Book Censorship News, September 16, 2022

Next week begins Banned Books Week, and relatively than passively “celebrate” banned books, let’s spend this week regrouping and taking a collection of small motion steps towards really curbing the continuous assaults on mental freedom and First Amendment rights. I’ve pulled collectively a listing of seven motion objects for the week plus a number of bonus actions — choose and select to do all of them or select one per day for seven days (then, in fact, maintain the momentum going). Let this listing assist you get into the behavior of championing the appropriate to learn and the appropriate for all folks to entry the knowledge they’re on the lookout for.

Seven Action Items for Banned Books Week:

• Show as much as your native public library and borrow — and skim — books which were banned within the final yr. This means you’re going for books like Gender Queer or All Boys Aren’t Blue or Monday’s Not Coming, not books like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Catcher within the Rye. Bonus motion: when you learn considered one of these books, depart a evaluation on as many consumer-facing websites as doable. Books like these are being bombed by censors; that is a simple and efficient strategy to push again.
• Request your public library buy books which are by or about queer folks and other people of coloration. You can have a look at books which were banned this yr and request titles your library won’t have or you may peruse lists of upcoming titles and submit buy requests. Most libraries have a type on their web site or on the reference desk to do that. If they don’t, work up the braveness to ask a library employee how you are able to do that.
• Plan to attend your native faculty board assembly and converse in assist of books by and about folks of coloration and queer folks. Your faculty board might not be assembly this week and that’s okay. Get it in your calendar to attend the subsequent one or write a letter to the board. Here’s a template you should use for talking and in your letter. Know if you happen to write, you won’t hear something again. Because communication with public workers is topic to FOIA, most should not responding. This is an efficient factor!
• Write a letter to your native newspaper, and when you’ve got multiple native paper, ship an analogous letter to as many as you may. In the letter, speak about what number of books have been banned this yr throughout the nation, and speak about how that may be a blatant assault on First Amendment rights. If you’re in an space with an energetic chapter of Moms For Liberty, No Left Turn, or equal, title these teams within the letter. Point out their actions so that you create a paper path. Example: my native space has each an energetic Moms For Liberty group and a extra native group. Both have been concerned in stirring up felony conduct, together with vandalism at an area bakery (charged as a hate crime) and in making a menace so actual, a public library canceled their drag queen program for teenagers. Name and disgrace. Whether or not the letter publishes within the native paper, share your phrases throughout your social media and interact with feedback you would possibly obtain. Use analysis, use details, and use a peaceful demeanor. You are seemingly educating plenty of of us who would possibly in any other case not concentrate on what’s going on and that issues.
• Make a donation to teams doing work on the bottom. Do this as a substitute of being tempted to purchase and donate books — books are nice, however they don’t change coverage and don’t defend lives that want safety. The $20 you have been going to spend on a guide could possibly be despatched to orgs who will use every penny to do arduous, thankless work. Some choices embrace EachLibrary, PEN America, and Florida Freedom to Read Project. You also can donate to fundraisers for librarian Amanda Jones, who’s presently suing right-wing teams in her state after they attacked her, or Brooky Parks, who was let go from her job after calling out a brand new library coverage that censored programming.
• Find out when faculty board and library board elections (if relevant) are in your space and make a plan to vote. Research the candidates and in case you are uncertain the place they stand on problems with censorship, attain out to their campaigns and ask. They needs to be working in your vote and, in doing so, reply in full. Then attain out to three+ folks about their plans to vote. If your state has been added to The School Board Project (half one and half two), use the spreadsheets to take notes on candidates.
• Write to your native lawmakers on the state and federal stage concerning the significance of defending mental freedom and the appropriate to learn for all. Cite the analysis and reviews and spotlight how the tales we’re listening to about “parents’ rights” are a couple of very small, vocal minority and never, actually, most dad and mom. If you’re fortunate to have a consultant who’s sympathetic to those causes, write in assist of their stances. For instance: I plan to inform Sean Casten his willingness to call and discuss concerning the disgusting actions of Awake Illinois is deeply appreciated and a mannequin for different lawmakers throughout the nation.

Bonus and Additional Action Items:

• On “meet the teacher” nights or “back to school” nights — any such occasion will work — present up and take time to go learn within the library. This small motion not solely exhibits how a lot the college library issues and the way a lot life there may be inside it, but it surely additionally protects the library staff who could in any other case face harassment from right-wing “parental rights” folks.
• Find or construct an area anti-censorship group.
• Subscribe to our biweekly Literary Activism e-newsletter to remain on high of guide censorship information and different tales and concepts for partaking in on-the-ground work associated to books, studying, schooling, and literacy.
• Talk with 3 folks in your neighborhood — pals, household, neighbors, and many others — about guide censorship. This is particularly essential in communities the place such censorship is just not occurring or hasn’t been highlighted within the information however could also be occurring. Emphasize why it is a matter everybody ought to care about and share how folks can become involved and engaged.
• See an individual on social media submit false tales of grooming or indoctrination occurring at faculties? Call them out. Define these phrases. Tell the people how they’re being indoctrinated by right-wing darkish cash teams into considering this stuff, although they’re patently false (and created precisely for this reason).

Your work will matter this coming week. Sharing a photograph of your self studying a banned guide and/or utilizing a hashtag has some advertising and marketing worth, but it surely doesn’t transfer the needle on the precise threats towards the power to learn. Particularly for essentially the most marginalized.

Here’s what the appropriate is doing and making ready for this week. How you select to counter these narratives will assist decide the success of Banned Books Week as activism towards defending the liberty to learn or whether or not it pushes issues again one other step.

Book Censorship News: September 16, 2022

• A Katy Independent School Teacher (TX) pulled each single YA guide from their classroom. This is what the chilling impact of gag orders and guide ban laws is. Wholesale removing of books. Some extra context for this story:

• 7 books have been pulled from Dearborn Public Schools (MI) for evaluation. The books don’t even get to remain on cabinets or in digital format through the evaluation.
• In St. Joseph faculties (MI) a dad or mum claimed victory about getting What Girls Are Made Of pulled from cabinets. Problem? It wasn’t eliminated as a result of there was by no means a proper evaluation filed. (And they have been actually celebrating this “victory” arduous of their Facebook group, regardless of the very fact they…didn’t problem the guide).
• Banned books have turn into a focus of the Maine governor’s race.
• Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library (AR) will maintain l8r g8r off library cabinets.
• Gender Queer and White Fragility are being challenged at Spruce Mountain High School in Maine.
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson, Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez, Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and Looking for Alaska by John Green have been all challenged in Osceola Public Schools (FL). There was no formal grievance; the evaluation was initiated due to public remark and the superintendent responding to that. Why have insurance policies if you happen to’re not going to observe them?
• “‘I just want to state that it’s completely inappropriate that these sexually explicit books are available to children without parental consent,’ said Turkosz. ‘The availability of these texts also shows that you are extremely insensitive to students whose family, religious beliefs, conflict with the pornographic texts and images contained within their pages.’” And but there’s no consideration for the households for whom such issues are not inappropriate as a result of they perceive what pornography is and isn’t. This is in Amity Schools (CT) and one dad or mum introduced over 80+ books as much as complain about.
• Alamance-Burlington (NC) superintendent Dr. Dain Butler eliminated Gender Queer from the highschool library. Read that once more.
• Parents confirmed as much as the Kearney Public Schools (NE) board assembly to complain about a number of LGBTQ+ books and demand that they be notified what their college students borrow from the library.
• Gender Queer and Patience and Esther are again on cabinets at Dixon Public Library (IL).
• However, the identical library is drafting new insurance policies surrounding what can and can’t go on a public guide show.
• “The Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education might evaluate whether it will continue public participation at board meetings, saying the process is being abused and used for shock value after two speakers Monday evening read an excerpt from one novel and showed illustrations from a graphic novel.” I had not thought-about the thought that is abuse of time, but it surely actually is. This is in Colorado.
• And equally, in Salem (OR), over makes an attempt to ban books (and comparable matters the appropriate chooses alternate details for), “The Salem-Keizer School Board will no longer allow the public to attend meetings in-person following a district review of an August board meeting where tensions between groups of attendees escalated into threats and conflict.”
• Polk County Schools (FL) created an opt-out choice for 16 books within the district (and also you’ll recall, in different faculties throughout the state with such choices, they’re not well-liked). But the County Citizens Defending Freedom are actually so incensed by this resolution to not take away the books, they’re submitting felony complaints towards the Board. Whose freedom is being defended?
• “A federal judge denied a request from a Great Valley School District parent to issue an injunction to remove ‘sexually explicit’ books from the libraries.” This is in Pennsylvania.
• Perry High School (IA) is reviewing a guide used for years in English courses after a dad or mum grievance. The guide is just not named within the story, and within the years of its use, just one dad or mum has ever sought an alternate project for his or her scholar.
• One victory price celebrating, even when the explanation for it’s absurd: Mead School Board (OR) won’t ban vital race principle nor will they ban any “books that mention they/them pronouns.”
• Moms For Liberty members counsel that the actual Christians will know who they’re following a choice in Natrona Public Schools (WY) to not take away two books from the faculties.
• In Forsyth County Schools (GA), dad and mom can now get notification of books their college students take a look at of faculty libraries.
• Fauquier County School Board (VA) is engaged on a coverage that permits dad and mom to choose their college students out of faculty assignments that contain studying sexually-explicit materials. Which is weird, since these sorts of issues aren’t assigned studying to start with, and who will get to find out what that yardstick is?
• Puberty is Gross, But Also Really Awesome by Gina Loveless, Own Your Period by Chella Quint, and Making a Baby by Rachel Greener will stay on cabinets in Ashland Public Library (OH). Yes, folks wished puberty books banned from the teams for whom these books are meant.
• “Legislation has been introduced in the Pennsylvania state legislature that would allow officials to remove material deemed “highly sexual” from faculty libraries.” Who will get to find out what “highly sexual” is? For teams that don’t coparent with the federal government, they certain need the federal government to be dad and mom.
• Guilford County Schools (NC) will keep Salvage The Bones on school shelves.
• The Victoria Public Library (TX) advisory board simply gave themselves permission to evaluation “contested” books bought for the library.
• Bedford County Schools (VA) have a brand new guide evaluation committee construction for challenges.
• “Parsons acknowledges in his challenge that he has not read either book. He contends each book ‘breeds stupidity’ and writes, ‘Kids and some parents buy into that if a child ‘feels’ different than they are somehow magically different than how they were created.’” There are a number of books below fireplace in Conway Public Schools (AR) with a brand new faculty board member who is keen to do some banning.
• This is a heck of a narrative. Book challenges have been abound in Wellington Public Library (CO) thanks partially to somebody on the board being married to a guide banner. Now the city council has determined that the library board can’t be concerned in figuring out guide challenges.
• Stillwater Schools (OK) are nonetheless debating a number of books which were challenged. There is now an anti-censorship group concerned (go Highlighter Resistance!).
• Valley City Barnes County Public Library (ND) eliminated Let’s Talk About It from their cabinets.
• Protesters and counter protesters met earlier than the Loudon County School Board (VA) assembly over CRT this week.
• You must learn what this excessive schooler mentioned concerning the precise affect of guide removing on college students in East Coweta High School (NC).

Further Reading