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? 

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.

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?

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. 

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
https://act.moveon.org/go/170330?t=5&akid=343576%2E40999114%2ECQ9nIU

2. "Florida says AP class teaches critical race theory. Here's what's really in the course," NPR, January 22, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/170331?t=7&akid=343576%2E40999114%2ECQ9nIU

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