the Bay District School Board: We are deeply concerned by your recent decision to ban the book, The Fighting Ground by Avi, from elementary schools throughout the [...]
Help protect the public art program in San Mateo! Public art improves the image of a city, it attracts tourists, helps business, and improves the quality of life. That is why most American cities actively support it by allocating space and resources. An additional boon is that active public arts programs also create jobs for local artists and craftspeople. Yet, [...]
Four student athletes who were kicked off their high school football team after circulating a petition critical of their coach filed an appeal Friday for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August 2007 that the players' First Amendment rights were not infringed upon because their efforts undermined the coach's authority, and because their only punishment was being removed from a voluntary extracurricular activity.
(SPLC) CALIFORNIA — Shasta High School will have a journalism class next year after all, even though the school principal planned to eliminate the course after The Volcano ran a photo of students burning an American flag. Superintendent Mike Stuart said Thursday he plans to give the school funding for the program so it can build enrollment. Read more here.
In early June 2008, Conejo Valley Arts Council President Pat Johnson called for the removal of two artists’ work from the Conejo Recreation & Park District Building because of complaints about the works’ use of nudity.
In 2007, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, brought obscenity charges against Karen Fletcher, because of stories, which Fletcher had written and posted on the Internet under the pseudonym Red Rose.
NCAC and ABFFE sent this letter to the Editors of the Syracuse Post-Standard in response to a report that a parent had challenged A Girl's Life on the reading list of the English 11 curriculum.
NCAC and nine other academic and free expression groups filed an amicus brief in an important free speech and academic ...
(Sherwood Gazette Editorial)In a display of what we view as extreme maturity, the cast of “Higher Ground” voted to reject Pittioni’s request to censor the script, even though it meant that their months of hard work might be in vain. Read more here.
UPDATE: The mural was reinstated after the students agreed to enlarge the golden snitch covering Adam/Potter's genitals to the size of a soccer ball (the original snitch in the book sseries is the size of a walnut). See below for a comparison of the two snitches.
The National Coalition Against Censorship strongly supports the “Libel Terrorism Protection Act” (A. 9652 and S. 6687), which is necessary to protect American authors and journalists from defamation judgments rendered in foreign jurisdictions whose laws do not protect freedom of speech to the same extent as the First Amendment.
Letter Opposing Removal of Award-Winning books from Elementary School Library NCAC and ABFFE sent this letter to the Editors of the St. Petersburg Times in response to a report that two library books had been challenged at Turner Elemenatry School. Re: “Word in school library books angers New Tampa family” (March 17) To the Editors: We are concerned about [...]
UPDATE: Teacher Jennie Brown who wrote and directed the censored play Higher Ground is currently "under investigation". Below is a letter NCAC wrote to the Sherwood School Board asking them to allow the play to be performed at Sherwood Middle School and to look into the investigatoin of Jennie Brown to ensure that everyone's First Amendment rights are respected. Members [...]
Third Annual Sunshine Week "Government Secrecy: Censoring Your Right to Know" Join Patrice McDermott, Director of OpenTheGovernment.org and two panels of experts in a national dialogue addressing issues of access to government information, including executive branch power and secrecy, congressional rights and responsibilities, and the role of the public and non-profit sector. The event will begin with a lively discussion [...]
We strongly commend your decision to keep Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America, available to students as part of the Advanced Placement (AP) English curriculum at Deerfield High School, despite complaints from an anonymous “parent-citizen” who objects to the sexual, racial and religious content in the play.
Angels in America by Tony Kushner will still be taught in Deerfield High School's AP English class, in Deerfield, IL despite complaints from a community member who objected to its sexual, religious and racial content and public attacks made by a local organization that call the play "pornography."
NCAC and ABFFE were joined by four other organizations in sending a letter to the Superintendent and School Board supporting their resolve to stand by First Amendment principles.
(Sherwood Gazette)Two key Sherwood Schools administrators have apologized for their role in a censorship saga that garnered national attention. Read more here.
Iraqi American video artist Wafaa Bilal's recent exhibition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, Virtual Jihadi, was closed by the University's administration a day after its initial opening on March 5, 2008.
UPDATE: Groups across the political spectrum urge Congress to include scientists in pending whistleblower bill. Read the letter. Congress is currently weighing ...
Ms. Monica Nolan, President Ventura County Arts Council 646 County Square Drive, Suite 154 Ventura, California 93003-0436 Fax: 805-658-2281 Email:[email protected] By e-mail and fax March 4, 2008 Re: A Night of Passion Art Exhibit/Ventura Music Festival Dear Ms.Nolan: I am writing on behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of over 50 national non-profit organizations united in [...]
Principal Sherrill Stephens Globe High School 455 North Willow St Globe, AZ 85501 Superintendent Dr. Timothy Trent Robert Miller, Interim Business Operations Dir. 501 East Ash St Globe, AZ 85501 March 4, 2008 Dear Principal Sherrill Stephens, Superintendent Dr. Timothy Trent and Mr. Robert Miller, We are deeply concerned about the confiscation of the recent edition of Globe High [...]
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was challenged for sexual content and graphic language by a school board member and one community member. The school board member has proposed amending the district's current media policy to apply standards for audio and visual materials including books.
We are deeply concerned about the recent decision to suspend three students from Grover Cleveland High School because they wore homemade t-shirts which read, “My Vagina is Obscene,” to protest the censorship of the school newspaper Le Sabre. We understand that the school paper was confiscated because it featured a detailed diagram of a vagina and accompanying articles about “V-Day”, a national movement to raise awareness about violence toward women. In our view, both in censoring the school paper and suspending sophomore Richard Edmond and two of his peers for wearing these t-shirts, you have violated the students’ basic First Amendment and state free speech rights.
Looking for Alaska by John Green Challenged at Depew High School, Depew, NY Kimberly A. Mueller, Superintendent Members of the Board of Education Depew Union Free School District 591 Terrace Boulevard Depew, New York 14043 February 22, 2008 Dear Superintendent Mueller and Members of the Board of Education: We write to oppose efforts to remove the book, Looking [...]
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is a story about two male penguins who adopt and parent a chick. The book was challenged by one parent who objected to the story. Two committees at the school and district levels approved the book without restriction. However, despite these recommendations, the Superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools decided [...]