#book bans
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“I've often wondered, as any Black American I imagine, what kind of slave would I have been? But my question for white Americans is, but what kind of master would you have been? I think that's a legitimate question.
I write about the difficulties of being segregated against, of being abused, but I think sometimes it might be interesting for white Americans to write, and I think it would be difficult, but maybe not. What kind of master would you be? I think that's a legitimate question.
I think it's one of the reasons that a lot of people like to ban books, and we're looking at some of the governance up there, ‘Well, we don't want these stories told.’ But these stories have to be told because you have to ask yourself, what would I have been? What kind of person?
Who would I be if I encounter those unlike me?
You know, there's a card, one of my favorite cards, it's just a card you can purchase at any place. It says teaching your child not to step on a caterpillar does as much for your child as it does the caterpillar. And I've always loved it.
I have bunches, I buy it by the box and I send it out to friends. Because yeah, the caterpillar is just gonna die and the caterpillar’s like, ‘this fool's gonna step on me.’ But it teaches your child it's okay to step on something that's underneath you, that's smaller than you, that might could use your help.
But more, if you leave the caterpillar alone, it will become a butterfly. And look at that, look at the joy just watching a butterfly brings. So, you know, you have to ask who would I be if I could be my better person?”
—Nikki Giovanni
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Seattle Public Library is doing this awesome program called Books Unbanned that allows teens and young adults (ages 13-26) access to their collection of e-books and e-audiobooks from anywhere in the USA. All you need to do is fill out a simple form and you get their Books Unbanned card. Please share this information far and wide. I know they're not the only ones to have done this, but the more the merrier!
#banned books#seattle public library#american libraries#public libraries#book banning#book bans#library love#signal boost
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LeVar Burton Is Still Fighting For Your Right to Read
In an age of unprecedented book bans, the actor and literacy advocate is going to the mat for the freedom to read. "America loves to live in the shadows," he says, "but we're living in an age when the truth wants to come out."
by Adrienne Westenfeld
Nearly two decades after PBS’s long-running series went off the air, the Reading Rainbow generation is all grown up. Their love of reading and knowledge is an enduring gift, courtesy of host LeVar Burton and the show’s producers—but in an age of unprecedented assaults on the freedom to read, what’s to become of today’s young readers in the making?
As ever, Burton is looking out for them. The actor and literacy advocate recently served as the honorary chair of Banned Books Week, an annual October event dedicated to raising awareness about attempts to remove reading materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Now, he’s making his second appearance as the host of the National Book Awards, where “censorship” will no doubt be the word on every honoree’s lips. “I've put in work in this field; I've put in time on these issues,” Burton told Esquire. “I'm happy to be the face of it and represent it, because these are matters that I care deeply about.”
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Great interview, worth the read.
"The whole idea of Americans being in control of their own bodies, their own minds, and their own destinies is a political issue, which is weird, given the fundamental underpinnings of the creation of this nation. But here we are, having this conversation about bodily autonomy, what kids should read, and what we should think. For me, it's a fight worth fighting. It's not only a conversation worth having. It's a fight worth fighting... The fight for reproductive freedom is tied to the effort to ban books. They're definitely linked. What we're looking at is authoritarian control, and that's just not part of the charter."
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WV Libraries Are Under Attack: How to Help
News came out yesterday that West Virginia House passed House Bill 4654. This would remove “bona fide schools, public libraries, and museums from the list of exemptions from criminal liability relating to distribution and display to a minor of obscene matter. …”
Potentially criminalizing librarians is bad, and it’s straight out of the fascist playbook. “Opponents of the bill said that while the bill does not ban books, the bill would have unintended consequences for public and school libraries, resulting in increases in challenges to even classic books and attempts to criminally charge librarians over books not pornographic in nature, but books that include descriptions of sex. They also said it could result in improper criminal charges against library staff,” Steven Allen Adams writes.
So, the question is: now what? What do we do? Where do we go from here?
If you live in West Virginia, call you state senate reps. You can find them listed here.
It’s okay to keep your message short:
“Hi, I’m [full name] calling from [ZIP code], and I’m a constituent of [Senator Name]. I am calling to voice my opposition to Bill 4654, because this is a dangerous step toward book banning. It could potentially harm librarians and libraries, which is incredibly wrong. Do not back this dangerous bill.
You can also ask how many people have called to voice their opposition to this bill. This may annoy the person on the phone, but they technically have to answer you. They may be evasive anyway. But you can either give them your contact information and tell them you’d like a call back or you can call back again later and ask for the tally.
The thing is, people rarely call in. A handful of calls is considered a lot, and the best thing you can do right now is make yourself a nuisance. Good trouble, etc.
Only call if you live in West Virginia, because they do not count calls from those outside their constituency. I am obviously not an expert, but if you have additional questions, ask them and I’ll try to help. I learned way more about how politics work during the last presidency than I thought humanly possible.
Additional resources:
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"Georgia Republicans bundled over a dozen measures that targeted the state’s transgender residents into omnibus packages in a desperate attempt to get them passed. In a stunning defeat for the GOP, every single one of them failed.
Legislators gutted bills that had passed through committee and instead stuffed them full of their anti-LGBTQ+ wishlist items.
Bills that would ban transgender students from playing on teams aligned with their gender identity, ban transgender students from bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, opt parents into notification for every book a student checks out of the library, bar sex education before sixth grade, make all sex-ed classes opt-in and expand obscenity laws to make it easier to ban books with LGBTQ+ content all failed.
“MAGA politicians in Georgia tried it all in service to their anti-LGBTQ+ agenda,” said Human Rights Campaign Georgia State Director Bentley Hudgins, “including silencing debate and gutting unrelated, popular bills that had bipartisan support to ram through policies that would have put young LGBTQ+ Georgians in harm’s way. They failed.”
“It’s undeniable that the tides are shifting, both here in Georgia and across the nation,” Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham added. “Anti-LGBTQ actors are losing their political power, and more and more Georgians who know and love LGBTQ people are standing up against their baseless fear-mongering.”
In Florida recently, nearly two dozen anti-LGBTQ+ bills were defeated in the wake of Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) presidential campaign implosion, dozens of measures in Virginia were tabled [Note: In the US, "tabled" means "shelved" or "taken out of consideration - the opposite of its meaning in the UK and other places], and Ohio’s governor backed off his attempt to restrict gender-affirming care access for transgender adults and minors.
Meanwhile, in D.C., Democrats successfully excised 50 anti-LGBTQ+ provisions in the two budget bills passed and signed by President Joe Biden to fund the federal government.
Even Fox News has been forced to acknowledge transgender issues are among the lowest-priority concerns among voters."
-via LGBTQ Nation, April 1, 2024
#united states#us politics#lgbtq#lgbtq issues#lgbtq positivity#transgender#trans issues#trans positivity#transphobia#homophobia#anti trans laws#book bans#gender affirming care#georgia#florida#virginia#ohio#d.c.#republicans#democrats#voting matters#good news#hope
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“I feel like they want a kinder, gentler Holocaust to present.” —Art Spiegelman
Two years ago, the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee banned the first—and only—Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel from their 8th grade curriculum: Art Spiegelman's Maus.
#graphic novel#graphic novels#graphic memoir#graphics#comics#comic artist#books#studyblr#banned books#art spiegelman#comic art#comic books#illustration#libraries#maus#reading#bookish#book banning#book bans#book challenges#comix#booklr
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[Jennifer] Armentrout told Popular Information that it was surprising to learn we are "living in an era where, apparently, some adults find it appropriate to contact the police over a fictional book involving gargoyles."
Moms for Liberty members call the cops on Florida librarians
#books#politics#censorship#police state#florida#book bans#jennifer armentrout#holy fuck this is scary
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Transcript below the cut.
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Panel 1: For the second year in a row, Gender Queer was the most challenged book in the US, reported the American Library Association.
Panel 2: It’s been a weird two years. Number of unique titles challenged in the US by year. 2000: 378 titles. 2005: 259 titles. 2010: 262 titles. 2015: 190 titles. 2020: 223 titles. 2021: 1858 titles. 2022: 2571 titles.
Panel 3: It’s been a hard two years. The ACLU is tracking 469 anti-LGBTQ bills in the US.
Panel 4: Usually I prefer to wait until something is over before I write about it, so I have time to reflect. But this experience has not ended.
Panel 5: It has only gotten louder. (A series of screen shoots of news headlines about Gender Queer, book challenges and an obscenity lawsuit against the book being dismissed in the state of Virginia).
Panel 6: I’m constantly wondering, “When should I speak and when should I let the book speak for itself?”
Panel 7: I remember when I realized that the previous most challenged book spent five years in the top five.
2020- Melissa by Alex Gino at #1
2019- Melissa by Alex Gino at #1
2018- Melissa by Alex Gino at #1
2017- Melissa by Alex Gino at #5
2016- Melissa by Alex Gino at #3
Panel 8: Oh, I think I can take my time figuring out how to respond. I think I’m in this for the long haul...
Panel 9: Ways to support libraries and challenged authors: Check out and read challenged books. Vote for and attend library board and school board meetings. Report censorship to the ALA and PEN America. Vote to fund libraries. Speak up against legislation limiting the teaching of queer history, sex ed, abortion and the history of racism in the US.
Panel 10: Most challenged books of 2022:
1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M Johnson
3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
4. Flamer by Mike Curato
5. (tie) Looking For Alaska by John Green
5. (tie) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
7. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
10. (tie) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
10. (tie) Crank by Ellen Hopkins
10. (tie) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
10. (tie) This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
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Ban Bigotry, not Books.
digital illustration of a pile of books that read, 'ban bigotry not books’ There’s a cat sitting on top.
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#politics#republicans#book bans#abortion#forced birthers#contradictions#gop hypocrisy#reproductive rights#reproductive justice#forced birth#contradiction#book banning
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If these books make your kids think, you should be happy.
If it scares you to have your kids think, you should pick up a book. Stop living in fear.
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Definitely read the whole article, but here are some highlights:
Understand what book banning is. "People often conflate censorship, bans, and challenges even though they mean different things. A challenge is when someone makes an official request to have a book removed. Censorship is when portion of a book is edited or removed. A ban is when the entire book is removed from the collection."
Donate money, not books: "Do not donate banned books to libraries." (The libraries usually already have these books, and they don't typically put donated books on shelves anyway.) "Instead, donate money."
Advocate actively for these issues. "The time for “bringing awareness” is over. We need to stop bans from happening in the first place rather than merely issuing a finger-wagging statement once the ban is in place."
Find out what's happening at your local library and tell people about it. "If books are being removed, especially without undergoing proper procedures, get loud about it. Attend and speak up at school and library board meetings. Write letters defending your library workers and collections to boards and administrators giving airtime to bans. Protest and send out petitions when books are at risk of removal. Post on social media and contact your local news."
There's a lot you can do! Stay involved: "Vote in and run for library and school board positions. Campaign for more funding through tax increases or bonds and measures. Many libraries allow patrons to request books for purchase, so put in requests for titles by marginalized authors. Even something as simple as getting to know your library’s collection development policy can be a big help. If your school or public library doesn’t have one or doesn’t have a strong one, put pressure on them to address the issue."
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"Tim Anderson disagrees. He’s the man trying to get the books declared obscene—and, in the process, change obscenity law in the United States. Anderson, a lawyer and Republican Virginia state delegate whose district includes Virginia Beach, will argue the case later this month. (Another Republican, Tommy Altman, filed the petition; Altman recently lost his primary for a House seat in Virginia’s 2nd district.) The petition is a new twist on recent right-wing attacks on materials that address sexuality, gender, and race. Rather than demanding that school boards or librarians remove books, the current case takes the books to court, using an obscure Virginia law that would allow the judge, if she found the books obscene, to ban bookstores, libraries, and even private citizens from selling or sharing them, everywhere in Virginia."
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The Bible got banned.
"I thank the Utah Legislature and Utah Parents United for making this bad faith process so much easier and way more efficient," the parent said in the complaint. "Now we can all ban books and you don’t even need to read them or be accurate about it. Heck, you don’t even need to see the book!"
An eight-page typed list of examples of objectionable material from the Bible, quoting the exact scriptures, was included in the complaint.
"Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide," the parent wrote. "You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition."
It's believed only seven or eight libraries in the district's elementary and junior high schools even had the Bible on their shelves and the book is not part of any school curriculum[.]
Want to ban books? Fuck around and find out.
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