When classes resume next month at New Mexico’s Rio Rancho High School, the acclaimed graphic novel Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez will be back on shelves in the library–but students under 18 will need a parent’s signature to check it out.…
Author: Maren Williams
Zunar’s Sedition Trial Delayed Again
For the second time, Malaysian cartoonist Zunar’s trial on nine counts of sedition has been postponed pending a decision in another case which challenges Malaysia’s entire Sedition Act. Zunar’s trial, which could land him in prison for up to 43…
VICTORY in CA: Crafton Hills College Will Not Require Disclaimer on Graphic Novel Course
After CBLDF last week joined with the National Coalition Against Censorship in urging Crafton Hills College not to require a disclaimer about potentially offensive content on future syllabi for a graphic novel class, the San Bernardino Community College District has…
Survey Shows 33% of Americans Unable to Name Any First Amendment Right
One third of Americans cannot name any of the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment, according to results from the Newseum Institute’s annual State of the First Amendment survey. While it’s encouraging that speech is the freedom most commonly…
Fifty Challenges Filed Against LGBTQ Children’s Books in Rural Texas County
Over 50 residents of Hood County, Texas have filed formal challenges against two LGBTQ-themed children’s picture books found in the local public library. Library director Courtney Kincaid and an advisory board have already refused to move My Princess Boy and…
CBLDF Joins Coalition Defending The Kite Runner in North Carolina School District (Again)
In advance of a school board meeting in Buncombe County, North Carolina, tonight, CBLDF has once more joined with a coalition of free speech advocacy organizations led by the Kids’ Right to Read Project in sending a letter urging the…
Apple Pulls, Reinstates Games That Include Confederate Flag
Last week, as businesses including WalMart, Target, and Amazon announced they would stop selling Confederate-flag-themed merchandise, Apple attempted to follow suit in its iOS App Store. Initially, however, this resulted in the disappearance of virtually all games about the U.S.…
North Carolina Review Committee Unanimously Recommends The Kite Runner Stay in Class
Despite a mother and former school board member’s contention that The Kite Runner is inappropriate for a 10th grade Honors English class, a district-wide review committee in Buncombe County, North Carolina unanimously recommended last week that the school board allow…
Adding Fun Home to Your Library or Classroom Collection
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, a memoir of her complicated relationship with her closeted gay father and her own realization that she was gay as well, has the rare distinction of being frequently challenged at the post-secondary level. Challenges from individual…
Adding Persepolis to Your Library or Classroom Collection
Since 2013, Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of her childhood during and after Iran’s Islamic Revolution has rather unexpectedly become one of the most frequently challenged graphic novels in U.S. classrooms and school libraries. Despite the book’s critical acclaim, some parents and…