Book Burning In America
In case you missed it, extremists have taken over the school board in Spotsylvania, VA and have openly called for the burning of library books they disagree with.
In case you missed it, extremists have taken over the school board in Spotsylvania, VA and have openly called for the burning of library books they disagree with.
One School Board member, Rabih Abuismail said;
“I think we should throw those books in a fire.”
And yet another school board member, Kirk Twigg, agreed and said he wants to;
“…See the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”
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These aren’t the only threats to your freedom to choose what you want to read that we’ve seen in the last few weeks.
In Wyoming, librarians were threatened with prosecution for having books on the shelves that some people don't like and don't want others to read..
In Indiana, government officials tried to push a bill that would punish schools and public libraries for the content of their books. Under the bill, librarians could be punished with a Level 6 felony if parents complained about books that they didn’t like on the shelves.
In Texas, one politician is using his governmental power to hunt down 850 books that he deems inappropriate because he wants to decide what you and your family can check out from the Library. As one Washington Post columnist noted, “looking at Krause’s list, it’s hard not to conjure up images of totalitarian regimes and violent groups that have gone after books throughout history, from Nazi attacks on works considered “un-German” in 1933 to al-Qaeda destroying precious manuscripts in Timbuktu.”
These attacks aren’t new. You may remember that librarians in Kansas City, Missouri were shocked in 2016 when their colleague Steve Woolfolk was arrested at work for defending the right of a public program attendee to question a visiting presenter. In 2020, a proposed bill moved to imprison and fine librarians for failing to comply with the state’s censorship policies.
We need your help to stop this government overreach into what you and your family read at your library.
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