Dear MoveOn member,
MoveOn just released our brand-new, special-edition "The Books They Ban Are the Books I'll Read Next" holographic bookmark—and we're giving them away for FREE while supplies last, as part of our drive to celebrate books and the freedom to read and our push against book bans.
Click here or on the image below to claim your free bookmark.
Far-right extremists are pursuing a coordinated and relentless crusade to ban books and stop students from learning about race, sexual orientation, gender identity, police violence, the Holocaust, different cultures, and an unbiased version of the history of our country. From school boards and library boards to state legislatures, they are finding ways to remove books from shelves and classroom lessons.
Among the most frequently banned books in America? "The Hate U Give," written by Angie Thomas, traces the life of a 16-year-old Black girl from a poor neighborhood who attends an elite, white private school and witnesses a white police officer shoot and kill her childhood friend, and "Gender Queer," a memoir about self-discovery and gender identity by nonbinary author Maia Kobabe.1 In Florida, the complaint of one parent even had "The Hill We Climb," a poem by the National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, which she read at President Biden's inauguration, removed from a class curriculum.2
Unfortunately, this dangerous, right-wing campaign to ban books across the nation is only escalating.
The American Library Association reported a record number of attempted book bans—most of which target books written by or about people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community—in 2022, nearly doubling the previous year.3,4
It's vital that everyone is able to read essential works that teach empathy and compassion and lift up the most pressing issues facing our society, John.
That's why MoveOn is supporting a range of efforts to fight against book bans—from a Banned Bookmobile getting ready to tour the country, to petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members, to ways folks can proclaim their opposition to bans in their everyday lives—including these "The Books They Ban Are the Books I'll Read Next" bookmarks. By getting yours and using it proudly, you'll join our fight to stop book bans and raise awareness about the GOP's effort to restrict learning and freedom of expression.
Click here to get yours now (while supplies last) and use it to keep your place in your banned book!
Thanks for all you do.
–Kelly, Mona, Eric, Amy, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "The 50 most banned books in America," CBS News, November 10, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/174344?t=5&akid=355291%2E40999114%2ERVgnd1
2. "Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem banned by Florida school," PBS, May 24, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/174345?t=7&akid=355291%2E40999114%2ERVgnd1
3. "American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022," American Library Association, March 22, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/174346?t=9&akid=355291%2E40999114%2ERVgnd1
4. "ALA: Number of unique book titles challenged jumped nearly 40% in 2022," NPR, April 24, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/174347?t=11&akid=355291%2E40999114%2ERVgnd1
Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile," filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into 2024, we need your help.
Will you chip in to power our critical work?
PAID FOR BY MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, https://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. MoveOn Political Action - PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142.
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