Description

PEN America advocates for freedom of expression on behalf writers and intellectuals in the United States. Founded in 1922 by charter members Eugene O’Neill, Willa Cather, and Robert Frost, among others, PEN America tracks threats to free expression worldwide, supports writers at risk, seeks to bolster academic freedom on campus, and combats disinformation. 
Certainly, writers and scholars have faced attacks from those who disagree with them since the nation’s founding. But the laws of the nation have offered them strong protection. Today, especially at the state and local levels, legislative bodies have tried to set legal limits on what can be said or taught in schools and universities. Such efforts are distinct from the passionate arguments among campus constituencies about who should speak on campuses. While those arguments are distressing enough to free speech advocates, the legislative actions we are seeing now threaten to undermine the fundamental protections that writers and scholars of all political persuasions have relied upon. 
With Luce Foundation and Lumina Foundation support, PEN America launched an initiative to raise awareness of such government actions and to advocate on behalf of academic freedom and free expression on campuses. The organization released a report in the fall ( https://pen.org/report/educational-gag-orders/ ) and has continued to share news through a monthly round-up. As of the beginning of May, some 89 bills have been introduced in 22 states.   PEN America’s work has attracted much attention, prompting news coverage and op-eds in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New York Times, NBC News, and the Washington Times.  
The organization seeks to continue its work. It will continue tracking gag order legislation and also begin tracking “curriculum transparency” legislation which empowers parents and the general community to object to classroom curriculum and even monitor classes. PEN America will also seek to build alliances with scholarly associations and learned societies and will offer educational sessions for students and PEN’s local chapters. And, of course, the project team will continue to publish reports, analysis, and commentary on their website and in national media outlets. 
The Foundation has supported efforts to protect scholars, artists, and intellectuals in the past. Our recent grants to IIE and Scholars at Risk to relocate Afghan scholars are the most recent examples of a commitment that surely traces back to our founder who created the most important news magazine of the 20th century.