California Artist Turns Censorship Into Powerful Artistic Statement
Christy Chan turned censorship into a powerful artistic statement in Richmond, California
Back to School: 7 Resources for Parents, Teachers, and School Administrators
This list of our best resources on censorship and the First Amendment in schools will help you get ready for the school year.
Back to School: 9 Resources for Students
This school year we want you to be prepared to defend your right to speak, think and create.
San Francisco Mural Controversy: Perspectives and Updates
UPDATE August 13, 2019: The San Francisco Unified School District voted to reverse their decision to destroy the murals, but to instead cover them with panels. More details available here. NCAC is relieved that these historical murals will be preserved, but hopes that efforts will be made to better contextualize the murals and incorporate them into the school's curriculum and [...]
New Initiative to Train Changemakers in Free Speech Advocacy
Free Speech Is For Me aims to reverse the trend of free speech being pitted against advocacy for social change and equip a broad new range of individuals to challenge censorship, defend speech rights and champion freedom of expression for all activists.
Advocacy Alert: Support Trans Author in Texas | UPDATE
Join KRRP in demanding Leander City Council immediately reschedule the planned Lumberjanes event and adopt inclusive library policies that guarantee this sort of discrimination does not happen again.
Coalition Objects to Universities Monitoring Chinese Students and Scholars
The FBI and other government officials have advised some U.S. universities to develop protocols for monitoring students and scholars from Chinese state-affiliated research institutions, based solely on their country of origin.
Professor Under Fire for Quoting James Baldwin | UPDATE: Victory!
Laurie Sheck, a professor at the New School, is under investigation after using the N-word in a class while quoting James Baldwin.
Remembering Toni Morrison
Joan Bertin (former executive director, NCAC), Toni Morrison, Fran Lebowitz “The thought that leads me to contemplate with dread the erasure of other voices, of unwritten novels, poems whispered or swallowed for fear of being overheard by the wrong people, outlawed languages flourishing underground, essayists’ questions challenging authority never being posed, unstaged plays, canceled films—that thought is a nightmare. As [...]
NCAC Calls for Open Forum to Discuss San Francisco Murals
NCAC proposes holding an open forum where GWHS students can talk about how they see and interpret the Arnautoff murals. We invite the San Francisco Board of Education to collaborate with us in presenting the forum.
Texas Library Cancels Event with Trans Author
City officials in Leander, Texas abruptly cancelled an appearance by renowned graphic novelist Lilah Sturges at the Leander Public Library just hours before her scheduled visit.
NCAC and PEN America Oppose New Jersey Education Bill
The New Jersey legislature is considering an education bill that would redefine anti-Semitism so broadly as to infringe on protected speech.
NCAC Joins Call to Remove Provision from Intelligence Authorization Act
A coalition of over two dozen organizations is calling for Congressional leaders to remove a provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 that would dramatically expand the definition of a "covert agent."
Idaho High School Bans The Walking Dead from Campus
A school in Idaho has banned the popular graphic novel series The Walking Dead and removed all copies of the graphic novel series from their library, despite a review committee recommending the book remain on shelves.
NCAC Honored By Dramatists Legal Defense Fund
Dramatists Legal Defense Fund will present an award to Svetlana Mintcheva, NCAC's Director of Programs, for NCAC's fierce commitment to protecting and advocating for the First Amendment.
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco Removes Art Referencing Gaza
The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco removed two works from its exhibition, La Frontera: Artists Respond to the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis.
Statement on Ohio House Speaker’s Attempts to Suppress Pride Events
House Speaker Larry Householder’s letter pressuring the Ohio Library Council to cancel youth events in celebration of Pride month is an assault on free speech principles and an abuse of political power.
Truth to Power: Film Contest Winners and Semi-Finalists
Over 100 teen filmmakers spoke Truth to Power for this year’s YFEP Film Contest. We invited teens to speak directly to those in power to lead change about issues that matter to them. The 12 finalist films tackled a wide range of polarizing, and often taboo, topics including gun violence, immigrant family separation, gender equality, toxic masculinity, shaming and [...]
San Francisco School District Must Protect Murals in Response to Heightened Tensions | UPDATE
On June 25th, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is scheduled to vote on the fate of thirteen 1930s Works Progress Administration (WPA) murals at George Washington High School. The murals, created in fresco by Russian-American social realist painter Victor Arnautoff, can only be removed by the irreversible act of destroying them. UPDATE: SFUSD voted to destroy the murals, [...]
Art Professor Dewey Crumpler Defends Victor Arnautoff’s WPA Murals
San Francisco Art Institute Professor Dewey Crumpler defends WPA murals created by Russian-American social realist painter Victor Arnautoff in this video produced by the GWHS Alumni Association. Crumpler discusses how they relate to his own murals commissioned in 1974 in response to them. On June 25th, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) will vote on whether to remove [...]
UPDATE | University Suspends Library Director Over Controversial Photo Display
Doane University in Nebraska has closed a library display and suspended the library director over the inclusion of historical photos of students wearing blackface.
NCAC Protests Ban on Prison Newspaper
Florida prison officials banned a newsweekly over an article about Albert Woodfox, a former inmate who wrote a book about his imprisonment in solitary confinement for over 40 years.
Facebook Agrees to Reconsider Artistic Nudity Policies
Facebook’s policy team has committed to convening a group of stakeholders to consider a new approach to nudity guidelines.
Instagram Bans Images of Anti-Censorship Art Action
Despite careful efforts by NCAC and Spencer Tunick to create an artwork that closely adheres to Facebook and Instagram's nudity guidelines, the hashtag for the #WeTheNipple campaign has been blocked on Instagram.
Nude #WeTheNipple Art Action at Facebook Headquarters Calls Out Censorship
NCAC and artist Spencer Tunick created a nude art action in front of Facebook and Instagram's New York City headquarters as part of their #WeTheNipple campaign against art censorship on social media.
Compromise Reached Over Disputed Los Angeles School Mural
After intervention from artists, advocates and community groups, a compromise has been reached that will allow the mural to remain with artist Beau Stanton overseeing changes to the work.
NCAC Condemns Removal of Artwork Commemorating Victim of Police Shooting
In addition to likely violating the artist’s constitutional right to free expression, the removal of the work is antithetical to the spirit of Memorial Day and shows a particular disregard for its African American roots.
NCAC Statement on Indictment of Julian Assange
By seeking to punish Assange for the publication of secret information, the Justice Department has crossed a line that threatens the public's right to view information that is damaging to the government.
Florida Anti-Semitism Bill Threatens Free Speech | Update: Bill Signed
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is considering legislation intended to combat anti-Semitism that poses a serious threat to the free speech rights of Floridians. NCAC and PEN America are gravely concerned.
Georgia City Pulls Sponsorship of Local Play | UPDATE
The City of Carrollton, Georgia pulled its sponsorship from a theater production of Calendar Girls in response to the play’s textual references to nudity, raising serious First Amendment concerns.
PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag Challenged in Virginia School
Controversy arose in Hanover County, Virginia, after a parent complained about PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag being read aloud in a second-grade classroom.
Books Behind Bars: The Right to Read in Prison
Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that prisoners have a First Amendment right to read, and publishers and others have a right to send them reading materials. And state departments of corrections have repeatedly instituted broad book bans.
NCAC Condemns Removal of Student Artwork Critical of Police
A student artwork critical of police was removed from a school exhibition in Madeira, Ohio, flagrantly disregarding the student's rights.
San Francisco High School May Destroy Historical Murals
NCAC urges the school to consider the serious, irreversible ramifications of destroying thirteen WPA murals at George Washington High School.
NYC EVENT: Countering Colonialism: A Queer Ritual of Healing
In their visceral new performance piece, queer performance artist Elyla Sinvergüenza (Fredman Barahona) transforms a hyper-masculine ritual from Nicaragua’s patriarchal tradition into an immersive experience of healing for artist and audience members alike.
NCAC Opposes DHS Surveillance of Activists, Journalists, and Lawyers
Coalition responds to reports of surveillance and targeting of activists, journalists, and lawyers by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
White Nationalists Disrupt Event at DC Bookstore
When a nation built on broad protections for speech faces times of deep political division, it must draw a firm line between freedom of speech and violent conduct or disruptive behavior aimed at silencing others.
Considerations and Guidelines for School Officials
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 [...]
New Jersey High Schools Restrict Access to Fun Home | UPDATE
Administrators at two high schools in New Jersey have restricted student access to the acclaimed graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.
LGBTQ Stories Top Banned Books List
ALA's Most Challenged Books list for 2018 is dominated by LGBTQ stories and characters, reflecting a growing trend.