Who Are The Groups Banning Books Near You?: Book Censorship News, September 23, 2022

This week, PEN America released a report connected the existent authorities of publication bans successful the USA. The study discusses the 50+ “parents’ rights” groups operating crossed the country, some connected the nationalist and section levels, and however these groups are liable oregon connected to astatine slightest fractional of the publication bans that person taken spot since July 2021. But who are these groups? Where are they located?

PEN’s study lays retired and links to respective stories astir assorted groups, including this container exploring immoderate of the nationally-organized groups.

Read the report, particularly this section, to get a consciousness of what ideas these groups are formed around. For the astir part, it’s not conscionable publication bans. It’s the broader contented of “parental rights,” which became a question successful 2020 with parents demanding that schools “reopen” during the pandemic (the connection present matters, arsenic schools were open but operating virtually). The question shifted successful 2021 to request that their children beryllium unmasked successful schools, and thereafter/simultaneously, to demanding oversight and accidental successful program and materials made disposable to students successful schools.

The database linked present is not comprehensive, but represents a look astatine the groups who person been connected with oregon straight linked to publication bans oregon challenges (or different program changes nether the guise of “parental rights”). Some are much progressive than others, and immoderate person changed their names, consolidated, oregon different reworked their structures adjacent since this database was complied. Some are genitor groups and others are governmental enactment groups. Many of the groups are linked to either their Facebook oregon website presence. Not each states are represented, which does not mean determination are not groups successful those states. There are not nationalist groups oregon their affiliated chapters included; PEN outlines those nicely above, and the embedded Tweet supra shows, successful gold, wherever the biggest enactment presently has progressive chapters.

List of determination groups advocating for “parental rights,” publication censorship and/or program input.

This is incomplete by nature, but if you cognize of others operating locally to you and privation to assistance soma retired this resource, feel escaped to driblet the name, web beingness (if applicable), and authorities of cognition successful this document.

Book Censorship News: September 23, 2022

• The city of Keller, Texas, made the Keller Public Library region a societal media station astir banned books for Banned Books Week. At what constituent is each of this a parody of itself?
• In San Clarita Valley, California, “David LeBarron, manager of program and appraisal for the William S. Hart Union High School District, said this was not a publication prohibition — lone that the committee decided not to transportation the publication successful the library.” Deciding to instrumentality a publication retired of the room is simply a publication ban, and the publication is This Book is Gay. But support bending implicit backwards to accidental it’s not a publication ban.
• Laura Blackwell, seat of the committee of Cabarrus County schools (NC), seems ne'er to person walked a schoolhouse hallway if Looking For Alaska bothers her truthful much.
• Knox County schools (ME) are re-evaluating Gender Queer after continued complaints.
• Meanwhile successful Bonny Eagle High School, the determination connected whether to region Gender Queer was delayed 2 weeks.
• In Barrington High School (IL), some Flamer and This Book Is Gay will stay connected shelves.
• A predominant flier astatine the Crystal Lake, Illinois, District 155 is wasting payer wealth connected FOIA requests implicit idiosyncratic books successful the room (something she tin look up herself). This clip it’s for Looking For Alaska. This aforesaid idiosyncratic asked past period for the sexualities of unit members successful a FOIA…
• Book banners successful Wentzville, Missouri, were calling the police, who showed up to the schoolhouse room twice. For the “we don’t coparent with the government” crowd, they definite emotion begging the authorities to bash their parenting.
• “Washingtonville Central School District Superintendent Larry Washington issued a connection to News 12 Thursday, saying due to genitor concerns, the publication has been removed from the precocious school’s wide room shelves to down the librarian’s desk, wherever the publication is disposable to students upon request.” Moving the publication (it’s Gender Queer) truthful that a pupil has to speech to idiosyncratic to get it doesn’t really bash the happening you deliberation it does. This is Washingtonville, New York, successful the Hudson Valley.
• “Two parents person taken the pb successful trying to instrumentality the publication retired of schoolhouse circulation. Bud Campbell, begetter of 4 children successful the district, said helium recovered retired astir the publication successful August from a Facebook group. Though helium hasn’t work the afloat novel,  helium didn’t o.k. of the excerpts helium had read. Campbell hopes to get it banned from the program and library. ” Sounds astir par for the course. The publication is Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but this feline besides got The Handmaid’s Tale pulled. This is Gardner Edgerton School District, successful Kansas.
• The Huntsville Public Library (TX) committee gathering was filled with radical talking astir the removal of the Pride show astatine the library….both for bully and not good.
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will spell to ballot successful Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, schools adjacent month.
• Buried successful this communicative astir parents rallying for a “Parents Rights” measure successful Pennsylvania is the pistillate who has filed a national suit implicit her section schoolhouse having a fewer books she doesn’t like connected shelves.
• “James Cutshall, 1 of the parents, claimed the TEDx Talk “How Embracing Tolerance has Failed Us” by Dr. Kristen Donnelly and the publication “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely promoted “anti-police … anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-nuclear household and anti-white male” agendas.” This is successful Homer Center School District (PA).
• I americium paywalled, but the Springfield schools (MO) rejected 2 publication prohibition proposals this week.
• And acknowledgment to the caller authorities instrumentality successful Missouri, here’s a look astatine some of the districts and the numbers of books they’ve banned.
• Greenville County republicans (SC) want to prohibition LGBTQ+ books successful the children’s conception of the nationalist library.
• “A lawsuit against the Sarasota County School Board [FL] alleging sexually explicit worldly successful books was dismissed past period erstwhile a justice ruled the plaintiff had nary ineligible basis. Then, the plaintiff filed ineligible papers that took purpose astatine the justice herself.” This communicative is simply a ride, that’s for sure.
• East Central Regional Library (MN) will not region It’s Perfectly Normal from shelves.
• Victoria Public Library (TX) will not region the books that person been challenged.
• …But also, the Victoria Public Library (TX) committee adopted a caller argumentation that volition let them to reappraisal whether books should beryllium added oregon removed to the postulation based connected assemblage input.
• Nixa School Board (MO) made a big of changes related to nationalist remark and publication challenges arsenic portion of their consent docket and now, parents who are against publication bans — of which Nixa has been taking portion — are unhappy.
• Every clip a schoolhouse gets a FOIA petition for “all of the books successful a library,” which tin beryllium accessed via a room catalog (yes, adjacent successful schools), they should beryllium charged for the discarded of clip and vigor of it. This 1 happened successful Bowling Green, Missouri.
• “Michigan Republican gubernatorial campaigner Tudor Dixon said Tuesday she would enactment a statewide prohibition connected ‘pornographic’ books successful schools.” This truly is their level close now.
• Let’s Talk About It is being challenged successful Lorain County Public Libraries (OH).
• “In an email to supporters, Take Action Kamloops called the SD73 committee of acquisition ‘public force fig 1’ and described Rowse arsenic ‘a pistillate who refused to basal idly by and ticker them disguise her children, vax her children, she did not and volition not basal for the perverted intersexual debauchery that the acquisition strategy has become.'” This is successful Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Apparently Satan created “other genders,” too.
• Check retired the books that would fail to conscionable standards nether Loudoun County (VA)’s caller “sexually explicit materials” policy.
• Greeley-Evans School District (CO) usually posts their committee meetings online but withheld the astir caller 1 due to the fact that of parents performing The Bluest Eye and Gender Queer. The video of their situation is disposable now, though, and the territory is considering changes to nationalist comment.
• “Under a caller policy, Belton Independent School District [TX] parents tin present question and pb the territory to analyse books they find questionable oregon inappropriate.” Love that parents proceed to person more rights to region books than students person rights to entree them.
• Buried successful this communicative retired of Wyoming — which is simply a must-read, arsenic it truly outlines the ways successful which definite governmental affiliations are pushing for nationalist wealth to beryllium spent connected agenda-laden, right-wing acquisition systems — is that a genitor complained astir Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and it was pulled from classrooms 3 days later.
• “The Livingston Parish Library Board of Control volition support its existent policies for challenging books contempt a missive from the parish president asking them to determination definite materials retired of the children’s section.” This is simply a tiny triumph for the rights of anyone to entree age-appropriate worldly retired of Louisiana. It means that LGBTQ+ books volition not beryllium restricted.
• A look astatine the efforts of those pushing backmost against publication banning successful Missouri.
• Park City School District (UT) is reviewing the constitutionality of the caller authorities mandate connected having a argumentation that opens the doors to publication banning.
• “Parents radical Moms for Liberty says it has ‘paused’ all 17 challenges to books it considers excessively sexually explicit or sexually violent to beryllium connected the shelves of Fauquier County schoolhouse libraries while the schoolhouse part fixes ‘the problems successful their publication enactment and contestation processes.'” This is successful Virginia.
• In Santa Barbara, California, the situation against Gender Queer in a precocious schoolhouse room is helping right-wing candidates campaign.
• “‘Every azygous idiosyncratic pushing this enactment ed program inclusive of taxable substance is simply a intersexual predator successful my publication and should beryllium successful jail,’ 1 genitor said to applause during a schoolhouse committee gathering […] The caller program besides includes subjects similar intelligence health, adjacent unit and bullying.” This is the classical anti-Social Emotional Learning argument, paired neatly with the anti-Comprehensive Sexuality Education statement (yes, “Sexuality,” not Sexual). This program was nixed successful Garwood, New Jersey.
• Valley City Barnes County Public Library Board (North Dakota) is dealing with a situation of Let’s Talk About It.

Of Note

This week, astatine slightest 2 large metropolitan nationalist room systems (Denver and Fort Worth) person had credible threats against them, starring to their closure. While neither has shared the reasons down them, that this happened during Banned Books Week is highly concerning.

I was besides connected the City Cast Chicago podcast talking astir banned books, astir the ways censorship is happening successful Illinois, and wherefore schoolhouse committee elections are crucial. You tin tune successful here.