Social Movements & the Law

Fueling Young People to Change the World |

he Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

Ali Michael and Mary C. Conger with contributions from Susan Bickerstaff, Katherine CrawfordGarrett, and Ellie Fitts Fulmer, University of Pennsylvania "Navigating aspects of personal identity within American social institutions, such as schools and workplaces, is often challenging and complex. Affinity groups are an effective means through which people can reaffirm and explore aspects of their identity, as well as provide each other guidance and support for interacting with those who might not share, understand, or respect that identity. This article examines ways in which one such affinity group, White Students Confronting Racism (WSCR) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, helps white students understand their racial identities and work to become effective anti-racist allies."

Challenges to nonbook materials -- such as displays, social media posts, reading lists, and programs -- are on the rise. What should libraries do in the face of these attacks?

On July 17, 2024, we noticed a posting from Wisblawg which stated in part that “In recent months web developers and SEO experts have noted significant changes in Google’s Indexing practices ...

Funding will expand ALA’s intellectual freedom initiatives amid record number of book challenges CHICAGO (June 22, 2023) — The American Library Association (ALA) will distribute $1 million to support and expand intellectual freedom initiatives as the nation grapples with rising censorship challenges and seeks a greater array of resources to protect the right to read. ALA will use the funds to provide a major boost for its current efforts to support its members, library workers and libraries everywhere, as well as the communities they serve.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Library Association (ALA) applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s steps announced today to address the rise in book bans and other attacks on LGBTQIA+ Americans. In a fact sheet released today, the White House announced that the Department of Education will appoint a new coordinator to address the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students, among other steps to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ Americans.

As seems to be the new normal, there is a lot happening in the news (*gestures vaguely around*). It’s easy to focus on a few issues at the expense of others or to get overwhelmed and check out enti…

National Library Week is April 23-29, 2023. This national annual observance celebrates the contributions of libraries and their staff to their communities and greater society. This year's theme is "There's More to the Story" - a reminder that while libraries are full of stories on their shelves, they are more than their collections of books.

This week marks Banned Books Week, celebrated annually at the end of September to honor our freedom to read and the importance of free access to information, whether or not we personally agree with it. Join us as we explore the history of banned books.

Dear President Garimella, On January 21, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded its policy restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in sensitive areas …

Analysis of Trump’s 2025 executive orders and their impacts on tribal entities, from tax status and energy policy to federal recognition and contracting opportunities

More than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from data.gov since Trump was inaugurated. But analyzing exactly what happened and where it went is going to take some time.

The race is on to save public information about health and science before Trump makes it disappear

“How can I be a better ally?” This is a question we often hear at the Commission. Here are four more questions lawyers ask about allyship.

Librarians are defending the rights of readers and writers in the battle raging across the US over censorship, book challenges and book bans. That conflict has even changed how librarians are trained.

In Texas, whenever a civil lawsuit is filed, the other party must be served with the starting papers to know they are being sued and why. This is the same for divorce suits, Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, Modifications, etc., unless the other party is willing to sign an Answer or

By Mikayla Redden (Follow us on LinkedIn) Imagine you’re jumping up and down on a giant trampoline enclosed in a safety net. You feel an intense, childlike joy. Then someone dumps a bucket of …

139K Followers, 124 Following, 94 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Why Don’t We Discuss (@whydontwediscuss)

The police murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 was the one major act which sparked American and global civil unrest during 2020 relating to institutional and systemic racism, police brutality, and unsettled issues from the era of colonization and the African slave trade. The Protests Against Racism Web Archive contains a selection of websites documenting protests and activism sparked by the murder of George Floyd, where Mr. Floyd was the “tipping point,” the “last straw;” the web archive also includes websites documenting earlier killings of victims of racism and police brutality. Coverage encompasses protests against racism and police brutality against Blacks, police reform (both the liberal and conservative reactions to police brutality); critical grassroots movements (i.e. local Black activism, multiracial activism). This project covers “Black Lives Matter” protests and protests named in the idea of "Black Lives Matter" but not organized by the Black Lives Matter organization; the impact of these protests in various aspects of society: police reform; racism in sports, business/corporations, legislation and legislative-related activism, educational institutions, religion; reaction of Conservative America (i.e. local, regional, and state groups); other areas of society impacted by these nation-wide and global expressions, etc. This is a highly selective collection that primarily focuses on U.S. sites, and includes a small global component. Social media platforms were out of scope for this collection.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a

Patty Hector lost job after being targeted by campaign urging restriction of books with race and LGBTQ+ themes

2024 was an eventful year for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and its membership of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and...

Despite wins on abortion and Senate race, a progressive group backing Harris faced voter apathy and backlash over immigration.

South Carolina considering a law that withholds public library funds if "inappropriate" materials are available and more censorship news.