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 that the cartoon about racial violence is “abhorrent and disturbing.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott has demanded that the teacher who posted the cartoon be fired.
In a letter sent to officials of the Wylie Independent School District on August 26, NCAC and the other organizations argue that the district’s actions create a dangerous precedent, putting teachers on notice that they cannot present any material that might be offensive to someone in the community.
The full letter is available below. Click here for a full-screen view.
Co-signed by:
American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Freedom to Read Foundation
Index on Censorship
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council of Teachers of English
PEN America and the Artists at Risk Connection
PEN America Children’s and Young Adult Book Committee