Some would-be censors have gone even farther, threatening teachers, school librarians, authors, and school board members with criminal charges and even violence for allowing students access to books.

The law clearly prohibits the kind of activities we are seeing today: censoring school libraries, removing books–and entire reading lists–based on disagreement with viewpoint and without any review of their educational or literary merit. Nearly all communities have developed policies for both handling book challenges and allowing parents to influence their own child’s reading, but they must do so within the guideposts set forth by the Supreme Court, without infringing on the rights of other students. In communities across the country, an organized political attack on books in schools threatens the education of America’s children. These ongoing attempts to purge schools of books represent a partisan political battle fought in school board meetings and state legislatures. The undersigned organizations and individuals are deeply concerned about this sudden rise in censorship and its impact on education, the rights of students, and freedom of expression. The signatories will also be updated regularly on the National Coalition Against Censorship website here.Ĭoalition Statement: The Attack On Books In Schools Read the entire letter below, followed by the initial list of signatories that signed before its publishing on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021. GLAAD is also coordinating a social media campaign, #BooksNotBans, and providing a media guide for reporters to accurately report on the efforts to ban books and their illegality, as well as background on the national anti-LGBTQ groups coordinating and funding these actions.

GLAAD and more than 600 groups and individuals representing writers, educators, artists, racial and social justice advocates, booksellers and publishers have signed onto the statement.

The statement, from the National Coalition Against Censorship, is the first national collective response to the wave of attempted book bans in at least a dozen states, and the coordinated targeting of library and school board personnel, via personal threat and attempts to co-opt law enforcement in the bans. GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to a powerful statement of support against efforts to ban LGBTQ-inclusive books and books about race and racism.

Rina heisel