NCAC Staff

  John Whitehead Chairman Board of Directors Lower Manhattan Development Corporation One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor New York, NY 10006 September 13, 2005 Dear Mr. Whitehead- On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Brennan Center for Justice, the College Art Association, PEN American Center and other organizations and individuals concerned with democracy, civil liberties, and the arts I [...]

Letter from NCAC, NCTE, ABFFE. AAP, and PEN American Center to Fayetteville Public Schools Superintendent Click Here for a July 24th editorial on NCAC's action July 12, 2005 Dr. Bobby C. New Superintendent Fayetteville Public Schools P.O. Box 849 Fayetteville, AR 72702-0849 Dear Dr. New: We are writing to express concern about efforts to censor library books in the Fayetteville [...]

Letter from NCAC, NCTE, ABFFE. AAP, and PEN American Center to Fayetteville Public Schools Superintendent July 12, 2005 Dr. Bobby C. New Superintendent Fayetteville Public Schools P.O. Box 849 Fayetteville, AR 72702-0849 Dear Dr. New: We are writing to express concern about efforts to censor library books in the Fayetteville School District. According to reports we have received, a parent [...]

A music censorship timeline compiled by the National Coalition Against Censorship.

Websites looking at music censorship and free expression in music.

House OKs restriction on gay-themed books By Michael McNutt The Oklahoman The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Monday to urge library officials to restrict children's access to books with homosexual themes. House Resolution 1039, by state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, calls on Oklahoma libraries to "confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access [...]

In March 2005, Lakewood, CO City Manager Mike Rock ordered the removal of an art exhibit from the city's Cultural Center after three City Council members called it "anti-American and anti-military."

Letter to the Superintendent and Board of Ed in Grand Rapids, MI About the Removal of Athletic Shorts March 15, 2005 Superintendent Bert Bleke 1331 Franklin SE Grand Rapids, MI 49501 Grand Rapids Board of Education Board of Education Office of the GRPS 1331 Franklin SE Grand Rapids, MI 49501 Dear Superintendent Bleke and Members of the School Board: We [...]

City Council members Tom Booher, Jackie Herbst, and Ray Elliot justified the decision to remove the piece that they found offensive on the basis that the exhibition was publicly funded. Such a position displays a disturbing misunderstanding of public officials' obligations under the First Amendment.

Exhibition of Greek Goddess Cancelled, Then Approved Roseburg Oregon Posted February 25, 2005 Hebe, the Greek Goddess of Youth, recently embroiled the town of Roseburg Oregon in a conflict of mythic magnitude over the role of public officials in curatorial decision making. Officials of the Douglas County Museum, located in Roseburg, were planning an exhibition on Hebe - a character [...]

We understand that the Education Committee is presently considering a bill, SB 24, to adopt an "academic bill of rights" in higher education. Contrary to what the name suggests, the proposal would restrict, not enhance, academic freedom and intellectual activity

  On her second day as Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings sent a letter to PBS in which she pressured the network into canceling an episode of "Postcards from Buster," a children's program intended to teach about diversity. The program, which is about making maple syrup and dairy farming in Vermont, features a household headed by two women. Their relationship [...]

Update: NCAC has been advised that Superintendent Dozier has chosen to retain Whale Talk. We congratulate him on his decision. NCAC Letter to Georgetown School District Superintendent of Schools About Excluding Books From High School Curriculum January 26, 2005 Dr. Randy Dozier Superintendent of Schools Georgetown School District 2018 Church Street Georgetown, SC 29440 Dear Superintendent Dozier: I write to [...]

A mural containing a classical nude has become the target of police harassment in the small town of Pilot Point in Northern Texas. Wes Miller, owner of the gallery on whose wall the nude is painted has received a police notice claiming the mural is in violation of the Texas Penal Code 43.24 banning the sale, distribution and display of [...]

ACLU Says Texas Police Violated Art Gallery Owner's Freedom of Expression Police Forced Artist to Cover Classical Image of Nude "Eve" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 11, 2005 DALLAS—The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Pilot Point and its police department, charging that police officers violated an art gallery [...]

Alessandro G. Olivieri, General Counsel NYC Department of Parks & Recreation The Arsenal, Central Park 830 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10021 Re: Notice of Proposed Rule, Title 58, Ch. 2, §2-16 Dear Mr. Olivieri: On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 50 national non-profit organizations united in defense of free expression, and the College Art [...]

Political Satire Out!   New York NY Posted December 20, 2004 After a Chelsea Market manager saw "Bush Monkeys," a small acrylic on canvas by Chris Savido, he closed down the whole 60-piece show, which included the work. From afar, "Bush Monkeys" looks like a portrait of President Bush, but when you get closer you see the image is made [...]