pFor more than 100 years, the ACLU has defended students’ First Amendment rights across the United States. Since April, more than 2,000 people have been a href=https://www.aclu.org/podcast/special-edition-what-were-seeing-at-campus-anti-war-protestsarrested/a or detained for participating in anti-war protests on campuses across the country. And it’s not just anyone and everyone protesting on campus who’s getting arrested or facing unjust repercussions. Specifically, authorities are disproportionately targeting those protesting for the rights of Palestinian people./p p“We will defend anyone whose free speech and association are being challenged and stifled by the government. But especially in this moment, we#8217;re not seeing ‘both sides’ be stifled in the same way,” said Allegra Harpootlian, a senior communications strategist with the ACLU. She’s part of the team who helped put this comic series together./p p“The majority of censorship and repression has been directed toward people who are supporting the Palestinian people, and that was definitely true in the case of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida./p imagegrid :images='[{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P1.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;Our student group has long advocated for Palestinian human rights. In recent months our activism has felt more important than ever. So we freaked out when Gov. DeSantis ordered our school to an us.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p1quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P2.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;Florida officials didn\u0027t even suggest that we had violated any law or policy in the deactivation order. Instead they pointed to statements by the national SJP chapter, an independent group, and used that to baselessly accuse us of supporting terrorism.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p2quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P3.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;The order was used to stigmatize and silence us. We didn\u0027t stop our work, but we were constantly worried about what this attempt at government censorship meant for us and our group.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p3quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P4.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;We weren\u0027t the only ones in fear of being silenced. Students around the country, then and now, face censorship attempts.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p4quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P5.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;But we know our rights. We weren\u0027t doing anything wrong \u2014 so we took Florida officials to court.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p5quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P6.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;At the end of the hearing, the judge addressed the students at the center of this case. That doesn\u0027t happen a lot.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p6quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P7.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;A couple of weeks later, the judge found that Florida officials didn\u0027t intent to carry out their threat of deactivating us. It was a win, but it followed months of fear and anxiety.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p7quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true},{quot;srcquot;:quot;https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SJP-4X5-FINAL-P8.pngquot;,quot;altquot;:quot;A comic panel that says \quot;Our chapter believes that speaking up for Palestine is speaking up for humanity. This experience has been tough, but we\u0027re so proud to fight for our First Amendment rights.\quot;quot;,quot;slugquot;:quot;sjp-4x5-final-p8quot;,quot;titlequot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_1quot;:quot;quot;,quot;subtitle_2quot;:quot;quot;,quot;descriptionquot;:quot;quot;,quot;urlquot;:quot;quot;,quot;display_descriptive_text_in_gridquot;:true}]' alignment='top' :images-per-row-desktop='4' :images-per-row-mobile='2' /imagegrid pThe a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-rules-florida-officials-do-not-intend-to-deactivate-university-of-floridas-students-for-justice-in-palestinestory/a of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Florida is so emblematic of attempted censorship, that I made a comic about it, with the help of a team at the ACLU. In it, we aim to provide young people with important information about unlawfully silencing free speech that could apply to them iright now/i. We also want to highlight stories of bravery by students who fought for their rights./p pThe process of creating the comic began months ago. It’s been a long journey, and for good reason; illustrative journalism – especially pieces that include minors or young people – requires close attention to detail, and careful depiction of a subject. But in this case, I knew it was especially important to consider legality and safety when mixing the story with illustration./p pLike I described in the Qamp;A for the a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/how-comics-can-spark-conversations-about-race-and-history-in-the-classroomfirst comic/a in this series, it’s important for the person or group I’m portraying to feel comfortable with the visual representation I’m creating of them. The students who were a part of the case challenging threats to deactivate the University of Florida’s SJP organization also needed an additional layer of safety: individual anonymity./p video controls source src=https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/05/SJPtimelapse1.mp4 type=video/mp4 / Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. /video pEven outside of especially sensitive cases like this one, It’s important for journalists to consider the safety of young people when writing news about them that may leave them vulnerable to negative consequences, which is why I offer the option of anonymity to the demographic more often than not. Young people are taking a greater risk in sharing their difficulties than most older adults – many are yet to begin their public, adult lives. As a journalist determined to bring stories of injustice towards youth and young adults to light, my job is to represent their struggles and victories in a way that helps them and others like them, not to harm their future./p pIn the past few years especially, activists have been subject to a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/some-steps-to-defend-against-online-doxxing-and-harassmentdigital attacks/a that go beyond the verbal, such as doxxing and hacking, which is why protecting the identities of young people was just as, if not more, pressing in this piece. The safety of University of Florida SJP members was a core concern from the beginning of bringing their case./p pHarpootlian, the ACLU communications strategist on our comics team, was also part of the group advising the students on safety protocols at the time of the case./p p“We know there is no perfect solution to digital privacy, but we also e have a duty to keep our clients safe. We took this case on right around the time that two students had been shot in Vermont, and Florida is a concealed-carry state. It is a state that has had violence against activists,” she said. “We didn#8217;t want to put students in harm#8217;s way.”/p video controls source src=https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/05/SJPtimelapse2.mp4 type=video/mp4 / Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. /video pSo I did the same. That’s why the comic is set in the first-person plural perspective – the “we” in the panels. In telling stories of struggle and resilience, I didn’t want to single out one student, just for them to fall in harm’s way for telling their story./p pIt wasn’t a challenge to maintain detail and narrative despite not being able to work with a specific perspective. So much of what these students went through happened with each other – they faced their challenges as a collective./p pCollectively, students in the University of Florida’s chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine were afraid of the consequences of threatened disbandment. Collectively, the students – who come from all backgrounds, including those who are not Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, or Jewish – felt the stigmatization of the phrasing used in the a href=https://www.flbog.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Deactivation-of-Students-for-Justice-in-Palestine.pdfmemorandum/a that called for the group’s disbandment./p pAnd collectively, that same group of students continued to speak out, despite the pressure that came from, in the words of the judge who oversaw the case, the most powerful person in Florida./p div class=mb-8 wp-pullquote standard div class= wp-pullquote-inner p#8220;It wasn’t a challenge to maintain detail and narrative despite not being able to work with a specific perspective. So much of what these students went through happened with each other – they faced their challenges as a collective.#8221;/p /div /div pThis piece is meant to reflect the perspective of some of the students who make up the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at the University of Florida. The final panel of the comic displays resolute students continuing to march even after months of threatened repercussions. The panel’s text reads, “Our chapter believes that speaking up for Palestine is speaking up for humanity.”/p pDespite the arduous experience of taking Florida officials to court, the University of Florida SJP members said they were proud to have fought for the First Amendment rights of all students. At a time when free speech and free expression in schools are under attack across the country, the students at the University of Florida are not alone, and they must not be silenced./p

pRight now, efforts to censor college protestors, to ban diverse materials in schools and to silence students and staff threaten our right to free speech in schools. People are having their voices silenced, their right to learn challenged, and their access to information restricted. But how can we navigate these complex issues with the next generation?/p pWe at the ACLU created a series of comic stories with illustrative journalist Eda Uzunlar to empower students and educators, spark vital conversations about their rights, and ensure all voices are heard and clear, both in the classroom and beyond. Our first installment illustrates the story of Anthony Crawford who is a public school teacher and part of a a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/bert-v-oconnorlawsuit challenging HB 1775/a, Oklahoma’s classroom censorship law./p pIn this Qamp;A, we sat down with Eda to discuss why comics are the perfect medium to tackle these issues and connect with young people in a way that resonates far more effectively than traditional media can./p pbLet’s start with your journey as an illustrative journalist, comic creator, and audio enthusiast. What inspired you to use this kind of medium for your work?/b/p pI#8217;ve been making comics since childhood. Like most kids, I doodled, and eventually, my doodles turned into my first comic. It was about a character called Spaceman – creative, I know – an astronaut stranded on the moon. He was this sardonic, really sarcastic, figure. It was a simple concept. He became this kind of vessel for expressing myself as a young person, particularly growing up in South Dakota with my family being both Muslim and immigrants from Turkey. Expressing these issues in a way that people who were very different from me would understand was crucial to me./p div class=wp-single-image sizing--full-bleed mb-8 figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=2800 height=1400 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=A preview of Eda Uzunlar#039;s comic featuring teacher and activist Anothy Crawford. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three.jpg 2800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-768x384.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-2048x1024.jpg 2048w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-400x200.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-600x300.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-800x400.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-1200x600.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-three-1600x800.jpg 1600w sizes=(max-width: 2800px) 100vw, 2800px / /figure /div pI realized that comics are a way to discuss complex stories without oversimplifying them. But I never imagined it would become a career. Similarly, my entry into journalism was unexpected. Someone introduced me to FM radio in my teens. Within a year, community radio became this amazing space for me where I hosted a show discussing anything, from civil disobedience to whether or not respect is implied or earned – things I thought people from any background could weigh in on. And I don’t know why they gave a 16-year-old the ability to take live calls, but I got to talk to so many people in my community that way. It felt like a continuation of my comics — anonymous conversations driven by passion rather than preconceived notions based on appearances./p pSo I took those experiences and turned them into what I do now. I try to help people tell their stories – no matter how complex – in an accessible way, so others can gain understanding of perspectives they might not have known about before./p pbIt#8217;s so great how you#8217;ve integrated your childhood passion for comics with your later pursuits in journalism and radio. You mentioned that comics offer a unique way to discuss complex issues without oversimplifying them. How do you navigate that balance between accessibility and depth when creating your comic content?/b/p pIt#8217;s all about breaking down big ideas into something digestible and engaging. When stories like these are presented in a visual format, it helps the audience both process and retain what they’re taking in. This especially applies to younger people. They#8217;re the ones making use of social media and watching YouTube to learn about the world around them. Traditional newspapers? Not so much for them. And when we#8217;re talking about accessibility, it#8217;s a big deal. There#8217;s a direct correlation between marginalized groups and limited access to media literacy. Traditional long-form journalism often fails to reach these communities./p div class=wp-single-image sizing--full-bleed mb-8 figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=2800 height=1400 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=A preview of Eda Uzunlar#039;s comic featuring teacher and activist Anothy Crawford. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b.jpg 2800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-768x384.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-2048x1024.jpg 2048w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-400x200.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-600x300.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-800x400.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-1200x600.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/crt-3-b-1600x800.jpg 1600w sizes=(max-width: 2800px) 100vw, 2800px / /figure /div pTake, for instance, the whole debate around critical race theory (CRT) in Oklahoma. A long-winded article might not reach the people who need to hear about it most. But with comics, we#8217;re able to package up those complex ideas into something that will catch your eye and is easy to grasp. It#8217;s like delivering a message directly to their social media feed. By making these reported stories visually engaging and using everyday language, we#8217;re making sure that everyone gets a chance to join the conversation, especially those who might feel left out by traditional media channels, especially the ones with a paywall./p pbLet’s talk about this first comic you worked on about Anthony Crawford, an Oklahoma teacher who is part of a lawsuit challenging a classroom censorship bill. How did your approach to brainstorming and initial sketches contribute to capturing his story, particularly in conveying the depth of Black history and the importance of including both student and teacher perspectives?/b/p pThere#8217;s a process where you try very hard not to limit yourself at the beginning. That#8217;s where you do quick sketches of one panel ten times, trying anything that might be cool to represent the idea. For example, for the panel about Black history being filled with wisdom, not just difficulty, there are a thousand ways to approach it. That could be represented literally with historical figures, or the opposite, which is what I did – a tree. A really big, grand tree. On its own, it could mean anything. But with the context and few words in the panel, it suggests a huge heritage and lineage. Trees are generational, lasting hundreds or even thousands of years. I had about five ideas, and then I saw how the tree looked. The detail and grandeur of this single image helped convey the depth to which Anthony described the importance of Black history in America, aligning with the voice he gave it throughout the piece. That#8217;s another thing – I went back and said, #8220;Listen, there#8217;s just a tree in this panel, but it’s based on how you talked about what Black history feels like to you.#8221; Like history existed before we were here and after we#8217;re gone, just like a tree. And he was like, #8220;That#8217;s perfect.#8221;/p video controls source src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TREENAME_TIMELAPSE.mp4 type=video/mp4 / Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. /video div class=wp-audio div class=wp-audio__content div class=wp-audio__metadata h3 class=wp-audio__episode-titleEda on Adding Figures in Black History to An Illustration/h3 /div audio controls controlslist= source src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/treenames.mp3 type=audio/mpeg Your browser does not support the audio element. /audio /div div class=wp-audio__links a class=wp-audio__download-link href=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/treenames.mp3 target=_blankDownload audio/a /div /div pWith critical race theory and book bans, everyone loses. The teacher, the student, the whole community is affected when our right to learn and right to free speech are stifled. So we really wanted to get both the student and teacher perspectives. Anthony opened his own story as a teenage version of himself in the early 2000s, enraged because he wasn’t being taught his own community’s history, discussing his experience as a student, which served as an ideal starting point for the piece. Eventually, he transitions into the current day, where he’s facing the same problem – only now, he’s the teacher. And there’s this vague law in Oklahoma that makes it hard for him to teach that same history, and the history of other oppressed communities in America. This shift illustrates the cyclical nature of issues like CRT and book bans in Oklahoma, highlighting how such restrictions on free speech persist over time. The initial depiction of Anthony as an unhappy student parallels the final panel where he faces his own students, who are motivated to learn because they can actually see themselves in their histories./p pbFrom Anthony’s perspective as a teacher, the issue of critical race theory getting banned is represented as one that educators like him are worried about. How did you make sure that struggle spoke to the younger audience as well? /b/p pWhen students face dilemmas like seeing banned books in their libraries and the removal of celebrated authors of color from their curriculum, it can shake their confidence in their education and understanding of history. That’s the first part of the comic, and allows young people to make connections with the younger version of Anthony. Then, the narrative zeroes in on the educator perspective. Anthony champions diverse perspectives in his classroom. Through his actions, the comic reveals Anthony’s motivations for teaching, emphasizing his dedication to his students and his younger self. That’s where I wanted students to connect to the teacher side of the comic – so they know that if their right to an inclusive education is stifled, even if none of their own teachers have taken steps to continue teaching about America’s diverse history, there are educators out there who care and are making a difference. My hope is that by seeing someone who was once in their shoes assert his First Amendment rights, current students feel empowered to do the same for themselves./p video controls source src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AC_TIMELAPSE.mp4 type=video/mp4 / Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. /video div class=wp-audio div class=wp-audio__content div class=wp-audio__metadata h3 class=wp-audio__episode-titleEda on Drawing Anthony /h3 /div audio controls controlslist= source src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/anthonydrawing.wav type=audio/mpeg Your browser does not support the audio element. /audio /div div class=wp-audio__links a class=wp-audio__download-link href=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/anthonydrawing.wav target=_blankDownload audio/a /div /div pIn fact, I have seen my comics be used as a connection between students and teachers. I put out a comic about juvenile justice, and about a year later, a teacher from Wyoming reached out to me on Facebook and shared that one of their students shared my comic with them. Next thing you know, they#8217;re teaching it in their classes, sparking discussions on juvenile justice, and showing students how to navigate tough situations. It#8217;s pretty amazing, right? Shows how comics can really make a difference in the real world by influencing education and promoting meaningful dialogue./p