Latest news with #bookbans
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘State-driven censorship': new wave of book bans hits Florida school districts
A new wave of book bans has hit Florida school districts, with hundreds of titles being pulled from library and classroom shelves as the school year kicks off. The Republican-dominated state, which has already had the highest rate of book bans nationwide this year, is continuing to censor reading materials in schools, bowing to external pressures in an effort to avoid conflict and government retaliation. 'This is an ideological campaign to erase LGBTQ+ lives and any honest discussion of sex, stripping libraries of resources and stories,' William Johnson, the director of PEN America's Florida office, told the Guardian. 'If censorship keeps spreading, silence won't save us. Floridians must speak out now.' Book bans have been rising at a rapid rate across the US since 2021, but this latest wave comes after increased pressure from the state board of education in Florida. The board issued a harsh warning to the Hillsborough county school district in May, saying that if they didn't remove 'pornographic' titles from their library, formal legal action could ensue. More than 600 books were pulled as a result, and the process was expected to cost the district $350,000. The books taken off the school shelves included The Diary of Anne Frank and What Girls Are Made of by Elana K Arnold. None of them were under formal review by the district, and they hadn't been flagged by local parents as potentially inappropriate. Parents with children in the school system even had the opportunity to opt their children out of a particular reading, without removing them from the class for everyone. PEN called the board of education's mass removal in Hillsborough county a 'state-driven censorship', and concluded 'it is a calculated effort to consolidate power through fear, to bypass legal precedent, and to silence diverse voices in Florida's public schools,' in their press release. Fearing similar retribution, nine surrounding school districts have taken proactive measures, pulling books which they are worried could cause similar controversy. This includes Columbia, Escambia, Orange and Osceola, who have followed suit and quietly complied, probably to avoid similar state retaliation. 'Censorship advocates are playing a long game, and making Hillsborough county public schools bend the knee is a huge win for them,' said Rachel Doyle, who goes by 'Reads with Rachel' on social media. Doyle has two children in the Hillsborough school district system and is frustrated that they are being used as political pawns. She feels that her voice has been erased by far-right groups like Moms for Liberty and that parental rights groups do not have her kids' best interests in mind. 'I do not want or need a special interest group or a 'concerned citizen' opting out for me,' Doyle said. 'Once Florida becomes a place where this is the norm entirely, other states will follow.' In Escambia county, one of the nine school districts that have taken books off their library shelves after the Hillsborough removal campaign, 400 titles have been removed without review. These include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, a satirical anti-war novel centered around a prisoner of war in Dresden after the Allied bombings in the second world war. What is happening in Florida is part of a broader, nationwide censorship drive fueled by conservative backlash against teachings about race, gender and diversity. Unsurprisingly, red states on average have seen higher instances of banned reading materials, with Florida accounting for 4,561 cases of prohibited titles this year, spanning 33 school districts. These bans often target authors of color, female writers and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Books that educate about any of these experiences, or that document historical periods, are the recipients of frequent censorship attacks. Rob Sanders, the author of several acclaimed children's books like Ruby Rose and Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, and a former Hillsborough county educator, has seen many challenges to his books in Florida and beyond. 'If we eliminate every book that tells a story that is different than the life experiences of an individual or a family, there will be no books left in the library,' Sanders said. 'As an author, the best thing I can do for children is to keep writing books that tell the truth and that celebrate the wonderful diversity in our world.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘State-driven censorship': new wave of book bans hits Florida school districts
A new wave of book bans has hit Florida school districts, with hundreds of titles being pulled from library and classroom shelves as the school year kicks off. The Republican-dominated state, which has already had the highest rate of book bans nationwide this year, is continuing to censor reading materials in schools, bowing to external pressures in an effort to avoid conflict and government retaliation. 'This is an ideological campaign to erase LGBTQ+ lives and any honest discussion of sex, stripping libraries of resources and stories,' William Johnson, the director of PEN America's Florida office, told the Guardian. 'If censorship keeps spreading, silence won't save us. Floridians must speak out now.' Book bans have been rising at a rapid rate across the US since 2021, but this latest wave comes after increased pressure from the state board of education in Florida. The board issued a harsh warning to the Hillsborough county school district in May, saying that if they didn't remove 'pornographic' titles from their library, formal legal action could ensue. More than 600 books were pulled as a result, and the process was expected to cost the district $350,000. The books taken off the school shelves included The Diary of Anne Frank and What Girls Are Made of by Elana K Arnold. None of them were under formal review by the district, and they hadn't been flagged by local parents as potentially inappropriate. Parents with children in the school system even had the opportunity to opt their children out of a particular reading, without removing them from the class for everyone. PEN called the board of education's mass removal in Hillsborough county a 'state-driven censorship', and concluded 'it is a calculated effort to consolidate power through fear, to bypass legal precedent, and to silence diverse voices in Florida's public schools,' in their press release. Fearing similar retribution, nine surrounding school districts have taken proactive measures, pulling books which they are worried could cause similar controversy. This includes Columbia, Escambia, Orange and Osceola, who have followed suit and quietly complied, probably to avoid similar state retaliation. 'Censorship advocates are playing a long game, and making Hillsborough county public schools bend the knee is a huge win for them,' said Rachel Doyle, who goes by 'Reads with Rachel' on social media. Doyle has two children in the Hillsborough school district system and is frustrated that they are being used as political pawns. She feels that her voice has been erased by far-right groups like Moms for Liberty and that parental rights groups do not have her kids' best interests in mind. 'I do not want or need a special interest group or a 'concerned citizen' opting out for me,' Doyle said. 'Once Florida becomes a place where this is the norm entirely, other states will follow.' In Escambia county, one of the nine school districts that have taken books off their library shelves after the Hillsborough removal campaign, 400 titles have been removed without review. These include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, a satirical anti-war novel centered around a prisoner of war in Dresden after the Allied bombings in the second world war. What is happening in Florida is part of a broader, nationwide censorship drive fueled by conservative backlash against teachings about race, gender and diversity. Unsurprisingly, red states on average have seen higher instances of banned reading materials, with Florida accounting for 4,561 cases of prohibited titles this year, spanning 33 school districts. These bans often target authors of color, female writers and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Books that educate about any of these experiences, or that document historical periods, are the recipients of frequent censorship attacks. Rob Sanders, the author of several acclaimed children's books like Ruby Rose and Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, and a former Hillsborough county educator, has seen many challenges to his books in Florida and beyond. 'If we eliminate every book that tells a story that is different than the life experiences of an individual or a family, there will be no books left in the library,' Sanders said. 'As an author, the best thing I can do for children is to keep writing books that tell the truth and that celebrate the wonderful diversity in our world.'
CNN
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Courtney B. Vance on book bans, protests in Los Angeles, and narrating the audiobook of the biography of W.E.B. Du Bois
Laura sits down with award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance to talk about his latest role narrating the new audiobook of "W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race". Vance also discusses the rise of book bans and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles.
CNN
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Courtney B. Vance on book bans, protests in Los Angeles, and narrating the audiobook of the biography of W.E.B. Du Bois
Laura sits down with award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance to talk about his latest role narrating the new audiobook of "W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race". Vance also discusses the rise of book bans and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Texas parents, school boards may have more control over school library books after House OKs bill
The Texas House gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would give Texas parents and school boards a bigger role over what books students can access in public school libraries. Senate Bill 13 would give school boards, not school librarians, the final say over what materials are allowed in their schools' libraries by creating a framework for them to remove books based on complaints they receive. The bill would allow school boards to oversee book approvals and removals, or delegate the responsibility to local school advisory councils if 20% of parents in a district sign a petition allowing their creation. Previously, SB 13 mandated the creation of those councils when it passed through the Senate in March, but the petition requirement was added in a House committee. SB 13, initially passed by the House 87-57, also includes definitions for what constitutes harmful material and indecent content, which led Democratic representatives to express concerns about overzealous bans on books. During the discussion on the House floor Monday, Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, pointed specifically to bill language requiring approved books to adhere to 'local community values,' which he said could lead small, vocal groups of people to limit students' book access. Talarico said titles often taught in public schools — like Catcher in the Rye, Lonesome Dove and the Bible — could end up banned under some of the bill's vague and subjective interpretations. 'If your answer to 'could Romeo and Juliet be banned,' if it is anything other than 'of course not,' then that is a serious problem,' Talarico said. Rep. Erin Zweiner, D-Driftwood, also worried the bill could lead to overly broad book bans. 'What is indecent for a 17 year old is not the same as what is indecent for a five year old,' she said. Rep. Brad Buckley, the bill's House sponsor, called community values the 'bedrock' of public policy, and the Salado Republican dismissed potential removal of classics as a 'red herring' argument. 'A speaker before me said we should cherish the value of books. Well, maybe so, but I would argue we should cherish and value our kids more, and Senate Bill 13 will do exactly that,' Buckley said. Representatives supportive of the bill said SB 13 would give parents better control over what materials their children can access.' About 16% of complaints about school library books last year were initiated by parents, according to a report from the American Libraries Association, while 72% came from elected officials, pressure groups and board members and administrators. Several amendments by Democratic representatives aiming to loosen the bill's language on profane content failed. An amendment by Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville, which also failed, would have lowered the threshold to petition the creation of an advisory council to 50 signatures from parents, and would have required that the councils only be made up by people who signed the petition. The bill would also extend regulation introduced by a law passed in 2023 aimed at keeping 'sexually explicit' material out of school libraries. House Bill 900 was partially blocked from implementing a book rating system by a federal appeals court. Opponents of the bill have worried not only about restricting book access, but also about the administrative backlog that having to approve each new library book could create. School boards will have 90 days after complaints on each book are filed to reach a decision on whether to add, keep or remove material from school bookshelves. Roughly 540 books were banned in Texas schools during the 2023-24 school year, according to PEN America, an organization that has tracked book bans throughout the country. The bill, one of Senate leader Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick 's listed legislative priorities, now heads back to the upper chamber to be approved. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
