"I feel deeply that these times of trial reveal who we really are, and with our most basic freedoms at risk, we have seen that courage is necessary, and yes, it is contagious."

— John Palfrey

NCAC's 2025 Defender of Democracy Award Recipient

NCAC Responded to DOJ’s Sweeping Order to Investigate “Extremist Groups.”

Legal Advocacy

NCAC Challenges University Drag Show Ban in Fifth Circuit

The National Coalition Against Censorship joined its allies to file an amicus brief before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Spectrum WT v. Wendler.

In 2023, Walter Wendler, the President of West Texas A&M University, cancelled an on-campus drag show planned by the student group Spectrum WT on the basis of his belief that drag shows are inherently discriminatory against women, despite acknowledging that the Constitution required him to allow the show to proceed. Spectrum WT sued to vindicate its members’ First Amendment rights, but the District Court denied its request for a preliminary injunction.

NCAC and Allies Ask Fifth Circuit to Protect Free Speech After Legislator Blocks Constituent

The National Coalition Against Censorship joined its partners to file an amicus brief in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Detiege v. Jackson. Maya Detiege sued Louisiana state Sen. Katrina Jackson after Jackson blocked her on social media, alleging a violation of her First Amendment rights.

Youth Free

Expression Program

NCAC Urges Florida’s Duval County Schools to Reject Unconstitutional Policy Change

The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Public School Board in Duval County, Florida to share our concerns regarding proposed revisions to the School Board Manual’s policy on challenged materials.

The proposed revisions would require the district to “remove any material challenged for depicting sexual conduct, as defined by s. 847.001(19), F.S., from all schools within five days of an objection, unless it is required for certain courses or designated by the State Board of Education.” This draft language echoes state law HB 1069, which requires book removals pending adjudication of whether the challenged material contains sexual content.

However, The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently held that the provision of HB 1069 requiring the removal of material challenged for “describ[ing] sexual conduct” is “overbroad and unconstitutional.” Duval County is bound by the decisions of its federal court and the proposed policy would put the district at risk of violating the First Amendment.

NCAC urges the Board members to reject the unconstitutional policy.

NCAC Reminds Library in Rutherford County, Tennessee of Duty to Uphold the First Amendment

In September, The Tennessee Secretary of State issued a letter to all public libraries to “undertake an immediate age-appropriateness review (over the next 60 days) of all materials” in their children’s sections. NCAC is deeply concerned that this order is part of a political pressure campaign that endangers the First Amendment rights of Tennessee communities.

The discretion of government officials to remove library books is particularly limited to ensure the protection of patrons’ First Amendment right to access information and, according to the Supreme Court, “may not be exercised in a narrowly partisan or political manner.” Removing books from the shelves of the public library based on the intent to deny children access to materials that are not “age-appropriate”—an arbitrary and standardless term—exposes Tennessee libraries to constitutional liability.

NCAC has written to the Board of Directors at the Rutherford County Library System prior to their December board meeting to remind them that the First Amendment prevents a library from making viewpoint-based removals and trumps any federal or state law to the contrary.

Free expression is under real and growing threat in 2025.

Across the country, we’re seeing an unprecedented wave of book bans, educational censorship, artistic silencing, propaganda, and the targeting of political dissent.

Nearly every institution that upholds our free expression values—libraries, schools, museums, media, law firms, non-profits, and campuses—is at risk.

But your donation in 2025 can turn muzzles into megaphones.

Your gift will fuel the staff, programs, and networks that underlie NCAC’s fight for free expression, supporting your right to read, speak, create, protest, and imagine without fear.