Who's Afraid of Free Speech? The New York Public Library.

We are two artists who were subject to a deeply disturbing incident Wednesday night April 19th at the main branch of the New York Public Library at an event titled "Who's Afraid of Iran?" (see description below) We were both ordered to leave the hall and forcibly escorted out because we had posters in our possession (see image below). The incident began earlier when Laurie tried to enter the hall and was stopped because she was carrying the posters under her arm. Without provocation she was ordered to check them in the coatroom. When she asked for an explanation, the guard responded, "because I said so." She complied because the event was beginning.

At the intermission we immediately approached the director of the event, Paul Holdengraber, to explain what had happened and showed him a small version of the poster so he could read the content. He was quite apologetic and said this should not have happened. We stated that we would retrieve them from the coatroom which Laurie did with the support of a staff member of the library. We re-entered the hall during the intermission and stood at the side toward the back of the very large room. Some people noticed the posters under Laurie's arm and asked if they could have one. We gave out a few, possibly 5, in a room of over 200 people. The program then resumed, the lights went down, and we took our seats quietly with the posters tucked underfoot. We were then approached by an intimidating security guard who ordered us to leave. We were both shocked. We were informed that we couldn't have the posters in the hall. We did not want to leave this event that we had paid to attend, so stayed seated quietly. The security guard was joined by another security guard who proceeded to escort us out. We did not want to disrupt the program in progress, but were being treated as though that were our intention. Subsequently, we were asked to leave the building. We refused to leave, remaining outside the door of the event asking for an explanation and to re-enter the hall. A woman named Meg Stemler came to the guarded door and again without giving a reason, said we couldn't re-enter with the posters. We waited there until the event concluded. At one point a NYPD officer was called to speak to us. But, there was no incident to respond to, so he left.

Our unjust removal from this event is terribly ironic because the panel included literary scholars and artists who spoke about tyranny, democracy, repression and the power of words and dissent. Without explanation, we were treated as though we were a threat when we were simply there to listen like everyone else. When words on a piece of paper are cause for our removal from public places, such as libraries, then we are clearly losing our rights.

We are determined to make this public.

Director of Public Programs at NYPL

NYPL staff member speaks to Laurie

NYPL staff helps get posters from coatroom

Outside the doors of the event.

Poster size 11x17"

Below a description from the New York Public Library website:
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/pepdesc.cfm?id=1970A

CONVERSATION

Lila Azam Zanganeh, who aims "to corrode fixed ideas and turn cultural and political clichés on their heads" and is editor of My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices, will have a conversation with Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, on the chrysalid of identity politics versus the durable pigments of individual imagination; when politics collide with poetry.

A DISCUSSION

Four Iranian women, Shirin Neshat, Roya Hakakian, Azadeh Moaveni, and Lila Azam Zanganeh, moderator, will discuss the problematic notion of Iranian identity: Who are we in these shifting times and how do we devise ways to formulate it? The panel will give their perspectives on race, religion, and sexuality in—and in exile from—the Islamic Republic.

A READING
Actress Soraya Broukhim will read from the book.

MUSIC
Sussan Deyhim, a Persian vocalist, will perform.
This event is co-sponsored by PEN American Center.