Pennsylvania ranks third in states with most banned books
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation behind Texas and Florida in number of book titles banned in state school districts, according to a report recently published by the free speech organization PEN America.
无毛视频淏ook bans are an old thing. The momentum that is driving this is new,无毛视频� said Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America and lead author of the report 无毛视频淏anned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools.无毛视频�
Book bans are defined by PEN America as action taken against a title by parents, community groups or administration based on the book无毛视频檚 content. PEN America also considers a district无毛视频檚 decision to pull a book based on direct or threatened action from lawmakers a 无毛视频渂an.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚n Pennridge (School District in Bucks County), they moved 无毛视频� 无毛视频楬eather Has Two Mommies无毛视频� 无毛视频� to the guidance offices and counseling offices. We count that also as a book ban, because rather than the book being accessible to students in the library, it is being banished to the guidance centers,无毛视频� Friedman said.
Between July 2021 and June 2022, 2,532 books were banned by 138 districts in 32 states, including 11 Pennsylvania school districts, according to the report. A total of 1,648 individual titles were pulled from districts, impacting the work of 1,553 authors, illustrators and translators.
A majority of the books banned in Pennsylvania were in Central York School District in York County.
无毛视频淚n Pennsylvania, we have seen a few districts get really deep into this issue. One of the places that started a lot of this energy was Central York,无毛视频� said Friedman. 无毛视频淭he list of books that needed to be banned (was) essentially a list to encourage inclusivity and diversity. 无毛视频� They included a Sesame Street special on racism, and whole book series. (One book) about a black protagonist.无毛视频�
Last week, Jefferson-Morgan High School students spent time educating their peers on titles that have throughout history been labeled problematic.
无毛视频淥ur student council has put a couple bulletin boards up around the school just to bring awareness to Banned Books Week,无毛视频� said Michael Hildreth, district assistant principal. 无毛视频淚f history tells us anything, if we go back to Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, sometimes when we start censoring what our students see, we无毛视频檙e really hindering their education. Our teachers do a really good job of explaining those concepts in those books in a way our community feels really empowers our kids.无毛视频�
The majority of banned books listed in PEN America无毛视频檚 report center on the Black and LGBTQ+ experience, including the popular 无毛视频淲ho Was?无毛视频� series by Pam Pollack and Caldecott Honor book 无毛视频淎 Big Mooncake for Little Star.无毛视频�
无毛视频淕ender Queer: A Memoir无毛视频� by Maia Kobabe leads the charge, with 41 districts nationwide banning the title. Books adapted to the screen, including the novel series-turned-Netflix hit 无毛视频淭hirteen Reasons Why,无毛视频� have found themselves ousted from schools across the country. Trinity High School graduate Anastasia Higginbotham无毛视频檚 White Raven Book Award-winning 无毛视频淣ot My Idea: A Book About Whiteness无毛视频� stands alongside other acclaimed banned books, including Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison无毛视频檚 无毛视频淭he Bluest Eye无毛视频� and George M. Johnson无毛视频檚 无毛视频淎ll Boys Aren无毛视频檛 Blue.无毛视频�
Last year, 无毛视频淣ot My Idea无毛视频� was used as an example on the Texas Senate floor as legislatures discussed House Bill 3979, regarding social studies curriculum.
无毛视频淭hey were using my book to shut other people out. That无毛视频檚 exactly the opposite of what I was trying to do,无毛视频� said Higginbotham, whose book is an invitation to white children and adults to join in the legacy of fighting for social justice.
The publicity, while national, was not the boost in book sales many outsiders think, said the author.
无毛视频淭here is such a thing as bad publicity. Sales are down. People do steer clear of it. People are afraid of losing their funding, losing their jobs. Librarians, teachers, they do shy away from it. They无毛视频檙e afraid of drawing the attention of Proud Boys, of Moms For Liberty,无毛视频� Higginbotham said. 无毛视频淧eople will say specifically that my book 无毛视频楴ot My Idea无毛视频� makes white kids feel bad about being white. My response to that is, are you also concerned about Black and Brown kids feeling bad about being black and brown? It无毛视频檚 not irony, it无毛视频檚 tragedy. It无毛视频檚 overt racism 无毛视频� and hatred of LGBTQ people and Muslims and Jews and it无毛视频檚 so overt.无毛视频�
Higginbotham, who writes for kids on death, sex and other serious topics, said removing books 无毛视频� particularly those that explore Black, Brown and minority experiences 无毛视频� sends a devastating message to the nation无毛视频檚 youth.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 detrimental because they无毛视频檙e not just looking to read a book; they无毛视频檙e looking to see themselves in the pages of the books. They want to see themselves, they want to see their families, they want to see their struggles, they want to see their joys. When we ban them from the books, we ban them from themselves,无毛视频� said Higginbotham. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 also letting them know that we don无毛视频檛 trust them. If we just snatch things out of their hands before they even have a chance to reach for it, or be curious about it, we are letting them know, I don无毛视频檛 trust you. You don无毛视频檛 have good judgement. You have to be protected from what the world is.无毛视频�
As a mother, Higginbotham understands the desire to shield children from the dangers of this world. She said she has compassion for those parents and organizations advocating to ban books.
无毛视频淭here are things out there that I don无毛视频檛 want my kids to internalize. There are things that I want to protect them from 无毛视频� mortal danger 无毛视频� but not ideas, not identities, not people无毛视频檚 experiences,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 ban those things from my kids无毛视频� lives. I let them know 无毛视频� what bothers me about the thing, and then I trust them to sort through it.无毛视频�