Letters

NCAC urges Indiana University to Reschedule Exhibition of Abstract Artist Samia Halaby

By |2024-01-11T17:17:15-05:00January 11th, 2024|Letters, News|

Today, NCAC issued a letter of concern to the leadership of Indiana University, imploring the university to reverse its December 2023 decision to cancel the upcoming retrospective exhibition of renowned Palestinian-American abstract painter, Samia Halaby. “Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy” was to open in February at the university’s Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art and feature more than [...]

NCAC recommends policy improvements for a Wisconsin School District that received over 400 book challenges

By |2024-01-05T14:30:35-05:00January 5th, 2024|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Elkhorn Area School District in Wisconsin to recommend policy improvements after a local parent challenged 444 library books, which were temporarily removed. As a result, the district has considered policy revisions. To assist, we shared NCAC's guidelines and best-practices on book challenges with them. Read NCAC's full letter to the [...]

Iowa School District removes over 70 books without following proper review procedures

By |2024-01-02T12:03:29-05:00January 2nd, 2024|Letters, News|

The Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District in Grimes, Iowa has removed 73 books from school libraries in an attempt to comply with Iowa Senate File 496, which prohibits school libraries from having any materials with "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act." The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board to urge them to improve their [...]

Santa Barbara, California, High School Removes Artwork After Religious Controversy

By |2023-06-20T11:22:37-04:00June 20th, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Santa Barbara Unified School District in California following news reports that Andres Serrano's artwork "Immersion (Piss Christ)" was removed from the curriculum of a course at Dos Pueblos High School. The district removed the image because some community members found it hurtful. NCAC urges the district to return the image [...]

NCAC commends New Jersey school district for upholding student rights and suggests improvements in its book reconsideration policy

By |2023-06-09T13:01:30-04:00June 9th, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship wrote to the Roxbury Public Schools Board of Education in Succasunna, New Jersey, to commend its rejection of a motion to remove nine challenged books before they could be reviewed by a reconsideration committee. Additionally, NCAC recommended two changes to board policy that would increase public transparency in future book challenges. Read NCAC's full [...]

NCAC urges reinstatement of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn marker in Concord, New Hampshire | UPDATED

By |2023-08-31T17:33:57-04:00May 22nd, 2023|Letters, News|

UPDATE 8/31/23: A lawsuit has been filed against the State of New Hampshire over the removal of the Elizabeth Gurley Flynn historical marker. The lawsuit alleges that state officials violated the state’s Administrative Procedures Act, its historic markers program, and the plaintiffs’ rights to due process by interfering with their rights to petition for the approval and erection of [...]

Hanover County (VA) School District receives advice from NCAC on book challenge policy | Updated

By |2023-06-21T11:54:09-04:00May 19th, 2023|Letters, News|

Updated 6/21/2023 – The Hanover County School Board has adopted some of the changes recommended by NCAC including that books will not always be removed pending adjudication if a complainant alleges that they are "pervasively vulgar." However, the policy remains problematic as the district has removed nineteen books from school libraries. 5/18/2023 –The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) recently [...]

Sarasota County Schools improperly removes Choke from school libraries

By |2023-05-12T16:22:32-04:00May 12th, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board of Sarasota County Schools in Florida to protest a district administrator's removal of Chuck Palahniuk's Choke from high school libraries. This violates a board policy that bars administrators from removing books until the committee has reviewed them.Read NCAC's full letter to Sarasota County Schools here:Click here for a full-screen view: [...]

School administration in Galesburg, MI, removes Gender Queer from libraries, violating review policy

By |2023-05-10T10:13:09-04:00May 10th, 2023|Letters, News|

According to news reports, Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools, in Galesburg, Michigan, has removed Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer from school libraries during the adjudication of the book challenge. The National Coalition Against Censorship objects to the violation of district policy, which states that material, "may not be withdrawn from use pending the committee's recommendation to the Superintendent." Read NCAC's full letter [...]

FIRE, NCAC letter encourages City of Bristol, Tennessee, to change Social Media Comments Policy

By |2023-05-05T10:24:36-04:00May 3rd, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) delivered a joint letter to the City of Bristol, Tennessee, encouraging officials to modify its Social Media Comments Policy to comply with its legal obligations under the First Amendment. Read our full joint letter to the City of Bristol here: Click here for a full-screen [...]

Florida school district allows removal of graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s Diary by school principal

By |2023-04-21T18:41:33-04:00April 21st, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has contacted the school board of Indian River County School District in Vero Beach, Florida, protesting the removal of Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation from a high school library.  As we understand it, the principal removed the graphic novel because it depicts Anne Frank walking in a garden that contains classical Greek and Roman [...]

New London, Minnesota, student forbidden from wearing “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirt

By |2023-04-21T08:56:53-04:00April 21st, 2023|Letters, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Superintendent of New London-Spicer School District in New London, Minnesota, because we understand that a middle school student has been forbidden from wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirt because it refers to a vulgar expression of opposition to President Biden.  Although the Supreme Court has stated that schools can prohibit [...]

NCAC writes to school board in Iowa City about the temporary removal of Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay | Updated

By |2023-11-28T10:40:08-05:00April 7th, 2023|In The News, Letters, News|

Updated 11/28/23 - At the request of the school’s reconsideration committee, This Book is Gay was returned to school libraries. 4/7/23 - The National Coalition Against Censorship wrote to the Iowa City Community School District in Iowa concerning the District’s recent temporary removal of Juno Dawson's This Book is Gay pending review of a challenge to the book. This [...]

NCAC protests Sioux City Community Schools’ removal of This Book is Gay from libraries | Updated

By |2023-04-12T13:06:12-04:00April 6th, 2023|Letters, News|

Updated 4/12/2023 – The District Board President has responded to our letter. His email stated:  Primarily, the book presented safety issues as it describes how to access unsuitable websites and other “hookup” processes. It is completely inappropriate for our students.   As a result of the safety issues, we determined that the inappropriate book would be pulled.  The book [...]

NCAC encourages Canby School District in Oregon to update their book challenge policy | Updated

By |2023-11-28T10:37:04-05:00March 30th, 2023|Letters, News|

Updated 11/28/23 - Canby School District officials voted to return eleven out of the twelve challenged books to school libraries. 3/30/23 - The National Coalition Against Censorship has sent a letter to the Canby School District in Canby, Oregon expressing our concerns with their instructional material reconsideration procedures. We encourage the Canby School Board to consider amending their policy [...]

NCAC Joins PEN America and other free speech groups to oppose proposed TikTok ban

By |2023-03-24T10:13:31-04:00March 23rd, 2023|Letters, News, Press Releases|

The NCAC has joined PEN America and more than a dozen other civil liberties, digital rights, and anti-censorship organizations in a joint letter to oppose proposed federal legislation and a wholesale ban on the social media platform TikTok. The joint letter acknowledges the platform's national security and user privacy concerns. It also encourages lawmakers to explore viable solutions to prevent jeopardizing [...]

NCAC objects to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools removing library books without following policy | UPDATED

By |2023-03-28T18:12:54-04:00March 8th, 2023|Letters, News|

Updated 3/29/2023 – In response to NCAC's letter, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools claims that both books were "reviewed by their schools' Committees before being permanently removed from those schools' shelves." On 3/8/23 - The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, to object to the district's removal of the books Let’s Talk About It and Sex [...]

NCAC protests cancellation of play at Northwest Allen County Schools | Updated

By |2023-05-09T12:53:15-04:00March 3rd, 2023|Blog, Letters, News|

Updated 5/9/2023 – Students from Northwest Allen County Schools' high school are staging the play independently from the school district. The students plan to perform the play on May 20, 2023. 3/3/2023 – The National Coalition Against Censorship has written a letter to the School Board of Northwest Allen County Schools in Indiana to protest the cancellation of the high [...]

ACLU, NCAC oppose removal of abortion-related art from exhibition at Idaho college art gallery

By |2023-03-03T15:12:55-05:00March 3rd, 2023|Blog, Letters, News, Press Releases|

Lewis-Clark State College announced that it will pull several artworks addressing abortion care from an upcoming exhibition for fear of violating the state’s No Public Funds for Abortion Act LEWISTON, Idaho – In a letter sent to Lewis-Clark State College President Dr. Cynthia Pemberton, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, and the National Coalition Against [...]

NCAC encourages St. Johns School District to adopt better policies for addressing book challenges

By |2023-03-10T16:52:20-05:00March 1st, 2023|In The News, Letters, News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written a letter to St. Johns County School District in St. Augustine, Florida. Under their current policy, books are being removed during the review process, a practice we have long opposed. We encourage the District to adopt better policies for addressing book challenges in their schools. Read our full letter below, or click [...]

NCAC monitors fate of The Cooper Union’s Vkhutemas exhibition

By |2023-05-12T17:20:10-04:00February 27th, 2023|Blog, Letters, News|

Photo Caption: Flickr user Vincent Desjardins via Creative Commons license UPDATE: 5/12/2023 -  Following initial postponements, the Vkhutemas exhibition opened to the public from April 25 - May 5, 2023. Cooper Union stated that the postponement was necessary to develop and incorporate an expanded framework for the exhibition, along with additional contextual materials and relevant programming to better address [...]

NCAC, CAA contact Macalester College to assist in response to TARAVAT controversy

By |2023-03-10T16:55:35-05:00February 24th, 2023|Blog, Letters, News, Press Releases|

Image caption: Taravat Talepasand, Demons, Dictators, Blasphemy, and Man, 2016. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the College Art Association (CAA) have contacted Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to express concerns about how its campus gallery handled the controversy surrounding an exhibition entitled TARAVAT.  The college's efforts to address local concerns have profoundly impacted the artistic freedom [...]

Broward County Public Schools Improperly Removes Sex Ed Book During Review Process

By |2023-03-10T16:55:57-05:00February 24th, 2023|Blog, Letters, News, Press Releases|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)  has shared a letter with the School Board of Broward County Public Schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, concerning a potential violation of district policy and the improper temporary removal of Erika Moen's and Matthew Nolan's book Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human from library shelves.   After [...]

NCAC, FIRE release joint letter on censorship of State College of Florida art exhibition

By |2023-03-10T17:33:32-05:00February 23rd, 2023|Blog, In The News, Letters, News, Press Releases|

Photo Credit: Clifford McDonald, Good Trouble, 2023 The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) are alarmed by reports of the apparently politically motivated censorship of an art exhibition entitled "Embracing Kindness" at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota’s Bradenton campus. Please see our letter attached, which outlines our concerns below: Click [...]

NCAC Urges Queens Library to Restore Canceled Photography Exhibition

By |2020-01-03T15:51:11-05:00December 20th, 2018|Letters, News|

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 [...]

ACLU Joins NCAC in Protesting Attempts to Rate and Censor Library Books in Virginia; UPDATE: Books Will Remain in Libraries

By |2019-03-08T00:14:18-05:00September 13th, 2016|Blog, Letters, NCAC at work|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has today written to a Chesterfield, VA, school board in defense of books on a summer reading list that recently came under fire for containing "sexually explicit" material.

Uni. of Wisconsin-Stout Moves to Censor Paintings of First Nations People; UPDATE: Chancellor Modifies Course, Paintings to be Relocated

By |2020-01-03T15:31:50-05:00August 3rd, 2016|Blog, Letters, NCAC at work|

The University's Diversity Leadership Team expressed concern the painting's colonial subject matter would reinforce racial stereotypes.

Jersey City Paints Over Mural Portion After Allegations of Racism; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Affirming Need For Clear And Consistent Public Art Policy

By |2020-01-03T15:31:36-05:00July 5th, 2016|Blog, Letters|

Artist Gary Wynans, a Puerto-Rican-Italian, painted himself in the mural. Residents complained the image reinforced racial stereotypes.

American Nocturne: When Public Art Engenders Controversy; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Elgin Arts Commission Will Decide Fate

By |2020-01-03T15:30:50-05:00May 26th, 2016|Blog, Incidents, Letters, NCAC at work, Updates|

NCAC has sent a letter to Elgin Mayor David Kaptain supporting the mural's return in advance of the City Council's vote on its fate on July 13th.

Staten Island High School Art Students Told to Clothe their Anti-Rape Artwork

By |2020-01-06T00:07:45-05:00May 9th, 2016|Incidents, Letters, NCAC at work|

When students at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island produced a photographic artwork critiquing rape culture and the sexualization of young women's bodies, the administration responded by removing the artwork, implicitly sexualizing the body of a young woman. Last week, a photo-collage was removed from a student exhibition in the lobby of the high school due to its [...]

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