Dear John,

Tennessee's McMinn County School Board banned the Pulitzer Prize-winning
graphic novel “Maus,” and there are similar—and more sweeping—book bans,
motivated by white supremacist ideology, being introduced by school boards
and in state legislatures across the country.¹

When students are denied the resources to learn about the Holocaust and
our collective histories, they are also denied the opportunity to learn
about resilience and empathy. 

[ [link removed] ]Join over 85,000 fellow MoveOn members urging McMinn County School
Board to overturn its ban on “Maus,” and help reach 100,000 signers before
the school board's next meeting on February 10.

To show the powerful effect books like "Maus" can have, Raz, a member at
ParentsTogether, shared their story about how “Maus” helped them
understand their family’s history and shaped their childhood. [ [link removed] ]Read
Raz’s story below and sign the petition to reinstate "Maus."

Thanks for all you do.

–David, Sandra, Alexis, Oscar, and the rest of the team

Source: 

1. "Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.," The New York Times, January
30, 2022
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

  

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[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Don't ban books about the Holocaust!

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. When I was growing up, the
Holocaust loomed large in my family. I knew my grandparents had survived
the Holocaust, but I also knew they found it hard to talk about.

In middle school, my mom encouraged me to read a groundbreaking book
called "Maus." It’s a graphic novel that told the story of how the
author’s own father had survived Nazi concentration camps. Because it was
a graphic novel, and because of the powerful storytelling, it was easy to
understand and helped me learn about what my family members had gone
through.

Since it was published 30 years ago, countless children and teenagers have
learned about the Holocaust through "Maus." So I was shocked to learn that
a school board in Tennessee has banned this important book for 8th
graders.

Please sign my petition telling the McMinn County School Board to overturn
its ban on the important Holocaust book "Maus."

[5]Sign Raz's petition

This is the same dangerous thinking that has lead to students being
deprived the opportunity to learn about a range of issues including
slavery, racism, sexuality and gender-based discrimination in the
classroom. Some politicians and other officials want to whitewash history,
and prevent students from accessing material that deals honestly and
accurately with our grim social history.

When I was a child, we were told to "never forget" the lessons of the
Holocaust. But as time goes on, fewer and fewer students are taught about
this horrific time in history. A recent survey found that most respondents
didn’t even know that over 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Some misguided folks like those on the McMinn school board want to deny
students the opportunity to learn about atrocities ranging from slavery in
the United States to the Holocaust—but those decisions also deprive our
communities of important resources to teach tolerance and empathy.

I was 13 when I read this book, the same age as the students in Tennessee.
It left a powerful impact on me, and I’m so glad my mom encouraged me to
read it. It helped me understand what my grandparents and other families
went through, but it also helped me understand how important it is to
stand up for human rights and against injustice. These are important
lessons for teenagers to learn.

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition today to reinstate "Maus" and make sure students
learn the important lessons of the Holocaust.

Thanks!

–Raz P., ParentsTogether

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 [ [link removed] ]start your own petition here.


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