Published: Aug. 5, 2022
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Book banning has become one more divisive issue in our country. According to an interview in the New York Times, a Republican representative in Texas put together a list of 850 books, arguing that they were inappropriate material in schools. These included books about sexuality, gender, racism, and American history. (I wonder if he really read them all!) These books contain content some feel isn’t appropriate for children, but the librarians cited in the interview are saying that the most challenged books are about people of color or LGBTQ people.
These are not all children’s books. On the list are Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist.
People who try to push a book out of a library are attempting to make a decision for everyone, not just their own children. Yet, the interview emphasizes, librarians are trained to present a range of viewpoints, and it’s a matter of professional ethics to make sure that the point of view of one person or one group isn’t dictating what everyone can read.
The interview points out that book banning can be damaging to kids who identify with story lines in books that are banned in their communities. The question for the child becomes, “What’s wrong with me?”
What we Friends can do: Pay attention to what is on the agenda of our local school board meetings. These meetings are not just for parents and teachers, but for all members of the community. Speak out against this move to censor books that cover gender issues, critical race theories, and a truer understanding of our history as a country.
from Dorothy Day, North Pacific Yearly Meeting Secretary (8/3/2022)