NEA Head Whites Out The Story of Colors
Chief of the National Endowment for the Arts, William J. Ivey, created a new controversy when he withdrew funding for The Story of Colors, the Mexican folktale for children published by Cinco Puntos Press.
NCAC and Other National Groups Oppose Censorship of Children’s Book by the NEA
William J. Ivey, Chairman National Endowment for the Arts The Nancy Hanks Center 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20506-0001 Dear Chairman Ivey, We are writing to urge you to reconsider your decision to withdraw funding for The Story of Color, the Mexican folktale for children published by Cinco Puntos Press. According to press reports, the decision was based [...]
The Limits of Free Speech
Radical protest groups that advocate or condone violence inevitably test the limits of free speech.
The First Amendment in Schools: Introduction
Introduction | The First Amendment and Public Schools | Censorship | How Big a Problem is Censorship? | Roles and Responsibilities | Censorship Policies | Resource Guide NCAC presents the following collection of materials on the topic of censorship in schools for the use of students, educators, and parents everywhere. This information is not intended as legal advice. If [...]
Cry Racism And Watch Knees Jerk
A well-intentioned third-grade teacher, who happens to be white, gave her mostly black and Hispanic students a critically praised book about a black girl with kinky hair. Then parents came to Public School 75, which is in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (by Clyde Haberman, excerpted from The New York Times, December 4, 1998)
Court Bars Internet Filters in Loudoun County Library
Public libraries in Loudoun County, Virginia, may not block sexually explicit material on the Internet, ruled a federal district judge in a decision that is expected to influence library policies elsewhere (Mainstream Loudoun v. Board of Trustees).
The Long And The Short Of It: CN #72
We can all breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, that a flag desecration amendment was not enacted in the 105th Congress. While the amendment passed overwhelmingly in the House, the Senate, where its fate depended on one vote, postponed its consideration. New senators may make a difference. For more information on SJ 40, click here.
NCAC Comes to Defense of Teachers and Educators Under Fire From Censors
Views on the News From the Executive Director: Teachers (and Education) in Trouble
Arts and Free Speech Groups Support the Manhattan Theatre Club
"I know first-hand the devastating effects of censorship, so I wholeheartedly support Terrence McNally's right to speak without being subjected to threats and intimidation. Anyone who thinks his views are offensive has the right to say so - but they don't have the right to silence his voice." - Judy Blume, best-selling author "Political and economic censorship have the [...]
House Approves 98 Million For The NEA
After years of controversy, the House has overwhelmingly voted $98 million for the National Endowment of the Arts.
Government Secrecy – Bad Habits Die Hard
In 1995, President Clinton issued an executive order to declassify Government documents older than 25 years.
The Long And The Short Of It: CN 71
The Modern Library's list of the 100 greatest English-language novels of the century bears out what we've always known—when it comes to reading, the censors don't discriminate.
If Only Congress Could Gag the Globe
Congress wants to bleet out the A-word from any international group that receives U.S. family planning funds. The legislation, HR 1757--also known as the Global Gag Rule--has passed both houses of Congress and now requires the President's action.
Sex and Censorship – Dangers to Minors and Others?
"I hate to shock anyone, but teens are having sex." So said Jeremy Meyers, a 19 year-old high school student, at the Sex and Censorship seminar sponsored by NCAC in June. Meyers, creator of a website about books for gay and lesbian youth, spoke on a panel discussion of Sex and Censorship: Dangers to Minors and Others?
Government Secrecy: Bad Habits Die Hard
In 1995, President Clinton issued an executive order to declassify Government documents older than 25 years. Since then, more than 400 million pages of documents have been made public - more than the government had declassified in all the preceding years combined, according to Steven Aftergood, Director of the Project on Government Secrecy.
Supreme Court Upholds Decency Standard for the NEA
As we go to press, the Supreme Court, on June 25, upheld the "decency" standard for federal grants to the arts, which requires the NEA to take into account "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public" when making grants.
Statement by NCAC on Proposed Flag Amendment
Statement of THE NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CENSORSHIP
Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing on Flag Amendment, SJ Res. 40
Censorship and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
We usually reserve this space to reprint an article of special interest that has appeared elsewhere. This time, we're printing a shortened version of a letter to us because the issue raised by eighth-grade English teacher Gina Corsun, of Edison, New Jersey, is so compelling.
Go Ask Alice Snatched From Students
Eighth grade students in Tiverton, Rhode Island, must have been baffled when their teacher asked them to give back copies of Go Ask Alice in the middle of a class discussion, on orders from a principal who had not read the book.
New York Audiences Get A Choice – Will San Antonio and Anchorage Be So Lucky
Reinstatement of the Terrence McNally play, Corpus Christi, by the Manhattan Theater Club, after its cancellation, lifted a cloud from New York's cultural horizon but threats to creative expression persist elsewhere.
The Long And The Short Of It: CN #70
Abortion, contraception, homosexuality and masturbation are words that aren't discussed in New York City's Community School District 24. The Board adopted a policy in 1987 to delete those words from curriculum materials.
Groups and Students Oppose Cancellation of Indigo Girls Concerts at High Schools
Seven organizations dedicated to upholding the right of freedom of expression today declared their strong objection to the cancellation by high school principals of three free concerts by acclaimed folk-rock artists, the Indigo Girls. The organizations also praised the many students who are protesting their schools' censorship. A concert at Irmo High School in Columbia, South Carolina was canceled because of [...]
Ratings For Rock Concerts?
NCAC Censorship News Issue #69: This article by Dave Marsh, author of 50 Ways to Fight Censorship, is excerpted from the January 27 issue of the New York Daily News. It's hard to say what's most ludicrous about the push...for a rock-concert ratings system. But since we have to start dismantling the false premises of this bad joke somewhere, we [...]
Contested Histories
A controversy is raging over a Boston Magazine headline for an article about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates that read, "Head Negro in Charge." The phrase, which according to magazine sources is sometimes used among blacks themselves, was deemed racist by many in the context of a magazine whose readers are primarily white (by Miles Unger, managing editor, Art New England, reprinted from June/July 1998 issue).
NCAC Supports Foodspeak Coalition
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is an alliance of 48 national, non-commercial organizations, including religious, educational, professional, artistic, labor, and civil liberties groups. United by a conviction that freedom of thought, inquiry and expression must be defended, they work to educate their members and the public about the dangers of censorship and how to oppose it. NCAC opposes food [...]
NCAC Letter to Key Senators About Internet School Filtering Act
The following letter was sent to the members of the Senate Commerce Committee and other key senators. The complete list of recipients follows the text. I am writing to express concern about legislative efforts to restrict access to the Internet in schools and libraries, and particularly about S. 1619, the Internet School Filtering Act, which would require schools and libraries [...]
The Long And The Short of It: CN 69
After years of acrimonious debate in Congress, the Supreme Court will decide whether the government can set "standards of decency" (NEA v. Finley). In 1996, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower federal court decision and ruled that it cannot.
The Politics of Ratings Labels and Filters – A Little Bedlam
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision affirming that free speech principles apply online as well as in print (Reno v. ACLU), summit meetings are convened, industry representatives rushed to develop blocking technology, government regulators have flexed their muscles, and school and library boards have initiated restrictive Internet policies.
Views on the News From the Executive Director
What do filters for the Internet, removal of teen magazines, and protests about rock lyrics have in common?
NCAC Sponsors Panel on Ratings and Filters
NCAC is organizing a panel for participating organizations and others interested in the related topics of TV ratings and Internet filters. The lunchtime panel, to be held in New York City, is slated for March 10, 1998. TV networks, with the exception of NBC, recently broadened their "voluntary" ratings system from age-based to content-based, in an effort to avoid government-mandated [...]
Do Teenage Girl Magazines Belong On Middle School Library Shelves?
Most Americans - 93 percent according to a recent Freedom Forum poll - say they believe in the First Amendment. A recent incident in Hauppauge illustrates something else the poll revealed: Many Americans really don't understand it.
NCAC Letter to Long Island School District Superintendent About Removal of Three Magazines
I write to express my serious concerns about your decision to remove three magazines from the Hauppauge Middle School Library. If press reports are accurate, as our inquiries suggest they are, removal of the magazines was precipated, in whole or in part, by a local religious figure who urged parishioners to object to them because they contain "information that goes against what we believe is the truth about sex as Catholic Christians."
Internet Access in Public Schools Threatened
NCAC Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Internet Access In Schools In an apparent effort to revisit some of the issues addressed by the Communications Decency Act, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional last summer, Senator John McCain is now preparing a legislative proposal to limit students' access to "indecent" material on the Internet. McCain proposes to deny federal funding [...]
NCAC Letter to SUNY Chancellor About Academic Freedom and Women’s Studies Conference
>SUNY Chancellor and Trustees Label Womens Studies Conference Content Needlessly Offensive
A Kiss is Just a Kiss
Four nude sculptures by Auguste Rodin, including The Kiss, were pulled from a traveling exhibition of Rodin's work, now being shown in the art museum at Brigham Young University in Utah.
Internet Online Summit Must Respect 1st Amend Law and Values
The National Coalition Against Censorship has joined the Internet Free Expression Alliance to insure that the Internet Online Summit, which is dominated by an effort to restrict children's access to certain kinds of materials on the Internet, does not promote policies and practices that violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. NCAC urges participants in the [...]
Congressional Attack on the NEA Spills Over
NCAC Censorship News Issue #67: Fall 1997 Actions by officials in San Antonio, TX and Mecklenburg, NC to bar funding for the arts speak volumes about the likely result nationwide had the House proposal to substitute block grants for federal funds been approved. San Antonio's city council cut funding for the arts by 15% and defunded the Esperanza Peace [...]
The Arts Under Attack – Firefighters in Pennsylvania Put Out Art Show
NCAC Censorship News Issue #67 The Arts Under Attack: Firefighters in Pennsylvania Put Out Art Show Fall 1997 Pressured by the Chairman of the local Board of Commissioners, volunteer firefighters in Annville, PA unilaterally revised their contract with community artists who rented the fire hall for an art exhibition in early September. After Commissioner Alan Yingst decided, without viewing [...]
The Arts Under Attack – Jock Sturges Photos Vandalized
NCAC Censorship News Issue #67: The Arts Under Attack: The Arts Under Attack: Jock Sturges Photos Vandalized in Bookstores Fall 1997 A new collection of photographs by Jock Sturges has become a magnet for protestors who have descended on Barnes and Noble and Borders Bookstores in at least 20 sites around the country, demanding the book's removal for its [...]
The Arts Under Attack – Sculptor Fights City Hall and Wins
NCAC Censorship News Issue #67: The Arts Under Attack: Sculptor Fights City Hall and Wins Fall 1997 Internationally-known artist Paul Goreniuc didn't cave in when city officials in San Jose, CA threatened him with $2500-a-day fines for failing to remove his outdoor sculpture, Space Dance for Peace IV, from the front lawn of his own home. The 12-foot high [...]