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John,
They’ve gone too far.
During the first half of the 2022-2023 school year, there have been more than 1,477 book bans in public schools and libraries, affecting at least 874 titles, often on the basis of just a single complaint, and most often prior to receiving any kind of review.
The actual numbers are much higher, because this does not account for instances where schools have closed or removed entire libraries full of books, for fear of individual teachers, librarians, or other school staff being held criminally responsible for not adhering to new and vaguely written state laws.
And it’s not just in Florida and Texas. Book bans by local governments have been enacted in thirty-seven states so far this year, including California, Michigan, and New York.
It’s time to fight back, hard. The states can ban book bans, and Illinois may be the first to take this step. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is set to sign legislation requiring public school libraries to adopt policies to “protect against attempts to ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to books or other materials.”
Let’s send a message to all the state governors: Make our public libraries free thought zones. Don’t allow censorship or manipulation by extremists. Click here to sign on to our letter, or write your own.
Many of the banned book titles are instantly recognizable, high profile books that belong on required reading lists, such as A Handmaid’s Tale, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
According to an analysis by PEN America, the 11 most frequently targeted books so far in 2022-23 are nearly all about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, such as Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey.
In fact, books about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals are among the most frequently targeted overall. 30% of the banned books are about race, racism or people of color, and 26% feature LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
Book-banning organizations like the well-funded “Moms for Liberty” claim to be protecting children, but their actual purpose is to suppress diversity and eliminate discussion of race and sexuality. Now they have been joined by the Proud Boys, the violent white supremacist leaders of the January 6 insurrection, who have joined in efforts to sow divisiveness in communities and harass librarians.
Fortunately, in Illinois, the ban on book bans has teeth as well. It’s linked to over $62 million in funding for hundreds of public libraries and school libraries throughout the state.
What’s started in Illinois, can be replicated state by state nationwide.
Pro-democracy governors, like Gavin Newsom (CA) and Gretchen Whitmer (MI) must lead the fight to ban book bans in their state.
Anti-democracy governors, like Ron DeSantis (FL) and Gregg Abbot (TX), who want to censor individual thought and freedoms, need to feel the heat of public backlash.
Click here to send your governor a direct message now.
Thank you for fighting for the freedom to read and expand our knowledge of worlds outside our own.
- Amanda
Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund
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