First Amendment Alive @ UW Tacoma Library & Beyond

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” As part of the September Project and Banned Book Week, the UW Tacoma Library, in collaboration with the UW Tacoma Student Chapter of the ACLU, will host a series of events and displays about freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and censorship. The events are free and open to the public.

The events were planned in coordination with King's Books and the Pierce County Chapter of the ACLU. For more information about Banned Book Week events in the Tacoma area, please visit the King's Books website.

Events

Panel Discussion: Banned Books and Freedom of the Mind
Our panelists include: author Brent Hartinger, whose book Geography Club was removed from libraries in University Place School District in 2005; Catherine Lord , Branch Manager of the NewHolly Branch and Columbia Branches of the Seattle Public Library and a professional trainer on Intellectual Freedom; and professor Suzanne Holland, Chair of the Religion Department at the University of Puget Sound and from the ACLU Speakers Bureau.

When: Wednesday, October 10, 2007, 7 p.m.
Where: UW Tacoma Library, Snoqualmie Reading Room

Film and Discussion: Good Night, and Good Luck
Directed by George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck tells the true story of how broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow challenged Senator Joseph McCarthy during his infamous hearings. After the film, UW Tacoma professor Bill Kunz, who recently published the book Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries, will comment on the film and lead a discussion.

When: Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 7 p.m.
Where: Longshoreman's Hall, UW Tacoma

Displays

September through October
UW Tacoma Library

Unfettered Access: Culture, Civil Rights, and Censorship
Censorship has been around a long time: it ruined Socrates, it inspired Louis XIV to invade Holland , and it kept the infamous Bastille filled for 150 years. This series of displays presents the history of censorship, frequent attempts to suppress minority viewpoints, and the perspectives of authors whose books were banned or challenged .

Justin Wadland is coordinating events at UW Tacoma Library and can be contacted at jwadland@u.washington.edu.