A recent exhaustive survey of challenges and bans of materials in Massachusetts public libraries has uncovered a few cases involving comics and graphic novels — as well as a major shortcoming in the state’s public records law, which allows libraries…
Category: Education
Using Graphic Novels in Education: Boxers & Saints
Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of banned books and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine books that have…
The Secret History of Comics Censorship
Researcher Carol Tilley revealed to the world that much of Fredric Wertham’s data supporting the “dangers” of comics were largely fabricated. Her evidence? Wertham’s own notes and papers. Recently, Tilley joined CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein and Abrams Comicarts editorial…
Tucson School District Lifts Ban on Mexican American Studies Books
Nearly two years ago, the Tucson school district dissolved the acclaimed Mexican American Studies program. In doing so, they removed seven books by Latino and Native writers from the curriculum. Last night, the TUSD school board voted 3-2 to allow…
Mockingbird Restored in Plaquemines Parish Schools
Victory in Louisiana! Just over a week after the Plaquemines Parish School District reinstated a previously imposed ban on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the book was restored to classrooms after a special school board meeting last night. According…
Be Counted! Help CBLDF Stand Up To Book Censorship!
In 2013, book censorship is on the rise. CBLDF is fighting back, but we can’t do it without you! From the attempted ban on Persepolis in the Chicago Public Schools last spring, to the current controversy over the removal of…
Alamogordo Teachers, Librarian Speak Out On Neverwhere
With Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere currently suspended from classroom use at Alamogordo (New Mexico) High School, English teachers and the school’s librarian are speaking out to make it clear that the book has not been removed from the library and that…
Raising a Reader: Creators and Librarian Inspire During APE Panel
CBLDF kicked off the 2013 Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco on Saturday, October 12, welcoming a diverse audience of parents and children to discuss the importance of raising a reader. CBLDF’s Betsy Gomez moderated a panel of experts including…
How You Can Make A Difference in the Neverwhere Challenge
If you’re like us, the recent removal of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere from Alamogordo Public School classrooms has caused you to feel anything from confusion to just-plain-no-way-you-can’t-be-serious anger. Here’s how you can take action: Be Heard A parent in Alamogordo has started a petition on Change.org and…
To Kill a Mockingbird Re-banned in Louisiana School District
After a convoluted series of events spanning at least a decade, the school board in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana last week removed Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird from classrooms throughout the district. After some parents of high school…