The story in and of itself is worth talking about, as it’s not the first such incident this month. And in fact, it’s part of a long line of hatred and intimidation of queer people in public institutions this month alone:
“Pervs work here” was spray painted on an elementary school in California In Montana, people are complaining that the state library association’s new logo is offensive because (wait for it) it has the colors red, blue, yellow, and green An Alaska library might lose funding for hosting a drag story time The library board for the Jennings Public Library demanded the Pride display be removed Macon County heard complaints about their Pride display Proud Boys showed up to a San Francisco area drag story time and threatened the performers, as well as scared the children in attendance Proud Boys showed up to a drag story time in Wilmington, North Carolina In New Hanover, North Carolina, protesters showed up to a Pride story time (worth noting that this particular story time was being targeted a month ago when the event was announced)
“County Commissioner Cyndi Bryant, R-District 4, and wife of former GOP State Rep. Ed Bryant, noticed the display and complained that it was inappropriate” in Madison County Public Library, Tennessee
Complaints about a Pride display in Mandeville, Louisiana (though no formal complaint…yet) Pride displays and associated queer books are to be removed from all Smithtown, New York library children’s areas (as of 8 pm eastern on Thursday, June 23, this decision was overturned) In DeWitt, Iowa, a StoryWalk book was removed from its display (it’s a book about a unicorn) The Forest Library in Bedford County, Virginia had to remove its Pride display “One sobbed. Another yelled “perverts” at the Montgomery Township School Board members on Tuesday, June 14. Others in the crowd demanded to know what, exactly, did a Drag Queen named Harmonica Sunbeam read to Montgomery elementary school students during a Gay Pride after-school event” in New Jersey In Union County, North Carolina, the public library was told they cannot participate in community Pride events A Catholic group coordinated a nationwide “hide the pride” campaign to dismantle Pride displays in public libraries The Portsmith Public Library (OH) was readying to take down their Pride display because of complaints, but a patron went ahead and checked out all of the books for them “Hide the Pride” struck Litchfield, New Hampshire’s public library when the patron did not get demands met that the display be removed And more.
The Sutherland story has a bit of a twist, though: he himself is a librarian. The hatred for the work librarians do came from within the fold, utilizing the rhetoric of right-wing extremists. If you’re going to ALA this week, ask about this. Their stance of silence and neutrality around the hate crimes being committed and the threats of violence for those simply doing their job is unacceptable. Being “united against book bans” does nothing if those who are working within the systems are themselves eager to spread the hate and bigotry. Old keys won’t open the new doors of censorship, and it’s beyond time for those who are involved in the organization to demand better.
Call To Action
This week, you need to write to each of your representatives at the state and federal level, as the Supreme Court just ruled on a case that will have detrimental effects on American public education. In a 6-3 ruling, the court determined that in states where voucher programs allow for individuals to choose whether their kids go to public or private schools, religious schools cannot be exempted. This ruling is precisely what right-wing groups are hoping for, as more spin off their own brands of Evangelical conservative education systems to indoctrinate their children to white supremacist ideas. This ruling is going to accelerate the book banning. If you’re thinking that’s a big leap, it’s not. You can read the ways it is done here, but in short, if funding is now tied to where people send their kids to school, a parent complains about a book in the school and isn’t satisfied with the results, they pull their kid from said school to send to one of their preferred schools on taxpayer’s money (taxpayer money is paying for these private, religious vouchers). Now, there is less money to go to the public school, further gutting already damaged systems. Right-wing groups are celebrating this ruling all over their networks. Meanwhile, it’s mostly been quiet from everyone else, despite the fact this will have a chilling effect on not only on public education systems, but on free speech within them. So why write your representatives if it’s been passed by the Supreme Court? You want to advocate for your state to examine and reevaluate their voucher programs to ensure your tax money does not go to fund these initiatives and if they do, you demand that religious institutions pay taxes themselves.
This Week’s Book Censorship News: June 24, 2022
Two book ban bills advanced in Pennsylvania this week. If you’re in PA, start making phone calls. “The school board voted to have the right to ban books with sexualized content with “explicit written descriptions of sexual acts.” This is not the role of the school board, but the Central Bucks, Pennsylvania, school board is taking it upon themselves to be censors. Lawyers are asking that the obscenity lawsuit in Virginia (first reported here) should be tossed. “He suggested the town remove itself from the Gila County Library District, and risk losing $239,000. When a resident questioned what he objected to specifically about the book, Ferris admitted he had not read it.” The book is Sex is a Funny Word and this is in Arizona.
