Dear MoveOn member,

Hi, I'm Mana, a campaign director at MoveOn. I don't email you often—but today I'm writing to you from inside MoveOn's Banned Bookmobile!

For months, I've been working with my team on the Banned Bookmobile Tour: renting and outfitting a bus, finding bookstores around the country to set up events, lining up local elected officials and authors to headline our events, buying up the banned books that we give away, and more.

During our Banned Bookmobile's debut event, we ran out of free books to give away in just 10 minutes. That's right: 10 minutes!

Thanks to the generosity of members like you, we've been able to buy more books to restock the Bookmobile.

And here's the best part: The banned books we buy come from the progressive bookstores we partner with, as well as local bookstores along the Banned Bookmobile Tour route—not Amazon or other corporate sellers!

Will you chip in $3 to continue powering the Banned Bookmobile Tour and MoveOn's efforts to combat other MAGA authoritarian policies? Remember, when you give, a portion of your gift will be used to purchase banned books at independent bookstores.

John, the Banned Bookmobile Tour comes amid a surge in far-right efforts to ban books.

In 2022, more than 2,500 titles were challenged—a record high—according to data collected by the American Library Association. And a recent analysis by The Washington Post found that, in the past two years alone, at least 19 states have passed or considered bills that would punish those who provide minors with "harmful, obscene, or sexually explicit books."¹ That's MAGA for books about race, gender identity, and sexual identity. And that means teachers and librarians can go to jail in some states for providing kids books they're interested in.²

Here's what former President Barack Obama had to say about the book bans: "Today, books that shaped my life—and many others—are being challenged in schools, bookstores, and libraries by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives. Often, these ‘banned books' are written by or feature people of color and members of LGBTQ communities."³

He continued, "This is a mistake. Not only is it important for young people to see themselves represented in the pages of books, but it's also important for all of us to engage with different ideas and points of view."⁴

President Obama hit the nail on the head.

And that's exactly why MoveOn launched our Banned Bookmobile.

Will you give a gift of $3 to join the effort to resist book bans, power the Banned Bookmobile Tour, and combat other MAGA authoritarian policies?

Thanks for all you do.

–Mana

Sources:

1. "Obama takes to TikTok to support libraries’ fight against book bans," The Washington Post, July 17, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179238?t=4&akid=357524%2E40999114%2EH8z0AX

2. "School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison," The Washington Post, May 18, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179239?t=6&akid=357524%2E40999114%2EH8z0AX

3. "Here’s Why I’m Celebrating Banned Books Week," Medium, September 23, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/179240?t=8&akid=357524%2E40999114%2EH8z0AX

4. Ibid.

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?

Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.

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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