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1st Amendment

NCAC and FIRE Express Alarm Over East Tennessee State University’s Treatment of the FL3TCH3R Exhibit

By |2024-12-06T14:53:36-05:00December 4th, 2024|News|

2024 FL3TCH3R Exhibit Catalog cover design Today, the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression expressed alarm at new exhibition protocols at East Tennessee State University’s Reece Museum, which undermine the artistic integrity of the current exhibition on view. The exhibition, titled The FL3TCH3R Exhibit, provides a platform for artworks exploring social and political themes. Read [...]

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Student Advocate for Speech Guest Feature: Rebels with a Cause

By |2024-10-31T16:19:08-04:00October 31st, 2024|News|

Written by Tasmia Ishma The spirit of my homeland - its aspirations and its turmoil - remains etched in my identity. As a Bengali immigrant who left at the age of six, I have always felt deeply connected to my roots, witnessing the power of youth in advocating for change and the harsh realities of censorship that often stifle those [...]

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A Call to MSU: End Censorship, Protect Artistic Expression

By |2024-12-11T11:13:58-05:00October 15th, 2024|News|

(Left) Samia Halaby, Six Golden Heroes, 2021 & (Right) Alia Farid, Piquete en el Capitolo, 2023 UPDATE 2/02/2024: Success! NCAC has received reports that the artwork by Alia Farid, Piquete en el capitolio, has been returned to the original location selected by the exhibition’s curators–an implicit admission that MSU was wrong to relocate the work in the [...]

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Stop Online Censorship: NCAC and 58 Allies Urge Rejection of KOSA

By |2024-10-02T13:33:49-04:00October 2nd, 2024|Letters, NCAC at work, News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is proud to join forces with 58 civil rights organizations, LGBTQ+ advocates, and free speech organizations in opposing harmful legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). For 50 years, NCAC has fought for the right to access uncensored information, and KOSA threatens to undermine that core freedom. KOSA risks silencing crucial online [...]

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NCAC Endorses Rep. Raskin and Sen. Schatz Bicameral Resolution Condemning Book Bans

By |2024-09-26T17:55:14-04:00September 25th, 2024|News, Press Releases|

Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) have reintroduced a vital resolution condemning the surge in book bans across schools, libraries, and universities nationwide. As we celebrate Banned Books Week, this resolution upholds the First Amendment rights of students and affirms that the freedom to read is essential for a healthy democracy. Over 10,000 books have been banned [...]

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NCAC 50th Anniversary: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Woodhull

By |2024-09-11T16:27:43-04:00September 11th, 2024|50th Anniversary, Blog, News|

Since its founding in 2003, Woodhull Freedom Foundation has been an unwavering champion of free speech, recognizing it as the cornerstone of our fundamental human right to sexual freedom. As a human rights organization, we have consistently stood at the forefront of the battle against censorship, particularly in defense of sexual expression, which has long been a primary target [...]

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BBW ’24: Filmmaker Ava Duvernay To Lead Banned Books Week as Honorary Chair with former SAS and White House Honoree Julia Garnett to Serve as Youth Honorary Chair

By |2024-09-06T16:25:37-04:00September 6th, 2024|News|

Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been named honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024, which takes place September 22 – 28. DuVerney will be joined by youth honorary chair Julia Garnett, a student activist who fought book bans in her home state of Tennessee. "I believe that censorship is the enemy of freedom,” said DuVernay, honorary chair of Banned [...]

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School Board in Brevard County, Florida removes LGBTQ+ book against the recommendation of review committee

By |2024-09-05T13:02:48-04:00September 5th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board of Brevard Public Schools in Florida after they voted to remove Shō Harusono's Sasaki and Miyano Vol. 1 from school libraries contrary to the Book Review Committee's recommendation to retain it.  NCAC is concerned that the board may have acted due to hostility towards the views expressed in the [...]

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NCAC Decries Lubbock’s Art Funding Cut Targeting LGBTQ+ Programming

By |2024-11-01T15:58:23-04:00August 8th, 2024|News|

UPDATE - August 15, 2024: Following advocacy efforts and community concern, the Lubbock city council considered whether to fully reinstate the funding without any restrictions. In the final vote, the City Council approved a greatly reduced grant of $5,000 for security at FFAT. The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA) expressed disappointment, but assured its commitment to [...]

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Artistic Freedom Under Fire: NCAC Denounces Vail’s Cancellation of Danielle SeeWalker’s Residency

By |2024-08-05T12:51:58-04:00August 5th, 2024|News|

Image caption: Danielle SeeWalker, G is for Genocide, 2024 In May, NCAC was alarmed to learn about the Town of Vail, Colorado’s decision to cancel Danielle SeeWalker’s artist residency with the town’s Art in Public Places Program. The residency was to include the commission of a new mural, a photo exhibition of existing work depicting contemporary [...]

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School Board in Florida removes Ban This Book despite the recommendation of a review committee

By |2024-08-06T15:23:56-04:00July 24th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Board of the School District of Indian River County after they removed Alan Gratz’s Ban This Book from school libraries despite a review committee's recommendation to retain the book. NCAC expressed concern that the Board may have removed this book due to disagreement with the views expressed within the material. Therefore, [...]

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National Coalition Against Censorship Launches Map Tracking Art Censorship Since October 7th

By |2024-07-18T16:16:22-04:00July 18th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) announces the launch of a new resource, Art Censorship Index: Post-October 7th, documenting the recent spike in censorship of art and artists invoking Israel or Palestine.  Artworks and artists referencing the subject of Israel and Palestine have long been subjects of controversy and/or censorship, but following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and [...]

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NCAC, PEN America, and ACLU-FL: DeSantis’s Veto of Florida Arts Funding Raises First Amendment Concerns

By |2024-07-18T12:15:43-04:00July 17th, 2024|News|

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore Today the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), PEN America, and the ACLU of Florida (ACLU-FL) condemned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s veto of the entirety of the state’s annual arts budget, because the governor stated the decision was based on his distaste for certain types of artistic expression. In particular, the governor [...]

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NCAC Decries Exhibition Cancellation at Craft Alliance

By |2024-07-10T14:14:19-04:00July 10th, 2024|News, Statement|

Dani Collette and Allora McCullough, Planting Seeds, Sprouting Hope, 2024, Installation view. Today the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) expressed alarm at the cancellation of an exhibition at Craft Alliance, an art organization in St. Louis, MO. Following a complaint from a volunteer, the venue asserted that the project, which draws attention to the plight [...]

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Greenville County School board removes books against recommendation of review committee

By |2024-06-20T16:30:20-04:00June 20th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the board of Greenville County Schools in South Carolina regarding the removal of Ellen Hopkins' Perfect and Tilt and Sarah J. Maas' Empire of Storms from high school libraries. The review committee evaluated these books and concluded that they should remain in the library. The school board, however, overruled the recommendations [...]

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NCAC and Eleven Other Groups Rebuke Congressional Committees’ Request for Suspicious Activity Reports of Non-Profit Organizations

By |2024-05-17T10:18:33-04:00May 17th, 2024|News, Statement|

Today, along with eleven other free expression groups, NCAC issued a letter to two congressional committees regarding their request to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) of twenty groups that the committees alleged had supported or funded recent college protests.  NCAC's deep concern stems from both the breadth of the committees' requests for records (20 organizations, without [...]

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No to the Heckler’s Veto: Fear of Protest Should Not be a Reason to Silence Speakers

By |2024-07-17T16:03:18-04:00April 19th, 2024|Blog|

When political passions run high, disagreement is often expressed as vocal protest. Cultural institutions in a democratic society need to be prepared to manage such protests without silencing the voices they target. Instead, vague “safety concerns” are used to justify the suppression of speech within US cultural and educational institutions with alarming frequency.  On April 15th, the Provost and [...]

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NCAC recommends policy changes to Roane County School District in Tennessee

By |2024-03-28T11:59:00-04:00March 26th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Roane County School District Board of Education in Kingston, Tennessee to recommend changes to their board policy.  After almost 200 challenged books were temporarily removed, NCAC encouraged the district to revise their policy to allow challenge books to remain on shelves during the reconsideration process. Read NCAC's full letter to [...]

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NCAC protests the disposal of hundreds of school library books at New York City’s PS 55

By |2024-03-25T15:40:42-04:00March 25th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship urges the school administrators of PS 55, The Henry M. Boehm School in Staten Island, NY,  to follow NY DOE policy and return these discarded books back to shelves and uphold the First Amendment values of free inquiry and free access to information. Read NCAC's full letter to PS 55 here: Click here for a [...]

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National Coalition Against Censorship Applauds Public Art UHS in its Commitment to Complete Installation of Shahzia Sikander Exhibition

By |2024-11-01T15:59:35-04:00March 18th, 2024|News, Press Releases, Statement|

UPDATE - July 10, 2024: Following NCAC’s advocacy efforts, Public Art UHS completed the installation of Shahzia Sikander’s exhibition, Havah… to breathe, air, life and revised its FAQ document to include more information about the work from the artist. Months following the installation of the exhibition, Sikander’s sculpture, titled Witness, was beheaded by an unidentified vandal. The artist has requested [...]

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St. Johns County School District in Florida improperly removes library books without following procedure

By |2024-03-07T13:03:29-05:00March 7th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board of St. Johns County School District in  St. Augustine, Florida to express our concern that the district is not following their policy when conducting reviews of books with sexual content. Read NCAC's full letter to the St. Johns County School District here: Click here for a full-screen view: [...]

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National Organizations Sound the Alarm: Suppressing Art Because it Relates to Political Conflict Is a Violation of Artistic Freedom

By |2024-03-07T12:33:46-05:00March 7th, 2024|News, Statement|

National arts and civil rights organizations expressed deep concern today over the extent to which cultural institutions are halting the development of programs that can be interpreted as relating to the conflict in Israel and Palestine.  A rash of cancellations over the past few months has affected cultural programs and exhibitions that contain references to the conflict or that [...]

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Unwavering Advocates: NCAC, FIRE And Other Free Speech Advocates Defend Free Speech at the Supreme Court in Murthy v. Missouri

By |2024-03-20T10:13:59-04:00February 16th, 2024|News, Statement|

In a key legal filing last month, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), in collaboration with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and other free speech organizations, took a bold step in the ongoing battle for free speech. Together, they filed an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court in Murthy v. Missouri, challenging government overreach and defending the [...]

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NCAC Condemns Biden Administration’s Attempts to Coerce Amazon Into Censorship

By |2024-02-09T14:17:49-05:00February 9th, 2024|Press Releases|

Recent news reports have surfaced, revealing attempts by the Biden administration to pressure Amazon to censor controversial anti-vaccine books and search results. According to the reports, representatives of the Biden administration have urged Amazon executives to take action against books that the administration has deemed to contain misinformation surrounding COVID-19 and vaccines. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) condemns [...]

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Echoes of McCarthy: Criticizing Israel and Charges of Antisemitism

By |2024-07-17T16:00:40-04:00January 25th, 2024|News|

Just two months before the long-planned February opening of Samia Halaby’s art retrospective, Indiana University (IU) abruptly canceled the show, citing vague concerns “about guaranteeing the integrity of the exhibit.” But the concerns had nothing to do with Halaby’s colorful abstractions. The last time abstract works were controversial in the United States was during the McCarthy era, when Congressman [...]

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Rockingham County Public Schools in Virginia temporarily removes 57 books from school libraries without following policy procedures.

By |2024-01-23T10:34:00-05:00January 23rd, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written a letter to the Rockingham County School Board to protest their decision to temporarily remove 57 books from school libraries without following district’s policy for challenges and review. NCAC urges the Board to return the books to library shelves pending a formal review from a review committee. Read NCAC's full letter to [...]

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NCAC urges Indiana University to Reschedule Exhibition of Abstract Artist Samia Halaby

By |2024-10-18T17:32:06-04:00January 11th, 2024|Letters, News|

Today, NCAC issued a letter of concern to the leadership of Indiana University, imploring the university to reverse its December 2023 decision to cancel the upcoming retrospective exhibition of renowned Palestinian-American abstract painter, Samia Halaby. “Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy” was to open in February at the university’s Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art and feature more than [...]

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NCAC recommends policy improvements for a Wisconsin School District that received over 400 book challenges

By |2024-06-13T13:20:05-04:00January 5th, 2024|Letters, News|

Update - According to media reports, the Elkhorn school board has returned all 444 books to library circulation. However, some of the challenged books were restricted or moved to different libraries. The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Elkhorn Area School District in Wisconsin to recommend policy improvements after a local parent challenged 444 library books, which were [...]

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Iowa School District removes over 70 books without following proper review procedures

By |2024-01-02T12:03:29-05:00January 2nd, 2024|Letters, News|

The Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District in Grimes, Iowa has removed 73 books from school libraries in an attempt to comply with Iowa Senate File 496, which prohibits school libraries from having any materials with "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act." The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board to urge them to improve their [...]

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NCAC Condemns Greek Foreign Minister’s Censorship of NYC Artist

By |2023-12-21T14:12:47-05:00December 21st, 2023|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) raised concerns today regarding the censorship of an exhibition at the Greek Consulate in New York. An artwork by New York-based artist Georgia Lale was removed on the order of Greece’s Foreign Minister, George Gerapetritis. Political criticism of one of Lale’s works grew following the exhibition’s opening last week, when the leader of the [...]

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NCAC Joins EFF and Other Free Speech Organizations in Urging Supreme Court to Strike Down States’ Attempt to Regulate Social Media Speech

By |2023-12-14T10:53:21-05:00December 14th, 2023|Press Releases|

NEW YORK – The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), in collaboration with five prominent organizations, including Electronic Frontier Foundation, Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Authors Alliance, Fight for The Future, and First Amendment Coalition, have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down laws in Florida and Texas that empower states to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of [...]

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NCAC objects to the removal of 75 books from school libraries in Hanover County, Virginia

By |2023-12-12T12:11:36-05:00December 12th, 2023|News|

In November, the district administration of Hanover County Public Schools in Virginia improperly ordered 75 books be removed from school libraries.  The National Coalition Against Censorship has written a letter to the school board to urge them to rescind the order and to evaluate any challenged books using the proper criteria.  Read NCAC's full letter to the Hanover County Public [...]

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NCAC recommends policy changes to North Syracuse Central School District in New York

By |2023-12-01T12:40:22-05:00December 1st, 2023|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the North Syracuse Central School District in New York to encourage them to amend their policies. The suggested revisions will allow access to challenged materials to remain unrestricted during the review process.  Read NCAC's full letter to the North Syracuse Central School District here: Click here for a full-screen view: [...]

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NCAC protests the removal of 33 books from high school library in Wisconsin

By |2023-11-30T14:05:42-05:00November 30th, 2023|News|

According to media reports, the superintendent of Wisconsin's Menomonee Falls Schools has removed 33 books from school libraries without following the district's challenge procedures.  The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board to urge them to conduct all book challenges in accordance with board policy, which requires that challenges be adjudicated by a committee of diverse [...]

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NCAC protests improper removal of over 100 books in Kentucky school district

By |2023-11-08T14:44:47-05:00November 8th, 2023|News|

Boyle County Schools in Kentucky has improperly removed over 100 books because they claim they are required to do so under Kentucky law SB 150. The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to inform them that the law does not apply to library books and to demand that the books be returned. Read NCAC's full letter to the Boyle [...]

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Middle East Conflict Fallout: A culture of fear and anger takes over US cultural institutions

By |2024-04-11T14:40:10-04:00November 8th, 2023|News|

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 [...]

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A Massachusetts high school student was forced to remove clothing that expressed support for Palestine

By |2024-12-04T13:03:00-05:00November 1st, 2023|News|

Update 11/2/2023 - After review, the student was allowed to wear the shirt without punishment. The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the principal of Framingham High School after receiving reports that the school forced a student to remove a shirt that expressed support for Palestine. We understand that in some schools, the student's shirts may indeed create a [...]

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NCAC encourages Barbers Hill ISD in Texas to reform its hair length rules to respect student free expression

By |2023-11-01T14:41:54-04:00November 1st, 2023|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to Barbers Hill ISD expressing concerns about the district's lack of respect for student free expression after a student was disciplined for violating the district hair length regulations.  NCAC urged them to change their policy to allow for more student free expression. Read NCAC's full letter to the Barbers Hill Independent School District [...]

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The superintendent of Cobb County School District in Georgia has removed two books in violation of policy

By |2023-11-01T14:36:55-04:00October 31st, 2023|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board of Cobb County School District in Marietta, Georgia to recommend improvements to their current policies after two books were inappropriately removed from school libraries.  Our letter outlines several violations of their procedures and shares several recommendations for improving the policy. Read NCAC's full letter to the Cobb County [...]

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