A Scholar’s View of the Regents Censorship Controversy
Letter from Cathy Popkin, Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, to NYS Education Commissioner Richard Mills on 5/16/02
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NCAC Launches Anti-Censorship Campaign
NCAC and other free speech advocates have jointly launched a public education campaign to inform legislators, educators, policy-makers and others about the threat to First Amendment principles from publicly-funded "abstinence-only" sex education.
Press Conference: 35 Free Speech Groups Launch Campagn to Oppose Government Censorship of Sexuailty Education
11:00 AM (EST) Hilton Garden Inn, 815 14th Street, Washington, DC 20005 Thirty-five prominent national organizations will release a Joint Statement Against Abstinence-Only Education on June 12, 2001, at a national news conference in Washington, DC. Spearheaded by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) the groups are launching a public education campaign to oppose the Congressional re-authorization of federal [...]
National Groups Condemn Ongoing Censorship in Oklahoma City
NEW YORK, N.Y. - National anti-censorship groups representing librarians, artists, writers, booksellers, religious leaders and educators today denounced on-going efforts by Oklahoma City authorities to suppress a wide range of First Amendment-protected material, including the Academy Award-winning film, The Tin Drum. The National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Campaign for Free Expression, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the American [...]
Turn That Down! 40 Banned and Censored Songs
Sex, violence, drugs, politics and religion have all been grounds for music censorship. In honor of Music Freedom Day, NCAC has compiled a list of 40 banned and censored songs that we doubt your parents would approve of!
20 Banned Album Covers
On occasion of the controversy over the sexually suggestive cover of Kanye West’s upcoming album "My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy," Billboard has created a fun slideshow of 20 banned album covers. Check them out here: If you want to learn more about music censorship, you can check out NCAC’s Timeline of Music Censorship, which was created by former NCAC intern [...]
Middle East Conflict Fallout: A culture of fear and anger takes over US cultural institutions
Intimidation, doxing, blacklists, cancellations. In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, a wave of extreme intolerance towards speech critical of Israel and supportive of Palestine has swept across cultural and educational institutions. In the United States and Europe, students and professors are being penalized, writers canceled, and artists censored for expressing [...]
Analysis: Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith
NCAC has obtained permission to share the following op-ed from artnet news, which was originally published on May 25, 2023. ARTNET NEWS OP-ED Why the Supreme Court’s Decision in the Andy Warhol Copyright Case Shows the Dangers of a Sympathy Vote The former director of the ACLU’s Arts Censorship Project on the implications of 'Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith.' By [...]
National film contest seeks submissions on how youth deal with conflicting ideas
NEW YORK – As proven by the recent uptick in book banning, people often want to silence ideas that they feel are harmful or offensive. Daily, youth are confronted with views they disagree with, from school censorship to online hate speech. How are youth and young adults coping with conflicting viewpoints? The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wants [...]
NCAC Urges Ohio School District to Resume Canceled Student Production of ‘The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee’ | UPDATED
Updated 2/14/23 – According to the Geauga County Maple Leaf, the Cardinal School District Board of Education has reversed their decision to cancel the spring production. The play will go on as previously scheduled with minor revisions. On 2/8/23 – The National Coalition Against Censorship has written a letter to express our deep concerns over the cancellation of the high school [...]
Artistic Freedom and the Internet Infrastructure
Companies providing core internet infrastructures—including internet service providers, website host companies, payment processors, and more—rarely have substantial contact with their users, user-generated content, or user activities. And, even though they typically lack expertise, authority, resources, and policies to regulate user content with consistency, many online infrastructure companies do just that. The result has severely restricted free speech on the internet, [...]
NCAC Seeks Student Submissions to Youth Free Expression Film Contest
NEW YORK – Student activists from coast to coast are participating in protests in response to efforts to ban materials referencing Critical Race Theory, GLBTQIA+ issues, or books about or by authors of color. But how do students feel about current threats to their First Amendment rights? The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is seeking submissions from young people [...]
Student Advocates for Speech
Meet the Student Advocates for Speech club leaders for the 2022-2023 school year.
California School District Cancels Student Production of “Be More Chill” | UPDATED
Turlock, California, school district canceled remaining high school performances of "Be More Chill" after one show because of concerns that the content is not suitable for younger audience members.
First Amendment Frequently Asked Questions
We answered some of the most common questions people ask us about censorship, the First Amendment, and kids. Nothing in this document is legal advice, and if you believe that the government has violated your First Amendment rights, you should contact a lawyer. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you have additional questions. We offer a downloadable, [...]
Benefit 2021
2021 Annual Benefit Wednesday, November 10, 2021 6:30pm – 7:00pm EST | VIP Reception 7:00pm – 8:30pm EST | Benefit WATCH THE EVENT HONOREES Judy Blume is one of America’s most beloved authors. Her 29 titles include Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the five-book series about the irrepressible Fudge, and Forever. [...]
Benefit 2020
Let Me Speak 2020 Annual Benefit Wednesday, November 11, 2020 6:00pm - 6:30pm EST | VIP Reception 6:30pm - 7:30pm EST | Benefit THANK YOU We sincerely appreciate all of the organizations and individuals who participated in the event and helped NCAC fight censorship and promote free expression! A special thank you to Harper Collins, Donna Bray, VU [...]
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.
Free Speech Stories 2019
These are the free speech stories our readers cared about most this year.
NCAC’s Arts Advocacy Program Shines at the Creative Time Summit
In November 2019, for Creative Time Summit X: Speaking Truth, our Arts Advocacy Program (AAP) organized the roundtable session Fear and Controversy: Censorship in the Arts at the Cooper Union with artists Christina Freeman (UltraViolet Archive), Roopa Vasudevan (Center for Media at Risk, University of Pennsylvania) and Joy Garnett (NCAC's Arts Advocacy Program). The number of attendees (approx. 25 [...]