4 days ago
Librarians, teachers and others plan day of action to fight book bans and preserve history
Librarians, teachers and others plan day of action to fight book bans and preserve history
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Major publishers and authors are suing Florida over its book ban law
Major publishers and authors are suing Florida over its law banning books deemed to have sexual content, saying the law violates free speech.
Straight Arrow News
In Gainesville, Florida, The Lynx Books will host a screening of 'Banned Together" on its back patio.
In Washington, D.C., participants will march on the National Mall stopping at museums to highlight the importance of preserving history.
And in Seattle, visitors to some public libraries will join a ''silent read-in'' of banned books.
Across the country, librarians, teachers, bookstore owners, civil rights activists and others plan to hold as many as 100 events June 7 as part of Teach Truth Day of Action. The national campaign aims to support the teaching of unvarnished history and to encourage people to read more, including banned books.
The actions come in the wake of efforts by the Trump administration and some conservative groups to restrict the teaching of certain history and to ban some books, many written by authors of color.
'This wave of book banning is not new, but now it's being not only supported by the federal government, but the federal government is using it to threaten to withhold funds so it's making it worse," said Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association. 'Now we have more and more who are realizing we need to stand up and we need to use our voice."
It's not censorship, but education, some say
Dozens of states mostly led by Republicans have adopted or proposed measures that activists said overlook critical parts of Black history or restrict language related to race, sexuality and gender issues in public schools. Some have also restricted what books and materials are available in classrooms, many that focus on race or sexuality.
These mostly conservative lawmakers and groups argue that some books are offensive and should be kept from children, and that key parts of Black history are already taught in schools.
Jonathan Butcher, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said if school officials decide a book is too sexually graphic for young people, then it shouldn't be in the school library.
He said it is the responsibility of the school board and parents to make that decision.
'That's their job,'' Butcher said. 'It is entirely appropriate for school boards and parents to work together and decide what books should be kept on shelves."
More: The new Selma? Activists say under DeSantis Florida is 'ground zero' in civil rights fight
He said banned books are likely available online or in public libraries and that some claims of censorship are exaggerated.
'I think it's a tactic to make it appear as if censorship is happening, when actually this is what education is about," Butcher said. 'Adults come together, decide what should be taught in sex education, in health ed, in civics and history and they determine what books should be kept on the shelves."
March to preserve history
Pringle and leaders of libraries and civil rights groups said their concerns and actions extend beyond book bans to pushing back against narrow interpretations of history.
'We last year focused a lot on banned books because obviously those were a lot of the things that were happening in the public square," said Nakeesha J. Ceran, deputy director for Teaching for Change, an advocacy group. 'What feels different in this moment is really the deep concerted effort to undermine all spaces and sites of public education, inclusive of public schools, museums, libraries."
The D.C. march, led by Teaching for Change and others, will start at the National Museum of African American History and Culture with stops at the National Museum of American History, the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Air and Space Museum and end at the National Museum of the American Indian.
The popular African American history museum has been singled out by President Donald Trump who called its work part of a 'widespread effort to rewrite our nation's history.'
Ceran disagreed, saying it's important to educators, students and others to be able to teach the truth about the history of all Americans.
'It also matters in the midst of seeing all of the dismantling that's happening, to be inspired by people, movement and resistance that is happening every day," she said.
Reading material impacts 'the culture of a place'
In Florida, The Lynx Books will hold a discussion Saturday about book bans and proposals to restrict the teaching of history. It will be followed by a showing of 'Banned Together," a documentary about teenagers fighting book bans.
'In our local community there are a lot of people who are very saddened by the banning of books and the intense curriculum restrictions in Florida and really want to fight against that,' said Viv Schnabel, events and community outreach for the independent bookstore.
Lynx sells banned books year-round and hosts a monthly banned-book book club. Up next is 'If Beale Street Could Talk," by James Baldwin. The bookstore has also donated books, including banned ones, to community organizations.
''It's an issue that impacts every single community," Schnabel said. 'What is being taught and what is available for children to read and for everyone to read directly impacts the culture of a place. So I think everyone certainly should care.'
'Working on fighting book bans'
Pringle called Florida 'Exhibit A" in the fight against book bans and restrictions on teaching history, but said the pushback is happening in other states as well.
'We have to have activists in every community,'' she said.
The Seattle Public Library, for example, is hosting anti-book banning events on June 7, 14 and 21.
'The country is experiencing unprecedented levels of censorship," said Kristy Gale, a teen services librarian there. 'So many people wanted to get tapped into something like this. I think we're going to get a lot of interest from folks who want to support libraries … and the work that we do. "
In 2023, the library launched 'Books Unbanned," a free digital collection of audio and e-books, including some that are banned. More than 440,000 books have been checked out, library officials said.
'It's our way of taking our resources that we have and making them available to people in other parts of the nation who don't have the kind of support for libraries or are experiencing censorship,'' said library spokeswoman Elisa Murray.
More: Protestors rally to support the national African American museum and Black history
Schnabel of The Lynx Books hopes the efforts have impact beyond a day.
'We're working on fighting book bans year-round not just on this day," she said. "But we're excited and hopeful that this day will shed a particular light on the work that we're doing and the work that other people across the nation are doing.'
