As a Wisconsin school superintendent prepares to make a recommendation regarding a challenge to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, CBLDF this week signed on to a letter from the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Kids’ Right…
Author: Maren Williams
Farghadani Gives Firsthand Account of Imprisonment for Cartoon
Just over a year ago, Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani was released from prison after 18 months. Her so-called crime: drawing Iranian MPs as apes and bovines while they debated a bill toban voluntary sterilization procedures such as vasectomies…
Librarians Brainstorm Solutions to Build and Defend Graphic Novel Collections
Now more than ever before, comics are an indispensable component of many public libraries’ collections. A decade or two ago they might have been treated as ephemera, but today they are often curated with the same level of care as…
Ai Weiwei Defines Artists’ Duty to Resist Repression
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has long been a thorn in the side of authorities, defiantly finding ways to critique government corruption and suppression despite constant surveillance, threats, detention, and a four-year revocation of his passport which prevented him from traveling…
Wisconsinites Pack Board Meeting for Debate Over Absolutely True Diary
Community debate continues over Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, where a review committee recently recommended to Superintendent Cliff Thompson that the book remain in the 9th grade curriculum at Sauk…
Thirteen Reasons Why TV Series Leads to Sudden Scrutiny of Popular Novel
Ten years after its initial publication, Jay Asher’s young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why is encountering a sudden surge in challenges, bans, and restrictions in schools around the country due to panicked adult backlash against the Netflix series based on…
Sevinç Kart Speaks at European Parliament for Imprisoned Turkish Journalists
Over six months ago, Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart and several of his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper were arrested in the midst of their government’s ongoing crackdown on independent media following the failed coup last July. After an unnecessarily long…
Utah Repeals Rules on ‘Advocacy of Homosexuality’ in Classrooms
Following action by the Utah legislature to repeal a statewide ban on “advocacy of homosexuality” in schools, the state’s Board of Education unanimously voted last week to also repeal its corresponding administrative policy. The ban notably led the Davis School…
Florida Legislature Passes Classroom Censorship Bills
The Florida Senate today approved the House version of a bill that would facilitate challenges to classroom materials, sending the legislation on to Governor Rick Scott. The Senate also had its own version of the bill, but not enough time remains in…
How the Comics Code Erased LGBTQ Characters from Mainstream Comics
Fredric Wertham’s attack on comics in the early 1950s is probably most remembered today for his concern about over-the-top horror and violence from the likes of EC. But there was another aspect that preoccupied Wertham just as much: the potential…