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JUDY BLUME FOREVER
Right To Read Virtual Conversation
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JUDY BLUME, STILL FIGHTING BOOK BANNING
NCAC Executive Director Chris Finan recently moderated a virtual conversation ([link removed]) inspired by one of the themes of the new documentary Judy Blume Forever ([link removed]) , ([link removed]) which is now available on Amazon. The documentary highlights the importance of Blume’s fight against censorship in the 1980s and the urgent need to confront the current epidemic of book banning. Chris was joined by the directors of Judy Blume Forever, Leah Wolchok and Davina Pardo; Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America; American Library Association President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada, and Pat Scales, a former children’s librarian and author of Teaching Banned Books.
The conv
[link removed] took place on Right to Read ([link removed])
([link removed]) Day ([link removed]) , sponsored by Unite Against Book Bans ([link removed]) , and
was made possible by Amazon Video. NCAC
co-chairs the UABB coordinating committee.
DEAR CENSORS..... (http://)
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WE WON'T STOP FIGHTING OR WRITING!
The National Coalition Against Censorship continues to protest book banning in school districts across the nation.
A letter of protest was delivered to the Board of Directors at Maine School Administrative District #6 ([link removed]) in Buxton, Maine, in response to the removal of eight books pending review, including Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, Later Gator by Jana DeLeon, Lucky, by Alice Sebold, Push, by Sapphire, The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, The Boy Toy, by Nicola March, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrew.
A letter was sent to respond to the removal of Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman from school libraries in Vero Beach, Florida ([link removed]) . Without formal review, a principal removed the graphic novel because it depicts Anne Frank walking in a garden that contains classical Greek and Roman statues of nude females.
The Sioux City Community Schools ([link removed]) and Iowa City Community School District ([link removed]) removed Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay from school libraries. The decision to remove the book without following their reconsideration procedures violates the district’s book challenge policies and sets a dangerous precedent.
Additional NCAC letters are available for review at ncac.org/news.
TAKE ACTION ([link removed])
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STAND UP FOR ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
Social media companies have become cultural gatekeepers with unprecedented power to determine which artworks can freely circulate and which are banned or pushed into the digital margins. It's time to fight back! Don't Delete Art, a project co-founded by NCAC, is collecting signatures for a new manifesto. Join us in telling social media companies that there must be more support for artistic expression on social media. Please show your support by signing the manifesto today at [link removed].
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NCAC WELCOMES APPLICANTS FOR SAS 2023-2024
NCAC is now accepting applications for the second year of its pioneering program for high school students, Student Advocates for Speech (SAS). Participants about the importance of free speech and how to advocate for their rights and those of others facing censorship. They also receive advocacy training and mentorship from experts, educators, and bestselling authors as they work to create free speech clubs in their schools. Apply at ncac.org/sas ([link removed]) . The deadline is May 5.
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WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOUNG FILMMAKERS!
We are confronted every day by ideas we oppose. NCAC is asking young people 19 and under to submit a video exploring how to speak with people whose ideas we hate. NCAC’s Youth Free Expression Program (YFEP) invites young filmmakers to submit three-minute films for its Youth Film Contest ([link removed]) . The deadline for contest entries is September 8.
RESOURCES (http://)
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NCAC OFFERS ADMINISTRATORS NEW GUIDELINES TO SAFEGUARD ARTISTIC FREEDOM
School administrators are increasingly feeling pressured to censor or alter visual art with potential “controversial” or “problematic” subject matter. Censorship of this kind endangers young people’s rights to free expression.
In response to these trends, NCAC has developed guidelines ([link removed]) to protect artistic freedom and aid students’ creative learning.
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