'You could ban our books, but you can’t ban the story': Authors speak out at Rep. Pressley event on book bans
“We have to fight for our freedom to read,” Pressley told the audience.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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“We have to fight for our freedom to read,” Pressley told the audience.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law the Freedom to Read Act, which prohibits public institutions from removing books based on the "origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors."
Justin Brown quit working for the Northern Cambria Public Library following a heated debate with the library board over the unilateral removal of Out, sparking discussions on censorship and representation in public libraries.
Two bills with ramifications for the state’s queer community have been sent to the governor for a signature.
Library workers in Washington County were told not to wear buttons promoting LGBTQ books and to take down Pride Month displays.
The American Library Association's annual report finds a rise in coordinated efforts against books with affirming LGBTQ themes and characters.
More than 3,000 books were banned in the 2022-2023 school year, according to PEN America.
Gender Queer, All Boys Aren't Blue, and This Book Is Gay lead the American Library Association's list of the 10 most challenged books of 2023.
The number of titles targeted rose 65 percent over 2022, according to the American Library Association.
The congresswoman from Massachusetts criticized the exclusion of funding that was meant to go toward an LGBTQ+ affordable housing project, slamming the decision as a blow to LGBTQ+ senior housing rights.
“We need all hands on deck in this moment, and there’s something everyone can do,” Emily Drabinski says.
They range from local Facebook or online groups to more established conservative organizations, and they often targeted LGBTQ-themed books.
The order also returns books on race that were also removed.
The sci-fi series that has its star playing nearly a dozen clones ends this weekend, but its feminism lives on.
The Missouri Library Association argued the law violates educational and intellectual freedom.
A children's story about a family of penguins with two fathers once again tops the list of library books the public objects to the most. And Tango Makes Three, released in 2005 and co-written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, was the most ''challenged'' book in public schools and libraries for the second straight year, according to the American Library Association. ''The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable. The people complaining, of course, don't agree with that,'' Judith Krug, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
The book is titled Pride Comes Before the Fall.
In a bold response to the surge of book bans across the U.S., Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley is championing legislation to protect diverse literature in schools and libraries.
PEN America’s latest findings shed light on the targeted censorship of content related to race, sexuality, and violence, sparking advocacy and resistance across the nation.
The majority of the "most challenged books" have LGBTQ content, notes a report from the American Library Association.
The library’s executive director confirmed the book was listed because of the word “gay.”