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NYTimes: "Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S."

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NYTimes: "Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S."

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Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are nothing new in American schools, but the tactics and politicization are.

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Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S. (Published 2022)

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Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are nothing new in American schools, but the tactics and politicization are.

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NYTimes: "How Students Fought a Book Ban and Won, for Now."

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NYTimes: "How Students Fought a Book Ban and Won, for Now."

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Hundreds of students, parents and residents in York County, Pa., protested limits on books told from the perspective of gay, Black and Latino children.

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Hundreds of students, parents and residents in York County, Pa., protested limits on books told from the perspective of gay, Black and Latino children.

Students, parents and educators gathered on Sept. 20 outside the Educational Service Center for the Central York School District to protest the district's banned resources list. Credit... Dan Rainville/ York Daily Record, via USA Today Network

Edha Gupta and Christina Ellis, two high school seniors in York County, Pa., were furious when they read last month in a local paper that their teachers had been effectively banned from using hundreds of books, documentary films and articles in their classrooms.

The list, which was created in 2020 by a diversity committee in the Central York School District, was meant to serve as a resource guide for students and teachers as they grappled with the racial and social turmoil that followed the murder of George Floyd. It included a documentary film about James Baldwin and a statement on racism by the state's association of school administrators.

It also included children's books like a "A Boy Called Bat," about a third grader with autism, "I Am Rosa Parks," and "Cece Loves Science," about a curious girl who loves experiments.

But what began as an effort to raise awareness somehow ended with all of the materials on the list being banned from classrooms by the district's school board in a little-noticed vote last November. Some parents in the district, which draws about 5,000 students from suburban townships surrounding the more diverse city of York, had objected to materials that they feared could be used to make white children feel guilty about their race or "indoctrinate" students.

The debate came to a head with the return to in-person classes at the start of the current school year. The Sept. 1 article in The York Dispatch quoted teachers who were aghast at an email from the high school's principal listing the forbidden materials.

"In 19 years of teaching, it was the first time one Central York High School educator had ever received an email like it: a list of banned books, movies and other teaching materials," the story began.

" I was ready to go to battle," said Ms. Ellis, 17. "I read the first sentence and that was enough."

That same week, she and Ms. Gupta, 17, recruited other students to wear black T-shirts to school in protest. Over the weekend, they created signs that read "Diversity is our strength" and "Our story matters. My voice matters." They handed the signs out to their classmates, who began protesting every day at 7:15 a.m. before school.

Soon, the students were writing letters to the editor and reading excerpts from the banned books on Instagram. The controversy dominated the headlines in The Dispatch and its rival paper, The York Daily Record, and soon drew national media attention. Bernice King, the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., posted a message on Instagram supporting the students, and some of the authors whose books were on the list voiced support.

In solidarity with the students, one local woman created a free library outside her house featuring many of the books.

"Every day it seemed to get bigger and bigger," Ms. Ellis said.

The committee that drew up the list in August 2020 was composed of faculty members, students, residents and board members reacting to the many protests that occurred following Mr. Floyd's murder. When the board voted to keep the materials out of classrooms, it got little attention in York, a county with nearly half a million people about 100 miles west of Philadelphia.

The county has 16 different school districts covering rural and suburban areas, as well as the city of York, where a little over half the population is Black or Hispanic, and where memories of race riots 50 years ago still linger.

At the time of the vote, public attention was mostly focused on the pandemic and the presidential election, according to the students.

But Patricia A. Jackson, an English and creative writing teacher at the high school, said instructors "lived in fear" of being disciplined.

"I had children writing stories about queer love and trans love, and I was worried about the backlash about that," she said.

Ms. Gupta said she was not even aware of the vote.

At the time, she and other students, who had formed the Panther Anti-Racist Union, were trying to convince the board to adopt a social studies curriculum that included an African-American studies class. The group was named for the school mascot.

Other residents around the town said they were stunned when they saw the list of banned resources.

"It takes your breath away," said Hannah Shipley, 27, a nanny in York, Pa. "People are afraid of these books?"

On Sept. 13, the school board met again to discuss the list. About 100 people protested outside. Dozens of people spoke during the public hearing, and many of them criticized the board.

Some parents agreed that the board should vet some of the books, which they believed criticized the police or focused too heavily on ideas like white privilege.

"I'm sure there might be some books that are on there that probably don't need to be," Matt Weyant, a parent, said at the meeting. "But at the same time, I don't want my daughter growing up feeling guilty because she's white."

Once again, the board voted to keep the materials from being used in class.

"We will not teach a curriculum that creates division and hate," said Veronica Gemma, a school board member.

The students continued their morning protests. Ms. Shipley said she posted a video of herself on TikTok reading some of the books and tagged the authors, who began encouraging their followers on social media to buy the books and send them to York. A petition circulated.

Less than three weeks after the students began their campaign, the board met again, on Sept. 20, and temporarily lifted the freeze. The board said that its November 2020 vote was not intended to be a ban, but rather an effort to give a curriculum committee time to review the materials.

The board noted that none of the listed books had been removed from school libraries and that teachers who had already been using the materials were not affected.

Jane Johnson, the president of the school board, read aloud from a statement that said that while the board recognized the importance of diversity, it was concerned about materials that "may lean more toward indoctrination rather than age-appropriate academic content."

Ms. Johnson acknowledged that the committee review had taken too long.

"To that end, we recognize the intensity of opinions on all sides of these issues, and we are committed to making this long delay right," she said. She and the board declined to be interviewed.

Tim Strickler, a board member, defended residents who had raised concerns but said he was voting to reverse the freeze because it was not "helpful" to keep the entire list of resources out of classrooms.

"What these parents oppose is the use of diversity training as a tool of activism or political indoctrination," he said, "which appears to be the aim of some of the resources, a minority of the resources."

Ben Hodge, a teacher who is a faculty adviser to the Panther Anti-Racist Union, said that kind of rhetoric undermined the autonomy of teachers to train students to think critically about what they are reading.

"Censorship is a slippery slope," he said.

Olivia Pituch, a high school senior and a secretary of the union, said the group will monitor the board's future decisions on the list.

"We know that they did not temporarily reverse out of the goodness of their hearts," she said.
Susan Beachy contributed research.

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How Students Fought a Book Ban and Won, for Now

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Hundreds of students, parents and residents in York County, Pa., protested limits on books told from the perspective of gay, Black and Latino children.

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Chron: "San Antonio school district removes 400 books from libraries in response to lawmaker's inquiry."

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Chron: "San Antonio school district removes 400 books from libraries in response to lawmaker's inquiry."

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Republican state lawmakers continue their investigation into the alleged presence of "obscene" reading materials in Texas school libraries, spurring districts like San Antonio's North East ISD to launch their own inquiries.

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Texas ISD preemptively pulls 400 books ‘out of an abundance of caution’

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Republican state lawmakers continue their investigation into the alleged presence of...

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NBC News: "Meet the moms of color from Texas fighting book bans at their kids' schools."

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NBC News: "Meet the moms of color from Texas fighting book bans at their kids' schools."

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These Black mothers don't want their kids taught 'whitewashed history.'

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These Black mothers don’t want their kids taught ‘whitewashed history’

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The Round Rock Black Parents Association mobilized against calls to remove a book on the history of racist ideas in the U.S. from the school reading list.

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African Leadership Group: "Student Perspective: Banning Books Equals Banning Opportunities." 

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African Leadership Group: "Student Perspective: Banning Books Equals Banning Opportunities." 

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The point of books is to provide a new perspective for readers. Books are supposed to allow your mind to create a new way of thinking. They are meant to allow you to have a moment in which you can believe in an imaginary world that society would never allow.

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The point of books is to provide a new perspective for readers. Books are supposed to allow your mind to create a new way of thinking. They are meant to allow you to have a moment in which you can believe in an imaginary world that society would never allow.

Books are an escape from the harsh reality that we must wake up to every day. Reading allows you to get to know yourself; reading builds personality. So why would we ban our children from the opportunity to learn a perspective other than the one their parents are forcing down their throats?

Why would we rob them of the opportunity to learn more about themselves, to see life as it is in a different light? School libraries should not be allowed to ban certain books because banning a book is like banning an opportunity. Why would you want to miss out on an opportunity that could change your life?

One of the many reasons why school libraries should not ban books is because most of the books being banned tend to be relatable, and relatability is something that people yearn for. As a reader, I can attest to this because, if I can see myself in a character or relate to a situation it makes me want to read the book even more.

The article "Why Your Kid Should Read Banned Books" by Regan McMahon states: "Banned books often deal with subjects that are realistic, timely and topical. Young people may find a character going through exactly what they are, which makes it a powerful reading experience and helps the reader sort out thorny issues such as grief, divorce, sexual assault, bullying, prejudice and sexual identity. The compelling teen rebels story "The Outsiders" has been banned, yet many middle-schoolers cite it as the book that turned them into readers."

This article describes how a powerful reading experience can be sought through a realistic and relatable book. The reason we teach literacy, English, and any subject that includes reading is so that we can create these "lifelong readers," but how can you create a lifelong reader if they cannot find a book that makes them want to read?

You cannot ban books and expect children to still want to read. You cannot say "read, reading is good for you" or "just pick up a book and read" and then limit what we can and cannot read.

Another reason school libraries should not ban books is because we should not prevent our kids from reading about the reality in which we live. Why hide the truth about our society, about how it was or how it is? What do we have to hide?

McMahon's article states: "The Civil War novel 'The Red Badge of Courage' has been banned for its graphic depictions of war. The edgy teen bestseller 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' has been banned for its descriptions of .... alcohol and drug use... 'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry' is an eye-opening story of an African American family facing racism in 1930s Mississippi, yet it has been banned for having racial slurs."

The above are examples of books that have been banned even though they depict the truth of our history or the truth of our present. The truth is, according to the American Addiction Centers, that in 2017 about 4% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 suffered from a substance use disorder.

The truth is that in the 1930s African Americans experienced racism. The truth is that to this day they still do. The truth is that war is graphic. So, it's okay for us to study wars in social studies, to study war heroes, to study how great our nation is. But is it not okay to read about it so descriptively?

We shouldn't be banning books that allow a different perspective other than the one the school system wants to force down our throats. Why is it so wrong for a student to have an opinion that differs from school norms or their parents' norms? Why can't we read books so that we can find what we value? Why can't we be representatives of ourselves, not our parents, not our society but ourselves?

On the other hand, we have people who believe books should be banned for the presence of witchcraft and religious affiliations. The article "Common Reasons for Banning Books" by Fort Lewis College states: "Presence of Witchcraft: Books that include magic or witchcraft themes. A common example of these types of books are J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series... Religious Affiliations (unpopular religions): Books have been banned or censored due to unpopular religious views or opinions in the content of the book. This is most commonly related to satanic or witchcraft themes found in the book. Although, many books have also been banned or censored for any religious views in general that might not coincide with the public view."

Some people believe that books containing magic or witchcraft will have children believing in something that is seen as wrong in many religions. They don't want kids practicing witchcraft, which can be seen as black magic or magic for evil. They believe any religion that is depicted in a book and is not seen as good in the eyes of society should not be available for a child to read.

However, books like Harry Potter are supposed to allow people with a passion for mythical things to have an enjoyable read. In no way should a fictional book about magic be banned. Where is the sense of innocence for children who would like to believe that magic is real? Or for teens who just enjoy reading fiction?

We should not be banning books that depict a religion other than the ones that are approved by society. Whatever happened to religious freedom? Why is it so bad for a child to learn about a religion other than one that their parents and society have already forced down their throats?

You can learn about something without allowing what you learned to change your life in a split second. Learning changes perspective, it allows people to see things in a different light. So why would we block the opportunity for a child to learn something new, something that can change the ignorant thinking that their parents have placed in their minds?

McMahon's article also states: "Who is challenging these books? Parents, school board members, individuals, groups - yet what is considered offensive may depend on the era or specific community. As the American Library Association argues, these challenges pose a threat to freedom of speech and choice - freedoms Americans hold dear and are worth standing up for."

The author discusses how the books that parents and school board members are banning may be considered offensive to their generation but not to the ones that come after them. We are living in an era where freedom of speech and choice has become a basic human right. So, what makes you think children and teenagers can't speak for themselves?

You are banning books, without asking the people who this affects the most, people who also have freedom of speech and freedom of choice. Who gave you the validation to think for us, or speak for us? You could be banning a book that could have saved a student who was on the brink of suicide. You could have banned a book that could have helped a student find themselves. But you would never know.

School libraries should not be allowed to withhold opportunities from students. They should not be allowed to ban learning opportunities. They should not be allowed to ban lifesaving opportunities, life-changing opportunities.

Students should be introduced to the world as it is, and they should be able to decide what path they want to go through from there. The job of parents and schools is to prepare us for life, not to live their life through ours. Their job is to teach us everything there is to know and then only hope we pick wisely.

School libraries banning books are robbing us of the opportunity to learn, to become, and to live. Banning books is the equivalent of banning opportunities.

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Student perspective: Banning books equals banning opportunities - African Leadership Group

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The point of books is to provide a new perspective for readers. Books are supposed to allow your mind to create a new way of thinking. They are meant to allow you to have a moment in which you can believe in an imaginary world that society would never allow.

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CNN: "Books That Touched on Race Were Among the Most Challenged in 2020."

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CNN: "Books That Touched on Race Were Among the Most Challenged in 2020."

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The most challenged books of 2020 were "George," "Stamped" and "All American Boys," according to the American Library Association.

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books that touched on race were among the most challenged as inappropriate for libraries in 2020 - cnn

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Books that touched on race were among the most challenged as inappropriate for libraries in 2020

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Books that talked about racism and racial justice -- or told the stories of people of color or the LGBTQ community -- were among the most challenged as inappropriate for students in 2020, according to a survey by the American Library Association.

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NYTimes: "School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel 'Maus'."

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NYTimes: "School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel 'Maus'."

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The board voted unanimously to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel from classrooms because it contained swear words, according to minutes from the meeting.

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The board voted unanimously to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel from classrooms because it contained swear words, according to minutes from the meeting.

Art Spiegelman, the creator of the graphic novel "Maus," an animal fable of his Jewish father's experience in the Holocaust, in 2012 in Paris. Credit... Bertrand Langlois/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

A school board in Tennessee voted unanimously this month to ban "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from being taught in its classrooms because the book contains material that board members said was inappropriate for students.

According to minutes of its meeting, the 10-person board, in McMinn County, Tenn., voted on Jan. 10 to remove the book from the eighth-grade curriculum. Members of the board said the book, which portrays Jews as mice and Nazis as cats in recounting the author's parents' experience during the Holocaust, contained inappropriate curse words and a depiction of a naked character.

"There is some rough, objectionable language in this book," said Lee Parkison, the director of schools for McMinn County, in eastern Tennessee, according to minutes of the meeting.

Art Spiegelman, the author of "Maus," said he was baffled by the decision. "This is disturbing imagery," he said in an interview on Thursday, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day. "But you know what? It's disturbing history."

After reading the minutes of the meeting, Mr. Spiegelman said he got the impression that the board members were asking, "Why can't they teach a nicer Holocaust?"

Mr. Spiegelman published the first volume of the book in 1986 and the second in 1991, and the graphic novel received a special Pulitzer in 1992. Mr. Spiegelman's parents survived Auschwitz; his mother died by suicide.

The McMinn County Board of Education said in a statement on Thursday that it had removed "Maus" from the curriculum because "of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide."

"One of the most important roles of an elected board of education is to reflect the values of the community it serves," the statement said, adding that the book was "too adult-oriented" for use in its schools. The board said that it did not diminish the importance of teaching students about the Holocaust and that it understood the obligation to teach younger generations about those events. The board said it would look for other works that would accomplish the same educational goals, but in a way that was appropriate for students.

The board's vote was reported by a local news outlet, The Tennessee Holler, on Wednesday. The decision comes as the Anti-Defamation League and others have warned of a recent rise in antisemitic incidents and amid a broader movement to ban books that address certain ideas about race, as well as those that address sex and L.G.B.T.Q. issues.

In Virginia, the Spotsylvania County School Board voted unanimously last year to have books with "sexually explicit" material removed from school library shelves. In York County, Pa., teachers and students protested against and overturned a ban on a selection of books told from the perspective of gay, Black and Latino children. And Republican lawmakers in Texas have pushed to reframe history lessons and play down references to slavery and anti-Mexican discrimination.

During the McMinn County board's discussion of "Maus," several board members discussed the possibility of redacting profanity or said they did not object to teaching the history of the Holocaust. One of the board members, Mike Cochran, said he objected to the language and the depiction of nudity.

An illustration from Art Spiegelman's graphic novel "Maus." Credit... Art Spiegelman, courtesy of Pantheon Books

"We don't need this stuff to teach kids history," he said, according to the minutes. "We can teach them history and we can teach them graphic history. We can tell them exactly what happened, but we don't need all the nakedness and all the other stuff."

Mr. Cochran and other board members did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee and the state's first Jewish congressman, said on Thursday that censoring books about the Holocaust, or about slavery and lynchings or other atrocities, was a way to purge one's understanding of the horrors of what humanity is capable of.

"It's depressing to see this happen anywhere in the country, and when it comes to censoring an easy way to reach children and teach them about the Holocaust, it's particularly disturbing," Mr. Cohen said in an interview.

The U.S. Holocaust Museum said in a statement on Twitter that using books like "Maus" to teach students about the Holocaust could inspire students to "think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today."

It was unclear what book would replace "Maus" in the curriculum. At one point during the board meeting, one of the members, Rob Shamblin, asked what other books the school would have to remove from the curriculum if it removed this one on the basis on foul language. Classic books on elementary school reading lists, such as "Bridge to Terabithia," "The Whipping Boy" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," also include foul language, a school principal said.

"That falls under another topic for another day," the chairman, Sharon Brown, said.

Azi Paybarah contributed reporting.

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School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel 'Maus'

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The board voted unanimously to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel from classrooms because it contained swear words, according to minutes from the meeting. A school board in Tennessee voted unanimously this month to ban "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from being taught in its classrooms because the book contains material that board members said was inappropriate for students.

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CNN: "School district bans books on Rosa Parks and Malala. Now students want answers."

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CNN: "School district bans books on Rosa Parks and Malala. Now students want answers."

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Students in a southern Pennsylvania school district are battling the latest example of panic spreading over how history and race are taught in schools across the US. "I don't think a moral compass will let you ban books about equality and loving each other," Central York High School senior Christina Ellis told CNN.

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School district bans books on Rosa Parks and Malala. Now students want answers

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MSNBC: "Texas Students Push Back On School Book Ban: ‘Stop The Censorship.'"

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MSNBC: "Texas Students Push Back On School Book Ban: ‘Stop The Censorship.'"

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These Texas students organized a backlash to the backlash, reasserting their right for open inquiry and critical thinking in their education.

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Texas Students Push Back On School Book Ban:‘Stop The Censorship’

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NYTimes: "My Book Was Censored in China. Now It's Blacklisted -- in Texas."

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NYTimes: "My Book Was Censored in China. Now It's Blacklisted -- in Texas."

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Finding my work thus blacklisted disturbingly evoked a childhood during which I was shunned and abused for being gay, in which I felt ashamed, defenseless, sad and epically vulnerable. I had written my book to help people, and now it was being held up as derelict and unpatriotic.

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My Book Was Censored in China. Now It’s Blacklisted — in Texas.

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Andrew Solomon never expected his books to come under threat in America. But as he writes in this essay, attacks on books are on the rise here, and one of his is under investigation by a state legislature.

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Critical race theory battles hit libraries.

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Critical race theory battles hit libraries.

This is the Education Briefing, a weekly update on the most important news in U.S. education. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.

Today, we're covering one community's fight over a book ban and the success of New York City's vaccine mandate for nearly all public school employees.

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A protest against efforts to ban books, documentary films and articles in York County, Pa. Credit... Dan Rainville/York Daily Record, via USA Today Network

The fight over critical race theory has reached the library, as some parents try to ban books that address certain ideas about race, as well as those that address sex and L.G.B.T.Q. issues.

In one recent example from York County, Pa., hundreds of students and teachers won a battle, at least temporarily, against a ban on a selection of books told from the perspective of gay, Black and Latino children.

Here's the back story: In August 2020, a diversity committee created a list of hundreds of books, documentary films and articles, meant as a resource to help students and teachers grapple with the racial and social turmoil.

Some parents objected. They claimed the materials could be used to "indoctrinate" students or make white children feel guilty. So, in a little-noticed vote last November, the school board banned the all items on the list from classrooms.

At the start of this school year, many teachers were outraged. Students were, too. They protested daily outside school, wrote letters to the local paper and read excerpts from the banned books on Instagram. Local and national news media picked up the story.

After some back and forth, on Sept. 20, the board temporarily lifted the freeze.The York ban was largely symbolic: None of the listed books had been removed from school libraries and teachers already using them were not affected..

Pennsylvania does not have a law banning critical race theory from schools, at least not yet. In states where Republican governors have signed legislation banning critical race theory, books are disappearing from shelves.

In Texas, which has a ban, the Katy school district removed books about young Black boys written by an award-winning Black author, Jerry Craft.

The district also canceled an event with Craft, planned for this week, after parents claimed his books promoted critical race theory.

In Tennessee, a group that calls itself "Moms For Liberty" is trying to use that state's ban to remove a book written from the perspective of Mexican Americans.
Resources and other censorship news:

Here's a smart Times story about the history of critical race theory.

Prosecutors may file criminal charges against public librarians in Campbell County, Wyo., after community members said some books about sex education or L.G.B.T.Q. issues are obscene and not suitable for children.

And I'd be remiss to not point out that last week was Banned Books Week, an annual national event to educate about ongoing censorship efforts. PEN America compiled a list of recently challenged titles.

Teachers and kindergarten students in the Bronx on the first day of school last month. Credit... Anna Watts for The New York Times

Thousands of public school employees got a shot in the week before New York City's vaccine requirement kicked in on Monday. The mandate applies to virtually every public school employee, and there is no test-out option.

About 95 percent of all full-time school employees have received at least one dose of a vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. That shakes out to 99 percent of principals, 96 percent of teachers and 94 percent of other staff.

The shots accelerated after the city announced the mandate in late August: Since then, health care workers administered roughly 43,000 doses, including more than 18,000 since Sept. 24. (About 150,000 people work in the nation's largest school system.)

As with all vaccine mandates, New York encountered resistance: About 8,000 unvaccinated people who work in the school system were placed on unpaid leave, officials said on Monday.

Understand the Debate Over Critical Race Theory

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Some schools had to call on substitute teachers, but the city worked quickly to handle staff shortages. New York City has a reserve of roughly 9,000 substitute teachers and another 5,000 substitute paraprofessionals who are vaccinated.

"We have a lot of talented young people who are ready to take those jobs," de Blasio said.

Legal challenges have failed or stalled, too.

One lawsuit, filed by a coalition of unions, was unsuccessful. A group of teachers filed a separate legal mandate, seeking at least a temporary injunction. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied their petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, after two federal courts also denied the request.

The mandate has even increased vaccination rates among members of District Council 37, a union that ledthe legal and political charge against the mandate. (The union includes school lunch aides, support staff and crossing guards.) A spokeswoman said that 93 percent of its members had now received at least one dose, up from 68 percent last month.

A first-grader combs through a book bin in Philadelphia last month. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

Millions of students across the country are struggling to meet grade level literacy requirements, and a great story can help even the most tentative reader power through.

We want to know about a children's book you love, and why. Use this form to submit your suggestions. Thank you!

On your way out, check out this smart analysis from The Drift, on the flurry of less than imaginative political biographies for kids. See you next week!

Sign up here to get the briefing by email.

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Critical race theory battles hit libraries. This is the Education Briefing, a weekly update on the most important news in U.S. education. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Today, we're covering one community's fight over a book ban and the success of New York City's vaccine mandate for nearly all public school employees.

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NYTimes: "In Texas, a Battle Over What Can Be Taught, and What Books Can Be Read."

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NYTimes: "In Texas, a Battle Over What Can Be Taught, and What Books Can Be Read."

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A new state law constricts teachers when it comes to race and history. And a politician is questioning why 850 titles are on library shelves. The result: “A lot of our teachers are petrified.”

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In Texas, a Battle Over What Can Be Taught, and What Books Can Be Read

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A new state law constricts teachers when it comes to race and history. And a politician is questioning why 850 titles are on library shelves. The result: “A lot of our teachers are petrified.”

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Herald Sun: "Oklahoma Bill Would Let Parents Demand the Removal of Books From School Libraries."

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Herald Sun: "Oklahoma Bill Would Let Parents Demand the Removal of Books From School Libraries."

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An Oklahoma lawmaker introduced a bill that, if passed, would allow parents to demand that certain books be removed from school libraries. Critics say the bill only stigmatizes LGBTQ+ identities and hurts students seeking information about them.

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An Oklahoma lawmaker introduced a bill that, if passed, would allow parents to demand that certain books be removed from school libraries. Critics say the bill only stigmatizes LGBTQ+ identities and hurts students seeking information about them.

An Oklahoma bill would allow parents to demand that certain books be removed from school libraries - including books that contain content about sexual preferences or sexual and gender identity, the McAlester News-Capital reported.

If SB 1142 were to be passed, public school districts, public charter schools and public school libraries in Oklahoma would be prohibited from having or promoting books that address "the study of sex, sexual preferences, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual identity or gender identity," KFOR reported.

If parents were to request that the book be removed from a school library, librarians would either have to comply or risk losing their jobs and being barred from working in a public school for two years, KFOR reported.

The proposed bill would also allow a parent or legal guardian whose request for a book to be removed is denied to "seek monetary damages including a minimum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per day the book requested for removal is not removed, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs."

State Sen. Rob Standridge, a Republican from Norman who introduced the bill, said he believes the books he has concerns about are "overly sexualized," the News-Capital reported.

A news release from his office added that the bill was intended to combat the " indoctrination in Oklahoma schools " regarding issues of gender, race or sexuality.

But critics say that the bill is simply a measure to target LGBTQ+ content available to children. Some titles Standridge expressed concerns about include "Trans Teen Survival Guide," "Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities," "A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns," and "The Art of Drag," the News-Capital reported.

Laura Lang, CEO of the nonprofit Thrive OKC, told News on 6 that withholding that kind of information from children can cause harm in the long run.

"Studies have shown that having safe, affirming adults and peers in their life can actually reduce suicide rates among 2SLGBTQ+ students," Lang told the outlet.

Standridge simultaneously introduced another bill, SB 1141, that would prohibit colleges and universities in Oklahoma from requiring students to enroll in courses about gender identity, sex education, or racial equality, Newsweek reported.

Universities would also be prohibited from including concepts related to those topics in courses that are required for students' degree programs, KFOR reported.

If passed, the bills would go into effect for the 2022-2023 school year. Oklahoma's next legislative session - the 2nd session of the 58th Legislature - is scheduled to begin on Feb. 7.

This story was originally published December 29, 2021 8:12 PM.

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Oklahoma bill would let parents demand the removal of books from school libraries

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An Oklahoma bill would allow parents to demand that certain books be removed from school libraries - including books that contain content about sexual preferences or sexual and gender identity, the McAlester News-Capital reported.

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VICE: "Here Are the Books Parents Want to Ban in Schools Now."

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VICE: "Here Are the Books Parents Want to Ban in Schools Now."

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Parents are fervently advocating for schoolchildren to read less about race, gender, and sexuality by trying to force certain books out of student libraries altogether—the latest salvo in America’s culture war for young minds.

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Here Are the Books Parents Want to Ban in Schools Now

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"Forget Tide Pods," the American Library Association recently wrote. "The latest dangerous fad sweeping the nation is book challenges."

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NPR: "There's New Pressure to Ban Books at School."

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NPR: "There's New Pressure to Ban Books at School."

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Attempts to remove books from school libraries have increased, spurred by activism from conservative parent groups and resistance to teaching socially progressive ideas in schools.

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subscribe to NPR's Book of the Day podcast

Attempts to remove books from school libraries have increased, spurred by activism from conservative parent groups and resistance to teaching socially progressive ideas in schools.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Attempts to ban books in schools are as old as books themselves. But there's new momentum on book bans now that's driven by conservative activists targeting local school boards. Nomin Ujiyediin of member station KCUR in Kansas City reports.

NOMIN UJIYEDIIN, BYLINE: Books about LGBTQ issues and race have spurred more conservative activism against school boards in recent months. It's often the same books that are challenged, like "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison and "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins, because they deal directly with issues of sex, racism, violence and drugs. One group leading challenges calls itself No Left Turn in Education. It publishes lists of books and guides to help activists complain to their school boards. Andy Wells heads the Missouri chapter. He considers books like "The Bluest Eye" to be pornographic and argues they shouldn't be in schools.

ANDY WELLS: That's not their lane to teach my children about sexuality. That's my job. That is a parent's job.

UJIYEDIIN: Two other books he objects to are "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson and "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel - both memoirs written by LGBTQ authors. In North Kansas City, the books were pulled from school libraries after a local conservative group complained at a school board meeting that they had sex scenes. The group says its goal is to empower parents to assert control over school boards. The district ended up putting those books back on shelves after students protested. Sixteen-year-old Aurora Nicol spoke at a school board meeting after the books were returned.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AURORA NICOL: Choosing to pull reality out of curriculum and out of our libraries won't create good citizens. We cannot feel as if we belong here when our voices are silenced.

UJIYEDIIN: The American Library Association says the number of attempts to ban school library books was 67% higher in September 2021 than in September 2020. Deborah Caldwell-Stone leads the association's Office of Intellectual Freedom and sees challenges being more organized and school boards feeling increased pressure.

DEBORAH CALDWELL-STONE: The moral panic that we're seeing has created an extraordinary environment for responding very quickly. Many of the books that are being challenged these days have been on library shelves for years without comment.

UJIYEDIIN: Emily Knox teaches library science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She's studied activists who seek to ban books.

EMILY KNOX: What you see is people unsure if their values are being transmitted to the next generation, and perhaps we can make sure that they are transmitted if we don't have students read these books.

UJIYEDIIN: Knox says people who want to ban books often think books should reflect moral values. But she says libraries are not arbiters of morality. Instead, they're places where people can find information, whether they agree with it or not. Seventeen-year-old Holland Duggan says "All Boys Aren't Blue" has scenes of sex and sexual assault, but they help him feel less alone as a transgender boy and an assault survivor himself.

HOLLAND DUGGAN: Those are situations that teenagers may face, and giving us the education and the tools to deal with those situations properly is really important.

UJIYEDIIN: While efforts to ban books continue across the country, Duggan and others think that's a mistake because so many of those books that some see as controversial reflect teens' realities.

For NPR News, I'm Nomin Ujiyediin in Kansas City.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNWED SAILOR'S "PALLADORA")

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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There's new pressure to ban books at schools

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subscribe to NPR's Book of the Day podcast Attempts to remove books from school libraries have increased, spurred by activism from conservative parent groups and resistance to teaching socially progressive ideas in schools. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Attempts to ban books in schools are as old as books themselves.

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American Library Association: "Top 10 Most Challenged Books."

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American Library Association: "Top 10 Most Challenged Books."

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The American Library Association condemns censorship and works to defend each person’s right to read under the First Amendment and ensure free access to information. Every year, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the pub…

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NYTimes: "Harry Potter and the Poorly-Read Exorcists."

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NYTimes: "Harry Potter and the Poorly-Read Exorcists."

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It’s Banned Books Week — more evidence that banning books is about as useless as trying to ban air.

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It's Banned Books Week - more evidence that banning books is about as useless as trying to ban air.

Credit... Daniel Becerril/Reuters

NASHVILLE - When the Rev. Dan Reehil, a Catholic priest, ordered the removal of all Harry Potter books from the parish school's library, the St. Edward community demanded an explanation. Father Reehil responded by email, noting that he had "consulted several exorcists, both in the United States and in Rome," and had been assured that the "curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text."

I read all seven Harry Potter books aloud to all three of my children, one at a time, as they became old enough to understand the books' complicated plots, so I understand why Father Reehil's explanation assuaged no parental concerns. Exorcists? Real spells? No wonder the story became international news almost as soon as The Tennessean broke it. Articles about the incident have appeared in outlets as diverse as The Washington Post, CBS News, Entertainment Weekly, The Independent in Britain, and Forbes, among many others.

Before I heard this story, I would not have thought it necessary to point out that Harry Potter is a fictional character and that these books are not spellbooks. They are novels, tales J.K. Rowling made up out of her prodigious imagination.

Harry Potter and his friends don't exist in real life, but they wrestle with real-life challenges: bullies, rejection, loneliness, fear, grief - and, yes, with clueless adults whose behavior is patently ludicrous. Nashville's St. Edward School might as well be Harry Potter's Hogwarts, for the story of Father Rehill sounds very much like the story of Delores Umbridge, a Ministry of Magic bureaucrat-turned-school-inquisitor.

Ms. Rowling may well be a magician, but the magic she conjures is far more wonderful than even the spells in her books: She got kids to read again. And perhaps grown-ups, too - I often found myself reading deep into the night, long after the child beside me had fallen asleep, merely for the pleasure of Ms. Rowling's translucent prose and extravagant world-building.

There was a time when the Harry Potter titles were routinely targets of a challenge, the American Library Association's term for an attempt to remove books from a library or school curriculum. The first three volumes were among the most challenged books of the decade that began in 1990, even though they weren't published in the United States until midway through 1999. By the following decade, the series was at the very top of the list.

According to "Don't Tell the Grownups," Alison Lurie's groundbreaking 1990 exploration of the way classic children's literature has always undercut convention, "Most of the great works of juvenile literature are subversive in one way or another: they express ideas and emotions not generally approved of or even recognized at the time; they make fun of honored figures and piously held beliefs; and they view social pretenses with cleareyed directness, remarking - as in Andersen's famous fairy tale - that the emperor has no clothes."

Little surprise, then, that two decades of efforts to protect children from imaginary spells have made no difference at all. Harry Potter titles have sold more the 500 million copies worldwide.

As it happens, this is Banned Books Week in the United States, so the timing of Father Rehill's ban is richly ironic, but Harry and his friends are no longer the chief targets of book-banning adults, presumably because most adults are now aware that attempting to keep children from reading Harry Potter is about as effective as banning air. These books have already thrilled an entire generation of readers, and it's only a matter of time before they become a powerful source of nostalgia for young parents eager to pass on the stories they had loved so much as children.

Because that's what it's truly about: love. The best children's literature isn't an attempt to teach children anything, good or bad. Children don't read Harry Potter to learn incantations. They read Harry Potter because the stories are absorbing - intricate and exciting and funny - and because reading them makes real life seem more magical. All the children I know went to sleep the night before their 11th birthday half convinced an owl would arrive after midnight, swoop in their bedroom window, and drop an invitation to Hogwarts on their bed.

The gift of brilliant fiction, for children and adults, is the way it blurs the line between what has happened and what can happen. When a book comes to life in a reader's imagination, the reader is changed, and so the fictional world enters the world of reality in a profound alchemical reaction that changes the nature of reality itself, though not in the way Father Rehill imagines. Because people who read fiction consistently score higher on tests that measure empathy and altruism than those who don't, it's no huge leap to believe that Harry Potter has made the world a better place.

Parents and religious leaders will no doubt continue to try to keep "objectionable" books out of libraries, but they will be no more successful at keeping children from reading those books than they have ever been. I was a high-school senior, and my sister was in 6th grade when our mother found a copy of Judy Blume's "Forever" in our shared bedroom. Ms. Blume's books are frequently challenged, and "Forever" was no exception, featuring a teen protagonist who has sex for the first time. On purpose. With forethought and birth control.

My parents never made any attempt to censor my own reading, but the outcry over "Forever" must have gotten to Mom. Lori was too young, she thought, for a book with a sexually active heroine, and she asked me to downplay its appeal: "She won't listen to me, but she'll listen to you," she told me.

Later that morning, I picked up the well-thumbed book, one my sister had borrowed from a friend. "I heard this isn't a very good book," I said without much conviction.

"It's a great book," my sister said. "I've already read it twice."

Margaret Renkl is a contributing opinion writer who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South. She is the author of the book " Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss."
The Times is committed to publishing Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Opinion | Harry Potter and the Poorly-Read Exorcists (Published 2019)

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It's Banned Books Week - more evidence that banning books is about as useless as trying to ban air. NASHVILLE - When the Rev. Dan Reehil, a Catholic priest, ordered the removal of all Harry Potter books from the parish school's library, the St. Edward community demanded an explanation.

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Change.org Petition: "Remove the Krause List from all NEISD schools." 

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Change.org Petition: "Remove the Krause List from all NEISD schools." 

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In October 2021, Matt Krause, a Texas lawmaker, sent a list of 850 books to Texas school districts that he labeled as books that could “make students feel anguish, or any form of psychological distress because of their race or sex”, and advised the districts to review them and remove them from their libraries. The subjects of said books range from: educational nonfiction books about racial equality/racial issues, resources about how to have safe sex, Roe vs. Wade, books about gender identity, and stories with LGBTQ centered relationships.

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In October 2021, Matt Krause, a Texas lawmaker, sent a list of 850 books to Texas school districts that he labeled as books that could "make students feel anguish, or any form of psychological distress because of their race or sex", and advised the districts to review them and remove them from their libraries. The subjects of said books range from: educational nonfiction books about racial equality/racial issues, resources about how to have safe sex, Roe vs. Wade, books about gender identity, and stories with LGBTQ centered relationships.

While this advice is in no way mandatory and NEISD has no legal obligation to comply with it, the school district made the decision to review them and potentially remove these books from our libraries.

These books serve an important place in our community, as they not only provide important educational resources on Black history, they also provide a safe haven for young LGBTQ students who take comfort in this representation. Many black and lgbtq students in NEISD are appalled and hurt by NEISD's decision to comply with Matt Krause and suppress our harmless resources and stories. We are asking for NEISD to take action against the suppression of our resources, and we are asking students to help us in advocating against this Krause list.

You can view the full list of "books of concern" here: https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf?_ga=2.11573559.2091958781.1635513476-272773625.1635513476

For more information, refer to this article: https://bookriot.com/texas-book-ban-list

Special Mention to Hallie Betts, who inspired me and helped me form this petition.

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In October 2021, Matt Krause, a Texas lawmaker, sent a list of 850 books to Texas school districts that he labeled as books that could "make students feel anguish, or any form of psychological distress because of their race or sex", and advised the districts to review them and remove them from their libraries.

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CNN: "'Maus' author reacts to his book being banned."

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CNN: "'Maus' author reacts to his book being banned."

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The McMinn County Board of Education in Tennessee voted 10-0 to remove "Maus," the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the experiences of Holocaust survivors, from it's eighth grade language arts curriculum. The book's author, Art Spiegelman, responds to the school board's action.

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'Maus' author reacts to his book being banned

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NBC News: "Parents, School Officials Sound Off On Banning of Books About Race, Gender and Sexuality."

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NBC News: "Parents, School Officials Sound Off On Banning of Books About Race, Gender and Sexuality."

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The movement to ban books about race, gender and sexuality, including titles like Fences and The Handmaid's Tale, has gained steam from politicians around the country.

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Parents, School Officials Sound Off On Banning of Books About Race, Gender and Sexuality

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It's Lit: "The Fiery History of Banned Books (Feat. Princess Weekes)."

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It's Lit: "The Fiery History of Banned Books (Feat. Princess Weekes)."

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Since at least 213 BCE, book burnings have been a reaction to the power of the written word. When roasting paper in a giant circle went out of style (at least in the intellectual sphere), the governments would take it upon itself to ban books. However, when we talk about book bannings today, we are usually discussing a specific choice made by individual schools, school districts, and libraries made in response to the moralistic outrage of some group.

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The Fiery History of Banned Books (Feat. Princess Weekes) | It's Lit

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CNN: "Librarians Fight Back Against Push to Ban Books From Schools."

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CNN: "Librarians Fight Back Against Push to Ban Books From Schools."

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Librarians focused on making their collections more reflective of the increasingly diverse community in their schools are now under threat by parents who deem their book selections offensive.

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Librarians fight back against push to ban books from schools

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NBC News: "Author Shares Experience With Texas Attempt to Ban Children's Books About Racism."

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NBC News: "Author Shares Experience With Texas Attempt to Ban Children's Books About Racism."

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A number of books by Black authors are being taken out of circulation as at least 9 states have recently passed bills that would ban teaching about racism in the classroom. NBC News’ Joshua Johnson speaks with Jerry Craft, the children’s author behind the award-winning graphic novel “New Kid” which was pulled from library shelves in a Texas school district.

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Author Shares Experience With Texas Attempt To Ban Children’s Books About Racism

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Nerdstalgic: "Why Harry Potter Became the Most Banned Book in America."

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Nerdstalgic: "Why Harry Potter Became the Most Banned Book in America."

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These days, Harry Potter seems to be beloved by everyone on the planet.  Generations of Potter fans look back fondly on the series of books and movies that have spanned most of their lives. But in the early days of Harry Potter fandom, there were a lot of people who thought differently. Leading to the Harry Potter books being one of the most banned books in all of America.

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Why Harry Potter Became The Most BANNED Book In America

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Washington Post: "Two-Thirds of Millennials Don't Know What Auschwitz Is."

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Washington Post: "Two-Thirds of Millennials Don't Know What Auschwitz Is."

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Two-thirds of American millennials surveyed in a recent poll cannot identify what Auschwitz is, according to a study released on Holocaust Remembrance Day that found that knowledge of the genocide that killed 6 million Jews during World War II is not robust among American adults.

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Tweet thread from author and historian Clint Smith.

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Tweet thread from author and historian Clint Smith.

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Tweet from former Secretary of Labor and UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich.

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Tweet from former Secretary of Labor and UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich.

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The Atlantic: "How Book Banning Marginalizes Children."

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The Atlantic: "How Book Banning Marginalizes Children."

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Since the 1800s, attitudes about which books are “appropriate” for kids to read have too often suppressed stories about different cultures and life experiences.

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Every year since 1982, an event known as Banned Books Week has brought attention to literary works frequently challenged by parents, schools, and libraries. The books in question sometimes feature scenes of violence or offensive language; sometimes they're opposed for religious reasons (as in the case of both Harry Potter and the Bible). But one unfortunate outcome is that 52 percent of the books challenged or banned in the last 10 years feature so-called "diverse content"-that is, they explore issues such as race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental illness, and disability. As a result, the organizers of Banned Books Week, which started Sunday, chose the theme "Celebrating Diversity" for 2016.

Since the inception of the American children's literature industry in the 1820s, publishers have had to grapple with the question of who their primary audience should be. Do kids' books cater to parents and adult cultural gatekeepers, or to young readers themselves? But as books that address issues of diversity face a growing number of challenges, the related question of which children both the industry and educators should serve has become more prominent recently. Who benefits when Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian, which deals with racism, poverty, and disability, is banned for language and "anti-Christian content"? Who's hurt when Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings's picture book I Am Jazz, about a transgender girl, is banned? The history of children's book publishing in America offers insight into the ways in which traditional attitudes about "appropriate" stories often end up marginalizing the lives and experiences of many young readers, rather than protecting them.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, debates over the target audience of the American children's-literature industry largely centered around the question of how much adults should trust children to choose what they read. Before the Civil War, the prevailing answer was "very little." Accordingly, kids' books and magazines addressed the instructional concerns of adults without worrying much about readers' interests. New entertainment options, from dime novels to nickelodeons, led to a greater effort to retaining children's attention by amusing them. Yet even as publishers focused more on engagement, they carefully avoided subjects that riled the parents who bought the books.

In researching my book Commercializing Childhood, I discovered that children's stories and magazines during the 19th century rarely discussed slavery. When the popular children's magazine The Juvenile Miscellany ran anti-slavery stories in the early 1830s, its largely New England-based audience abandoned it, and the magazine collapsed within 18 months. The outcome had a chilling effect on other publications. The subject of slavery had a brief revival during the war (when it served to highlight the evils of Southern society), but afterward the topic remained unpopular within the industry. Indeed, the recent #SlaveryWithASmile controversy over two books' depiction of slaves' lives indicates that publishers today still haven't figured out how to address the subject for younger children in a way that's both historically accurate and acceptable to parents.

When librarians and teachers reject works that may be "emotionally inappropriate" for children (a common reason), they're adhering to the traditional and mostly prevailing view that children's literature should avoid controversial topics. It's understandable that adults want to minimize children's anxiety, and schools are often under intense social and financial pressure to maintain established standards. But it 's also important to recognize that this tradition was established in the 19th century to serve the needs of the white, wealthy Protestant producers and consumers who have dominated the field of American children's literature for much of the past 200 years.

The distinction between books that have inspired calls for censorship (including series like Nancy Drew and The Hunger Games) versus the works that more often have actually been kept out of children's hands ( Huckleberry Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, the novels of Judy Blume) reveals the insidious effects of this tradition. Whereas violence or elements of fantasy rarely leads to widespread censorship, concerns about race or sexuality are more likely to restrict circulation. It's an especially troubling tendency, considering the structural biases within the publishing industry that have made it harder for minority authors to get children's books published. In effect, this pattern means the industry serves those who benefit from the status quo, which is why most scholars see children's literature as a conservative force in American society.

There is an alternative tradition of using children's literature specifically to introduce more diverse perspectives to young readers that dates back to The Juvenile Miscellany, which encouraged empathy for American Indian and slave characters. This practice mostly remained economically and culturally marginalized until the 1960s, when books like Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day and Don Freeman's Corduroy began to naturalize the experiences of children of color. Around the same time, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen challenged cultural taboos about addressing children's normal stages of psychological and emotional development.

Perhaps no recent book has illuminated the benefits of such an approach for young readers as much as R.J. Palacio's 2012 bestseller Wonder. This novel narrates the school year of 10-year-old Augie, a boy with a severe facial deformity, from his own perspective as well as those of the people that surround him. By encouraging children to imagine themselves in the place of Augie and his classmates, Wonder transports them beyond their own experiences and instills the feelings of empathy and humility that are an essential part of the reason why we tell stories.
Keeping books about certain types of children out of libraries perpetuates a vision of a sheltered American childhood that has rarely existed.
Despite Wonder's commercial success, a recent survey of 574 librarians by the School Library Journal suggests a trend toward a more conservative approach to producing and curating children's books. Content labels, restricted access areas, and self-censorship have all been on the rise since 2008, and in 2014, a group of children's book authors started the We Need Diverse Books campaign to highlight the lack of diversity in children's publishing.

Quiet decisions by libraries not to carry titles such as Kate Messner's The Seventh Wish, whose protagonist has an older sibling grappling with addiction, or Alex Gino's George, which is about the life of a transgender fourth-grader, reflect a resurgent fear and misinterpretation of difference. As Messner wrote on her blog after being disinvited from a planned school talk, "When we say 'This book is inappropriate,' we're telling those children 'your situation ... your family ... your life is inappropriate." More broadly, keeping books about certain types of children or experiences out of libraries or putting them on separate shelves perpetuates a troubling vision of a sheltered American childhood that in fact has rarely existed.

After publishing The Seventh Wish, Messner received several messages from librarians and parents concerned about the topics her book dealt with. One elementary-school librarian explained why she wouldn't share Messner's book with her students. "For now," the librarian said, "I just need the 10 and 11-year-olds biggest worry to be about friendships, summer camps, and maybe their first pimple or two." Messner responded by emphasizing a broader obligation that parents, teachers, writers, and publishers all share. "We don't serve only our children," Messner said. "We serve children in the real world."

That message of tolerance, compassion, and affirmation aligns with the values of Banned Books Week, as well as with the ideals of children's literary classics ranging from Little Women and Tom Sawyer to The Diary of Anne Frank and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This shared sensibility is grounded in respect for young readers, which doesn't mean providing them with unfettered access to everything on the library shelves. Instead, it means that librarians, teachers, and parents curate children's choices with the goals of inspiring rather than obscuring new ideas. Such an approach allows kids to learn how to navigate imaginary worlds filled with differences, with the faith that they will apply those lessons to their own lives.

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Every year since 1982, an event known as Banned Books Week has brought attention to literary works frequently challenged by parents, schools, and libraries. The books in question sometimes feature scenes of violence or offensive language; sometimes they're opposed for religious reasons (as in the case of both Harry Potter and the Bible).

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Top three pros and cons on banned books.

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Proponents say parents have the right to choose what kids read. Opponents say that right doesn’t extend to everyone’s kids.

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Cheyenne Edition: "In Defense of Banned Books."

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Cheyenne Edition: "In Defense of Banned Books."

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Ray Bradbury wrote “Fahrenheit 451” as a response to the McCarthyism of the 1950s. The novel is about a future America where books are illegal, and workers known as “firemen” have the job of burning any that are found. Celebrated as a signature example of Dystopian literature, the novel serves as a cautionary tale of what could be.

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In defense of banned books | From the Editor

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Ray Bradbury wrote “Fahrenheit 451” as a response to the McCarthyism of the 1950s.

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NPR: "More Republican Leaders Try to Ban Books on Race, LGBTQ+ Issues."

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NPR: "More Republican Leaders Try to Ban Books on Race, LGBTQ+ Issues."

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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster sent a letter to the state's department of education this week about Gender Queer: A Memoir, a book he wants investigated.

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In the latest call from Republican leaders to ban certain books in schools, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is telling his state's department of education to investigate a graphic novel on queer identity being available at a school's library. He says the content in the book is "sexually explicit" and "pornographic."

The book, Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, is recommended for grades 10 and up by its publisher and tells an autobiographical story of a person who is grappling with their gender and sexual identity.

"I call on the Department of Education or the State Board of Education, as appropriate, to promulgate statewide standards and directives to prevent pornography and other obscene content from entering our State's public schools and libraries," the governor said in a letter sent Wednesday to the superintendent of education.

McMaster's call is the latest instance of Republican elected leaders and local school board members lashing out at books in school libraries that address topics such as queer identity, racism and sex education.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to the state's school board association saying public schools shouldn't have "pornographic or obscene material." He did not provide any specific examples of content.

But Texas state Rep. Jeff Cason called on the state's attorney general to investigate "sexually explicit material in public schools," including Gender Queer.

Another Texas lawmaker running for attorney general identified a list of 850 books that he says should be questioned; many of those books are written by women, people of color and LGBTQ authors.

Several other states, including Virginia, North Carolina, Maine and Missouri have also targeted certain books available in schools, often telling stories of young people of color and narratives that include U.S. history of segregation and racism.

The topic led the Virginia gubernatorial race

The topic of investigating and banning certain books came further into the national spotlight during the recent Virginia gubernatorial race.

Republican winner Glenn Youngkin campaigned off the idea that his opponent, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, didn't want parents to have a say in what their children are being taught in school.

One of the books in question was Toni Morrison's Beloved, a book that tells the story of formerly enslaved people in the aftermath of the Civil War. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

In a Virginia county, two school board members want to burn the books

In Virginia's Spotsylvania County, the school board recently voted to remove books in school libraries that had any "sexually explicit" material.

One book in particular that caused outrage is Adam Rapp's 33 Snowfish, with a storyline that includes drug addiction, prostitution and violence.

Two school board members, Rabih Abuismail and Kirk Twigg, went on to say they would like to see the banned books burned.

"I think we should throw those books in a fire," Abuismail said, according to NBC Washington. "I guess we live in a world now that our public schools would rather have kids read about gay pornography than Christ."

Twigg said he wants to "see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff."

Book burning was a practice perpetuated in Nazi Germany in order to oppress authors and ideas that were in opposition to Nazi ideology.

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More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues

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In the latest call from Republican leaders to ban certain books in schools, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is telling his state's department of education to investigate a graphic novel on queer identity being available at a school's library. He says the content in the book is "sexually explicit" and "pornographic."

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The New Yorker: "The Lessons of the Lorax."

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The New Yorker: "The Lessons of the Lorax."

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The battle over what we read isn’t about to end anytime soon.

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In 1989, the year that Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, for writing " The Satanic Verses," American parents in Laytonville, a small town in Northern California, demanded that their children's elementary school take Dr. Seuss's 1971 book, " The Lorax," off its list of required reading for second graders. The book is " Silent Spring " for the under-ten set. "I speak for the trees," the Lorax says, attempting to defend a soon to be blighted forest, its tufted Truffula trees chopped down and knit into hideous thneeds-"a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need"-until there is nothing left but one single seed.

Like the long-ago banning of E. B. White's " Stuart Little," by the New York Public Library, the rumpus about "The Lorax" is at first bewildering. Dr. Seuss-Theodor Geisel-deemed it his best book. Schools across the country assigned it. Mrs. Pate's class at the Pepper Pike School, in Ohio, sent the author new endings. "I planted that seed, / It was so very dry," Robby Price, a third grader, wrote. "Then all of a sudden, / It grew 8 miles high."

There were other Loraxes, too. In 1972, Christopher D. Stone, a law professor at the University of Southern California, argued for granting trees a legal voice. "I am quite seriously proposing that we give legal rights to forests, oceans, rivers and other so-called 'natural objects,' " he wrote, in "Should Trees Have Standing?," an article that was cited, that same year, in a Supreme Court dissent, and helped galvanize the environmental movement.

"I drew a Lorax and he was obviously a Lorax," Geisel said. "Doesn't he look like a Lorax to you?" But, in 1989, to Bill and Judith Bailey, the founders of a logging-equipment business in Laytonville, the Lorax looked like an environmental activist. "Papa, we can't cut trees down," their eight-year-old son, Sammy, said after reading the book, in which a "Super-Axe-Hacker" whacks "four Truffula Trees at one smacker." Townspeople were caught up in the so-called "timber wars," when environmentalists camped out in trees and loggers wore T-shirts that read "Spotted Owl Tastes Like Chicken." Logging families took out ads in the local newspaper. One said, "To teach our children that harvesting redwood trees is bad is not the education we need."

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of "The Lorax," an occasion that passed with little fanfare, Dr. Seuss himself having been made into something of a thneed in the latest round of book battles. Earlier this year, on Geisel's birthday, his estate announced that it would no longer publish six of his lesser-known books, in the wake of criticism that they contain racist caricatures. Books go out of print all the time, and this decision wouldn't have been especially notable except that it began trending on Twitter. "Buying all the Dr. Seuss volumes for the kids before the woke book burners can get to them all," the conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted. Senator Ted Cruz sought campaign donations: "Stand with Ted & Dr. Seuss against the cancel culture mob to claim your signed copy of Green Eggs and Ham! "

Meanwhile, groups of parents, not to say cancel-culture mobs, have been assembling at school-board meetings to demand the removal of books from classrooms and school libraries, often in districts that have been battling over mask and vaccination mandates. Book-banning crusaders, waving the flag of "parental rights," have particularly decried books about American history and racial injustice, and books that include lesbian, gay, and trans characters. In at least seven states, they've objected to Maia Kobabe's 2019 book, " Gender Queer: A Memoir." Schools in Missouri have pulled Alison Bechdel's " Fun Home." Glenn Youngkin's campaign for governor of Virginia believed this to be a winning issue. "When my son showed me his reading assignment, my heart sunk," a fretful mother says in a Youngkin campaign ad, after discovering that her son, a high-school senior, was reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel " Beloved," by the Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, in an A.P. English class. Progressive legislators, parents, and school boards, too, have called for the removal of books, including " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and " To Kill a Mockingbird."

No book has a right to be on a reading list. Teachers frequently change what they teach. Parents are likely to take an interest in what their children are reading. Booksellers decide what books to sell. And pious attacks on books are very often absurd. What's new is that lately some senior staff of organizations founded on a commitment to freedom of the press and freedom of expression appear to be wavering on upholding those principles. Last year, when Target briefly stopped selling Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters," a much admired deputy director of the A.C.L.U. tweeted support on his personal account for "stopping the circulation of this book and these ideas." (He later deleted the tweet.) This summer, the American Booksellers Association, a longtime sponsor of Banned Books Week, whose theme this year is "Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us," sent copies of Shrier's book to seven hundred and fifty bookstores, and then apologized: "This is a serious, violent incident that goes against ABA's ends policies, values, and everything we believe and support." The apology proved insufficient to many booksellers. "We're dealing with a historically white, cis organization in a white supremacist society," a member of the A.B.A.'s diversity-equity-and-inclusion committee told Publishers Weekly.

The book-ban battle isn't about to end anytime soon. And it's a battle that conservatives will win if progressives agree with them about the righteousness of banning books, disagreeing only on which books to ban. In the year of the fatwa, the fuss over "The Lorax" played out differently. The Laytonville Unified School District convened a committee to consider the Baileys' complaint. It voted to keep the book on the required-reading list, with the superintendent arguing that the book isn't about the timber industry but about "greed and the depletion of a finite resource." Then the school board said that, if a parent really had a problem with a reading assignment, that parent could figure out a substitute. "No one ever suggested that the book be banned," Bill Bailey said. And Geisel told the Associated Press that he didn't believe that no one should ever harvest a tree. "I live in a wooden house," he said. "I'm sitting in a wooden chair." His book was also printed on paper made from trees. And so far, at least, it has resisted the Super-Axe-Hacker. ♦

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In 1989, the year that Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, for writing " The Satanic Verses," American parents in Laytonville, a small town in Northern California, demanded that their children's elementary school take Dr. Seuss's 1971 book, " The Lorax," off its list of required reading for second graders.

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Mic: "I wrote a book about Black queer joy and pain. It’s already been banned in 10 states."

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Mic: "I wrote a book about Black queer joy and pain. It’s already been banned in 10 states."

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It’s been seven weeks since my memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue has been banned in now more than 10 states (with one criminal complaint discharged but the potential for more on the way) — and I realize that my fight is one of tradition, not of chance.

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I wrote a book about Black queer joy and pain. It’s already been banned in 10 states

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My fight is one of tradition, not of chance.

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The Washington Post: "Texas school official tells teachers that Holocaust books should be countered with 'opposing' views."

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The Washington Post: "Texas school official tells teachers that Holocaust books should be countered with 'opposing' views."

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A North Texas school district apologized late Thursday after an administrator advised teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also include reading materials that have “opposing” perspectives of the genocide that killed millions of Jews.

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A North Texas school district apologized late Thursday after an administrator advised teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also include reading materials that have "opposing" perspectives of the genocide that killed millions of Jews.

During a training session on what books teachers can have in their classroom libraries, Gina Peddy, executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District, referenced a new Texas law that requires educators to present multiple perspectives when discussing "widely debated and currently controversial" issues.

"Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979," Peddy said on Oct. 8, according to a recording obtained by NBC News, which first reported the story. "And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives."

"How do you oppose the Holocaust?" one teacher said in response, sounding baffled.

"Believe me," Peddy said, "that's come up."

Lane Ledbetter, superintendent for Carroll ISD in Southlake, Tex., apologized late Thursday and acknowledged the authenticity of the recording.

"During the conversations with teachers, comments made were in no way to convey the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history," Ledbetter said in a statement posted to Facebook. "Additionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust."

Peddy did not immediately respond to requests for comment early Friday. A spokesperson with the school district shared the statement posted on social media when reached by The Washington Post.

The incident in North Texas is the latest example of how schools, educators and parents nationwide are clashing over what can and can't be taught in the classroom. Much of the focus has been on the teaching of history, LGBTQ issues and race, specifically critical race theory - an academic framework for examining the way laws and policies perpetuate systemic racism. Conservative lawmakers and right-leaning news outlets have seized on critical race theory in recent months.

These Texas teens stayed silent about racism. Then their Black principal was suspended.

When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 3979 into law on Sept. 1, the state prohibited teachers from discussing "a particular current event or widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs." The law states that if a teacher does engage in that kind of discussion in the classroom, the educator is required to "explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective."

Teachers across the country are caught in the middle of the latest flash point in America's culture war: critical race theory. Here's what it entails. (Adriana Usero, Drea Cornejo, Brian Monroe/The Washington Post)

Critics of Texas's latest policy say it could stifle conversations about historical and current events in classrooms if teachers feel required to alter how they educate students. An updated version of the law, Texas Senate Bill 3, will take effect in December.

Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, a union representing educators, told The Post that Peddy's guidance to teachers was "reprehensible."

"We're saddened to hear it, but we're not terribly surprised," said Robison, adding that the teachers union anticipated the new law would be misinterpreted by school officials. "There is enough vagueness and ambiguity in that law that some educators are overreacting to it, as we feared that they would," Robison said.

The district's issue of what books can be available in the classroom came up last year at Johnson Elementary School in Southlake, about 30 miles northwest of Dallas. Rickie Farah, who teaches fourth grade and was named a Carroll ISD teacher of the year, made "This Book Is Anti-Racist" by Tiffany Jewell available in the classroom. But when a student brought home a copy of the book - a New York Times bestseller described by Kirkus Reviews as a "guidebook for taking action against racism" - the child's parents complained to the district that it was inappropriate for her age and grade level, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Although Carroll ISD initially decided against disciplining Farah, the school board last week voted to overturn the district's decision and reprimanded the teacher. The move set off unease among teachers in the district, who wondered if they, too, would be disciplined for having certain books in their classrooms.

At an Oct. 8 training session for guidelines on classroom libraries, some teachers expressed concern that they would be forced to get rid of books dealing with race. As Peddy began to address the room, a teacher began secretly recording what she had to say.

"We are in the middle of a political mess. And you are in the middle of a political mess," Peddy said, according to the recording. "So we just have to do the best that we can."

When one teacher told Peddy that educators were "really terrified," Peddy responded: "I wish I could take that away. I do. I can't. I can't do that," according to the recording. She went on to reassure the teachers that if they thought a book was okay, "then let's go with it."

"No one knows how to navigate these waters," she said.

But some teachers complained that they still did not fully understand the state's new guidelines on classroom books. Then Peddy offered the Holocaust example. One teacher is heard in the recording mentioning the Lois Lowry novel "Number the Stars," as an example ofhistorical novels that talk about the Holocaust from the viewpoint of victims. It's unclear whether Peddy heard the question or answered.

District spokeswoman Karen Fitzgerald told NBC that teachers in Carroll ISD and throughout the state are in "a precarious position with the latest legal requirements." Robison told The Post that teachers in Texas are on edge, fearful their lesson plans could be interpreted as unlawful by parents who dispute history or facts.

"They don't want to jeopardize their careers," he said, "but at the same time they want to teach the truth."

The unrest in Southlake has also drawn the attention of state lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats. Texas state Sen. Kelly Hancock (R), whose district covers parts of North Texas, argued that the legislation does not support what Peddy suggested, saying, "Southlake just got it wrong." State Sen. José Menéndez (D), whose district includes San Antonio, wrote a letter to the Texas Education Agency urging a review of the new law following the incident at Carroll ISD.

"This is disturbing and a flagrant violation of keeping an open and healthy learning environment in our schools," he wrote. "When this bill passed, legislators warned that racist attacks would occur. It is our job to take every step possible to ensure an open and diverse forum, without subjecting our children to racism and hateful rhetoric."

In his statement, Ledbetter, the superintendent, said the district understands that the law "does not require an opposing viewpoint on historical facts."

"As a district we will work to add clarity to our expectations for teachers and once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused," he wrote.

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Texas school official tells teachers that Holocaust books should be countered with 'opposing' views

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A North Texas school district apologized late Thursday after an administrator advised teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also include reading materials that have "opposing" perspectives of the genocide that killed millions of Jews.