School officials have broad discretion to establish curricula and decide what materials to include in their classrooms and libraries. However, parents, special interest groups and others sometimes attempt to impose their personal beliefs on the public school system and demand the removal of educational materials. Listed below are some general considerations school administrators should take into account when such challenges [...]
ALA's Most Challenged Books list for 2018 is dominated by LGBTQ stories and characters, reflecting a growing trend.
We join PEN America, a member of our coalition, in opposing Washington State’s decision to restrict access to used books in prisons.
NCAC will closely monitor policy changes that result from this Executive Order and will continue to support colleges and universities in maintaining their institutional autonomy and celebrating diverse inquiry.
A discussion of what to do with the art of morally compromised artists, how morally compromised is "too" morally compromised, whether it matter if the artist is alive and, ultimately, who decides upon these issues of what is acceptable
Proposed Florida legislation threatens to weaken academic freedom, chill the work of educators, interfere with students' rights to access information, and cost school districts time and money.
Thirty-nine organizations are pressing for Congress to investigate whether the government has exceeded the limits of what is allowed by Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
An overview of what you can, and can't, use in a student film.
We’ve collected all the information you’ll need to make a great 4-minute film on a shoe-string budget!
The National Coalition Against Censorship is gravely concerned about President Trump's vague announcement of a proposed executive order tying federal research funding to universities' adherence to a free-speech code.
NCAC is offering support to Allegheny College in encouraging its student artist to re-display their work after social media controversy and to offer students support in navigating such controversies around their work.
Despite hard-won progress towards LGBTQ equality, books centering LGBTQ characters and stories remain among the most frequently challenged and banned in schools and libraries. The freedom to read stories about people of diverse sexual and gender identities can validate and empower all youth, especially those who may identify as LGBTQ. When LGBTQ youth do not see themselves represented in [...]
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey relocated an art installation depicting the Saudi Arabian flag after public complaints.
Maine lawmaker's attempts to label educational material obscene threatens intellectual freedom.
The Senate considers a bill expressing federal support for state and local anti-BDS laws.
Marvin Rich helped found NCAC and dedicated his life to civil rights and equality.
Image courtesy of Drew Kerr The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) urges Queens Library to restore an exhibition of photographs it canceled and allow it to run for three weeks as originally planned. Drew Kerr’s exhibition, Faces of The 7 Train, consists of 32 black-and-white photographs that the artist shot of passengers on the 7 train over the course of [...]
On December 17th, Tumblr permanently banned adult content from its platform. Under the new community guidelines, any image that depicts sex acts, real-life human genitalia, or (with a few exceptions) female nipples will be hidden from public view. Despite the company’s claims, the new guidelines will not create a “better, more positive” Tumblr.
This article originally appeared in Censorship News Issue 128 The fall of socialism came unexpectedly for all of us who grew up in what appeared as a regime built to last forever, its permanence embodied in the weight of Stalinist architecture and the monumental roughly-hewn statues of communist leaders. The removal of those statues and of the giant red star shining [...]
The superintendent of a Los Angeles school district has unilaterally decided to remove a mural on display on the exterior wall of RFK Community Schools’ theater after some members of the surrounding community complained that visual elements of the mural resembled the Rising Sun flag of Imperialist Japan.
A student artist at CU Boulder may have been censored by his university. Investigation in progress.
Florida prisons impounded four times more issues of The Militant in the past two years as in all the other prisons in the country over the last decade.
NCAC urges Cleveland State University to remove the cover the University used to block from view a political text featured on a sculpture displayed on campus.
The novel by Fredrik Backman has been banned district-wide after parents complained about vulgarity and graphic scenes.
Mahwah Township elementary schools have instituted a new policy that limits students' ability to check out books to once every two to three weeks.
The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities has issued an amendment that sets limits on the content of their grantees' work, in clear violation of viewpoint neutrality.
The Utah Education Network voted to deny access to EBSCO, a longtime, well-respected distributor of educational content that is used nationally in libraries and schools.
SMART TACTICS: Curating Difficult Content examines the internal and external pressures curators must navigate when considering potentially controversial material. Combining decades of advocacy experience with extensive interviews and curatorial surveys, this volume includes both a report on what happens behind the scenes in art institutions and a handbook for confronting the challenges of curating difficult content.
NCAC supports the Houston Public Library’s commitment to open and diverse programming.
Fort Myers High School in Florida has removed City of Thieves, a 2008 novel by David Benioff, one of the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones, from the 10th grade curriculum.
NCAC shares PEN America’s grave concern about the President’s use of the levers of government power to retaliate against media companies for the content of their coverage.
In August, the National Park Service issued a proposed rule to introduce fees for holding protests on the National Mall, posing a serious threat to Americans' right to free speech and assembly.
Shorewood High School canceled the production hours before it was scheduled to debut, to the dismay of both supporters and planned protesters.
NCAC has joined with 17 other organizations in filing a brief with the US Supreme Court in the case of Prison Legal News v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections.
Former NCAC board member and leading First Amendment attorney Robert O'Neil leaves behind a legacy of inclusion and equal rights.
The National Coalition Against Censorship is auctioning a selection of artworks donated by generous artists.
The National Coalition Against Censorship supports Rumford Public Library’s display and freedom to choose how best to serve their community.
The PCLOB has now lacked a quorum for over 19 months, hamstringing its ability to function.
Controversy arose over the announcement that the library would host the family-focused program, which features reading, singing and crafts presided over by drag queens.
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) joins 16 other organizations in condemning President Trump’s effort to intimidate a book publisher by threatening legal action. The joint statement states that the President’s attempts to intimidate book publishers will fail.
