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So far NCAC has created 696 blog entries.

NCAC Joins FIRE on joint letter to oppose Florida College Presidents’ “Statement” on “Critical Race Theory” and “related concepts”

By |2023-01-25T19:24:41-05:00January 25th, 2023|Blog, In The News, News, Press Releases|

National Coalition Against Censorship joins the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in a joint letter in response to the Florida College System Council of Presidents'  pledge to enforce the “Stop WOKE Act” and remove all" woke" positions and ideologies from university and college curriculum. Read our full letter.  Click here for a full screen view. [...]

Florida Officials Wrong to Reject AP African American Studies Course | UPDATED

By |2023-02-23T21:11:47-05:00January 20th, 2023|Blog, News, Press Releases|

Updated 01/24/2023—  On Friday, January 20, the Florida Department of Education released a list of reasons for rejecting the Advanced Placement course. This document makes it clear that what the state officials really object to is not a lack of educational value but some of the ideas discussed in the course. For example, they reject the discussion of Black [...]

Wilson County School Board in Lebanon, Tennessee, removes “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” and “Tricks”

By |2023-02-23T21:12:42-05:00January 10th, 2023|Blog, News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) contacted Wilson County Schools Board in Lebanon, Tennessee, in regards to the School Board's decision to remove Tricks by Ellen Hopkins and Lev A.C. Rosen's Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) despite the book review committee's recommendations to retain the books. NCAC expressed concern that the board may have removed the titles due to disagreement with the [...]

NCAC reflects on past advocacy letters

By |2023-02-23T21:13:31-05:00January 5th, 2023|Blog, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wrote more than 46 letters responding to book challenges and bans in 17 states in 2022. Below are summaries of letters from October 14 – November 28, 2022, that were not individually highlighted on our website but were instrumental in advocating for students' First Amendment rights and fighting censorship in U.S. schools. NCAC worked to bring [...]

Remembering Joyce Meskis: Free Speech Defender

By |2022-12-29T19:53:19-05:00December 28th, 2022|Blog, In The News, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK - The National Coalition Against Censorship is saddened by the death of Joyce Meskis, a Colorado bookseller for over 40 years who won many important fights against censorship at the state and national level. Meskis died in Denver on December 22. She was 80. Meskis was a divorced mother of two young daughters when she bought a [...]

NCAC responds to 100+ titles removed from Frisco Independent School District libraries

By |2022-12-19T10:10:42-05:00December 15th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

Today the NCAC provided a letter of concern to the Frisco Independent School District Board of Trustees regarding removing more than 100 titles deemed “patently offensive” from its libraries. We are concerned because while the district policy only requires the removal of material that includes “patently offensive” illustrations of sexual acts, the guidelines used by the district’s review committee [...]

Following advocacy efforts by NCAC and DDA, Meta pledges to improve transparency around “shadowbanning”

By |2023-02-23T21:16:17-05:00December 9th, 2022|Blog, In The News, News, Press Releases|

New York - The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which represents 59 education, publishing, religious and arts organizations, and Don’t Delete Art (DDA), a collaborative project between NCAC and several other organizations and artists, welcome Meta’s recent announcement of Instagram policy updates that promise to improve transparency around downranking for the platform’s professional account users. The announcement follows several [...]

NCAC joins CPJ joint letter to express concerns regarding Julian Assange criminal and extradition proceedings

By |2022-12-08T14:02:30-05:00December 8th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship joins the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other free speech champions in a joint letter to express concern regarding the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal and extradition proceedings relating to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Click here for a full-screen view of the [...]

Humble Bundle pay-what-you-want deal to benefit NCAC

By |2022-12-05T16:47:15-05:00December 5th, 2022|Blog, In The News, News, Press Releases|

SAN FRANCISCO  —Indie tech-book publisher No Starch Press is partnering with Humble Bundle to offer customers a pay-what-you-want ebook deal that raises money for charity. This highly anticipated three-week promotion builds upon the Bay Area companies’ past collaborations, which have raised over $2.7 million for various nonprofit organizations to date. "Hacking, by No Starch Press" runs until Dec. 19 [...]

Broward County Public Schools remove “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo”

By |2022-11-28T16:22:11-05:00November 21st, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has written a letter to Broward County Public Schools District regarding the recent removal of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.  The book was removed because of the Broward County Public Schools District Review Committee’s belief that it is inappropriate due to its negativity towards the US government. The NCAC demands the return [...]

Chattanooga, Tennessee School Officials Free Expression with Dress Code | Updated

By |2023-09-19T11:17:32-04:00November 17th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

UPDATED 9/19/2023 – The Lookout Valley Middle/High School administration has revised the dress code to no longer include the prohibition on "political" shirts. 11/14/2022 – The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has contacted Lookout Valley Middle/High in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to express concern regarding a provision within the school's dress code that forbids shirts with "designs, pictures, symbols, or writing" considered [...]

Antisemitism and the Freedom to Read

By |2022-11-15T14:53:09-05:00November 15th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK - The National Coalition Against Censorship defends freedom of expression, including the right to access ideas, even when they offend the majority.  Therefore, we support Amazon’s decision to sell From Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America, a book and video by Ronald Dalton Jr. that have been accused of promoting conspiracy theories and antisemitism.   The [...]

“What Does Free Speech Mean to Me?” 2022 Film Contest Winners

By |2022-11-09T21:35:47-05:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, News|

For this year’s Youth Free Expression Program Film Contest, The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) encouraged U.S. high school students to create a film exploring issues related to free speech. The three winners broadly explored the meaning of their First Amendment rights with films that examined family life and controversial matters, personal expression, and the censoring of opinions. First [...]

Censorship at the Orange County Museum of Art

By |2022-11-09T18:10:15-05:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

In the Fall of 2022, the much-anticipated reopening of the Orange County Museum of Art was marred by the censorship of a painting by renowned artist Ben Sakoguchi in the museum’s California Biennial 2022: Pacific Gold.  A few months prior to the opening, the artist was informed of concerns coming from the museum’s education department that some of the [...]

National Coalition Against Censorship to Celebrate Free Speech Defenders

By |2023-09-15T18:13:46-04:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, Events, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK— Each year National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), an alliance of 59 of the nation’s leading education and publishing organizations, recognizes the notable contributions of Free Speech Defenders whose activism has had a profound impact on the protection of First Amendment rights in schools, libraries, and publishing. Tony Award Winner Daniel J. Watts is the host of the star-studded event [...]

Banned Authors to Meet with Student Advocates for Speech

By |2022-11-09T12:52:15-05:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, Censorship News Issues, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK – The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Impact and Legacy Fund, its newly formed charitable/social action division, are co-sponsoring a discussion of book banning with bestselling authors whose works have been challenged and members of Student Advocates for Speech (SAS), NCAC’s new initiative to build a national [...]

Amy Coney Barrett and the Freedom to Read

By |2022-11-15T11:33:55-05:00November 1st, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK - The National Coalition Against Censorship defends the freedom to write, publish and read books. Therefore, we strongly support Penguin Random House’s decision to publish a book by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. At a time when challenges to books in schools and libraries are at record highs, it is deeply ironic that hundreds of people [...]

National Organizations Warn Against Censorship in University Theaters

By |2022-10-31T11:28:43-04:00October 31st, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK – Today, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which represents 59 education, publishing, religious and arts organizations, joins the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund and PEN America to call attention to the cancellation of plays at two universities following protests over their content. The groups released the following statement: Colleges and universities should be places to explore and [...]

UPDATE: VICTORY! NCAC Joins Open Letter to President Biden to Release Guantánamo Artwork

By |2023-02-08T20:23:23-05:00October 24th, 2022|Blog, News|

Update 02/08/2023: After nearly six years of calls to do so, the Defense Department of the U.S. Government has agreed to end the Trump Administration’s policy preventing the release of artwork made by prisoners of the Guantànamo Bay Detention Camp. Former and departing prisoners are now permitted to retain a “practicable quantity” of their artworks they made while imprisoned, [...]

Joint Letter Calls On Texas Wesleyan University to Reschedule “Down in Mississippi”

By |2022-10-17T16:57:42-04:00October 17th, 2022|Blog, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which represents 59 trusted education, publishing, and arts organizations, joins the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund and PEN America to encourage Texas Wesleyan University to support artistic free expression and reschedule Down In Mississippi, a play by Carlyle Brown that the university's theatre department recently canceled due to language concerns and complaints. History is [...]

Escambia County School District in Florida Restricts Over 100 Books Prior to Completing Formal Review | UPDATED

By |2023-03-27T12:19:12-04:00October 14th, 2022|Blog, News|

Updated 3/27/2023 – The school board has reviewed 4 of the books challenged and voted to retain the books in their schools. Those books were Toni Morrison's “The Bluest Eye”, Raina Telgemeier's "Drama," Amy Reed's "The Nowhere Girls." and Jerry Craft's "New Kid." This shows why removing books pending adjudication is never a good idea. Students in Escambia County School [...]

NCAC Statement on Greenburgh, New York, mural dispute

By |2022-10-05T18:48:56-04:00October 3rd, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK - The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is deeply concerned by the threatened censorship of a mural that the town of Greenburgh, New York, commissioned from the artist known as Kindo Art. The alteration of the mural without the artist’s permission would be a violation of his First Amendment rights as well as those of the residents of [...]

Buy a Journal. Fight Censorship!

By |2022-09-23T12:24:12-04:00September 16th, 2022|Blog, News, Press Releases|

CHICAGO — Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher based in Chicago, and the American Library Association’s (ALA) book publishing imprint, ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman, announce the publication of “Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge.” Available via the ALA Store as well as through bookstores nationwide, this interactive recommended reading list presents readers with a different banned or [...]

NCAC, A Kids Co., Release New Kids Book About Banned Books

By |2022-09-23T12:30:13-04:00September 12th, 2022|News|

[Portland, OR, September 12, 2022] - Accessibility to books and diverse author voices is essential in understanding the human experience and the world at large. This concept is core to the work we do at A Kids Co., and it's why we've partnered with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) to write A Kids Book About Banned Books, released [...]

Join Us in the National Effort to Fight Censorship!

By |2022-09-21T12:15:59-04:00September 10th, 2022|News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has joined the American Library Association (ALA) to Unite Against Book Bans, a national grassroots campaign to engage the public in the fight against censorship. This non-partisan campaign leverages the reach of national organizations representing librarians, educators, parents, authors, publishers, distributors, and champions for civil liberties, civil rights, equality, and more. ALA's recent [...]

NCAC Joins Student Press Law Center in Denouncing the Improper Suspension of Journalism Educator

By |2022-09-09T11:03:34-04:00September 9th, 2022|News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has joined the Student Press Law Center in denouncing the improper suspension of journalism educator and student media adviser Adriana Chavira from the Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Los Angeles and demanding the withdrawal of the disciplinary case against her. Please read our joint statement here. [...]

Pinellas County Florida Schools Remove Diverse Books in Haste

By |2022-08-25T12:15:51-04:00August 25th, 2022|News, Press Releases|

Students' rights to access ideas are threatened when book removal decisions are made in a cursory manner. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has contacted Pinellas County School Board in Largo, Florida, to ask the district to ensure any decisions to remove materials are based solely on legitimate criteria as mandated by district policy instead of being influenced by [...]

Tulsa Public School Officials Evade Adjudication of Challenged Books

By |2022-08-23T16:39:14-04:00August 23rd, 2022|News, Press Releases|

Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have removed Gender Queer and Flamer from the district's school libraries. The books were removed pending a formal review in alignment with the district's review policy. However, recent media quotes from school officials suggest that the books will not be formally reviewed anytime soon and will remain absent from bookshelves. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) delivered [...]

Keller, Texas ISD, Removes More Than 40 Challenged Books Including Holy Bible

By |2022-08-19T09:04:17-04:00August 19th, 2022|News|

Currently, more than 35,000 students in the third-largest land area in Tarrant County no longer have access to all versions of the Holy Bible, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Anne Frank's Diary (The Graphic Adaptation), George by Alex Gino, All Boys Aren't Blue by George Johnson, Weird Girl and What's His Name by Meagen Brothers, and so many other notable titles.  The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) delivered [...]

National Coalition Against Censorship Offers Educators Virtual Banned Books Inquiry Center

By |2022-10-06T14:57:09-04:00August 18th, 2022|Banned Books Week, News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK – As a new school year begins and Banned Books Week, Sept. 18 – 24, 2022, is on the horizon, polarizing politics and a surge in book banning attempts continue to create a challenging landscape for our nation’s educators. In response, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has created a virtual Banned Books Week Inquiry Center that [...]

NCAC Seeks Student Submissions to Youth Free Expression Film Contest

By |2022-08-15T17:27:10-04:00August 15th, 2022|News, Press Releases|

NEW YORK – Student activists from coast to coast are participating in protests in response to efforts to ban materials referencing Critical Race Theory, GLBTQIA+ issues, or books about or by authors of color. But how do students feel about current threats to their First Amendment rights? The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is seeking submissions from young people [...]

National Coalition Against Censorship Deplores Assault on Rushdie

By |2022-08-12T17:17:21-04:00August 12th, 2022|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) released the following statement in response to today’s horrific attack on Salman Rushdie, a brave defender of free speech. The NCAC is an alliance of 59 national nonprofit organizations that is committed to the non-partisan defense of free expression.

National Coalition Against Censorship Welcomes New Board Leadership

By |2022-08-02T19:49:42-04:00August 2nd, 2022|News, Press Releases|

At a time when threats to books in schools and libraries have reached an unprecedented level, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), has elected a new chair of its Board of Directors—Emily Knox, a leading scholar of information and library science who possesses deep expertise in the fields of intellectual freedom and information access.

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