Organizations Filed Purposes:
THE PURPOSE OF THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IS TO DEFEND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS RELATING TO SPEECH AND PRESS AND TO ASSIST WITH RELIEF FROM ARBITRARY DISCRIMINATION BY AUTHORITIES CONCERNING OR RELATING TO THE PUBLIC'S ACCESS TO COMIC BOOKS AND OTHER COMIC PUBLICATIONS.
THE ORGANIZATION DEFENDED FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN COURT CASES IN VARIOUS STATES AND PARTICIPATED IN AMICUS BRIEFS PURSUING THE DEFENSE OF THE COMIC COMMUNITY'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN VARIOUS STATES, AND ASSISTED LIBRARIES ON FIRST AMENDMENT CHALLENGES TO COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS. THE ORGANIZATION ATTENDED NUMEROUS CONVENTIONS AND FREE EXPRESSION LEGAL MEETINGS, AND DELIVERED EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO GAVE NUMEROUS INTERVIEWS AND PARTICIPATED IN EDUCATIONAL ROUNDTABLES. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO PUBLISHES ITS NEWS MAGAZINE AND MANAGES ITS WEBSITE, WHICH REACH UNTOLD THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS, TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE FIGHTS THAT FACE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE COMIC BOOK MEDIUM.
THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND CONTINUED TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN LEGAL CHALLENGES TO COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVEL CENSORSHIP. CASES IN WHICH THE FUND INTERVENED RAISED A RANGE OF IMPORTANT CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES, SUCH AS AN EDITORIAL CARTOONIST'S RIGHT TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAINST EVIDENT RETALIATION, PROTECTION AGAINST IDENTITY-BASED DISCRIMINATION, AND THE FREEDOM OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULA AND LIBRARIES TO INCLUDE BOOKS DEPICTING LGBTQ+ EXPRESSION.THE FUND CONTINUED TO PROMOTE THE DEFENSE OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOR THE COMIC ARTS THROUGH PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FUND'S APPEARANCES AT COMIC CONVENTIONS INCLUDED EDUCATIONAL PANELS ON THE HISTORY OF COMICS CENSORSHIP, ALONG WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF ANTI-CENSORSHIP LAW. THE FUND'S WEBSITE ALSO PROVIDES UPDATES ON ONGOING COMICS-RELATED LEGAL MATTERS, ALONG WITH CASE HISTORIES OF MAJOR COMICS CENSORSHIP COURT RULINGS. IN ADDITION, THE FUND PARTICIPATED IN CHARITABLE ANTI-CENSORSHIP INITIATIVES, SUCH AS BANNED BOOKS WEEK, THAT HELPED RAISE AWARENESS OF FREE SPEECH, FREE EXPRESSION, AND OTHER PRESSING CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES.IN CONJUNCTION WITH ITS PUBLIC OUTREACH, THE FUND ALSO EXPANDED ITS DEDICATED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS. THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDED THE FUND'S ANNUAL COMICS IN EDUCATION SURVEY; GRAPHIC NOVEL DISCUSSION GUIDES; EDUCATOR BOOK CLUBS; A GUIDE FOR STUDENT FREE SPEECH; AND A SERIES OF WEBINARS ON SUCH THEMES AS TEACHING TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING (WITH MACARTHUR GENIUS AWARD-WINNER GENE LUEN YANG), TAKE PRIDE IN COMICS: THE CHALLENGES FACING LGBTQ+ CONTENT, DEVELOPING A CLASSROOM COLLECTION 101: ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO COMICS, USING COMICS IN THE CLASSROOM: PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR DEVELOPING CURRICULUM, ADDRESSING IDENTITY CENSORSHIP, AND USING COMICS TO TEACH TOUGH TOPICS.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Charles Brownstein | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $138,106 |
| David Steinberger | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Gene Luen Yang | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Katherine Keller | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Jeff Smith | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Reginald Hudlin | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Paul Levitz | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Dale Cendali | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Ted Adams | TREASURER | 5 | $0 |
| Chris Powell | VICE-PRESIDENT | 5 | $0 |
| Christina Merkler | PRESIDENT | 5 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202043219349322859_public.xml