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Literary Activism

How To Explain Book Bans to Those Who Want To Understand: Book Censorship News, August

Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

View All posts by Kelly Jensen

Book bans aren’t new. That’s true both for the current wave, as well as in a broad, general sense. But the fact of the matter is every single day new people begin to learn about what’s happening, either because they have not been tuned in before, because they didn’t believe it was as bad as presented, or because they’re simply not engaged with the types of media covering the issue. Although there is a basic primer on how to fight book bans and censorship in 2024, distilled into easy-to-do, vital tasks following nearly four years of nonstop coverage on book bans, that kind of guide does not provide clear talking points for engaging in conversations about book banning with those who are unaware or completely new to the discussion.

This is that 101 guide. You can use it in conjunction with this more robust and detailed guide to the myths about book banning that keep being repeated.

Here are several talking points you can and should use with the people in your life who may otherwise not understand the complexity and seriousness of book bans happening in school and public libraries. It will not include everything, nor can it. Instead, this is meant to be for people who are eager to listen and learn but may be overwhelmed with where to even begin.

Top Line: Why You Should Care About Book Banning

  • Book banning is a form of censorship. Censorship prohibits people from exercising their First Amendment Rights, including the freedom of speech and its associated freedom to read.
  • Book banning is related to the destruction of publicly-funded institutions like public schools and libraries that benefit an entire community. This is deliberate and intentional. By wasting taxpayer time and money on book bans, the far-right hopes to leverage outrage so that those democratic institutions become privatized.
  • Privatizing public goods like schools and libraries means that they become inaccessible to most people.
  • Most people seeking to ban books are not educators, librarians, nor experts in literacy or human development. They are undermining the knowledge, experience, and expertise of those who are and who work in schools and libraries.
  • Book bans turn young people off from using the library and from reading, period.
  • Book banning is part of Project 2025, which has been underway for several years already.
  • As we continue to battle the challenges of mis-, dis-, and mal- information, fake news, AI-generated content, and poor media literacy, book banners are banking on information overwhelm and redefining terminology to garner support. “Parental rights” are not, for example, about your rights as a parent. They’re about their rights as a parent being the ones enforced upon all. “Parental rights” already exist in schools and libraries—those banning books are conveniently leaving that part out to disinform their base.

Book Bans Came Out of Nowhere/Why Are Books Being Banned Right Now?

  • The current rise of book bans began in late 2020 amid COVID. Parents who fought to “reopen the schools”—they were never closed but were remote—also fought against face masks in schools and then against the COVID vaccine. Their arguments have evolved further to include book bans.
  • After the election loss of 2020, a small group of vocal, well-connected, and well-funded people stoked moral panic around “critical race theory,” “comprehensive sexual education,” and “social-emotional learning.” None of their agenda has been hidden. They’ve been very clear about their targets and their goals.

Book Bans Aren’t About The Books

  • While there are some “classic” books being banned, the vast majority of books targeted since 2021 have been by or about people of color and queer people. This is deliberate—removing the books is about erasing those identities, stories, voices, and experiences.
  • Most of the books being banned are not new books. The average publication date of the most commonly banned books is more than 10 years old. Why are these books suddenly a “problem?” Spoiler: they’re not!
  • Books are an easy, on-the-ground, tangible target. It’s a show of power that individuals can take in their own community, and the groups that many of these book banners associate themselves with, like Moms For Liberty or No Left Turn in Education, have created ample resources and exchange tactics and techniques to facilitate the process.

The Books Being Banned Are Pornographic or Not “Age Appropriate”

  • There is no such thing as “pornography for kids.” That would be in violation of obscenity laws, which have a clear, concise legal definition.
  • Among the most commonly banned topics in books are those about gender, sexuality, sexual violence, and reproduction. Applying the label “pornographic” to educational texts is inappropriate and sexualizes health, wellness, and social-emotional growth.
  • All books have age ratings on them, provided by the publisher. Library workers and educators use that information, alongside reviews by professionals in the industry, to make informed decisions about purchasing and shelving material.
  • Parents and guardians always have the right to tell their children not to borrow something at the library. That guidance is their job. They can also request alternate assignments in school for those with which they feel uncomfortable.

But How Is It A Book Ban If They Can Buy The Books?

  • A book ban is the deliberate removal of a book from a place it once was. It is a straightforward definition. Young people who had access to a book at their school library lose that access when a book is banned. Those young people may no longer have any way to access the book, even if it is available on retail websites because of the hurdles placed in their way (needing to ask someone to buy it for them, needing the money to acquire it, and so forth).
  • Those under 18 are the most vulnerable members of society. Those from marginalized backgrounds, even more so. Removing a book from their local library or school library means they lose out on the ability to access, read, digest, and discuss materials available to wealthier peers elsewhere.
  • Bookstores have been targeted by book bans, too. Success in book banning at the schools leads to attempts at the public library then onto businesses, too.

Book Bans Are Tied to Authoritarianism/Fascism

  • Book banning has historical roots in authoritarianism and fascism. Anti-literacy laws proliferated in America to keep enslaved Black people from reading and learning, while Nazis burned books they deemed “anti-German.” (See also groups like United Daughters of the American Confederacy and others throughout history trying to rewrite history and literature to push a narrow, white supremacist version of education).
  • Why do some parents and lawmakers want to decide what every child has access to? Because it gives them power.
  • Throughout the country, legislators at the state, county, and municipal levels have tried to make decisions about what happens in classrooms and libraries, despite having no experience or expertise in either field.
  • One of the common rallying cries from book banners is that they “do not co-parent with the government,” a phrase they use to demand books about topics like gender, race, and sexuality (wrapped in phrases like “Critical Race Theory,” “Comprehensive Sexual Education,” and “Social Emotional Learning”) be removed from shelves. Ultimately, what they want is for the government to do all the parenting for them by removing those books and topics entirely. Parents have rights and have always had rights. This puts the power into the hands of the government.

Book Bans Are About Destabilizing and Defunding Democratic, Publicly Funded Institutions Like Libraries and Schools

  • By targeting public institutions, taxpayer money can be funneled into for-profit institutions. This is the scheme behind voucher programs, which benefit families already wealthy enough to pay for private education and leave public schools without necessary budgets.
  • If a buck can be made, it will be. Defunding public libraries doesn’t mean libraries will disappear entirely. Instead, subscription libraries—available to those who can afford the cost—will pop up. At least one sitting state legislator has suggested defunding public libraries in favor of “beautiful, church-owned public-access libraries.”

Book Bans Happen in Every State

  • There’s a tendency to write off book bans as only happening in states that have gotten a lot of media attention for them, such as Texas or Florida. But book bans happen in every state in different ways. Writing off your state as “safe” or another as “of course” is not helpful.
  • People who live in “bad”/”red” states still deserve their rights to be protected. Writing off an entire state writes off queer people and people of color living there, and it writes off the efforts of those on the ground pushing back.
  • Those “bad”/”red” states have extensive histories of gerrymandering and voter suppression.
  • “Blue”/”Good” states have extremists, too, and groups like Moms For Liberty have chapters in these “good” states. Book bans happen not only at the state level. They happen at the local level, so it is easy for local-level bans to happen, especially with the death of local news covering these stories.
  • Even states that have passed anti-book ban bills deal with quiet/soft/silent censorship.

Yes, Some State Legislatures Want To Try To Arrest Librarians

  • By changing the way “obscenity” is defined and codified in state law, politicians are trying to create provisions that would allow librarians to be arrested for having books deemed “obscene” in the library. States have yet to be successful in passing this legislation, but they’re going to keep trying.

Most People Are Against Book Bans

A Small Number of People Are Seeking Book Bans Nationwide, But They’re Backed By Big Money

  • According to data from The Washington Post, during the 2021-2022 school year, only 11 people nationwide were responsible for 60% of book bans. In fall 2023, one woman was responsible for the removal of 444 books in a single Wisconsin school district.
  • These people act independently, but they aren’t doing this in a vacuum. They’re being supported by groups like Moms For Liberty, No Left Turn in Education, and other right-wing politically-affiliated groups. They’re often also supported by local-level groups that aren’t affiliated with national groups but that act in similar ways (for example, Utah Parents United, Purple for Parents Indiana, Protect Nebraska Children, and more).

Moms For Liberty Is Not The Only Group Targeting Books

  • While Moms For Liberty has marketed itself very well and has plenty of cutesy social media nicknames, it is not the only group in the book banning game. They have created one of the most-cited and used book “review” sites to help its members target books on the local level, but there are hundreds of other groups nationwide.
  • Moms For Liberty’s strategies are aligned with several others, including No Left Turn in Education and Mary/LaVerna In The Library. Because of Moms’s connection to big money, including the Heritage Foundation, they have a lot of ability to create influence and as such, have influenced other local groups.
  • It is important to point this out because there’s a false sense of “it doesn’t happen here” if your area does not have an official Moms For Liberty group and/or school board candidates supported by the group do not win their election. See: “Book Bans Happen in Every State” above.

Down Ballot Votes Matter As Much, If Not More, Than Top Lines

  • Your vote on the president, governor, and other high offices matters. But real change happens on the local level, so your down-ballot elections need to be as carefully researched and decided as those at the top of the ballot.
  • Decisions about book bans are being made by groups that may only have five or seven people. Learn who those people are on school and library boards, as well as how they get their positions. For those in elected positions, it is crucial to know what they stand for. If those positions are appointed, pay attention to the elected officials who do the appointing. What do they stand for? It’s going to show up in their appointees.
  • When you vote, tell your friends, family, neighbors, and others with whom you share values who you voted for down-ballot. Tell them why. This will help them, too—too often, the smaller elections are overlooked and yet, those offices have the most impact on your day-to-day life.

How Can I Fight Back Against Book Bans?

Book Censorship News: August 9, 2024

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