Category: News Blog

This will show up on the main blog page

CBLDF Executive Director Joins Everyday Superheroes for 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference

by  •  • Comments Off on CBLDF Executive Director Joins Everyday Superheroes for 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference

On Thursday, May 3, 2012, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein will join librarians, patrons, and educators from throughout Long Island for the 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference. This educational forum provides instructive programming and networking opportunities that help improve the quality of libraries in the Long Island community. This year’s theme: Everyday Superheroes at Your Library.

Brownstein will be speaking from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. about the particular concerns of graphic novels in libraries during “With Great Stories Comes Great Responsibility.” The website describes the program:

Whether you call them comics, graphic novels, or manga, books telling stories by blending words and pictures have changed the world of reading. Learn about the great power that the many categories of comics hold for your patrons and explore the responsibilities we face in helping them navigate these brave new worlds. Charles Brownstein provides an overview of the world of comics and addresses common challenge issues in a talk affirming why comics are a vital aspect of the 21st century library environment.

Please join Brownstein and fellow library lovers for the 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference, happening May 3, 2012, at the Melville Marriot (1350 Old Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York 11747). You can register for the conference here. Space at the conference is limited, so register soon!

Read more →

Columbia University Posts Video from COMIC NEW YORK: A SYMPOSIUM

by  •  • Comments Off on Columbia University Posts Video from COMIC NEW YORK: A SYMPOSIUM

by Betsy Gomez

I don’t know about the rest of you, but as a West Coast gal, I was pretty bereft that I couldn’t attend Comic New York: A Symposium, the two-day event that brought together comics creators and academics to discuss American comics and the role New York City played in their establishment. I love New York and would have loved the chance to see CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein, CBLDF founder Denis Kitchen, and CBLDF board member Paul Levitz share their takes on comics and the city that molded them.

I got a good piece of news this week, though: The nice folks at Columbia University have uploaded videos of the programming at the symposium! Check out the videos after the jump.

Read more →

CBLDF Heads to LA for the Festival of Books!

by  •  • Comments Off on CBLDF Heads to LA for the Festival of Books!

CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox is headed to the West Coast this weekend for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, joining a cadre of authors and book lovers for the annual celebration of the printed word! If you live in the area, head over the University of Southern California campus this weekend for sunshine and literature!

Come by booth #856 to show your support for CBLDF and mingle with fellow supporters of Free Speech. CBLDF will have a vast array of signed premiums on hand for readers of all ages. We’ll have some of the world’s greatest comics, including Maus, Watchmen, Sandman, The Walking Dead, and Understanding Comics, all signed by their creators to support the fight for Free Speech! And that’s just the beginning! You’ll also be able to pick up your own “I Read Banned Comics” t-shirt and other apparel, tote bags, button sets, and more.

CBLDF is also delighted to have some amazing creators signing at booth #856. On Saturday, at 2:00 p.m, you’ll be able to get autographs from Sam Humphries, the writer behind the cult hit Our Love Is Real and Fraggle Rock and The Ultimates. On noon on Sunday, we’ll be joined by Lev Grossman, the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Magicians and The Magician King!

The weather forecasts are sunny for this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, so please join CBLDF at booth #856 this weekend to support Free Speech and celebrate books!

Read more →

CBLDF’s History of Comics Censorship Presentation, Annotated by Joe Sergi’s Cup of Geek

by  •  • Comments Off on CBLDF’s History of Comics Censorship Presentation, Annotated by Joe Sergi’s Cup of Geek

PictureJoe Sergi, blogger for Cup of Geek went to the CBLDF presentation The History (And Future) of Comics Censorship at C2E2 last weekend and wrote an extensive recap of the panel, with additional research and annotations by the author. CBLDF is pleased to represent Sergi’s post in full as a resource for our members and supporters. Read Sergi’s post after the jump.

Read more →

Chicago Shows Huge Support At C2E2!

by  •  • Comments Off on Chicago Shows Huge Support At C2E2!

Last weekend the CBLDF team was at C2E2 in Chicago where we launched a huge t-shirt project with Threadless, delivered a presentation on the history of comics censorship, signed up over 30 new members, and raised more than $7,300 for our important work. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein recaps the festivities after the jump!

Read more →

Kurt Vonnegut’s Letter to the Man Who Burnt His Books

by  •  • Comments Off on Kurt Vonnegut’s Letter to the Man Who Burnt His Books

On occasion, the victims of censorship take the opportunity to face their censors directly. However, few artists respond with the humor and aplomb exhibited in a letter written in 1973 to Charles McCarthy, the head of the school board at Drake High School in North Dakota. The author of this letter? Kurt Vonnegut.

Click through for excerpts from Vonnegut’s letter…

Read more →

Protestors Take Over Tucson School Board Meeting

by  •  • Comments Off on Protestors Take Over Tucson School Board Meeting

Last week, the Tucson Unified School Board voted 3-2 against renewing the contract for Sean Arce, the director of the school district’s disbanded Mexican American Studies program, in spite of support voiced during the public-comment period of the meeting. In response, protestors tied themselves together with zip ties and chanted in support of the MAS program. No one was injured or arrested during the protest despite tightened security at recent school board meetings.

Click through for more about the latest developments in the Tucson book ban…

Read more →

Threadless Design Challenge Opens Submissions to Comics-On Tees Vol. 6 by Neil Gaiman!

by  •  • Comments Off on Threadless Design Challenge Opens Submissions to Comics-On Tees Vol. 6 by Neil Gaiman!

Threadless kicked off the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) last night with a benefit party for Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at Threadless Headquarters where a new fundraising effort for the non-profit organization was announced. In July, Threadless will launch Comics-On Tees Vol. 6, a series of four tees based on the poem The Day the Saucers Came, written by bestselling author and CBLDF board member Neil Gaiman. Artists have a chance to design the first tee in the four-part series, and 25% of the proceeds from the chosen design will benefit CBLDF.

Submissions for the first The Day the Saucers Came t-shirt will be scored by the Threadless community, and its 1.8 million community members will help pick the final chosen design. Designs can be submitted through Threadless, and the chosen shirt will be revealed at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The other three tees in the series will feature art from John Cassaday (Planetary, Astonishing X-Men), Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), and Brandon Graham (King City, Prophet). To submit designs & learn more about this project please visit: http://atrium.threadless.com/cbldf/

Read more →

Judge Hears Arguments in Case Against Utah Law Restricting Speech on Internet

by  •  • Comments Off on Judge Hears Arguments in Case Against Utah Law Restricting Speech on Internet

Last June, CBLDF joined the ACLU of Utah and the Media Coalition in an effort to bar the enforcement of Utah House Bill 260, a law that seeks to restrict constitutionally-protected speech. US District Judge Dee Benson heard arguments about the case this week, but he didn’t issue a ruling. Instead, he directed the parties involved with the case to resolve their differences over two contentious sections of code in the law within the next 30 days.

Click through for more about the case…

Read more →

MUZZLED! The Thomas Jefferson Center “Awards” Censorship

by  •  • Comments Off on MUZZLED! The Thomas Jefferson Center “Awards” Censorship

This week, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression announced the Jefferson Muzzles, which “are awarded as a means to draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment.” Among the dubious honorees on the 2012 list are the US State Department for banning the participation of a Palestinian political cartoonist in a conference on free speech and the Salem, Missouri, Public Library Board of Trustees for blocking access to websites related to minority religions.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The Thomas Jefferson Center gives the awards to ten individuals or organizations, but they start with a very large list of nominees, an indication that Free Speech is still very much at risk. You can read the entire Jefferson Muzzles list here.

Have your say and stop people from being muzzled! Help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Read more →