Administrators of a public library in Foxborough, Massachusetts allowed most of an exhibit on press freedom to return to display last week after previously ordering its removal, but two posters including the one at right apparently were considered too shocking…
Author: Maren Williams
DHS Plans to Keep Tabs on All Immigrants’ Social Media Accounts
Civil liberties organizations are crying foul after the Department of Homeland Security this week quietly released sweeping plans to collect social media information on all immigrants to the United States, including those who already have citizenship or legal permanent resident…
New Action Kit Provides Tools to Fight Book Challenges
One of the best safeguards against censorship in libraries and schools is grassroots support for free expression. Of course tenacious librarians and teachers, fair-minded board members, and carefully crafted policies all play a role, but an overwhelming community rebuke to…
Why Do Comics Get Challenged?
Every year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports of book challenges from around the country–that is, a request from an individual or group for a book to be restricted or removed from a library or…
Latuff Sounds Alarm for Free Expression in Turkey
As we continue to await a verdict in the politically-motivated trial of Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart and 16 of his journalist and editorial colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper, fellow cartoonist Carlos Latuff is doing everything he can from his home…
Political Cartoonist Held Without Charge in Equatorial Guinea
A political cartoonist and graphic novelist originally from Equatorial Guinea was arrested last week in the capital city of Malabo and is being held without charge. Ramón Esono Ebalé, who now lives in Paraguay, had briefly returned to his native…
California School District Reaffirms Support for Teacher Who Read Transgender Books
In front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 500 people, a public charter school system in Rocklin, California reaffirmed this week that a kindergarten teacher’s in-class reading of two transgender-themed picture books was in line with district policy. However, the…
Sonny Liew Declines Singapore Government Grant With Strings Attached
In 2015 just before publication of Sonny Liew’s tour de force graphic history of Singapore, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, the city-state’s National Arts Council suddenly got cold feet and revoked a promised grant due to the book’s…
ACLU & EFF Challenge Warrantless Border Searches of Electronic Devices
In response to a skyrocketing rate of warrantless searches of travelers’ smartphones and other electronic devices at U.S. border crossings, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation this week filed a lawsuit challenging the practice as unconstitutional.…
Submissions Open for International Human Rights Cartoon Award
Exiled Iranian cartoonist Kianoush Ramezani, who was forced to flee his native country when the regime took notice of his work in 2009, has established a new international prize to recognize cartoonists who are speaking out on issues of human…