Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
'If people think this couldn't happen here, they're wrong': Erie County libraries bring attention to banned booksThe last time a book was banned from a Buffalo public library was 1939, but there were more books banned during the last year throughout the country than ever before.
“If people think this couldn’t happen here, they’re wrong,” said John Spears, director of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System.
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System has joined Unite Against Book Bans, a national campaign to protect the rights to access information, and is taking part in the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, Oct. 1 to 7.
New library cards with artwork promoting the freedom to read debuted Tuesday at all 37 library branches.
Various activities also are planned for Banned Books Week, including a read-out of books banned in other areas, speakers and presentations and a writing workshop for teens. There also will be a more permanent display featuring banned book covers on the exterior sides of the Central Library. Learn more at buffalolib.org.
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/ba...
Temporary slightly good news for Samuels LibraryWarren County library gets temporary reprieve as book debate continues
Samuels Public Library in Front Royal will keep its doors open at least three more months under a temporary funding reprieve that the Warren County Board of Supervisors passed Tuesday night, allowing more time for negotiations over control of the library and its policies on LGBTQ books for young readers.
An executive committee from the Samuels board met with five county supervisors Tuesday afternoon in a closed session. The supervisors then convened their regular meeting by voting, without discussion, to release another $256,000 in library funding.
“The library sees this as a very positive development and sign that both sides are negotiating in good faith. We hope to have a final [memorandum of agreement] in the near future,” a spokesman for Samuels said in a written statement.
“It is an issue of accountability and responsiveness to the taxpayers, to all of the taxpayers of this county. That’s what it comes down to and that is what the board of supervisors is seeking to achieve,” county supervisor Jerome “Jay” Butler said.
Supervisor Delores Oates, who is running as a Republican for the state House of Delegates, said the library had “made progress” and vowed that she would “never vote to deprive taxpayers of this incredible community service.” But she added that if she became a member of the House, her first bill would be to strip libraries, schools and museums of what she said is the ability to provide children with “obscene content.”
Supervisor Cheryl Cullers, the lone member who voted against the original move to withhold funding, said she is disappointed in the whole situation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-...
Texas teacher fired after assigning an illustrated Anne Frank bookAnne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
A Texas middle school teacher has been fired after assigning an unapproved illustrated version of Anne Frank's Diary to her eighth grade reading class. Per a report from KFDM, a spokesperson for Hamshire-Fannett ISD, located south of Beaumont, released a statement confirming the teacher was sent home on Wednesday after reading a passage from Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation in which Frank wrote about male and female genitalia. An investigation into the incident has since ensued.
While district officials claim the adaptation of Anne Frank's Diary was not approved, it was included on a reading list sent to parents at the start of the school year, KFDM reports. The investigation will determine if the teacher pivoted from the original approved curriculum or if administrators were aware of the book being part of the class.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...
The M4L are at it again in Pinellas Park, FL Pinellas schools ban 5 books after hearing passages read aloud at meetings
The district restricted another 11 titles to high school juniors and seniors who have parent permission.
The Pinellas County school district has pulled five books from its shelves amid concerns that their content, which includes graphic sex and violence, is inappropriate for minors.
It did so without having received any formal complaints about the titles.
The administration also instructed schools to reclassify another 11 books as available for high school juniors and seniors only, providing they get written parental permission to use them. Twelve books were labeled for high school grades, taking them out of middle schools, and another two remain under review.
School board member Stephanie Meyer introduced 25 of the 30 titles, which were reviewed by a committee of 10 district media specialists, during a July workshop. At that meeting, the board gave the superintendent authority to review books as they come to his attention. Meyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Several residents attending an August board meeting read aloud explicit passages from several of them, urging the district to remove them in accordance with state law that says schools may not have books that contain pornography or material deemed harmful to minors.
“Based on the recommendation from the Library Media Review Team, both classroom and media center libraries across the district will be assessed to ensure collections align with these recommendations,” district spokesperson Isabel Mascareñas said.
Many of the districts are looking at the same group of books, which include several novels by author Ellen Hopkins, one of the most frequently challenged authors in the state. Hopkins’ “Traffick” was recommended for removal from Pinellas schools, along with four other titles: “Lucky” by Alice Sebold, “Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold and “When Good Kids Kill” by Michael D. Kelleher.
Laura Hine, vice chairperson of the Pinellas board, said it makes sense for the district to take a closer look at materials that are brought forward, regardless of the official paper trail.
“You can’t pretend like you didn’t hear it,” Hine said. “There are times when executive action has to be taken.”
Board member Eileen Long said she supports leaving as many books as possible in the schools. At the same time, she said, some content is not appropriate and requires additional review within full literary context.
Long, who has faced online criticism for her stance on books, also noted that the district this year offered parents more options on controlling what their children can take from school and classroom libraries. District officials said the vast majority submitted forms granting full access.
The board discussed additional proposed changes to its controversial materials policy during a workshop Tuesday. It marked the third time this year the board has considered its rule, as a result of new requirements from the Florida Department of Education.
The department recently held a rule-making session to further refine how districts collect information about book challenges. The department withdrew a separate rule proposal that had been intended to clarify which materials must be removed within five days as a result of an objection, saying it no longer is needed.
Angela Dubach, president of the Moms for Liberty group Pinellas chapter, has been among the residents clamoring for books to be classified more appropriately, and removed if necessary. She recently read to the board an explicit passage from “Push” by Sapphire, which is one of two novels that remain under review by the district.
Dubach praised the district for moving on the books.
“That’s good they’re doing what they should,” she said. “If I were to hand material to a child that has explicit sexual material ... I could be arrested for that. So why is it different inside a school?”
Raegan Miller, who sits on the Pinellas PTA executive board, said she understood why the district is looking more closely at books.
“I wish the theatrics at a school board meeting didn’t lead to books getting removed,” said Miller, also a board member of the anti-censorship group Florida Freedom to Read Project. “Go through the process.”
The Pinellas district has removed books without going through the challenge process before.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
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We should be approaching ALL extremist religious types (and yes, that also and definitely should include radical and hate-filled often homophobic Christians intent on evangelizing and doing so called holy war) like we do with ISIS and the Taliban, as dangerous and vile terrorists who need to be arrested and face serious consequences and repercussions.
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Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
A Texas middle school teacher has been fired after assigning an unappr..."
So will American and also international Jewish groups stand up support and fight for this teacher (as well as other teachers facing similar dictatorial restrictions) and yes with and by any means? They really need to, they absolutely must for if these groups do not, in my opinion they are not only pretty cowardly but they are also trashing Anne Frank's memory and basically ALL Holocaust victims.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rallie...
Honestly, if you do want sex education and gender identity for your child for religious and so-called mortal reasons, then send them to a private religious school or homeschool them. Public schools need to be totally free of ALL religion, period, and homophobia has no place in Canadian public schools and should be severely punished no matter who does it.
Manybooks wrote: "https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rallie...
Honestly, if you do want sex education and gender identit..."
Same arguments going on here even in my very blue state. OMG mandatory sex ed! OMG teach about CONSENT?! (which just means bodily autonomy actually. NO ONE can touch you without your consent. Yes even Kindergartners need to know that.) My heart goes out to the kids.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rallie...
Honestly, if you do want sex education ..."
What I do not at all understand is all that reticence against sex education and teaching about consent. Do these parents rather want their children to be ignorant and to end up pressured or worse into becoming sexually active or accepting inappropriate touching?
Arlington Public Library to host the author of a controversial graphic novel ahead of Banned Books WeekArt Spiegelman
In person AND live stream
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4M...
Arlington Public Library says it is taking a stand against book banning across the U.S. and in Virginia, declaring itself a “book sanctuary.”
“Everyone should read whatever they want, whenever they want and however they want,” said Library Director Diane Kresh in an announcement on social media this week.
As part of that commitment, Kresh plans to host a panel discussion featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman.
Spiegelman’s visit serves as an early kick-off to Banned Books Week, a campaign by the American Library Association and Amnesty International. The library director tied this year’s campaign, which runs from Oct. 1-7, to recent attempts to ban books across the country and the state.
“In recent months, events have moved closer to home in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as libraries have been threatened with removal of books by certain members of the community,” Kresh said. “They’ve been subjected to personal assaults in person, at public meetings and on social media.”
The discussion between Spiegelman and Kresh will take place at Kenmore Middle School auditorium tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m., followed by an audience Q&A session. The event will be streamed and in-person attendees can buy signed copies of Spiegelman’s book.
https://www.arlnow.com/2023/09/20/arl...
in South Carolina, in spite of what the news keeps telling us, ....Protestors rally against book banning outside of Moms for Liberty meeting
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — Roughly 50 protestors gathered outside of a regularly scheduled meeting for Charleston County’s Moms for Liberty Chapter Tuesday night in Mount Pleasant.
Defense of Democracy, another national, non-partisan organization, coordinated with other local advocacy groups to have a large presence outside of Tuesday’s meeting.
Members of Defense of Democracy said they were protesting Moms for Liberty’s, “takeover of public schools and local government.”
Their main issues lie with the group’s efforts to ban multiple books from Charleston County School District libraries.
Other protestors who weren’t part of the Defense of Democracy also joined the group. Sue Condrin said she was shocked that book banning is still an issue today.
“This is something that I never thought, as an American citizen, [I] would have to deal with for my children, for my grandchildren, and even for myself,” Condrin said. “I was reading Lolita in tenth grade at a catholic school. There was nothing wrong with that in 1966, so what is wrong with The Handmaid’s Tale in 2023?”
Allan Morris, the South Carolina Chapter Chair for Defense of Democracy, said he doesn’t feel supported or heard by state politicians.
Defense of Democracy members said they want inclusive education for all.
https://abcnews4.com/news/local/prote...
Still, with the good comes the badNorthview (Michiagn) Public Schools to consider removing 8 books from schools
The meeting comes after a community member requested that the books, which are available to students in grades 7-12 as optional reading, be removed.
The books that are being considered by the committee are:
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Mass
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Push by Sapphire
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M Johnson
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
“At Northview Public Schools, we are dedicated to fostering and maintaining a strong partnership with the community we are proud to serve. As part of this commitment, the Board of Education has thoughtfully established a set of policies, guidelines and procedures designed to review instructional materials across the district. Having recently received a request from a community member to remove eight books available to students in grades 7-12 for optional reading, the district has established a complaint review committee, under Board Policy 9130, to review the books in question. The committee - consisting of members of the community, staff members, and two Board members - will conduct a thorough review of each book and present their recommendation to the interim superintendent. In our dedication to ensuring transparency, we will keep parents informed throughout the review process.”
https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/e...
And the scary... M4L have put together a campaign kit for school board candidates!They endorsed more than 500 board campaigns last year and more than half of the first-time candidates the conservative parents group endorsed in 2022 won.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/ne...
Ex-‘South Park’ Writer Taking On Moms for Libertytabloid style news story
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-ex-...
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Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce need not only to speak out against this, once whoever is doing this is found, they and their supporters and acolytes need to be publicly named, shamed and humiliated.
The ALA reports there have been attempts to censor more than 1,900 library book titles so far in 2023https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/120064...
This doesn't include stores or countries outside the U.S. like Canada, Australia and New Zealand
STUPIDST news of the dayRed: A Crayon's Story
MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district is adding another book to its list of banned books this year.
This time it’s a children's book titled "Red: A Crayon’s Story."
The book is no longer allowed for kids in grades K-4; this comes after complaints about the content of the book were challenged under the Parent's Bill of Rights.
The book is no longer allowed for kids in grades K-4; this comes after complaints about the content of the book were challenged under the Parent's Bill of Rights.
The law was passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly after it overrode a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper. It bans most sexual education topics for kids in kindergarten to fourth grades and requires schools to tell parents when a child requests a change to their name or pronouns.
"We received concerns from parents and guardians about the book as it relates to the Parents Bill of Rights, specifically, age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade. Upon further review, the book has been removed," a CMS spokesperson said.
CMS said the book was not part of its general academic curriculum. Instead, it was part of an agreement between the Office of Civil Rights, located within the U.S. Department of Education, and CMS to provide Title IX lessons.
Title IX is the civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.
"The school district is required to provide Title IX lessons to all our students in an ag law was passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly after it overrode a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper. e-appropriate manner," the CMS spokesperson said. "For our kindergarten students, a children's book titled 'Red: A Crayon’s Story' was selected to share ideas about differences and acceptance."
It's not clear how many, but CMS said parents challenged the book being read in the classroom, arguing its content in the book was against the Parents' Bill of Rights.
The district didn’t reveal what school the book was read aloud in before it was removed or if the staff member who read the book could be facing any consequences.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/edu...
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The book was inspired by the author's learning disability and doesn't say anything about gender identity, sexuality or anything else and that's beside the point, it's a book about a CRAYON!
Manybooks wrote: "What I do not at all understand is all that reticence against sex education and teaching about consent. Do these parents rather want their children to be ignorant and to end up pressured or worse into becoming sexually active or accepting inappropriate touching?
.."
1)They think their kindergartners are going be taught about sex and it will sexualize them and they'll want to have sex at a young age. Which is untrue... Kids that young and younger can be taught who can touch you where and when. If you have a hurt down there, let Mommy see it. Show the doctor. No one else can touch you there without your OK.
2) They claim they want to teach their kids sex ed but then they don't teach about consent from a young age so you end up with a Duggar family situation or a church leader molesting kids or a Scout leader or a team doctor of USA gymnastics...
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Red: A Crayon's Story
MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district is adding another book to its list of banned books this year.
..."
How silly and typical (and some might also think that a red crayon symbolises Marxism)
So if a child took the book to show and tell, what would happen?
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What I do not at all understand is all that reticence against sex education and teaching about consent. Do these parents rather want their children to be ignorant and to end up p..."
And blame either Satan or pagans?
I assume if a child brought a banned book for show and tell the teacher would ask them to choose something else and then send an email to the parents about the issue. The teacher would be blamed and could be fired if they allowed that child to show the book to the class.
The most horrendous news of the day comes from Renee of Red, Wine and Blue (suburban moms for democracy/anti-M4L)Renne writes
On Tuesday night, a man claiming to represent a so-called “parents’ rights” group got up at Renee's local school board meeting and attacked her and her children – and the school board let it happen.
He falsely claimed that she has turned two of my children trans by subjecting them to adult content, and that she is “proof” that grooming works.
This isn’t about accusing Renee of having trans children –whether her kids are trans, cis or nonbinary, that is totally fine with her. It is about a stranger standing up in public and lying about her children for political points. It’s about hateful groups attacking LGBTQ+ kids as perverse – and school boards allowing them to do so.
The school board reminds speakers that personal attacks aren’t allowed during the public comment period, but they just don’t enforce it the way it should be. The man who lied about Renee and her kids on Tuesday was able to keep talking even after being told to stop.
Renee has been attending school board meetings for a few years now, trying to stop book bans, advocating for kids with disabilities, and more and NEVER said anything negative aimed at another person..
On the other hand, members of extremists groups, who show up to meetings wearing t-shirts that say things like “I don’t co-parent with the government,” stand at the podium and call other parents things like “groomers” and “immoral."
Renee is writing to ask her school board to improve the policy to stop what happened on Tuesday from ever happening again.
She asks that we demand that our school board stop extremists groups from spewing hate during public comment periods!
Good news in Washington stateThe only library in tiny Columbia County will survive.
The Dayton library — which was on the verge of becoming the first library in the country to shutter over disputes about what books it offers — will remain open after a Columbia County court Wednesday barred an initiative to close the library from appearing on the November ballot.
Columbia County Superior Court Commissioner Julie Karl ruled for the library’s supporters Wednesday, barring the county from placing the initiative on the November ballot. The initiative, Karl said from the bench, reading from prepared notes before a packed courtroom, was unconstitutional, procedurally invalid and the signature gathering was marred by “potential criminal acts.”
Because the library was established as a rural library district, only voters in unincorporated areas of the county would have been eligible to vote. That would exclude Dayton, where two-thirds of the county’s voters live, even though Dayton residents pay taxes to fund the library.
“The biggest point, I think though, is it doesn’t make sense to have people who live in the county be the only ones who vote on something that so much affects citizens of the city,” Karl said. “We did away with taxation without representation a long time ago.”
Karl also spoke passionately about the value the library provides to the community, saying its closure would be “an irreparable loss.”
Elise Severe, one of the plaintiffs and the leader of the PAC, Neighbors United for Progress, said she was “ecstatic” at the ruling.
Severe and Neighbors United for Progress filed the lawsuit against Jessica Ruffcorn, a mother of two and the leader of the movement to shut the library, as well as against the county, the county auditor and the county elections director.
Ruffcorn, in an emailed statement Wednesday, said she disagreed with the ruling and that it took away the voice of county voters.
“We didn’t work this hard for change to let it end here like this,” she said. “We will continue to fight to protect the children of this community.”
Ruffcorn had asked to be dismissed as a defendant, a request that was unopposed. She was represented by the Silent Majority Foundation, of Pasco, a conservative group that has filed lawsuits challenging the state’s COVID policies and its ban on AR-15 style guns.
The county and its officials responded that they were following the law and the advice of the state attorney general in good faith in putting the initiative on the ballot and asked the court to instruct them how to proceed.
So nobody substantively opposed the lawsuit’s allegations.
“The initiative seeks to punish every single person in Columbia County by shuttering the Library in its entirety and depriving the community of its many vital resources,” Neighbors United for Progress, and its two co-plaintiffs, wrote in a court filing. “The loss of the Library would result in a loss of access to information, the loss of history, a decline in public resources, and the loss of one of the most beautiful buildings in the County.”
The battle over the library in Dayton, a one-stoplight farming town where wheat prices are displayed on Main Street, has raged for more than a year.
The library’s opponents, led by Ruffcorn, objected to the placement of books concerning gender, sexuality and race in the kids and young adult sections of the library. Initially the complaints centered on one book, “What’s the T?: The Guide to all Things Trans and/or Nonbinary,” but they quickly spread to a dozen others and now well over 100 books.
The library’s previous director declined to move or remove any of the books, citing First Amendment rights and the rights of individual families to decide for themselves what to read. But he resigned earlier this year, saying he was tired of the battle and was leaving Dayton.
The new director attempted to assuage the library’s critics, moving all young adult nonfiction into the adult section and creating a new “parenting” section of books.
It did not work. Ruffcorn led a petition drive to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District, as the library is officially known. The drive collected enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.
“This public library is an irretrievably compromised entity, and it needs to be removed from our midst,” the voters guide statement against the library would read.
If the initiative passed, all of the library’s books and materials would have been moved to the state library near Olympia and the library’s building and other property would return to the city of Dayton, which, prior to the formation of the rural library district, had been unable to fund the library.
“When the initiative’s proponents could not rid the library of the handful of books they found objectionable, they instead sought to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ — and deprive the County and every single one of its residents of all library resources,” the plaintiffs wrote.
The lawsuit argued that local initiatives are different than statewide ones and that Columbia County has not authorized legislation by local initiative. It also argues the initiative is administrative rather than legislative and is thus beyond the scope of what is allowed.
The lawsuit argued the initiative would violate the state and federal constitutions by not giving Dayton residents a vote, even though they pay taxes toward the library.
“City residents’ significant property rights are affected without a right to vote,” the lawsuit said. The law, as a applied, “disenfranchises constitutionally qualified voters.”
And it alleged there was fraud in the petition process, that signers were told the petition was to “move the books in the library,” not to dissolve the library.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...
SC school district drops books on race, gender topics from library shelves after complaintElizabeth Foster, a former Beaufort County student who graduated from a private school, shares her experience trying to keep books on shelves in public schools.
Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
Bad news from AlaskaMat-Su school district committee recommends removal of books, including one by Toni Morrison
It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health
The Bluest Eye
The recommendations from the District-Wide Library Committee came last week during the first of 10 scheduled review meetings, part of a Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District plan to examine 56 books flagged to the school board as “challenged” by parents and community members.
The Mat-Su school board will make the final decision on the challenged books, using the committee’s recommendations as a guide.
The committee, which includes seven community members handpicked by the school board as well as four school district staffers, voted 6-5 during a meeting last week that the books violate a state law that makes it illegal for adults to distribute “indecent material” that is “harmful to minors” age 16 and under. The committee also voted to recommend removing “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold and “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier from elementary schools.
The committee also voted 8-2 with one member abstaining that “The Lovely Bones” — a novel told from the perspective of a raped and murdered teen — does not violate Alaska law. The majority of the committee recommended the novel stay on high school shelves only.
All members said the graphic novel “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier does not violate state law, although eight members recommended removing it from elementary schools due to some relationship topics, including what member Amanda Cottle characterized as a “gay crush.”
“I’m totally comfortable with it in a middle school — not 100% sure I’m comfortable with it in an elementary school,” Cottle said
The Mat-Su advisory panel will meet for one year to consider the challenged books and make recommendations to the school board. The process for how and when the school board will take up the recommendations is still being decided, district spokeswoman Jillian Morrissey said Wednesday.
While some of the books remain accessible for specific curriculum needs, including as part of the International Baccalaureate program, all books on the challenged list were preemptively pulled from circulation prior to the committee’s formation in May, Morrissey said. The volumes include well-known titles by Judy Blume, Kurt Vonnegut and Jodi Picoult.
“All of the books that are on the list — all of them — are off the shelves at this point,” she said.
Advisory committee members plan to discuss and vote on four books at each monthly meeting. Each book receives two votes: the first on whether it qualifies as “indecent material” and should be removed completely; and the second on whether it should be completely removed from libraries, remain on all shelves or remain on secondary-school shelves only.
For example, while the panel voted 6-5 that both “The Bluest Eye” and “It’s Perfectly Normal” violate state law, recommendations on whether the books should be completely removed from schools or left on some shelves varied. Six panel members said “The Bluest Eye” should be completely removed, while five said it should remain on high school shelves. And nine panel members in total voted that “It’s Perfectly Normal” should be removed from shelves completely, while two said it should be moved off elementary school shelves only.
Advisory committee members are required to read each book in its entirety before the meeting, and those who do not must abstain from voting.
Even if more books are flagged for challenge, the current panel will not consider any additional volumes beyond the 56 on the list now, Morrissey said.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-s...
Alabama library director says parents mainly responsible for monitoring children’s bookhttps://www.al.com/news/2023/09/alaba...
Community members of Iron River attend a special town board meeting about the Iron River Library Board's composition. The town board voted to remove four members from the library board amid controversy over a proposal to remove transgender and LGBTQ+ books by an anonymous group of concerned residents. The town board's chair said action to remove members was necessary to comply with state statutes, saying the library board had too many outside members. Danielle Kaeding/WPRLibrary board members ousted in Iron River, Wisconsin amid controversy over requests to remove books
Town board members say the library board was out of compliance with state law. Some community members want LGBTQ+ titles removed.
Four members of the library board in Iron River have been removed as an anonymous group of residents wants to pull transgender or LGBTQ+ related books off the shelves at the northern Wisconsin community’s public library.
The board voted unanimously to remove four members from the Iron River Library Board, citing conflicts with state statutes.
The board members who were removed, along with some residents, called the decision a convenient excuse amid controversy over requests to remove books from library shelves. In Iron River, the library board has been criticized by some community members who disagree with its decision to retain a book that those residents deem p___ographic or promoting certain gender ideologies.
Town Board Chair David Ciembronowicz said they were reviewing the library board’s composition because state law only allows up to seven people to serve. Eight members had been serving on the board. State statutes also require that all but two members can be residents from another community. The four people removed are Michael Lang, Beth Kolling, Kathleen Skoraczewski, and Gayle Gonsior. All four lived outside the town.
Ciembronowicz said town supervisors realized the library board had too many members as they were examining a replacement for an individual who recently resigned. He said the decision had nothing to do with the controversy over certain books.
"The town board has since day one of this issue stayed away from this issue…because we have no authority to do anything as it relates to books, as it relates to any of those decisions the library board makes," Ciembronowicz said.
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Skoraczewski, the library board’s treasurer, said there’s no disputing the board was out of compliance with state statutes related to limits on the number of members and outside residents. However, she said the timing of the discovery doesn’t feel like a coincidence and seems tied to concerns over LGBTQ+ materials in the library.
The issue hits home for Skoraczewski as a parent of a non-binary college student. She said they have no desire to return to the area because they don’t feel welcome.
Skoraczewski said it felt like town board members were disappointed with the library board’s recent decision.
WPR obtained a letter dated Aug. 15 that was sent to the library board by Ciembronowicz. In it, the town board chair spoke out against books and materials that he said could be "deemed pornography." He added that other LGBTQ+ or transgender books and materials used children’s books "as a means of promotion of that lifestyle."
"These books that have been identified throughout the library varying from between 60 and over 100 need to be re-reviewed for their value to the community and whether they incite, excite and foster behaviors that are not beneficial to the individual, the family or the community," the letter reads. "Those that do not meet our values should be removed and/or moved to an area that is only available upon specific request."
Ciembronowicz also said entities like the American Library Association, or ALA, and Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have a political, cultural and secular agenda. He accused the ALA of following a "Marxist" philosophy that "supplants value and morality of a community with 'diversity equity and inclusiveness' at the expense of community beliefs and culture.'"
In an Aug. 18 email sent to the library board, Town Board Supervisor Rich Nemitz reiterated thoughts he expressed as a private citizen at the Aug. 15 meeting. He said the book "Let's Talk About It" had no redeeming qualities and called it inappropriate for children.
Ousted board members have the opportunity to reapply, and Skoraczewski said she intends to seek out her position on the library board. Kolling, who was also removed, said she doesn’t believe she will pursue her seat. Kolling was among board members who voted to keep the book "Let’s Talk About It" on the shelves.
"I honestly don't think that they would reappoint any of the four of us that they removed for that reason," Kolling said.
Community members who attended Tuesday’s meeting expressed mixed views over the library board’s decision to keep transgender and LGBTQ+ titles on the shelves.
Missy Meritz of Iron River said the books should not be on display in the library.
"I think that it's our job as parents to be responsible for the molding and shaping of children's minds, and that it's just plain wrong to put things that are very much pornography out on shelves for display," Meritz said, referring to "Let’s Talk About It" and other books. "It's shameful."
Meritz said the book should be kept in a lockbox in the back of the library where they are only available upon request. Her husband Josh Meritz agreed.
Nearby residents in the Town of Hughes like Evie Brege voiced concerns that the library may be shut down or that its director, Jacqueline Pooler, may be removed.
"She's supposed to provide information for everybody, and it's the parents who should check to see what their kids are checking out," Brege said. "So we just don't see that there's any reason why any of those books should be banned."
Iron River residents Audrey and Rudy Kavajecz said they would like to see the library board recommend new members rather than the town board. Audrey said she would also like to see more representation on the board from other communities surrounding the library.
"I think the library is for the whole area," she said. "So maybe they should change those statutes."
https://www.wpr.org/library-board-mem...
Today's news has Ari Folman speaking out about the banning of Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic AdaptationIsraeli artist who adapted Anne Frank's diary into a graphic novel is alarmed that Texas teacher was removed for using it
In an interview, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker and artist Ari Folman said he viewed the news as “a red alert of where this society is going."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/is...
In Delaware
After principal bans teen-rated manga books, Magnolia Middle School club forced to disband
A mom's petition has over 1,100 signatures after her children's Kent County middle school banned teen-rated manga books, effectively disbanding the school's manga club.
Jennifer Antonik's two children were in the after-school manga club at Magnolia Middle School in the Caesar Rodney School District. Her eldest, an eighth grader, had been part of it for three years.
Sponsoring teacher Gretchen Fox had assembled a manga library and anywhere from 20 to 80 kids gathered to read and discuss it, as well as watch anime, Antonik said. Kids who participated had to have a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian, according to Antonik.
On Sept. 17, Antonik's kids were sent home with a letter from Fox.
"Administration has decided that any manga or content (anime that I show during the club) that is over an 'E' or 'Y' rating cannot be in my room or shown/provided to students," she wrote.
Most manga comes with a rating of "A" or "E" for all ages, "T" for teens, "OT" or "T+" for older teens or "M" for mature, but there are no industrywide guidelines that influence the ratings.
All of the content at Magnolia Middle, which has students from sixth to eighth grade, was rated "T," according to the letter, so the club would no longer be meeting.
"(The club was) a safe space where the kids can be who they want to be, explore their interests and decompress from the day once a week. It's important to them," Antonik said.
Last year, the manga club won a $1,000 prize from Hertrich Toyota of Milford's "Cash for Class" program specifically to expand the manga library. A Caesar Rodney School District Facebook post lauded the club for "encouraging reading and increasing reading comprehension with the middle school students."
Antonik emailed Magnolia Middle School Principal Matthew Keen with her concerns on Sept. 19, and he responded the same day.
"All material rated T and up according to the rating scale needed to be removed from the classroom as it could be taken as inappropriate for our aged students," he wrote, linking to a liveabout.com article as the scale he was referring to.
Liveabout.com publishes articles that are "a lovable jumble of urban legends, sports history, and esoteric trivia," according to its "About Us" section. The website's article, "What Are the Age Ratings in Manga?," is the first thing that comes up when you Google "manga rating system."
On Wednesday, Caesar Rodney School District spokesman Mike Williams said the district is reviewing the matter.
"The Anime Club sponsor suspended club activities (not the District) in order to comply that all publications/films used by the club were age appropriate for students that had access to them," Williams said in an email.
A statement will be released once the issue is fully reviewed, he said.
"There's a better way to handle this situation than to simply rip all of the books and content from one genre away from the students," Antonik said. "It was a decision based in ignorance, a lack of understanding, versus compassion and support."
The club was especially important to her kids, Antonik said, because it gave them a connection to their deceased father, who "left a love of anime with them."
"I really think connecting with the (club) helped my two older children grow through their grief in a way that kept them connected to Dad," she said.
She is now awaiting responses from the district superintendent and the school board. As of Thursday morning, her petition to save the manga library had over 1,100 signatures.
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/...
A list of student groups fighting against censorshiphttps://bookriot.com/central-york-hig...
https://literaryactivism.substack.com...
Better news from FloridaHillsborough County school votes to keep Blankets book in library under the first challenge this year
A Plant High School parent brought the objection against the coming-of-age graphic novel "Blankets" by author Craig Thompson. The autobiographical novel tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family and details his first love, early adulthood and changing spiritual identity.
The seven-member review board, comprised of school staff and parents, voted unanimously to keep the book in the school's library collection. Their decision affects only Plant High School.
A handful of parents, staff and community members gathered on Monday to watch the committee deliberate on the educational merits of "Blankets" and whether or not the book complied with state laws governing age-appropriate materials in schools.
As part of the district's review process, committee members read the novel in full before convening on Monday to review the objections. The members addressed multiple instances in the book that the parent considered "lewd" and portrayed "a variety of adult topics suitable only for adults ages 18 and up."
After the one-hour session, the committee members ultimately agreed the illustrations and content served the purpose of the book, which was to portray a "crisis of faith" and a coming-of-age narrative.
The committee agreed that the book was appropriate for high school students, but not for middle or elementary school students.
Debbie Hunt, the executive director of the conservative group, Hillsborough Citizens Defending Freedom, said she did not agree with the review, but appreciated that the process was open to the community.
"The fact that the public can attend even if they can't speak, it's good for the public to be able to come and observe the process."
She said that she and other members of the Citizens Defending Freedom group will continue to attend these review sessions.
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/educati...
From MinnesotaOp ed piece "The novel is shelved in the adult nonfiction section of the library; the parent objected on the grounds that children could still reach the book, according to MPR. That’s like banning motorized vehicles because kids can crawl from the back seat into the driver seat." Letter about the decision by the Carver County Public Library (MN) to keep Gender Queer on shelves.
https://www.mankatofreepress.com/opin...
Bad news from North CarolinaMonday's Not Coming will only be available to 18-year-olds in Catawba County Schools (NC). This is the result of a complaint by a school board member.
The board voted 4-3 to restrict the book. Board member Jeff Taylor clarified that he voted to second the restriction to avoid a ban.
The meeting came as a result of an appeal by school board member Michelle Teague, who has challenged a total of 24 books in the school library system.
In August, the board voted to remove “Out of Darkness and keep Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out in high schools. Those two books were among Teague’s challenges as well.
The three who voted against this latest restriction, Teague, Don Sigmon, and Tim Settlemyre, all said they supported the full removal of the book. Board member Jeff Taylor clarified that he voted for the restriction to avoid a total ban.
At this time, there are copies of “Monday’s Not Coming” in three Catawba County high schools.
In total, Teague has challenged 24 books in the school library system. At the district level, five of those books are in progress or upcoming and, at the high school level, three are being considered.
https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north...
Westport, Massachusetts, is dealing with a book challenge over the reading of a Margaret Atwood short story in a high school class. It's been in the curriculum for six years, but suddenly, it's inappropriate."This month, more than a dozen parents and community members came to support Matthew Shivers, the English teacher placed on leave after a parent complained that the veteran instructor had read aloud from a Margaret Atwood story.
“There will be a chilling effect on the teachers,” complained Carolina Africano, a parent and former School Committee member, during the public comment. “That is not an atmosphere that supports teaching and learning.”
The superintendent, Thomas Aubin, asked parents for patience and deferred to his legal counsel. “I find myself in the midst of a highly charged national issue regarding the choice of curricula for our public school system,” Aubin said. “Certainly, the issue has unfortunately taken on political overtones with strongly held opinions on both sides.”
Africano, the former committee member, said, “I’m disappointed that the administration did not back their people.”
In Westport, the offending short story, “Happy Endings,” has been part of Shivers’ curriculum for high school sophomores for at least six years, according to students interviewed by The Light. The story was penned by the celebrated author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the classic novel that forebodes theocratic repression, especially of women and non-conformist thinkers.
The parent’s complaint, according to news reports, focused on a passage that describes a relationship in which partners unequally exchange lust and love. This leads the involved woman to intentional self-harm and accidental overdose. Also, a curse word describes intercourse.
“It was traumatizing thinking that this is actually going on in a school,” the parent told CBS News Boston. “Something like that, sexually, should be taught in [the] home, not at school.” The parent could not be reached for additional comment by The Light.
Former students of Shivers rallied to his support. Emmie Young-Kershaw, a Westport High graduate now studying at Emerson College, described her former English teacher and drama director as “one of the most hardworking, kindest, smartest people to ever grace Westport.”
Young-Kershaw wasn’t shocked about book challenges arriving in her hometown: “I’m not surprised it would come to Westport, but I am surprised at who it came to,” she said. “When [Shivers] would begin a book, he would always talk about what would be discussed in the book … he always provided a safe space.”
Young-Kershaw helped to circulate an online letter that defended Shivers. Written by another young alumna, the letter gained more than 200 signatures from former and current students. “Honest, dedicated, and highly professional,” it described Shivers, while defending intellectual freedom.
State Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro has submitted legislation that would formalize school librarians as the final arbiters of which books end up in their libraries. The bill would create a review process to ensure books aren’t hastily removed when challenges arise.
At present, librarians and teachers follow whatever policy their school has written, if there is one.
“We cannot allow small-minded bans or politically opportunist censorship to interfere with the right to read,” said Cyr in a written statement. “Massachusetts is home to the nation’s first public library and the first public school … [and] access to knowledge is key to opportunity and fulfillment.
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Complaint against Westport teacher follows growing trend of book challenges
After Massachusetts saw more book challenges last year than even Florida, a new bill seeks to protect librarians
By Colin Hogan
September 17, 2023
Credit: Unsplash
WESTPORT — Not many people go to the School Committee meetings in this coastal town — any more than a handful is unusual. But this month, more than a dozen parents and community members came to support Matthew Shivers, the English teacher placed on leave after a parent complained that the veteran instructor had read aloud from a Margaret Atwood story.
“There will be a chilling effect on the teachers,” complained Carolina Africano, a parent and former School Committee member, during the public comment. “That is not an atmosphere that supports teaching and learning.”
The superintendent, Thomas Aubin, asked parents for patience and deferred to his legal counsel. “I find myself in the midst of a highly charged national issue regarding the choice of curricula for our public school system,” Aubin said. “Certainly, the issue has unfortunately taken on political overtones with strongly held opinions on both sides.”
Africano, the former committee member, said, “I’m disappointed that the administration did not back their people.”
The increasingly familiar ordeal is just one among a surging number of complaints and challenges to literature in Massachusetts schools and libraries. Last year, the state experienced the fourth-highest number of library book removal requests — 45. That’s more than in Florida or California, according to data from the American Library Association (Texas had the most, with 93). This year, book challenges have also returned to Old Rochester Regional, the district where the issue drove the last cycle of school committee elections.
Related
The Light on Radio: Colin Hogan discusses the battle over book bans on the South Coast on GBH News
April 10, 2023
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Book banning debates grip South Coast school elections
March 31, 2023
Librarian groups warn that many schools are losing staff and funding for libraries. In response, new legislation in the Statehouse seeks to protect librarians.
In Massachusetts last year, book challenges quadrupled since the prior year, according to ALA’s count. These outnumber all cases from 2013 to 2021 combined.
“It’s very stressful,” said Jennifer Varney, former president of the Massachusetts School Library Association. “I got my master’s in library science and learned about intellectual freedom. But that was a theoretical thing until last year, when it wasn’t theoretical anymore.”
Varney said the number of book challenges (in Massachusetts and all states) is likely an undercount. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ own survey of librarians, she said, came up with 78 challenges, which include informal and verbal requests to remove titles.
In Westport, the offending short story, “Happy Endings,” has been part of Shivers’ curriculum for high school sophomores for at least six years, according to students interviewed by The Light. The story was penned by the celebrated author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the classic novel that forebodes theocratic repression, especially of women and non-conformist thinkers.
The parent’s complaint, according to news reports, focused on a passage that describes a relationship in which partners unequally exchange lust and love. This leads the involved woman to intentional self-harm and accidental overdose. Also, a curse word describes intercourse.
“It was traumatizing thinking that this is actually going on in a school,” the parent told CBS News Boston. “Something like that, sexually, should be taught in [the] home, not at school.” The parent could not be reached for additional comment by The Light.
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Former students of Shivers rallied to his support. Emmie Young-Kershaw, a Westport High graduate now studying at Emerson College, described her former English teacher and drama director as “one of the most hardworking, kindest, smartest people to ever grace Westport.”
Young-Kershaw wasn’t shocked about book challenges arriving in her hometown: “I’m not surprised it would come to Westport, but I am surprised at who it came to,” she said. “When [Shivers] would begin a book, he would always talk about what would be discussed in the book … he always provided a safe space.”
Young-Kershaw helped to circulate an online letter that defended Shivers. Written by another young alumna, the letter gained more than 200 signatures from former and current students. “Honest, dedicated, and highly professional,” it described Shivers, while defending intellectual freedom.
“Speaking our minds and standing up for what we believe in is not just a privilege we have as Americans, but a right and an obligation to our conscience and morality,” read one section. “This letter is an execution of that life lesson. We understand how parents may be startled by the starkness of some literature, but we urge you to consider that this is the purpose of literary fiction.”
Proposed legislation would support librarians
State Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro has submitted legislation that would formalize school librarians as the final arbiters of which books end up in their libraries. The bill would create a review process to ensure books aren’t hastily removed when challenges arise.
At present, librarians and teachers follow whatever policy their school has written, if there is one.
“We cannot allow small-minded bans or politically opportunist censorship to interfere with the right to read,” said Cyr in a written statement. “Massachusetts is home to the nation’s first public library and the first public school … [and] access to knowledge is key to opportunity and fulfillment.”
“I thought about sending him flowers,” said Barb Fecteau, current president of the Massachusetts School Library Association. “We’re putting our line in the sand.”
Westport has no existing process for dealing with book challenges, the superintendent made clear at this month’s School Committee meeting. “The school district’s legal counsel is consulting with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which has extensive knowledge of best instructional practices for the age group in question,” Aubin said.
In the meantime, Matthew Shivers cannot teach and remains on professional leave.
the Old Rochester district, well-versed in handling book challenges, recently received another. The Light has covered how book challenges came to dominate the school committee elections there, after a book complaint sparked public ire in November 2022.
In June, a resident submitted a request to remove two books from the high school library. “At the time of submission, I did not read the entire book, but did end up reading the book prior to meeting with the Standards committee,” the resident said in a written statement. “I read certain pages and the summary.” She wrote that she was also aware of criticism of the book by booklooks.org, an extension of the conservative group Moms For Liberty.
The complainant, Karen Thomas KAREN, also spoke publicly before the Old Rochester School Committee to oppose critical race theory, a legal theory not taught in K-12 education that has been a talking point of many conservative education critics: “I feel that there needs to be steps that critical race theory and comprehensive sex education do not take root in education or curriculum.”
As with previous challenges, Old Rochester’s Standards Committee met to discuss the books and apply its 10-criteria rubric for appropriateness. The group, composed of a teacher, librarian, principal, district administrator, and School Committee member, unanimously found both challenged books to meet each of its 10 criteria for appropriateness.
https://newbedfordlight.org/complaint...
In Shenandoah County, VirginiaLocal politics and the debate over choosing library books came head-to-head at the latest Shenandoah County School Board meeting.
Chairman Marty Helsley, Vice Chairman Dennis Barlow and members Kyle Gutshall, Andrew Keller, Brandi Rutz and Cynthia Walsh attended the meeting and again talked about the proposed policy the division is considering that will be used to select library materials.
Supporters of the policy say the school system needs to keep sexually explicit materials out of the libraries and requiring more people to review books before they are purchased will help. Opponents say the proposed policy is unnecessary and government overreach.
David Hinegardner, assistant superintendent of administrative services and strategic planning, told the board that the librarians provided suggestions for a selection policy.
“They don’t want it to appear that they’re trying to compete with another policy,” Hinegardner said. “It’s not a this versus a that.”
The board plans to discuss proposed policies at its Sept. 28 work session and then vote at its Oct. 12 meeting.
Barlow and Rutz served on the committee that, with input from division staff, worked on the policy. Barlow thanked the librarians and other staff members for their guidance. Rutz acknowledged the “emotional” response to the topic. Rutz said that 102 titles in the schools' libraries contain sexually explicit material. Rutz then proceeded to read a passage from "Red Hood," by Elana Arnold, which described a sexual act. Rutz said she had not yet checked to see if the book is available in the school libraries.
But while some people during the public comment period earlier in the meeting spoke about the library policy, they also called out some board members for bringing politics into their discussions. Brad Skipper, chairman of the Shenandoah County Democratic Committee, blasted a board member, whom he did not name, for making accusations about him in response to Skipper’s comments concerning the library materials policy. Skipper has said the policy amounts to government overreach.
“Another board member, without warning to those in attendance, forced the audience to listen to a self-claimed, pornographic passage from a book that said it was taken from one of our school libraries,” Skipper said. “I’ve been apprised (that) a (Freedom of Information Act) request shows that claim to be false. That book has never been in our school system and that person should apologize not only to the citizens in this room that night who were forced to listen to it but also to the rest of you for lying in her official capacity. It seems to me a censure motion would be in order for such an egregious misrepresentation of the facts just to sway public opinion.”
Lucinda Erbach, the librarian at W.W. Robinson Elementary School, refuted claims made about librarians.
“Lately, there’s been a lot of negative focus on the (SCPS) libraries and we librarians,” Erbach said. “It is occurring in print, in this room and on social media. Vague accusations have been made about us handing individual students inappropriate books, grooming students, peddling in pornography, sabotaging technology and having left-wing agendas.
“To this I say ‘no,’” Erbach said. “If we were doing any of these things of which we are being accused, the Human Resources Department would be very much involved.”
https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/shena...
Very scary that Massachusetts has turned into a huge book challenge state.ROCHESTER — Concerns about whether a diversity flag should be allowed to fly on Plumb Library property and if a Little Free Diverse Library should be located outside the official town library were raised, at times heatedly, at the Rochester Board of Library Trustees Sept. 14 meeting.
One resident at the meeting proposed building a “pro-family and pro-freedom little library’’ on the Plumb Library site if the Little Free Diverse Library is allowed.
The Little Free Diverse Library sits outside Plumb Library’s entrance and was built by the non-profit organization Tri-Town Against Racism.
In July, a diversity flag that flew on the Little Free Diverse Library was removed following the adoption of a new flag policy by the Rochester Select Board on July 10.
According to the flag policy, only certain flags can be flown on town flagpoles “to keep it simple,” said Rochester Town Administrator Glenn Cannon.
The flags are: The United States flag, the Massachusetts state flag, the Rochester town flag, the POW flag and official flags of United States military branches, according to the policy.
However, according to Rochester Board of Library of Trustees Chair Kelley Medeiros, the Plumb Library is not recognized as town property and therefore does not fall under the purview of Rochester town policy.
So far, said Medeiros, the library has adopted several town policies that deal with employment and personnel, but has not yet adopted the town’s flag policy.
According to Medeiros, a vote to adopt the town’s flag policy will be held at the Rochester Board of Library Trustees’ next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 28.
“In all transparency, I would like to see the town flag policy adopted so we have standardization,” she said.
Medeiros added that the decision to approve Tri-Town Against Racism’s Little Free Diverse Library — and the diversity flag that flew on it — was made in January, 2021, before any current library trustees, or Library Director Kristen Cardoso, joined the board.
“We are all working through this problem together. I understand that you’re frustrated. I’m frustrated that my staff is facing issues with the public about this — about an issue that we were not involved in,” said Medeiros. “[We’re] trying to clarify, based [on] new information … where the library falls … so that we can make informed decisions.”
But according to a statement read by members of Tri-Town Against Racism, the issue is no longer about flag policy — it is about what the diversity flag stands for.
“The objection to the diversity flag isn’t about adherence to town policy,” wrote the group in a statement that was read aloud at the meeting. “For a couple of people it conflicts with their religious beliefs … is religious objection to a flag more important than the sense of inclusion and acceptance that our LGBTQIA+ community members feel when they walk past that flag?”
During the meeting’s public comment portion, Rochester resident Sandra Bock described some books in the Little Free Diverse Library, which include "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe, as “sexually pornographic materials.”
In addition to objections to the content of the library, several Rochester residents called Tri-Town Against Racism’s little free library redundant.
“I think a library outside of a library is just a ridiculous idea,” said Rochester resident Michael Costa. “I have no problem with any of the books that are in there, they should be in the library. I'm not into book burning or book banning — put the books in the library, that's where they belong.”
For Board of Library Trustees Co-Chair Shauna Makuch, Plumb Library is “ the very definition of inclusivity, acceptance and diversity.”
“I do feel like having a little library about inclusivity and diversity outside of our library [that is diverse and inclusive] is extremely redundant,” she said. “I hope that this is something we talk about more in-depth.”
According to Medeiros, the Board of Library Trustees will draft a policy to handle donations “of all kinds of physical property” and will present that draft policy at its Sept. 28 meeting. This policy will include donations of Little Free Libraries, said Medeiros.
“If it's our property, we control the content. If we control the content, that defeats the purpose of the [little free library,]” said Medeiros. “So if it defeats the purpose of the [little free library], because it is duplicative of the purpose of the library, then either [Tri-Town Against Racism] can remove the [little free library], which would be okay for them to decide to do, or we will need to empty the [little free library].”
Rochester resident Jeffrey Costa proposed the construction of pro-family and pro-freedom libraries outside Plumb Library to be erected next to Tri-Town Against Racism’s Little Free Diverse Library.
Rochester resident Jeffrey Costa proposed the construction of pro-family and pro-freedom libraries outside Plumb Library to be erected next to Tri-Town Against Racism’s Little Free Diverse Library.
[His LFL would include books are published by Brave Books, the right-wing, Christian company publishing Kirk Cameron's book.]
In August, the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee hosted a reading of Brave Books’ “As you Grow,” by Kirk Cameron. This reading saw protests from the Mattapoisett Democratic Town Committee.
The pro-family library would also contain books on financial planning and about the financial benefits of marriage, said Costa.
Costa said the proposed pro-freedom library would contain books teaching American and Western civics and history, “The Killing Series” by Bill O’Reilly which covers American history; “The Conceived in Liberty Series” by Murray Rothbard, as well as books promoting civic engagement. [i.e. the Fox News version of history and civics]
This list of books for the two proposed libraries is not complete, he said.
According to Costa, he would pursue the construction of these libraries until Tri-Town Against Racism’s little free library is removed or until library policy denies all little free libraries on its property.
In a letter to the Board of Library Trustees, Costa noted that his libraries would be paid for through fundraising efforts, “but I would expect the Rochester facilities manager to install the structures similar to the diversity library.”
https://sippican.theweektoday.com/art...
One spot of good news:Brainerd High School (MN) will not be removing Empire of Stormsfrom the school library.
Ridiculous sound bite of the day from Elk Grove Unified School District in California"Stop trying to usurp our responsibility to teach our kids about sex and our right to teach them in a way that conforms to our beliefs especially because we love our children better and more than any professional educator could."
Listen to the children. The best sound bite of the day:
Students spoke at the meeting as well, advocating against banning books because the topics “will come up sooner or later in everybody’s lives,” said Elk Grove High School student Josh Rosal.
“I really think that everybody has the right to be themselves, and be open, and that should not be taken away by anybody,” he said.
Rosal’s classmates agree, adding that they think the concerns from parents and other activists are overblown.
“It has to do with parental figures afraid of LGBTQ+ and people of color narratives being exposed to their children,” said Franklin High School student Celine Quin. “To us, it genuinely feels like there are adults who are more focused on ideological debates, who are more focused on masquerading under whatever creed or whatever notion of ‘family values’ that they have.”
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/lo...
Ridiculous sound bite of the day from Elk Grove Unified School District in California"Stop trying to usurp our responsibility to teach our kids about sex and our right to teach them in a way that conforms to our beliefs especially because we love our children better and more than any professional educator could."
Listen to the children. The best sound bite of the day:
Students spoke at the meeting as well, advocating against banning books because the topics “will come up sooner or later in everybody’s lives,” said Elk Grove High School student Josh Rosal.
“I really think that everybody has the right to be themselves, and be open, and that should not be taken away by anybody,” he said.
Rosal’s classmates agree, adding that they think the concerns from parents and other activists are overblown.
“It has to do with parental figures afraid of LGBTQ+ and people of color narratives being exposed to their children,” said Franklin High School student Celine Quin. “To us, it genuinely feels like there are adults who are more focused on ideological debates, who are more focused on masquerading under whatever creed or whatever notion of ‘family values’ that they have.”
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/lo...
A few more stories of note today and also some concern over an early election in Virginia and the governor's anti-LGBTQ+ policies. He ran and won on an "anti-critical race theory" platform and apparently that's not enough. Watch the reputable news sources to see what's happening there.In Midland, Texas volunteers "help" remove "objectionable books from the public library shelves without training or transparency. I have read two of the three board books and none of them contain anything remotely obscene or pr0n or whatever they call it. They all have literary value so kids with two dads My Two Dads and Meor kids of color can see themselves represented. Maybe they better READ Antiracist Baby and An ABC of Equality (Volume 1). They could learn something!
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/21/120089...
As Midland's Centennial Library opened on a recent Saturday, Midland County Commissioner Dianne Anderson arrived with a few friends to take books out of the Public Library's young adult section.
DIANNE ANDERSON: Go through a book. Read it. And if you feel that it needs to be pulled out, then pull it out, and you show it to me.
BORDEN: Commissioner Anderson claims she's not banning books. She just wants to put them out of reach of impressionable readers. But it's her second visit in the last few weeks. She first surprised librarians when she led a group into the children's section, removing dozens of books. Those titles include an "An ABCs Of Equality" (ph), "Antiracist Baby" and "My Two Dads And Me." Those were removed and locked in a back room because she believed they were inappropriate. Some of those books still haven't been returned to shelves. This time around, Anderson and her supporters didn't want to tell me what they are looking for.
A Court of Silver Flames was taken off the shelf. They're hiding the book from me. One volunteer, Cathie Broten, tries to hide what she took off the shelf and refuses to talk to me.
BROTEN: Back off. This is private business. Back off.
BORDEN: But this is a public library. There is a process in which citizens can request that librarians remove or recategorize material. But these self-appointed censors don't have the authority to remove books on a whim. On this day, they ended up checking out books to make their case at county meetings that there's obscene material in the stacks.
Commissioner Anderson has spearheaded the effort in Midland. During a recent meeting, she said she had to act because library staff weren't doing anything about what she calls explicit and offensive material.
ANDERSON: The community standard of what is appropriate for the books in our library was never going to come from our library director.
BORDEN: A new county policy states books in the children's and teen sections that are deemed obscene under the Texas Penal Code have to be moved to the library's adult section. But in Texas, to be considered obscene, a work has to be sexually explicit and, quote, "lack serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value." And the county's library director says there's no evidence any book in the county's collection meet that standard. That hasn't stopped officials, including Midland County Judge Terry Johnson, from defending efforts to pull books he claims are pornographic.
The most awesome Levar Burton "you don't have to take my word for it" will lead Banned Books Week as the honorary chair Oct. 1-7, the first actor to do so. If you pre-date the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Levar Burton starred in Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Star Trek: The Next Generation and hosted the popular PBS series "Reading Rainbow." He currently has a podcast dedicated to literature titled Levar Burton Reads, and he executively produced The Right to Read, an award-winning documentary from this year that shows how literacy is a civil rights concern.To Burton, the importance of books and reading can not be overstated,“Books bring us together. They teach us about the world and each other. The ability to read and access books is a fundamental right and a necessity for life-long success,” he’s said.
“But books are under attack. They’re being removed from libraries and schools,” he continued. “Shelves have been emptied because of a small number of people and their misguided efforts toward censorship. Public advocacy campaigns like Banned Books Week are essential to helping people understand the scope of book censorship and what they can do to fight it. I’m honored to lead Banned Books Week 2023.”
Burton will host an online conversation on censorship and advocacy with Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels on October 4th at 8 pm EST. It will be streamed live on the Banned Books Week’s Instagram account.
https://bookriot.com/levar-burton-wil...
Mod
Well, even though Conservative Party leader Pierre Polievre claims the following, "I believe in parental rights, and parental rights come before the government's rights," what in my not so at all humble opinion Polievre ACTUALLY AND DISGUSTINGLY MEANS is that parental rights also totally should outweigh children's rights, needs and wants, if they differ from their parents regarding in particular questions of education, sexuality, politics, religion and the like and that children are obviously according Saint Pierre the Bigot the total property of their parents (and same unfortunately as many Canadian and also global Social Conservatives, especially in Western Canada and in rural areas, and this is something totally and utterly vile and disgusting since in particular children's rights should ALWAYS be considered totally above their parents, period).
Wow parental rights trump the law? That's not right. There's no one universal parental right, no one universal one size fits all education policy. Children deserve the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as well. Too many politicians interfering just to stay in power and control everyone. This nonsense is going on is more than half of the States as well. The M4L just handed out pocket Constitutions to students in Brevard, Florida, as if the M4L actually know what's in the Constitution. (Check the First Amendment). It's causing controversy because M4L added stuff to the so-called Constitution: an “oath of allegiance” for students to sign and a QR code directing them to a M4L endorsed non-profit website! Their reasoning is such a joke!
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At a Sept. 19 school board meeting, board member Megan Wright — who was endorsed by Moms for Liberty in 2022 — thanked the group for the donation.
"There (were) fearless mamas out there that were working hard, and making sure that those were getting put into our kids' hands so that they can have that valuable document and understand what our country was founded on and what our rights are as citizens," she said.
Moms for Liberty — a conservative parents group formed by Brevard’s Tina Descovich and Indian River County’s Tiffany Justice in 2021, advocating for parental involvement in schools — delivered a total of 300,000 Constitutions around the country for Constitution Week, which spans Sept. 17 through Sept. 23, with Constitution Day celebrated on Sept. 17
Though Moms for Liberty sells their own pocket Constitutions, they did not use these for the week. Instead, they sent out pocket Constitutions donated by the 917 Society, a nonprofit grassroots organization "dedicated to preserving our Constitution and fostering a love for our country among our youth," according to their website.
Though the organization says it does not align itself with, endorse or support specific political candidates, organizations, parties or platforms, the 917 Society's founder, Joni Bryan, appeared on Moms for Liberty's podcast Sept. 18.
In a Facebook post, Moms for Liberty described their relationship to the group as a partnership.
Heather Peterson, vice chair of Brevard’s Moms for Liberty chapter, said Brevard chose to partner with the 917 Society both this year and last year because she’d seen information from another chapter about the 917 Society sending out free pocket Constitutions.
She added that it was important to Moms for Liberty to participate in Constitution Week to set an example for others and make sure students learn about the United States’ history.
“It’s important that it's not only adults (who) understand and defend the principles of the Constitution, but it’s critical that the younger generation learn it to preserve the rights of all individuals,” Peterson said. “We want them to develop critical thinking skills, engage in discussions about democracy, governance, and recognize the significance of being informed, engaged citizens. Just as many of our Moms for Liberty members are doing all over Brevard.”
the 917 Society version contains more than that. On the front and back cover, it includes information about the 917 Society, as well as a web address and QR code so students can download the group’s Constitution app. Inside, there is a quote from George Washington, and a place for a student and teacher to print their names and the date.
There is also an oath of allegiance, or an “example of (a) naturalization oath for citizenship.” The oath includes a space for the student to print their name and goes on to have them renounce foreign authorities and vow to defend the United States. The oath includes promises to “bear arms on behalf of the united States” and to perform “noncombatant services in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law."
It was the extra content in the pocket Constitutions that had mom Kelly Kervin raising concerns, as well as the fact that the pamphlets were delivered from an outside organization and not purchased by the school district.
“My whole issue is we have a vetting process for books now, we have teachers that can’t even have Dr. Seuss or Clifford the Dog,” she said, adding that she would feel differently if the 917 Society pamphlets were simply labeled “pocket Constitution” with no additional text. “It’s labeled as a political pamphlet with a QR code to donate to a Christian nationalist society. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
With Brevard media specialists working to vet all of their books to make sure they comply with Florida statutes, and a new rule from the Board of Education requiring parents to sign a consent form if their child would like to participate in any out-of-class activity, Kervin said she doesn’t understand why these pamphlets were allowed to be distributed.
“I have to sign a permission slip for (my child) to see her teachers during lunch for extra help, but now you can put basically a fundraiser for an organization that I know nothing about … into the hands of my kid who’s then going to scan a QR code and go their website, which is not vetted by the district because if it was, I would have serious questions,” she said.
Russell Bruhn, a spokesperson for BPS, said that the Constitutions were reviewed by district staff prior to being delivered.
“They are primary source material, meaning these pocket books have not changed the language that is in the Constitution,” he said.
He did not mention the added content in the pamphlets.
Peterson explained the process for getting the donation approved, saying she contacted school board member Katye Campbell to ask about the process to get distribution cleared by the district.
“We did everything that is required by law for distribution to our public school and were cleared to get the Constitutions to all Brevard Public middle schools for both 2022 and 2023 school year,” she said.
Campbell confirmed that Moms for Liberty reached out to her both this year and last year.
“I made sure everything was reviewed by staff and approved, just like any book donation groups might want to make,” she said.
She added that she looked at the material before passing it on, but approval doesn’t depend on her.
Still, questions remain about the decision for some community members.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/ne...
A Q&A with Álex Gino Melissa has been banned in 4 states and was was No. 1 on the American Library Association's most challenged books list from 2018 to 2020.https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/3...
Same gender issue going on in the UK. Sad news. "The UK’s equalities watchdog has issued an update to previous guidance, stating that teachers who misgender trans pupils are not guilty of discrimination. "
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/2...
Same gender issue going on in the UK. Sad news. "The UK’s equalities watchdog has issued an update to previous guidance, stating that teachers who misgender trans pupils are not guilty of discrimination. "
The updated guidance also states single-sex toilet facilities must be provided in schools for children over the age of eight and single-sex changing facilities for children over 11.
It goes on to advise schools to segregate these spaces by biological sex rather than gender – meaning trans pupils would not be allowed to use the toilet or changing room which aligns with their gender identity.
Instead, the new guidance says schools should provide private changing facilities for trans children.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/2...
More book banning in MississippiColumbia-Marion County Library
TWELEVE yes 12 YA books REMOVED
Heartstopper Series Volume 1-4 Books Collection Set By Alice Oseman
Last month, a group of neighbors met with the library’s board of supervisors about the content found on one of the novels in the “Heartstopper” series.
Dave Nichols, pastor of East Columbia Baptist Church Censor of the day
e content found on one of the novels in the “Heartstopper” series.
From that meeting, the group requested several other titles available at the library be reviewed by supervisors.
“This is an attempt to restrict access to certain books by the minor children in Columbia, Mississippi,” Columbia resident Brian Stewart said.
The board agreed, and Friday, folks learned that 12 young adult titles would be removed.
“We understand the country we live in, and people have a right to read what they want to read,” said Nichols, who supported the board’s decision.
“However, there is age appropriateness.”
Nichols, who attended the August meeting, offered an example Friday of how easily he said a 15-year-old accessed one of the books under fire just this week.
“This is an attempt to restrict access to certain books by the minor children in Columbia, Mississippi,” Columbia resident Brian Stewart said.
But some held a different perspective.
“This significantly affects my life as a lesbian living in Mississippi,” said Emily Escolas, an advocate for LGBTQ rights.
Escolas said she agreed that there needed to be a sorting system in place
“Just looking at what we’re putting in front of our youth, we need to pay attention to that.”
But, she said that when it comes to some of the young adult content, people should keep an open mind.
“We do have to be very careful not to recreate the history that we’ve survived barely,” Escolas said. “We must have balance in our government and our decisions in representation of all people.”
https://www.wdam.com/2023/09/23/mario...
The teenagers do not want this censorship! Most parents don't either! ‘Reading is resistance’: students and parents take on DeSantis’s book bans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
Iris Mogul – a junior at a Miami high school, in response to the ban of AP African American history and certain books in AP English, started a banned book club!
"Her aptly named Banned Books Club was established last month, featuring titles that have been removed from public school circulations in Florida, and meets at a celebrated Miami bookstore called Books & Books. A range of people of different ages and backgrounds, including a handful of Mogul’s peers, an audio producer and an English teacher attend.
“I wanted to share thoughts and ideas with a diverse group of people and dig into why these books were banned,” Mogul says.
The further the governor’s legislation goes, Mogul says, the more her peers are beginning to realize the knock-on effects, noting that books by Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston, among others, are integral to the ways in which historians study and interpret the past. The book club chose Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston – the Florida novelist and anthropologist and central figure of the Harlem Renaissance – as the inaugural title.
“Reading these books is a form of resistance,” Mogul says.
As the new school year begins, parents of public school students in Miami have become more engaged than ever in resisting the mandate of the DeSantis administration."
There's a new anti-M4L group, Moms for Libros started by Lissette Fernandez, a mother of two elementary-school children, and community organizer Vanessa Brito.
She was "motivated by what she calls the “marathon of bad legislation and bad bills taking away parents’ and students’ rights under the guise of parental rights”. With its cheeky name, the organization bills itself as a group of “concerned parents fighting back against politically motivated censorship”, and an unambiguous foil to Moms for Liberty."
“I didn’t want my kids to grow up in an environment where they’re not getting the knowledge they need in order to be functional adults in our society,” Fernandez says. “We thought it was important to get moms who were not happy about what’s happening with those book challenges to come and speak up.”
The group has since incorporated as a non-profit, and counts parents of elementary to college students, teachers, PTA members and other concerned citizens as members. They’ve had requests from Iowa, California and elsewhere in Florida to start chapters in their districts. Moms for Libros is not alone; other resistance groups, such as Families Against Book Bans and FREADOM, have recently sprouted in Miami. The organizations host joint meetings at Books & Books.
In August, Moms for Libros partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center to request that the Florida board of education amend its latest position on book challenges, and demanding the “fundamental due process right to be heard to all parents and guardians with a substantial interest in the materials their children have access to, not just to a subset of those parents”.
And more recently, Moms for Libros co-signed a letter to the Florida commissioner of education, Manny Diaz Jr, to disclose the financial details of Florida’s tax credit scholarships, of which little is known and, as the letter implies, could adversely affect public school funding.
“It’s become quite evident that this is a fight against public education,” says Hedieh Sepehri, a mother and one of the founders of Families Against Book Bans. Sepehri grew up in Iran during the Iranian Revolution, where she witnessed the effects of censorship firsthand.
“I just didn’t think censorship happened here, so I wasn’t paying attention to it. It didn’t hit me until I noticed all the legislation being passed in Florida,” she says.
On social media and with chapter meetings of their own, parents like Fernandez and Sepehri detail the chilling effects of the new legislation, encourage parents to take a more active role in the lives of their children, and show up to school board meetings to voice those concerns. In other words, they’ve coopted the same outreach tactics used by Moms for Liberty to offer an opposing message.
Today's news is positive as people in Florida grapple with the new laws and fight back.In Jacksonville, protestors read from banned books, defying the state's education policies as part of the The Association for the Study of African American Life and History Conference.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/120138...
Florida churches, groups step up to teach Black history and banned books
https://thehill.com/homenews/educatio...
Churches and community groups across Florida are throwing themselves into efforts to teach Black history after the state’s controversial move to reject AP African American Studies.
While Florida has pulled the College Board’s course, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) calling it “indoctrination,” state residents are uniting in their churches, parks and homes to learn about the history of Black Americans, including drawing on material from books that have been removed from school shelves.
“I’m seeing it even with my own daughter who’s 17, a high school senior. She and some of her friends have talked about maybe just … reading on their own and just meeting here at her house or maybe her going to her friend’s house and just reading different books and talking about different books,” said Sharon D. Wright Austin, a professor of political science at the University of Florida.
Determined to fight back, FIF launched a toolkit made up of guides, videos and reading material, all designed to support faith leaders, community groups and anyone the group says is committed to the teaching of Black history and Black culture “through the lens of truth.” Books used as part of the package range from “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates to “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo to the seminal “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.”
Since it launched in late July, 290 congregations in Florida have registered to access the toolkit, with Thomas aiming to have 500 churches in the state eventually sign up.
Other states have also taken interest in the resources, with groups from Pennsylvania to California contacting FIF, including organizations that are not Black churches or part of the Christian community.
“Once this toolkit went out, we also had churches that are led by white faith leaders and Muslims register to teach Black History,” Thomas said. “What stands out is that these states are just as concerned, because many times they know that whatever takes place in Florida, eventually it’s going to hit our states as well.”
And the effort isn’t just coming from houses of worship but also from individuals who want to work outside of the public school system to teach Black history uninhibited.
Austin said organizing at the local level in Gainesville has come from educators and people of color who “take it upon themselves to arrange the different book readings, the banned book readings on their own.”
...
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History held its conference in Jacksonville this month, with a seminar called “Banned Book Readout.”
“A Workshop/Gathering in the park to learn about Black History and Black Resistance through the reading, acting, and artistry of ASALH and other banned book authors,” a description read.
Free to Be Florida, which currently encompasses more than 25 counties represented by grassroots organizations and individuals pushing back on what Blankenship sees as a “gross overstatement overstep by this extremist Florida legislature.”
One more from FloridaEmail exchanges show attorneys’ confusion and frustration over Florida’s new education laws
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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Queen Charlotte
Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU
MURFREESBORO Tenn. (WKRN) — Tiffany Fee is asking a lot of questions these days.
“I mean, are we going to remove any single book in the library now that has a s-e-x scene in it?” she said. “Who gets to decide which ones are appropriate and which ones are not?”
Her questions started coming back in June, after the Murfreesboro City Council voted to approve the city’s new decency standards ordinance.
“What we’re seeing is the city of Murfreesboro has passed this controversial decency ordinance and it’s affecting our entire county library system,” said Fee.
Shortly after the ordinance was enacted, Fee and her husband created the Rutherford County Library Alliance.
“Our mission is to keep our library system inclusive for all groups of people,” she said.
Four books have been banned from the county library system for violating this ordinance.
During the August Library Board meeting, Chairman Steven Sullivan addressed the concerns regarding the ordinance.
“Our job is to adhere to laws, local ordinances, and state laws,” he said. “And as long as those laws are still in the book, that’s what we’re tasked to do.”
“It feels like government overreach,” said Fee.
Fee said she’s worried about just how far things could go.
“The city of Murfreesboro funds 44% of our county’s library system, but they are now with this decency ordinance allowed to control 100% of the material that’s available throughout our county (and) throughout our diverse communities,” she said.
According to Fee, her group will continue to fight to make sure their library system stays a diverse and inclusive place for everyone.
“When you remove that, you’re removing the safety and the reassurance that people belong where they are,” she said.
Fee said they are hoping to turn their group into a nonprofit later in the future.
The Library Board voted to keep these two books at their meeting on Monday, Sept. 18.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/...