In 2015, the power of comics as free expression is not an abstract notion, it’s a matter of life and death. Blank Space, in collaboration with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, is inviting cartoonists to create short comics commenting…
Category: News Blog
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Pennsylvania School District Rejects Pre-Approval Policy
The Lampeter-Strasburg, Pennsylvania, school board made the right decision this past Tuesday when they formally announced that they would not adopt a parental notification/approval policy regarding the inclusion of certain, potentially “controversial,” books in their classrooms. Instead, if needed, teachers…
Happy Freedom to Read Week, Canada!
This week our neighbors to the north are celebrating Freedom to Read Week! Much like Banned Books Week in the U.S., this is “an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which…
EXCLUSIVE: CBLDF Talks to Persepolis Sleuth Jarrett Dapier!
Following the recent revelation of new details regarding the Chicago Public Schools’ 2013 classroom ban of Persepolis, CBLDF got in touch with Library & Information Science graduate student Jarrett Dapier, who used the Freedom of Information Act to secure the…
Tanzania Bans Newspaper Over “Disrespectful” Cartoon
The Tanzanian government has banned the Nairobi newspaper, The EastAfrican, from newsstands. Although the publicized reason for the ban is that the newspaper was being distributed within Tanzania without proper legal registration as required by a 1976 law, several individuals…
In Memoriam: Free Speech Lawyer Herald Price Fahringer
Free speech lost a prime defender recently with the death of Herald Price Fahringer, the lawyer who over a more than 50-year career represented clients such as Larry Flynt and Screw magazine’s Al Goldstein. While abstaining from most vice himself,…
Ecuadorian Cartoonist Faces Charges for “Socioeconomic Discrimination”
Political cartoonist Xavier Bonilla, known as Bonil, has been charged with “socioeconomic discrimination” in his home country of Ecuador for a cartoon targeting Agustín “Tin” Delgado, a former professional soccer player who now sits on Ecuador’s legislative assembly. Bonilla is…
Adding This One Summer to Your Library or Classroom Collection
The recent announcement of the Caldecott Medal winner and honorees has many people rushing to pick up the books for their library and classroom collections. Graphic novel This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki broke boundaries by becoming…
Charles Brownstein Talks Comics Censorship on Boston’s WERS Radio
CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein recently lent his expertise to an episode of the radio show You Are Here on Boston’s WERS 88.9 FM. Take a listen below as host Phillip Jones speaks to Brownstein and others about worldwide challenges…
Using Graphic Novels in Education: This One Summer
Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including…