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Free Expression

In Tennessee, Rutherford County public libraries vote to remove materials that promote transgender themes.

By |2025-03-31T15:07:35-04:00March 31st, 2025|News|

In Tennessee, The Rutherford County Library System has approved a measure to remove all library "material that promotes, encourages, advocates for or normalizes" transgender themes.  The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Board to object to this decision. Targeting a particular viewpoint on gender is constitutionally impermissible. Viewpoint-based discrimination violates the principles of the First Amendment. Read NCAC's [...]

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Executive Order Reduces Smithsonian Institutions and National Park Service to Platforms for Nationalist Propaganda

By |2025-03-28T17:31:11-04:00March 28th, 2025|News|

Today, the National Coalition Against Censorship expressed outrage at the Executive Order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order targets the programming of the Smithsonian Institution, which includes 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers, a zoo, and historical and architectural landmarks, and directs it to comply with the presidential administration’s sense of what constitutes “American Greatness.” [...]

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NCAC Condemns Rhode Island School of Art and Design Decision to Shut Down Public Access to an Art Exhibit on Political Resistance, Citing Vague “safety concerns.”

By |2025-03-28T12:09:57-04:00March 28th, 2025|News|

NCAC is alarmed to learn of the Rhode Island School of Art and Design’s decision to close its public campus cafe, which had been hosting To Every Orange Tree, a group exhibition of student, faculty, and community members’ work on themes of “political resistance, anti-imperialism, and Palestinian liberation.” RISD administrators claimed that “unofficial complaints” about the exhibition led to unspecified “safety [...]

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Three Graphic Novels Removed from Radnor High School Library in Pennsylvania

By |2025-03-24T15:36:37-04:00March 24th, 2025|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Radnor Township School District following their removal of three graphic novels from the Radnor High School library.  Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, and Craig Thompson's Blankets were removed after an ad-hoc committee deemed them not age-appropriate.  NCAC recommended changes to the district's policy that would standardize review criteria and provide a process to [...]

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NCAC And Other Organizations Join FIRE in Filing an Amicus Brief in Support of Mahmoud Khalil

By |2025-03-20T17:13:31-04:00March 20th, 2025|News|

Today, NCAC, along with our partners at PEN America, the Rutherford Foundation, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association, joined an amicus brief written and filed by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in urging the court to uphold Mohamad Khalil’s First Amendment rights and release him from detention. In an era where political speech and academic freedom [...]

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NCAC Decries Miami Beach’s Retaliation Against O Cinema for Screening Acclaimed Documentary

By |2025-03-21T13:28:06-04:00March 18th, 2025|News, Statement|

UPDATE 03/20/2025: Following a City Commission meeting which revealed that the Mayor’s proposal to evict O Cinema and rescind its municipal funding did not have adequate votes to pass, the Mayor rescinded the measure. The decision came after an outpouring of support for the independent theater, and its right to program its offerings without government interference. Today the National [...]

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574 Books Removed from Monroe Country School Libraries in TN

By |2025-03-17T11:45:47-04:00March 17th, 2025|News|

Monroe County Schools in Tennessee may have improperly ordered the removal of 574 books from school libraries,  in response to Tennessee's Age-Appropriate Materials Act, which considers certain books as inappropriate for students, before any formal complaints were filed.  The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board to urge them to return all 574 books to school [...]

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NCAC Expressed Deep Concern Over DOE’s Recent “Dear Colleague” Letter on Race and Teaching Practices

By |2025-03-06T16:56:59-05:00March 6th, 2025|News, Statement|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is deeply concerned by the recent “Dear Colleague Letter” issued by the U.S. Department of Education, which targets and seeks to restrict the teaching of certain race-related concepts in classrooms. This letter claims to address discrimination by eliminating race-based preferences while also targeting 'indoctrination' and the teaching of DEI concepts. While we share [...]

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National Free Speech and Art Organizations Warn of a “Golden Age” of Propaganda and a “Starvation Age” for Culture

By |2025-03-19T13:58:29-04:00February 26th, 2025|Letters, News|

Today, the National Coalition Against Censorship, The Authors Guild, The Dramatists Guild of America, The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, Artists at Risk Connection, AICA International and PEN America expressed deep concern over the Trump Administration’s recent moves to impose ideological control over federally funded cultural programs. Though some of these efforts have already been hindered by a court injunction, [...]

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NCAC Along With FIRE and ACLU-TX Demand Fort Worth Police Return Artwork Confiscated From Museum

By |2025-02-19T13:34:55-05:00February 19th, 2025|News, Press Releases|

FORT WORTH, Feb. 19, 2025 — A trio of civil liberty organizations are speaking up today to demand the Fort Worth Police Department end its unconstitutional censorship and seizure of several pieces of art that were on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the [...]

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Orwellian Overreach: NCAC Fights Back Against Administration’s Dangerous Attempt to Censor Classrooms

By |2025-01-30T14:03:15-05:00January 30th, 2025|News, Statement|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) strongly condemns the recent Executive Order signed by President Trump that aims to censor the teaching of race, gender, and identity in American schools, entitled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” Make no mistake, this Executive Order is not about ending supposed indoctrination in our schools— it is itself designed to indoctrinate and [...]

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Statement from the Kids’ Right to Read Project on the U.S. Department of Education’s Dismissal of Book Bans as a “Hoax”

By |2025-01-27T12:26:21-05:00January 27th, 2025|News|

The Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP), a signature initiative of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), has been at the forefront of defending the freedom to read for over 20 years. We condemn the recent actions by the U.S. Department of Education in dismissing complaints about book bans and referring to these challenges to access as a "hoax." [...]

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NCAC Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship”

By |2025-01-22T13:44:47-05:00January 21st, 2025|News, Statement|

Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The Executive Order aims to inhibit the government's ability to censor–or pressure private companies to censor–constitutionally protected speech. The National Coalition Against Censorship has long argued that the government should never use its power to pressure companies to censor voices that the government [...]

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As Concerns of Art Censorship Rise in Nation’s Museums, NCAC Encourages Museum Directors, Curators, and other Cultural Leaders to Employ its Best Practices

By |2025-01-17T14:17:22-05:00January 17th, 2025|In The News, Press Releases|

New York, January 16, 2025 – In the wake of a newly-released report warning of censorship pressures faced by museum directors across the US conducted by the Association for Art Museum Directors, PEN America, and Artists at Risk Connection, the National Coalition Against Censorship encourages cultural leaders to incorporate its Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy into museum policies. [...]

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NCAC Recommends Policy Improvements to Volusia County Schools in Florida

By |2025-01-16T17:01:30-05:00January 15th, 2025|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to Volusia County Schools in Florida to recommend changes to their board policy.  NCAC encouraged the School Board to revise their challenge policy to ensure that all challenged books remain on shelves during the reconsideration process. Read NCAC's Full Letter to Volusia County Schools. Click here for a full-screen view: [...]

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NCAC Decries Art Censorship at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

By |2025-02-03T12:21:14-05:00January 9th, 2025|News|

Photo Credit: Composite image of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Sally Mann’s A Perfect Tomato(1990), edited by NCAC staff Today the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), condemned the police seizure of artworks from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth as apparent evidence in a criminal investigation of child abuse. The works in question, made [...]

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Right to Read Network Spotlight: SEAT at the Table

By |2024-12-16T15:29:17-05:00December 16th, 2024|News|

On any given day, Cameron Samuels and Da’Taeveyon Daniels are hard at work. Alongside their academic and extracurricular pursuits, Samuels and Daniels serve as Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT). As one of the NCAC’s 23 Right to Read Network (RRN) affiliates, SEAT stands out as a truly grassroots, young-people-centered organization advocating [...]

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Student Advocate for Speech Guest Feature: Rebels with a Cause

By |2025-01-31T12:51:59-05:00October 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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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 recommends policy changes for Cameron R-1 School District in Missouri

By |2024-06-14T12:26:54-04:00June 14th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Cameron School District in Missouri after school administrators reviewed a dozen school library books and then restricted some of them. NCAC recommended changes to the district's policy to include a diverse review committee for adjudicating future book challenges. Read NCAC's full letter to the Cameron School District here:Click here for [...]

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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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NCAC: ARTSPACE’S VAGUE POLICIES RESTRICTING “INAPPROPRIATE,” “SENSITIVE” ARTWORKS THREATEN ARTISTIC FREEDOM ACROSS THE U.S.

By |2024-03-20T13:09:03-04:00March 20th, 2024|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) raised concerns today that Artspace, the nation’s leading developer of arts facilities, has repeatedly censored artworks presented on their properties. Since 2017, NCAC has been made aware of three incidents resulting in the removal of arts displays, as well as the 2023 ousting of an artist subtenant as punishment for an exhibition of [...]

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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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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 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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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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Día de los Muertos altar sparks controversy over inclusion of Palestinian flag

By |2023-11-06T16:55:16-05:00November 6th, 2023|News|

The National Coalition Against Censorship is alarmed by the recent decision of El Museo del Barrio, a museum in upper Manhattan, to cancel the display of Recordar y Unificar, a Día de los Muertos altar it commissioned from artists Odalys Burgoa and Roy Baizan, for the sole reason that the work includes a scarf with the Palestinian flag on [...]

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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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