[This lefty publisher is giving out censored books for free in
Florida. We know that books in and of themselves dont change the
world. But people reading together, learning together, organizing
together; people coming together to know these ideas, and to think
about how our side wins is actually dangerous.]
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HAYMARKET BOOKS FIGHTS BACK AGAINST REPUBLICAN ATTACKS ON EDUCATIONAL
FREEDOM  
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Ramenda Cyrus
February 20, 2023
The American Prospect
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_ This lefty publisher is giving out censored books for free in
Florida. We know that books in and of themselves don't change the
world. But people reading together, learning together, organizing
together; people coming together to know these ideas, and to think
about how our side wins is actually dangerous. _

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to reporters at Palm Beach Atlantic
University in West Palm Beach, Florida on Feb. 15, 2023., Wilfredo
Lee/AP Photo

 

Haymarket Books, a prominent left-wing publishing company, has waded
into the battle for education at-large. In the wake of a coordinated
right-wing attack on public education led by Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis, the nonprofit is offering some Black history books for free
to everyone and sending free print copies to requests made out of
Florida. 

Haymarket’s commitment comes at a time of large-scale upheaval in
the education system. DeSantis is just the start: the whole Republican
Party has launched a campaign to drastically censor what can be taught
in schools, often targeting Black and queer content. At the same time,
conservative parents have become more involved than ever in the
education system through school boards and groups such as Moms For
Liberty. 

The plot to censor left-wing ideas in school comes on the heels of a
moral panic around critical race theory that culminated in more than
15 states imposing restrictions on its use in the classroom as of
2023, according to an analysis by EducationWeek
[[link removed]]. 

The attacks on education are coming at the school boards level as
well. According to Pen America
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from 2021 to 2022, more than 130 school districts across 32 states
have instituted some sort of book ban. Of these bans, the report notes
that more than 40 percent dealt with LGTBQ themes or had a person of
color as a protagonist or secondary character.

The latest escalation is Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) introducing a bill
that would federally censor LGBT content being taught in schools. GOP
Reps. George Santos (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
cosponsored the bill, which could be used to restrict queer content in
schools, under the guise of preventing the “sexualization” of
children, which is often
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a code anything involving for the LGBTQ community.  

At the state level, the most notable example is Florida’s Stop WOKE
Act, which was passed last year, and prohibits, among other things,
content that teaches that a person’s “status as privileged or
oppressed” is dependent on their race or sex. The act is just one
part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ multi-pronged attack on “woke
indoctrination” in education. His censorship law is so sweeping and
punitive that many teachers have packed up their entire classroom
libraries
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of fear they’d be thrown in prison.

As Vox
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DeSantis has largely focused on K-12 schools, but has also set his
sights on higher education. College Board’s original Advanced
Placement (AP) African-American Studies course was rejected in Florida
under the Stop WOKE Act, which led to its revision to exclude certain
themes related to Black history, and figures such as Audre Lorde and
bell hooks. Haymarket Books’ move is a direct response to this
growing agitation over progressive ideas being taught. 

While there is no exact definition of what “woke” means, for
conservatives it is obviously a thinly veiled villainization of
non-white people or the queer community. Perhaps most tellingly is
their obsessive focus on the idea of intersectionality
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which advocates for solidarity and understanding across the groups
that have suffered under various forms of oppression—racism,
homophobia or transphobia, poverty, and so on.

The reason for DeSantis’s objection is a very old one—the fear
from an oppressor that the downtrodden will unite against him.

Its inclusion in the AP course drew DeSantis’s ire: “Now who would
say that an important part of Black History is queer theory? That is
somebody pushing an agenda on our kids, and so when you look to see
they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisons, that’s
a political agenda. And so, that’s the wrong side of the line for
Florida standards,” he said
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defense of the rejection of the course. 

DeSantis’s objection rejects the idea that two different kinds of
oppression could ever be intertwined, which is obviously nonsense.
They can’t help be, and would be considered so by anyone taking the
field seriously. But the reason for his objection is a very old
one—the fear from an oppressor that the downtrodden will unite
against him.

Still, in response, the College Board dropped Kimberlé Crenshaw, who
originally developed the concept. 

“We know that books can be dangerous to those in power, especially
when they are in the hands of folks who are organizing to fight for
liberation. That’s why we publish them. That's why they’re trying
to ban them,” Haymarket Books wrote
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the blog post announcing the free e-books. 

The company is also offering free hard copies to people and groups
based out of Florida. Dana Blanchard, program coordinator for
Haymarket, told the_ Prospect_ that the interested groups have
ranged from educators to community organizers. 

Haymarket’s move serves as a reminder of the ways the left-wing
movement can be forward-thinking and claim the mantle of protecting
liberties from conservative attacks on freedom. All too often,
progressives are simply reacting to marginalized groups having their
rights stripped systematically, instead of taking concrete steps to
fight back. 

“We know that books in and of themselves don't change the world,”
Blanchard said. “But people reading together, learning together,
organizing together; people coming together to know these ideas, and
to think about how our side wins is actually dangerous.”

RAMENDA CYRUS is the John Lewis Writing Fellow at _The American
Prospect_.

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* books
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* Ron DeSantis
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* Florida
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* Black History
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* censorship
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* Education
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