Advocacy

Free Expression - Overview

        Artists are often at the forefront of struggles to preserve our First Amendment right to free expression. The NEA Four, the Hollywood Ten, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sarah Jones, and the Dixie Chicks are examples of artists who have been blacklisted or censured for expressing their social and political convictions through their art.

        Not only is the right to freedom of expression an essential element of democracy, but our progress as a culture depends on the full, unfettered vision of our artists. We therefore urge our supporters to oppose efforts to silence artists and stifle free inquiry.

The USA Patriot Act and the Freedom to Read

        The USA Patriot Act, passed in the immediate wake of the September 11 attacks, gave the federal government access to a whole host of personal information, including library and bookstore records. Librarians and bookstore owners are not even allowed to alert customers to the fact that they have been approached for information. This power infringes on one of our most basic rights, the right to be an informed citizenry, the right to read.

        Booksellers, librarians and members of Congress have launched a campaign to restore protections for the privacy of bookstore and library records. Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, on March 6, 2003, and the bill has been gaining momentum steadily since. Senator Barbara Boxer filed a Senate companion bill, S. 1158 in May. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently asserted that this provision of the Act has never been used. He even mocked librarians for being concerned.  Since law enforcement has no use for these extra powers, why not repeal them?

        Further discussion of the issues and a list of the 136 Congress members who have now signed on as co-sponsors of HR 1157 can be found at:

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee: http://www.bordc.org/freedomtoread.htm

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression: http://www.abffe.com

TAKE ACTION:

       Please contact your member of Congress and your senators and urge them to cosponsor HR 1157 or S. 1158. If they are already co-sponsors, please thank them and urge them to oppose any further roll-backs of our constitutional rights (e.g. Patriot II). To find contact information for your Congressional Representative, or to find out who your representative is, go to:

Contacting the Congress

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress

A Success Story!  Sarah Jones and the FCC

        Playwright and performance poet Sarah Jones was the target of censure by the FCC for her poem "Your Revolution."   On May 17, 2001, the FCC issued a $7,000 fine to Portland, Oregon's KBOO, a listener-sponsored station, charging that Jones' poem "Your Revolution" violated the Commission's decency standards, which had been newly revised. The song, which challenges the degrading sexualization of women in rap, asserts that "your revolution will not happen between these thighs." The poem satirizes popular rap songs, while standing up for women's self-definition and empowerment. You can listen to the poem at:

http://www.yourrevolutionisbanned.com/index99.html

        Given the barrage of misogynistic images and messages in popular culture, it is ironic that the FCC chose to censure a feminist's creative response to male rappers.  Eminem is the only male artist they have censured in this way, and his case was quickly dropped.  We urged our supporters to write the FCC protesting their fine of KBOO.  

        In February 2003, the Federal Communications Commission reversed its position without explanation and withdrew its objections to the song being broadcast. While this is a great victory, we should still be concerned. The agency did not make clear why it believed the song met its definition of "indecent." Nor is there any system in place for artists to challenge FCC rulings. In this case, Jones' poem was kept off the air for two years, depriving listeners of important cultural critique and creating a chilling environment for progressive artists.

TAKE ACTION:

        Write the FCC and request a full accounting of the internal procedures for determining what will be ruled "indecent."  Demand that the agency institute an appeals process for artists whose work is deemed indecent and that the process be conducted within a reasonable time period.

Contact:

Michael Powell, FCC Chair

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th St. S.W.

Washington, DC 20554

Email: mpowell@fcc.gov

(phone) 888-225-5322

(fax) 202-418-0232

For more information about Sarah Jones, go to:

www.sarahjonesonline.com