School Librarian Continues Defamation Law Suit; Champions First Amendment Rights of All

Late this summer, Louisiana’s School Librarian of the Year, Amanda Jones, stood up to talk against censorship astatine the Livingston Parish Public Library.

“I’d been pursuing what was happening in Lafayette Parish,” Jones said, “and erstwhile I saw my section room successful Livingston Parish had books and signage connected the agenda, I went to talk.”

In the days afterward, she became taxable of respective societal media posts by right-wing groups Citizens for a New Louisiana (captained by Michael Lunsford) and Bayou State of Mind (captained by Ryan Thames). These posts images of Jones with substance suggesting she advocates teaching anal enactment to 11-year-olds and transphobic connection astir however she changed her idiosyncratic sanction connected Facebook aft harassment from Thames. New Citizens FOIAs to Jones’s workplace, demanding entree to employment records, among different things.

Jones took Lunsford and Thames to tribunal on charges of defamation. The suit sought to enactment an extremity to the groups posting astir her, arsenic good arsenic connection a protective bid and punitive damages–Jones has been taxable to not lone regular posts successful the groups, but she has received galore threats against her information successful the months since lasting up against publication bans.

In September, Judge Erika Sledge dismissed the case, calling the posts matters of sentiment and not fact. The defendants argued that erstwhile Jones spoke astatine the room committee meeting, she made herself a nationalist figure. As such, the ineligible close to assertion defamation is overmuch much challenging.

“I americium profoundly disappointed successful the ruling, and acrophobic astir different educators, parents, and students who mightiness not consciousness capable to support our schools and our libraries if it opens them up to unit and hate,” explains Jones. “Over the past fewer weeks, I person prayed agelong and hard astir my way forward, arsenic good arsenic spoken astatine magnitude with household and friends. I decided I could not springiness up aft the archetypal round. That is wherefore I filed a question that asks the justice to reconsider her ruling and proposes an amended petition that restates my claims.”

The Motion for a New Trial, available successful afloat here, gives overmuch much discourse to the communicative of harassment to which Jones has been subjected. Jones, who inactive works arsenic a schoolhouse librarian, is preparing to instrumentality a aesculapian permission successful the outpouring due to the fact that of the toll this has taken connected her health.

November 21 is the day of the caller trial.

Jones, were she to suffer the caller trial, would beryllium liable not lone for her ineligible costs, but besides for the fees of those she’s seeking enactment against. In different words, she whitethorn beryllium required to wage the costs of those who person been harassing her successful the sanction of lasting up for her ain rights to not beryllium taxable to defamation, harassment, and decease threats.

“It is important that I proceed to combat to support myself and others from the horrible attacks I person faced, and to amusement each of our children that we indispensable ne'er springiness successful to bullies,” she said. “[T]he origin of lasting up against censorship, truthful that libraries are harmless havens for each subordinate of our community, is priceless.”

Jones’s afloat connection astir continuing her combat is available connected her website, and anyone funny successful helping her screen the outgo of ineligible fees is invited to donate to her GoFundMe.

“I volition proceed to talk retired astatine immoderate further attempts, and successful defence of dedicated, hard moving educators and librarians. We indispensable each stay vigilant, to support our children’s’ close to beryllium harmless and included successful our assemblage and to get a bully education. We are each stronger and safer erstwhile we articulation unneurotic to talk retired against their hatred and division. It is clip to instrumentality a stand,” she said.

Find beneath the afloat substance of the connection Jones gave astatine the Livingston Parish Board Meeting.

My sanction is Amanda Jones. I americium the 2021 School Library Journal National Librarian of the Year, an planetary talker and advocator connected behalf of libraries, and americium President of the LA Association of School Librarians. I americium present arsenic a typical of that organization, but much importantly arsenic a lifelong nonmigratory of Livingston Parish, genitor of a kid successful this district, and taxpayer. I americium present contiguous due to the fact that publication contented and publication signage person been listed connected tonight’s agenda. I anticipation that what I americium astir to accidental is not needed, and that my fearfulness that a subordinate of the committee is trying to censor books and signage is unfounded. 

While publication challenges are often done with the champion intentions, and successful the sanction of property appropriateness, they often people marginalized communities specified arsenic BIPOC and the LBGTQ community.  They besides people books connected intersexual wellness and reproduction. Considering that Livingston Parish has the highest complaint of children successful foster attraction per capita successful Louisiana, and that fig has doubled implicit the past fewer years,  I find it ironic that immoderate subordinate of the assemblage would privation to bounds entree to immoderate publication connected reproduction oregon relocate it distant from the our children who request it the most. Once you commencement relocating and banning 1 topic, it becomes a slippery slope and wherever does it end? 

All members of our assemblage merit to beryllium seen, person entree to information, and spot themselves, successful our PUBLIC room collection. Censoring and relocating books and displays  is harmful to our community, but volition beryllium highly harmful to our astir vulnerable—our children.  According to the Trevor Project, “LGBTQ younker are not inherently prone to termination hazard due to the fact that of their intersexual predisposition oregon sex individuality but alternatively placed astatine higher hazard due to the fact that of however they are mistreated and stigmatized successful society.” 

Libraries are for everyone. According to the American Library Association, of which I americium a subordinate of, 

LIBRARIES ARE A cornerstone of the assemblage dedicated to serving the accusation needs of everyone. As such, they cod and marque disposable a wide assortment of accusation resources representing the scope of quality thought and experience. With specified a wide spectrum of ideas and accusation available, it is inevitable that radical volition occasionally brushwood resources they judge to beryllium inappropriate for their family.

Just due to the fact that you participate a library, it does not mean that you volition not spot thing you don’t like. Libraries person divers collections with resources from galore points of view, and a library’s ngo is to supply entree to accusation for each users. All room users person the First Amendment close to borrow, read, view, and perceive to room resources, according to the ALA. If an idiosyncratic is acrophobic astir a children’s oregon young adult’s assets oregon its determination successful the library, that idiosyncratic has the close to spell done the library’s reconsideration argumentation that is already successful place. Each household has the close to find which room resources are acceptable for its ain children, but individuals indispensable besides recognize that they indispensable spend the aforesaid rights to each different parents. 

The citizens of our parish dwell of taxation payers who are white, Black, brown, gay, straight, Christian, non-Christian—people from each backgrounds and walks of life, and nary 1 information of the assemblage should dictate what the remainder of the citizens person entree to. Just due to the fact that you don’t privation to work it oregon spot it, it doesn’t springiness you the close to contradict others oregon request its relocation.  If we region oregon relocate books with LBGTQ oregon intersexual wellness content, what connection is that sending to our assemblage members?  Why is your content strategy immoderate much important than others’? What volition beryllium adjacent if you execute your mission? Parents person a idiosyncratic work to show their ain child’s speechmaking and cipher else’s. 

 The LPL Director Giovanni Tairov has accomplished wonders for our nationalist room and made it into an award-winning system. There’s a crushed the Louisiana Library Association named him the 2019 Public Library Director of the Year. Trust his judgement and those of the different dedicated LPL employees. There is simply a coagulated postulation improvement argumentation successful place.  Nobody is putting pornography successful children’s sections of the library. Stop that mendacious narrative. The librarians implicit the postulation person room subject degrees and usage nonrecreational reviews, which database ages of relevancy and property appropriateness, earlier deciding wherever to spot them successful the library. There is already a publication situation process if a assemblage subordinate does not similar a peculiar publication oregon determination of a publication successful the library. As committee members, I would anticipation you already cognize that.

To committee subordinate Erin Sandefur who placed this point connected the agenda, I volition accidental this—You erstwhile posted connected societal media that determination are folks who bash not hold with you and that we tin beryllium 1 of your top teachers. That is an admirable statement. I would emotion to thatch you astir however harmful censorship, publication policing, and docket items similar these impact our younker and historically marginalized assemblage members.

To the full board, I volition accidental this: I grew up successful this parish being taught that God is love. What I’ve travel to recognize is that what galore radical mean is that God is emotion lone if you person the aforesaid spiritual and governmental beliefs arsenic them. I person lived successful our parish for 44 years. I americium a parent of a kid successful our schoolhouse system.  I person been a LPL paper holder since 1983.  I person watched our nationalist room turn to beryllium 1 of our parish’s biggest assets—something we tin beryllium arrogant of.  I volition punctual committee members that careless of your ain beliefs connected the taxable of publication contented and location, to deliberation astir this—no 1 connected the close broadside of past has ever been connected the broadside of censorship and hiding books. In the words of writer Stephen Chbosky: “Banning books gives america soundlessness erstwhile we request speech. It closes our ears erstwhile we request to listen. It makes america unsighted erstwhile we request sight.” Hate and fearfulness disguised arsenic motivation outrage person nary spot successful Livingston Parish. 

Thank you for allowing maine to talk tonight.