Demands to Cancel Dana Schutz’s ICA Exhibit Don’t Help the Cause for Social Justice
Efforts to blacklist an artist over a controversial painting are not conducive to the goal of overcoming racial inequity.
NCAC Criticizes Effort to Use NY ‘anti-BDS’ Law to Cancel Roger Waters Concerts; Update: Nassau Coliseum Stands by Waters’ Shows
Howard J. Kopel’s interpretation of the Nassau anti-BDS legislation seeks to punish an individual purely for expressing First Amendment-protected views.
NCAC in the Ventura County Star: Conejo censorship sets chilling precedent
Ventura County Star, Local-CA, 7/17/2017
NCAC Urges Wisconsin Superintendent to Retain Award-Winning Novel in Curriculum; UPDATE: Victory! Board Finally Votes to Retain Book
The groups emphasize that the mere presence of explicit language and violence in a book provides no justification for its removal.
On July 12th, Join The ‘Battle For The Net’: An Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality
On July 12th, NCAC is taking part in the Battle for the Net, which is shaping up to the largest mobilization of internet users ever.
Why NCAC Objects to ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bills
Yesterday, NCAC sent a letter to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper urging him to veto a bill dubbed as a measure to “restore” and “preserve” free speech on state college campuses. But why would an organization devoted to free expression like NCAC object to an effort to safeguard free speech at universities?
NCAC Releases Statement in Support of Lincoln Center’s Decision to Host ‘To the End of the Land’ Despite Calls to Cancel the Play
Were institutions like Lincoln Center to yield to calls for cancellation coming from the BDS movement or elsewhere, any ensuing conversation would be much impoverished and further polarized.
A Dispatch from documenta 14: An International Art Exhibition in Which Book Censorship Plays a Central Role
documenta 14, an art festival occurring every 5 years, puts the issue of book censorship front and center this year.
NCAC, AAUP Urge NC Governor to Veto ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bill; UPDATE: Bill Made Law
NCAC and AAUP argue that the bill will create more problems than it solves, burdening universities with provisions that existing free speech protections already account for.
Walker Art Center’s Jimmie Durham Controversy: Listening Points the Way Forward
The discussion has brought to light the enduring lack of representation of Native artists in the art historical canon, in art museum exhibitions and in collections. However, it has also shown us a way forward.
Even Limited, Trump Administration’s Travel Ban Will Impact Creative Freedom
The organizations express grave concern that the Executive Order will have a broad and far-reaching impact on artists’ freedom of movement and, as a result, will seriously inhibit creative freedom, collaboration, and the free flow of ideas.
NCAC, NYCLU Oppose Expansion of ‘Right to Publicity’ Laws
Right to publicity laws protect a person’s privacy interests, limiting how their name, image and likeness can be used for commercial purposes. Expanding the laws may impede journalistic and artistic freedom.
NCAC Responds to Walker Art Center’s Statement Affirming Decision to Dismantle Controversial Sculpture
The Walker Art Center has responded to our criticism arguing "NCAC has placed undue emphasis on the work’s material structure over its concept." Read our new response.
NCAC’s Executive Director Honored for Free Speech Advocacy by the Freedom to Read Foundation
The award will be presented at the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference during its Opening General Session on Friday, June 24, in Chicago.
National Coalition Against Censorship Chooses New Leader
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has hired Christopher M. Finan as its next executive director. Joan Bertin, the current executive director, is stepping down after leading the organization for 20 years.
DLDF Statement on the Withdrawal of Support from the Public Theater’s ‘Trump-like’ Production of Julius Caesar
"The fact is that, for hundreds of years, this particular play has been understood to be a critique of political violence, not an endorsement of it."
Supreme Court Grants The Slants an Important First Amendment Victory
Given our current political climate we'd be wise not to take the protections afforded by the First Amendment for granted and to protest unconstitutional government action, as The Slants have successfully just done.
Parent Sues School for Forcing Son to Recite The Pledge of Allegiance
When a seven-year-old student from Terre Haute, Indiana opted to sit silently during his school’s daily Pledge of Allegiance, the First Amendment stood up for his decision. But his teacher didn’t.
Free Speech Victory for Florida Medical Community in “Docs vs Glocks” Case
The state of Florida did not appeal the ruling against the “Firearms Owners' Privacy Act,” which prevented doctors from asking patients about their gun ownership.
NCAC Releases Statement Criticizing Walker Art Center’s Decision to Destroy Controversial Sculpture; UPDATE: Sculpture to be Ceremonially Buried
NCAC has issued a statement signed by several national and international organizations, opposing the Walker's decision to dismantle and destroy the controversial sculpture.
Student Press Freedom Bills Continue to Find Success Across The Country
Student journalists who contribute to their high school and college outlets do not enjoy the same level of protections as their professional counterparts. New Voices bills are looking to change that.
New Essay by NCAC’s Director of Programs Sheds More Light on the ‘Culture of Outrage’ Debate
Mintcheva's essay examines and argues for the value of free expression in light of recent controversies over art and racially sensitive content, as well as over cultural appropriation, which have left people to question the usefulness of an absolutist defense of free speech.
How a Culture of Outrage Around Politically Engaged Art Endangers Our Public Sphere
While critiquing or protesting artworks is a vital part of a healthy democratic society, cultural institutions who bow to demands to remove or destroy works that engage with contentious political or social issues endanger our ability to maintain a public sphere where ideas and societal problems can be freely identified and discussed.
Interview With NC Student Whose School Canceled the Yearbook Because of Her Donald Trump Senior Quote
NCAC speaks with Miranda Taylor, a student at Richmond Early College in North Carolina, whose school canceled this year's yearbook, in part, because of her senior quote: "Build That Wall."
NCAC Criticizes Elementary School’s Ban on Personal Copies of 13 Reasons Why
The groups underline that the First Amendment protects a student’s right to receive and possess literature, as long as the books in question do not cause disruption to the educational process.
Elementary School Bans Students from Possessing 13 Reasons Why on School Grounds
NCAC is in the process of writing to the elementary school underlining that students have a First Amendment right to receive and possess literature, provided the books in question do not cause disruption to school activities.
A Part Time Indian Challenged in Minnesota School District; UPDATE: After NCAC Action, Principal Recommends Book Remain in Curriculum
The objecting New London parents say that the book features “gratuitous and unnecessary” profanity and sexual references.
NCAC Criticizes NC High School’s Decision to Cancel Student Yearbook Featuring Donald Trump Quote
A public school, the letter argues, has a responsibility to prepare young adults “to exercise the responsibilities of citizenship by promoting democratic values such as free expression, tolerance, and diversity—including diversity of opinion.”
North Carolina High School Censors Yearbook With Donald Trump Quote
NCAC's letter will underline that a primary goal of the school system "is to exercise the responsibilities of citizenship by promoting democratic values such as free expression, tolerance, and diversity." This includes diversity of opinion.
SIGN: Petition Demanding Congress Strengthen Judicial Protections for Government Whistleblowers; NCAC Joins Open Letter to Trump Admin. Demanding Whistleblower Protections
The petition focuses on the legal rights of whistle blowers, demanding adequate protections to ensure they receive a fair trial in any subsequent court action taken against them.
NCAC Demands Boston Theater Company Reinstate Artistic Director Suspended for Play Involving Nudity
NCAC argues that keeping children from viewing artistic representations of nudes does not ‘protect’ them; rather, it imposes the religion-based view that the nude human body is shameful.
NCAC Demands Ohio High School Restore Eleanor & Park to English Curriculum
The groups’ letter underlines that the hasty removal of the book, after a single complaint, sets a harmful precedent that could leave an entire curriculum in tatters.
NCAC & Dramatists Legal Defense Fund Demand Minnesota City Officials Apologize for Cancelling Play With Word ‘Mulatto’ in Title
The letter demands a public apology from the City of Burnsville and urges the City to develop a formal policy governing artistic programming at the Ames Center to ensure it is in compliance with First Amendment requirements.
Anti-Boycott Legislation Violates Free Speech Principles
Even when not enforced or non-binding, anti-BDS bills potentially chill protected expression by singling out the expression of unpopular or controversial views. Such bills seriously and impermissibly undermine core First Amendment rights.
NCAC Joins HarperCollins for #WhyIRead Campaign, Celebrating Company’s 200th Anniversary
As an organization committed to defending authors’ free expression and the right to read, NCAC was selected by HarperCollins employees to receive a donation as part of its #WhyIRead campaign, which pledges to donate $200,000 to charities supporting causes that are important to HarperCollins.
NCAC + Lambda Legal Request Tennessee School Apologize for Removing pro-LGBT Student Artwork
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and Lambda Legal are calling on a Tennessee high school to apologize for removing a displayed student artwork featuring the word “GAYDOM” and a rainbow motif. The groups demand the drawing be immediately restored, arguing that the school’s justification for the removal-- that some students were offended by the artwork-- violates the student artist’s First Amendment rights.
NCAC Demands Idaho Middle School Retain Popular Manga Novel in Library; UPDATE: Committee Votes to Keep Book
The notion that the mere presence of inappropriate language and allegedly suggestive images is justification for a book’s removal sets a harmful precedent that, for example, a classic work of literature that contains adult language, or an art history textbook that includes a nude, should also be kept away from teens.
Judge Upholds Removal of Controversial Student Painting from U.S. Capitol; Appeal Planned
The message government is communicating appears to be that young people's opinions concerning such issues are not respected and don't matter.
NCAC Criticizes Minnesota School’s Decision to Cancel Play Featuring Ku Klux Klan Characters
The groups maintain that although the school should and must aim to create a positive learning environment free from racism and hostility, the decision to cancel the play fails to further this objective
SIGN: Petition Urging Rejection of Proposal Requiring US Visitors’ Social Media Passwords
The online petition has been launched in response to the news DHS Secretary Kelly is likely to implement the proposal.