States Consider Bills That Threaten Protest Rights
State legislatures considering 68 bills that would limit the right to protest.
Acclaimed Challenged Author Jason Reynolds Will Headline 2021 Banned Books Week
Jason Reynolds to headline Banned Books Week 2021, which has the theme, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” Two of Reynolds' books for young people made the Top 10 banned and challenged books of 2020 for their handling of issues around racism and racial justice.
Legislation and Book Bans Target Teaching About Social Justice and Racism in Schools
Seven states are considering legislation to ban the teaching of "divisive concepts," which encompasses certain teaching about social justice and structural inequality.
Anti-LGBTQ Book Legislation Proceeds in Multiple States
Across the country, state lawmakers are considering legislation that aims to ban teaching books with LGBTQ themes and punish teachers for exposing students to material that addresses sexuality and gender expression.
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Texas School District Bans Call Me Max, Picture Book About Trans Child
An Austin, Texas, school district banned teachers from reading Call Me Max, a picture book about a trans child, to students after parents complained.
Texas School District Removes LGBTQ Books From Reading Lists
Leander, Texas, school district has removed LGBTQ books from optional reading lists in middle and high school classes.
Statement on Amazon’s Removal of When Harry Became Sally | Updated with Amazon’s Response
Amazon’s sudden decision to remove a controversial book from sale matters to the entire public sphere and threatens the marketplace of ideas.
Don’t Delete Art Releases Guidelines for Artists to Avoid Social Media Censorship
Artists and advocates have created the first comprehensive resource for artists to avoid and combat censorship on social media.
Facebook Oversight Board Recommends Stronger Protection for Free Expression
Several recent rulings from Facebook’s Oversight Board push Facebook to show greater respect for principles of free expression in its content moderation decisions.
Statement on Removal of Dr. Seuss Books from Publication
The National Coalition Against Censorship is disturbed by the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises to cease publication of six children’s books by Dr. Seuss because of their implicit racism.
Court Rules Anti-BDS Statute Unconstitutional in Arkansas Times v Waldrip
Eighth Circuit ruled in that an Arkansas anti-BDS statute imposed an unconstitutional condition on state contractors' exercise of their First Amendment rights.
Journalism Against the Odds: Student Press Freedom Day 2021
Student Press Freedom Day celebrates how vital student journalists are to public discourse, to informing their communities with unbiased and accurate information, and to holding those in power accountable to those they serve.
NCAC Urges Tennessee Universities to Resist Demands to Censor Student Athletes
NCAC calls on the leaders of the University of Tennessee system to resist political pressure and to defend their students' rights to peacefully protest.
No Sex, No Social Justice: 2021 Legislative Pressures On Public Education
Proposed legislation in several states attempts to ban teaching about sexuality and social justice in classrooms.
Coalition Calls for Transparency and Open Government in Biden Administration
The National Coalition Against Censorship joined a coalition of over 40 organizations calling on President Biden to commit his presidential administration to greater transparency and open government as a keystone of democracy.
Coalition Urges White House to Release Virtual Visitor Logs
A coalition is urging the White House to release virtual visitor logs in the name of transparency and accountability.
NCAC Calls on Biden Administration to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange
A coalition of more than 20 civil liberties organizations is calling on US Department of Justice under President Biden to drop charges and extradition proceedings against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to protect press freedom.
Virtual Luncheon: Resolving Tensions Over Race & Representation in Public Art
Free virtual luncheon will explore the approaches to resolving tensions around WPA murals representations of race and history, particularly on college campuses.
Statement on the Publication of Books by Trump Administration Members
Publishers serve a critical role in our democracy by disseminating the books that inspire public debate. NCAC is deeply concerned by any attempt to limit what books get written, published and circulated based on the personal beliefs of a group of people who work in publishing.
When Can Speech Be Punished? A Primer on Unprotected Incitement to Violence
A breakdown of protected versus unprotected speech in the wake of the riot on Capitol Hill. Can free expression advocates support punishment for incitement to violence while still supporting the legal protections for “hate speech” or other offensive speech? And why do we protect offensive speech in the first place?
Racial Justice Protests: A Free Expression Timeline
A timeline of free expression issues that arose following the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests for racial justice.
NCAC Statement on Cancellation of Book by Josh Hawley
Canceling a book encourages those who seek to silence their critics, producing more pressure on publishers, which will lead to more cancellations. The best defense for democracy is a strong commitment to free expression.
Arizona School Considers Removing Slaughterhouse Five From Classrooms
A school district in Vail, Arizona, is considering removing Slaughterhouse Five from classroom teaching after a parent complained about references to sex.
Free Expression During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Timeline
A timeline tracking the free expression concerns raised by emergency measures enacted to contain and manage the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
Louisiana Library Removes LGBTQ Children’s Books From Shelves
A Louisiana library removed LGBTQ books from the children's section after receiving several complaints.
Student Perspective: Chloe Bauer on the Burbank Book Ban
NCAC asked Chloe Bauer and Sungjoo Yoon, former students in the Burbank Unified School District, to tell us why they felt the District was wrong to remove five classic books from classrooms.
Student Perspective: Sungjoo Yoon on the Burbank Book Ban
Former students in the Burbank Unified School District explain why they felt the District was wrong to remove five classic books.
California School District Considers Ban on Classic Books | UPDATED
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Theodore Taylor's The Cay, and Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, challenged in Burbank Unified School District.
Prosecution of Erotic Fiction Web Host Tests Obscenity Laws
In a case seen as a test of whether text-only fiction can be considered legally obscene, the host of erotic fiction archive Mr Double faces seven obscenity charges.
NCAC Publishes New Resource for Educators with National Council of Teachers of English
New resource guides teachers and school administrators navigating book challenges.
North Carolina Lawsuit Challenges The Poet X Over Religious Viewpoint
North Carolina lawsuit demands that public schools protect one religious viewpoint above others by banning Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X.
California School District Removes Ghost Boys Over Political Viewpoints
A California school district removed the novel Ghost Boys, which tells the story of a Black boy shot by police, from its curriculum.
Zoom, Facebook and YouTube Threaten Academic Freedom
NCAC is deeply concerned by Zoom, Facebook and YouTube's recent censorship of an academic forum due to the affiliation of one of the speakers with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Virtual Book Launch: Curating Under Pressure
Virtual book launch exploring art world pressures to self-censor and the curatorial responses from a range of international perspectives.
Let Me Speak Design Contest Series
As part of NCAC’s virtual Celebration of Free Speech and Its Defenders Benefit, we are happy to announce the Let Me Speak Design Contest Series, a collection of three unique art contests: Becky Albertalli Fan Art Portugal The Man Boycott the Book Ban Logo NCAC Youth Free Expression Film Contest Logo Each contest is an opportunity for artists and designers [...]
FUN HOME Removed from Nevada High School
Lauded graphic novel Fun Home was removed from high school classrooms by a principal in Nevada, violating district policy and threatening students' right to read.
NCAC Opposes EARN IT Act
The EARN IT Act threatens free expression, jeopardizes the security of our communications and risks undermining child abuse prosecutions.
NCAC Urges Congress Not to Authorize FISA Anti-Privacy Provisions
NCAC has joined a coalition of two dozen organizations calling on Congressional leaders not to reauthorize several expired provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorities by adding them as amendments to a must-pass appropriations bill or other emergency legislation. In a letter sent to Congress on September 14, NCAC and the other organizations argue that these controversial measures [...]
NCAC Opposes Ban of Cartoon Protesting Violence Against Black People
NCAC, joined by ten organizations, is protesting a Texas school district’s decision to remove from a school website an editorial cartoon that was part of a class assignment because it criticizes the use of violence against Black people over the course of American history, including violence by police. The assignment was canceled after the National Fraternal Order of Police complained [...]