100-Year-Old Grandmother Slams Florida's Book Bans in Powerful Speech
She only had one minute to speak and she made the most of it.
March 26, 2023
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She only had one minute to speak and she made the most of it.
The increase includes books about women's sexual experiences, rape, and abuse, in addition to continued attacks on material with LGBTQ+ or racial themes.
In addition to laws that directly forbid mention of certain subjects, more subtle laws are having a negative impact, says a recent report from PEN America.
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.
Florida has implemented the majority of bans in the U.S.
Amid electoral rebukes for Moms for Liberty, a recent report highlights a disturbing rise in state legislatures imposing restrictions on LGBTQ+ discussions in schools, affecting educators and students nationwide.
They range from local Facebook or online groups to more established conservative organizations, and they often targeted LGBTQ-themed books.
PEN America has found the most banned books targeted this school year.
More than 3,000 books were banned in the 2022-2023 school year, according to PEN America.
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.
Public schools have been forced to spend billions on security, public relations, and legal assistance combating right-wing attacks for supposedly teaching about race and LGBTQ+ identities.
Pride and Less Prejudice's auction features items donated by celebrities such as singer Janelle Monáe, actor Daniel Radcliffe, interior designer Bobby Berk, and many more.
While companies donate to politicians for all sorts of reasons, these contributions don't square with these businesses' stated LGBTQ-friendliness.
He will talk about the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to fight these threats to students’ civil rights.
While some states ramp up bans, Velshi says we can counter by getting involved on school boards, associations and city councils
In the face of books bans targeting LGBTQ+ subjects and authors, here is one way to support queer books.
A mother's reflection on the transformative journey of challenges, acceptance, joys, and advocacy of raising a transgender child.
"Book clubs create an opportunity for queer people in particular...to access stories about our realities that are similar to us and access stories about people in our community that are different from us," one book club manager told The Advocate.
Out of the top six banned titles, four deal with queer themes.
Collier County Public Schools in Florida added the warnings to physical and online versions of books.
To mark Banned Book Week, PEN America offers thoughts about how banned books deny all youth the affirming and empathetic vision that literature sparks.