Get trained with Keep Marching to stop book bans! RSVP NOW

Dear Friend,

Book bans and attempted book bans are happening in schools and libraries across America right now.  

It’s shocking AND we can stop it - but first we need to know how. And that’s why MomsRising is bringing in the experts! 

→ Next week on Wednesday, September, 13th at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST, the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a mom-led grassroots organization on the frontlines of fighting Florida’s book bans, will be giving us the 411 on how to fight censorship efforts. 

Can you join this important #KeepMarching virtual call?

It’s not just Florida and it’s not just conservative states: The attacks on books, schools, and the freedom to learn is growing across the country. 

Far-right MAGA Republican Governors and state legislatures across the nation have been using political tricks to erode accurate and age-appropriate education, attack LGBTQ+ communities, and ban books. Fake “parents'” groups are targeting even progressive counties to try to ban books from public schools. It’s critical that we all have the tools to fight this censorship machine! 

In this training, we will cover topics like: 

• What constitutes a book ban and what are the different types of bans
• How is this happening and why  
• How to track “book challenges” that lead to bans in your community  
• Strategies to increase access to diverse books via schools and/or school boards 
• How to disrupt politically motivated book bans 

Learn how they are doing it! Sign up for this #KeepMarching meeting now!

What books are being pulled? Plain and simple, books about diverse communities, history, and LGBTQ+ families and communities. Books like “Black Boy Joy”, “When Aidan Became a Brother,” and the “Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation.” [1,2] 

Yes. You read those titles right. Earlier this year in Pinellas County, a school age book about the story of the famous civil rights activist Ruby Bridges who helped integrate schools in New Orleans when she was 6-years-old was challenged and the iconic Disney film about Ruby Bridges was banned outright due to one. single. complaint. [3] 

Just one complaint meant none of the kids could learn about Ruby Bridges until other parents filed formal measures to get it back in. But unfortunately there are so many far-right politically motivated attacks happening that parents and local communities in Florida and in other states need back up: 

• According to PEN America, between July and December 2022, instances of individual book bans occurred in 66 school districts in 21 states with Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina experiencing the most bans, [4]
• Between January and September 2021 alone, 24 legislatures across the United States introduced 54 separate bills intended to restrict teaching and training in K-12 schools, higher education, and state agencies and institutions. The majority of these bills targeted discussions of race, racism, gender, and American history [5], and 
• Right now, the ACLU is tracking over 200 anti-LGBTQ+ school and education proposals across the country. [6]

These coordinated attacks are NOT okay. Well-funded far-right politicians are becoming a censorship machine actively working to ban age-appropriate books, erase honest and accurate American history, and attack students and teachers simply for who they love.

Friend, we know that together we can stop this book banning machine. It’s why you need to join our #KeepMarching virtual call on September, 13th at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. We also know we need to get the right information on fighting book bans and censorship in education to as many people as possible. Will you help by forwarding this RSVP link to 5 friends, so they can join the call too? https://action.momsrising.org/go/75535?t=16&akid=18768%2E2840598%2E8hsWbe

Hope to see you there! Together, we'll #KeepMarching and never stop fighting for the changes our families and communities need.

THANK YOU,

- Nina, Joy, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

References 

[1] THESE 176 BOOKS WERE BANNED IN DUVAL COUNTY, FLORIDA, Pen America, December 2022

[2] Which books are allowed? Varied interpretations of Florida law lead to confusion at schools, Tallahassee Democrat

[3] Removal of ‘Ruby Bridges’ film from Pinellas school sparks outrage, Tampa Bay Times, March 27, 2023

[4] Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools, Pen America, April 2023

[5] Educational Gag Orders, Pen America

[6] Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures, ACLU 

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