Sign the petition now to send a message loud and clear to governors and state legislatures, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that Americans do not support book bans.

Dear MoveOn member,

Just this week, another school in Florida banned more books, caving to the right-wing conservative agenda that has been challenging the right to read, restricting what is taught in schools, and calling for book bans across the country. Leon County Schools removed five books from their high school curriculum, including “Push” by Sapphire, who was awarded the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award and NAACP Image Award.¹

Book bans are on the rise, and places like Florida are ground zero for this fight. Last year, 2,500 books were banned or challenged and it's anticipated that even more will be banned this year across the country.²The stakes are too high to sit on the sidelines while MAGA Republicans are weaponizing our identities to censor books and strips us of our freedoms. Our rights, our stories, and our identities are all under threat. Everyone deserves the freedom to read and learn.

That's why MoveOn is taking its Banned Bookmobile on the road from Chicago to Florida over the next few weeks. We will be bringing people together to give away free banned books and have conversations with voters about the backward MAGA vision for our country, while providing resources for people to get involved to help defeat the GOP in 2024 and keeping the topic of book bans surrounding DeSantis on the campaign trail.

Add your name to our petition and help us send a message to governors and state legislatures across the country that the majority of voters do NOT support book bans.

As Americans, we believe in the freedom to learn and the freedom to read. We reject Republican efforts to ban books! Stop censoring books and punishing teachers, librarians, and children.

After 20 of her books were pulled from the shelves of a school district in Florida earlier this year, author Jodi Picoult wrote an op-ed stating, "We want the great majority of folks in communities who support the freedom to read to be just as loud as those select few who are making so much noise against it."³

Now is the time to get loud.

When we come together, we can take on book bans—and win. Like the parents who fought back in South Carolina and got Ibram X. Kendi’s "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" reinstated.⁴ Or like Illinois elected officials who listened to their constituents and passed one of the first-ever ban on book bans.⁵ Or in Texas, where 12 books were ordered to be returned to the library shelves in Llano County after residents sued.⁶

On its tour, the Banned Bookmobile will be bringing people together, giving away free banned books, and making sure decision-makers hear us loud and clear. You can make your voice heard from wherever you live by adding your name to our petition. We may even deliver it to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis himself.

Thanks for all you do.

–Aliya, Madeleine, Mona, Kelsey, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "'Push' among five books banned from Leon County high schools," WCTV, July 11, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177586?t=8&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

2. "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=10&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

3. "What Florida Doesn’t Want You to Know About Its Book Bans," Daily Beast, March 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177602?t=12&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

4. "School board partially lifts ban on book," Pickens County Courier, July 11, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177595?t=14&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

5. "To Fight Book Bans, Illinois Passes a Ban on Book Bans," The New York Times, June 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177597?t=16&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

6. "Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial content must be returned within 24 hours," CNN, April 1, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177599?t=18&akid=357074%2E40999114%2Ep2UkqJ

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

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 start a monthly gift to power our critical work?

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