Category: School Libraries
“Ignorant Youth” Comment Motivates Student Jordan Joubert To Fight Against Censorship
“I think people fail to realize how much hate is really an issue.” Read this interview with Jordan Joubert, student at North Hunterdon High School, New Jersey, who is currently engaged in speaking at board meetings, creating student-run organizations, and serving as a youth advocate in the face of censorship.
The Legacy of The Bluest Eye: A Top 10 Banned Book of 2021
Despite efforts to keep a new generation of students from a transformative encounter with Morrison’s work, The Bluest Eye remains relevant and reflective of American society over 50 years after its original publication in 1970. This cultural relevance is the reason why it maintains its place on recommended reading lists for Advanced Placement assessments across the country. It is why the novel still brings me to tears, and still has important things to teach us about reckoning with racialized concepts like beauty and gender, and how ugliness renders one invisible.
Gender Queer Most Challenged of 2021
Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer is 2021’s most challenged graphic novel. Kobabe wants eir memoir to remain in our libraries. Youth, our readers, want Gender Queer to remain in our libraries. In that spirit, the following resources were curated to assist librarians addressing challenges to Gender Queer.
Jude Gepp, New Jersey Student, Advocates for Inclusivity and LGBTQ+ Equality from School Board
“Every voice matters, even if you don’t think yours does.” Read this interview with Jude Gepp, sophomore at North Hunterdon High School, New Jersey, who is currently engaged in speaking at board meetings, sending emails to the board for creating more inclusive learning environments, and maintaining their own website to inform the community about the LGBTQ+ equality movement.
High School Students Fight Back in Wentzville, Missouri
Wentzville, MO received multiple book challenges in Fall 2021. These books, including The Bluest Eye, were removed by the School Board. By February 2022, students filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against their school for violating their civil rights through book banning. That very same day, the School Board voted 7-0 to return one of the books to the shelves and the challenger withdrew at least two of their other challenges.
Martha Hickson, Students, and School Board Save 5 Challenged Titles
Five diverse titles were recently challenged in North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District, New Jersey. Read this interview with award-winning school librarian Martha Hickson to learn more about how she engaged in successful advocacy using community resources and students to help insure students’ intellectual freedom rights.
Books Banned at Raymond School Library in Wisconsin
Three books were removed from the Raymond School Library (WI): All American Boys by Jason Reymonds, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Get them back on the shelves by voting this spring in the school board elections.
Practical Steps for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges: Interviews with Tasslyn Magnusson and Ashley Hope Peréz
Read more to discover recent resources developed to help combat book and intellectual freedom censorship stemming from anti-”critical race theory” critics.
“Anti-Critical Race Theory” Education Legislation, Passed and Pending, is Unconstitutional Censorship
Based on fear-induced disinformation being spread by grassroots parent organizations advocating for increased parental control over public education, legislation is being introduced and passed in some states which severely restricts intellectual freedom rights of teachers and students.
South Carolina Parents Involved in Education (SCPIE) Hosting Meetings Across State, Demanding Censorship
Organizations such as United States Parents Involved in Education are centering themselves in the fight against what they perceive as indoctrination and propaganda in public schools, directly advocating for unconstitutional censorship of educational and library materials.