Chicago Public Schools may think their letter regarding the attempted ban of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis provides an adequate defense for their actions, but today’s letter from the Kids Right to Read Project unquestionably eviscerates CPS’s argument. CBLDF is a sponsor…
Category: Education
Marjane Satrapi Wants to Know What CPS Fears About Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi wrote Persepolis not just to share her personal experiences growing up in Iran but also to make human the people of a country that has been otherwise vilified around the globe. Satrapi recently spoke with Khury Petersen-Smith with…
TONIGHT: The Trial of Zap Comix Presentation in NYC
Tonight in NYC, see Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund present “The Trial of Zap Comix: Comics, Counterculture & Obscenity in NYC” at the NY Comics & Picture Story Symposium. This presentation explores People v. Kirkpatrick a…
Students, Teachers, Iranian-born Artist React to PERSEPOLIS Ban
Two weeks after the news broke that Chicago Public Schools officials had removed Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel memoir Persepolis from 7th grade classrooms and placed it “under review” for use in 8th-10th grades, reactions continue to pour in from various…
Defending Manga: The Ryan Matheson Story
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to release Defending Manga: The Ryan Matheson Story, a short documentary video recounting the young American citzen’s fight for justice after being wrongfully accused of criminal activity because of fantasy and humor…
Chip Kidd Takes Action to FREE PERSEPOLIS
Chip Kidd — designer extraordinaire, writer, comics devotee, and CBLDF supporter — has added his voice to the cacophony decrying the attempt to ban Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in Chicago schools. Recently, Kidd compiled a series of #FreePersepolis memes, calling on…
IRONY: Lane Tech Had Banned Book Club Before PERSEPOLIS Ban
A recent Chicago Tribune article caught our eye. The topic: 451 Degrees, a book club that reads exclusively banned books. What’s ironic about this particular club is that it exists at Lane Tech College Prep, the school at the center…
CPS Responds to PERSEPOLIS Defenders
A week ago, CBLDF joined the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Kids’ Right to Read Project, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and more in sending a letter to Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennet, denouncing the removal of Marjane…
Filtering Software Promotes Censorship in RI Schools
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island recently published a report documenting how the implementation of flawed internet filtering software in Rhode Island public schools has denied the state’s teachers and students access to educational information. In its…
Missing the Point on PERSEPOLIS
The attempt to ban Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis from Chicago schools awoke immediate protest among students, teachers, parents, and free speech advocates such as CBLDF. The circumstances behind the ban are still unclear, but a recent opinion article in The Atlantic…