By Gabriella Majeski, Summer 2023 Collaborator at Power in Place
Image from: Jason Babcock, Southern Maryland News
Books have stood at the center of education and the distribution of knowledge for centuries. With each flip of a page, one has the potential to explore endless amounts of wisdom. Books give us a glimpse into a writer’s world by sharing their creativity and opinion. Through writing, authors explain and connect different perspectives, opinions, and experiences, specifically with complex topics that Americans are often faced with today, such as race, sexuality, and diversity. A reader that explores an expansive range of texts has the ability to diversify their thinking within these topics, which is why accessibility to these discussions is imperative. When access to certain books is restricted, so is a reader’s ability to expand their learning. An official definition of book bans by PEN America, a literary free-speech and expression rights organization, is as follows: "any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials.” With this definition in mind, one can argue that book bans stand at the forefront of limiting the diversification of American thought.
When the legal wildfire of book bans began to spread across the United States, Martha Hickson, a high school librarian in Annandale, New Jersey, was overcome with fear and anxiety for her personal safety when working, as her occupation became more and more politicized. Martha claimed that she lost sleep and weight due to the immense stress she experienced following a school board meeting where she was named by a right-winged parent group. The group claimed that Hickson allowed a 16-year-old boy to check out inappropriate, “pornographic” material. The obtained material the boy’s mother alluded to was “Genderqueer” by Maia Kobabe (2019), a graphic memoir meant to illustrate Kobabe’s exploration of gender and sexuality from adolescence to adulthood. The second book was “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evision (2018), a coming-of-age novel that tells a story about Mike Muñoz, a young Mexican-American who goes through a phase of self-discovery, taking the reader along the way. Both of these books have won multiple awards from the American Library Association in the past. Despite their success, they are now facing multiple restrictions across red states, mainly due to discussions within the books regarding LGBTQ+ history, stories, and themes which are outlined in the courtroom as “homoerotic content” by right-wing individuals. According to PEN America, 41 percent of petitioned or banned books have titles or themes containing LGBTQ+ identity (NPR).
Martha Hickson isn’t the only person affected by the increasing politicization of literature. Most occupations that distribute books, such as teachers, librarians and school staff face the same fears as Martha. Nationwide amongst right-wing school groups, librarians have been named the “Arm of Satan” (LA Times) for allowing students to check out books containing discussions of sexuality, race, and gender. They are vilified as groomers, and often cursed or harassed into taking books off of their shelves. Additionally, women are disproportionately affected by this increasing targeting and harassment, with 61.7 percent of librarians identifying as female, and 74.3 percent of teachers (Zippia). As more book bans are proposed and passed, these individuals are met with feelings of uncertainty in their job security, safety, and emotional well-being, much like Martha Hickson. The Director of Library Services for Victoria, TX, Dayna Williams-Capone, claimed that 2021 was the first time in her career of 25 years that she was asked to remove books from curated public collections. When she refused, the County Commissioner Clint Ines responded by giving Williams-Capone an ultimatum: remove the books from their shelves or face eviction from the government-owned building within 90 days. As more public libraries begin to face scrutiny, right-wing officials and citizens have also turned to targeting independent bookstores. In August 2022, a judge in Virginia dismissed two petitions to ban independent bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, from selling two books to minors: “Genderqueer” by Maia Kobabe, and “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Mass, the sequel to her fantasy series. Ultimately, the petition was struck down, although there is no guarantee that these novels will remain protected in independent bookstores in the future (The Week).
So what is being done to combat book bans? And how can we ensure that more novels won’t be removed from curricula in the future? It seems as though school board meetings stand at the center of lobbying efforts against certain novels, but the same goes for protecting such books, as described by a school teacher in Austin, Texas: “These conservative groups show up like clockwork to school board meetings. It’s clear to me that if you want to combat them, you have to organize, get out early and be disciplined” (LA Times).
Jen Cousins, a mother in Orlando, Florida, founded a parents group that advocates for the upkeep of books in curricula, libraries and bookstores. She attended a school board meeting in 2021, where conservative parents and Proud Boys members attended to call for the banning of Maia Kobabe’s “Genderqueer”. Cousins, who had purchased the book as a gesture of support for her 12 year old who had just come out as nonbinary, felt the “inflamed culture” of the entire conversation heavily. She said that book bans “pit teachers, librarians, and parents against conservative parental groups and politicians such as Ron Desantis” (LA Times). Cousins also compared the climate of her own state of Florida to her favorite book, “1984” by George Orwell: “1984 is eerily relevant to the times. My encounters with conservatives often border on surreal.” (LA Times).
After her experience at the school board meeting, Cousins was inspired to take action. She co-founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project with another parent, Stephana Ferrell. The project aims to combat book banning across the state, preserve books at risk, organize protests and confront conservative parental groups who lobby against certain novels at board meetings, such as Moms for Liberty. Across the country, more and more organizations like the Florida Freedom to Read Project are beginning to sprout in order to protect books like “Genderqueer.” These organizations are primarily founded by mothers, librarians, and school teachers who wish to end the politicization of their occupation or their child’s curricula. Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship was founded by a librarian who was threatened and harassed for condemning book bans. Texas school teacher Frank Strong published and updated a list called the “Book-Loving Texan’s Guide,” which reports on the state’s school board races, and rates the candidates based on where they stand with book banning. The Round Rock Black Parents Association was crucial to the mobilization against the ban of Jason Reynolds’ “Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You”. The initiative was led by three mothers from Round Rock, Texas, who wished to fight to keep the book in the school county’s curriculum. The association organized groups such as the Anti-Racist Coming Together group, who advocated for the preservation and expansion of diverse literature at local school board meetings. They also petition thousands of parents, community members and teachers to call upon the district’s Board of Trustees to protect the book. Ultimately, their efforts were successful, although far from over with the approaching threat of more bans across red states.
Books can be used as a means to share thought, creativity, research, and opinion with the world. They can incite conversation, inspire others to take action, help readers delve into creative worlds, and expand limiting beliefs or views. With women at the frontlines of many of these organizations, the success of such initiatives is essential to the protection of novels that discuss the necessity of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the United States. Their protection is vital to the future of an accepting, diverse, inclusive culture.
References
[1] Fleishman, Jeffrey. “Two moms are at the center of the fight against book banning in America: ‘It’s exhausting’”. Los Angeles Times. May 15, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-15/florida-book-banning
[2] Bellamy-Walker, Tat. “Meet the moms of color from Texas fighting book bans at their kids’ schools”. NBC News. January 28, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/meet-moms-color-texas-fighting-book-bans-kids-schools-rcna13701
[3] Friedman, Jonathan. Johnson, Nadine Farid. “Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights”. PEN America. April, 2022. https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/#policies
[4] Coleman, Theara. “How book bans are affecting schools and libraries”. The Week. September 11, 2022. https://theweek.com/briefing/1016551/how-book-bans-are-affecting-schools-and-libraries
[5] Zippia Editors. “Teacher Demographics and Statistics in the US”. Zippia. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.zippia.com/teacher-jobs/demographics/
[6] Zippia Editors. “Librarian Demographics and Statistics in the US”. Zippia. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.zippia.com/librarian-jobs/demographics/
[7] Harris, Elizabeth A. Alter, Alexandra. “With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack”. New York Times. July 6, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/books/book-ban-librarians.html
[8] Jankowicz, Mike. “Louisiana teacher sues conservative group after she was called a 'pedo' and a 'groomer' for opposing censorship in her local library”. Insider. August 18, 2022. https://www.insider.com/louisiana-teacher-sues-activists-after-vilified-for-defending-library-2022-8
[9] López Restrepo, Manuela. “Book bans are getting everyone's attention — including Biden's. Here's why”. NPR. April 25, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/04/25/1172024559/book-bans-spike-biden-culture-wars-lgbtq-gender-queer-libraries
[10] Fleischman, Jeffrey. “School librarians vilified as the ‘arm of Satan’ in book-banning wars”. Los Angeles Times. January 27, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-27/school-librarians-vilified-as-the-arm-of-satan-in-book-banning-wars
Gabriella Majeski is a rising sophomore at Brandeis University and intends to double major in politics and women, gender and sexuality studies, as well as a German and legal studies double minor. In addition to her commitment to community service and activism on and off campus, she competes for the Club Gymnastics Team and works as a tour guide. She hopes to attend law school and work in social media marketing for a political campaign after graduation.