In the late 1980's and early 1990's a series of art censorship cases occurred in the United States. Seemingly out-of-keeping with American culture and policy, these episodes beg much explanation. Censors generally cite obscenity or blasphemy as reasons for the silencing of artists and their work. Beneath these publicly noted justifications exists an alternative explanation; as marginalized populations within American culture gained some degree of power over the last 40 years, the traditionally powerful fought back to maintain their own positions and privileges. I argue that art censorship is a symbolic battle in which the center identifies artists and their work as enemies of the culture, and social problems from which American society needs protection. The data for these assertions is based on case studies and content analysis of recent cases of art censorship. The fields of sociology and cultural studies provide the necessary theoretical framework.