Dear MoveOn member, 

These were the five most banned books in America in 2022.^1

 1. Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, traces the author's life from
adolescence to adulthood, including Kobabe's exploration of their
gender identity and sexuality.
 2. All Boys Aren't Blue, by George M. Johnson, chronicles Johnson's life
growing up as a queer Black man in New Jersey and Virginia.
 3. Out of Darkness, by Ashley Hope Pérez, explores themes of segregation
and chronicles a teenage love story involving a Mexican American girl
and a Black boy.
 4. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, tells the story of a young Black
girl growing up following the Great Depression who is consistently
regarded as "ugly" due to her dark skin.
 5. The Hate U Give, 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. 

Notice some common themes? Racism, segregation, gender identity, police
violence, and sexuality are among the most pressing issues facing our
society. These critically acclaimed books deftly and thoughtfully engage
issues that we want our students to wrestle with. Instead, the GOP wants
to erase these discussions—and even punish teachers.

[ [link removed] ]Will you order your FREE "I read banned books" sticker to show your
community that you resist the far right's racist and homophobic attacks on
freedom of thought?

[ [link removed] ][IMG]John, these book bans are part of a coordinated
right-wing effort to stop students from learning about race, sexual
orientation, gender identity, different cultures, and even just an
unbiased history of our country.

Florida's MAGA governor, Ron DeSantis, just banned AP African American
Studies in his state.^2

We simply cannot allow the right wing to stop students from learning about
race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and different cultures—or to
whitewash American history.

Nor can we allow MAGA extremists to turn our classrooms and libraries into
battlefields in a MAGA culture war that is punishing teachers and students
and undermining a full understanding of our history and identities.

Instead, young people across the country—the most diverse generation in
American history—should learn about the struggles our world faces today,
so we can formulate solutions to these urgent issues. 

[ [link removed] ]Will you join us in the fight for an open, inclusive, and free-thinking
world where all of us can thrive? Order your free "I Read Banned Books"
sticker today.

Thanks for all you do.

–Kelly, Elizabeth, Oscar, Emily, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "The 10 most banned books of the 2021-2022 school year," PEN America,
December 21, 2022
[link removed]

2. "Florida says AP class teaches critical race theory. Here's what's
really in the course," NPR, January 22, 2023
[link removed]


Want to support MoveOn's work? Voters just defied history and stopped a
MAGA wave of extremism at the polls. But there is more work to do to end
the filibuster, codify abortion rights into law, and defend our freedoms,
our families, and our futures. We can accomplish all this and more, but
only if we work together. 
 
Will you chip in right now to power our critical work? 



[ [link removed] ]Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.





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