Censorship: A Conversation on Voice, Artistic Risk and Imagination

Event Details

Artists have always pushed boundaries—only to face backlash, bans, or erasure. From books and films to music and visual art, censorship continues to shape what stories get told and who gets to tell them. This panel explores how creative expression collides with cultural norms, political power, and the evolving lines of public acceptability.

About the panelists

Ebony Chappel is an award-winning multimedia journalist, business owner, certified community health worker, and nonprofit leader. She’s known for making high-level decisions, appropriately allocating resources, and delegating responsibilities to maximize productivity and achieve strategic business goals.

Chappel currently serves as director of brand and community strategy for Free Press Indiana, a nonprofit on a mission to ensure that residents of Indiana have local news that is anchored in and reflective of the needs of the communities they serve. She also works as a freelance writer and media personality with several media outlets, including Indy Maven, Pattern magazine, and Urban One. During the 2020 pandemic she launched a podcast, What’s Good? with Ebony Chappel, to shed light on people in the community doing good things to positively impact the world around them. For nearly a decade she’s used her skills to support many small businesses and community-based organizations

Chappel’s work has garnered recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Hoosier State Press Association, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, and the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation among other honors. In 2022 she was named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty under 40, and in 2025 she joined the ranks of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series as a member of Class XLIVIII.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Chappel volunteers with various community groups and serves on committees/boards for causes she cares about— arts and culture, literacy, and education. She recently served as president of the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation Board and executive director of the Friends of Belmont Beach.

Chappel has collaborated with other young Black social entrepreneurs to do projects that speak to her personal desire to bring experiences to life that are fueled by curiosity, love, and radical transformation. These efforts include the Testimony Service (a welcoming community that seeks to bring people together—regardless of faith affiliation—to fellowship, hold space for one another, and celebrate the good news about what’s going on in their lives and communities), the Black Women’s Writing Society (a monthly gathering of sisters who share a love for the written word), and the Free People Party (an affirming and inclusive dance-centric experience hosted in Indianapolis).

Nichelle M. Hayes, MPA, MLS, is a dynamic leader, scholar, and advocate for Black literary excellence and cultural preservation. She currently serves as the executive director of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, where she champions the legacy and future of Black writers through programming, mentorship, and advocacy. Hayes is the coeditor of The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening, a seminal work amplifying the voices and experiences of Black library professionals. As the immediate past president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, she has led national efforts to promote equity, access, and representation in the information sciences. Her work is deeply rooted in community engagement, literacy, and historical awareness, reflected in her active membership in the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and her thought-provoking blog, https://thetiesthatbind.blog.

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Hayes also holds a master of library science degree from Indiana and a master of public administration degree from Valdosta State University. Her leadership and impact have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the 2022 Breakthrough Women Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the 2020 Movers and Shakers Award from School Library Journal, and her participation in the 2024 Executive Women of Color Leadership Cohort. With a career spanning libraries, nonprofits, and cultural institutions, Hayes brings a visionary approach to change management and a steadfast commitment to uplifting Black voices in literature and beyond.

Lisa Lintner was appointed the Johnson County Public Library director in 2015. Working in libraries for nearly 30 years, she has dedicated her career to providing outstanding library services for patrons from the cradle through retirement. Lintner graduated from Indiana University’s master of library science program and holds a bachelor of science degree in English and theatre from Ball State University. She is the chair of the Indiana FREADOM to Read task force and a member of the Advocacy Committee for the Indiana Library Federation.