School Board Meetings That Will Shock You
Go to your local school board meetings. People defending the right to read need all the help they can get.
School board meetings have become more jaw-dropping as clashes over book bans have skyrocketed. Here are a few examples of the shocking scenes that have come to our attention recently.
This is what we are up against. People defending the right to read need all the help they can get.
Sign the petition to fight book bans!
Nonbinary Teen Faces Violent Hecklers at School Board Meeting
A nonbinary teen had to yell to be heard over jeers and taunts from school board meeting attendees in Dearborn, MI, earlier this month. While they spoke, security officers had to quell angry jeers from the crowd, especially when they identified as a member of the trans community.
"If these books are banned, the only alternative would be to turn to the internet, a widely vast place full of disinformation and bigotry.
— EveryLibrary (@EveryLibrary) January 24, 2023
Books written by queer and transgender authors for queer and transgender kids are the most reliable and safe option." https://t.co/XCJcmsFHyC
"I'm Not A Book Banner"
One attendee got angry when the school librarian said she was a "book banner" and said that that term was "highly inaccurate." Even though that was exactly was she was trying to do. Or rather, she said, "We are asking for the books that have been brought to the attention of the school personnel to be removed from the recommended reading lists in the schools and not being offered to children."
I got a shout out at the last board meeting by someone who didn’t like my use of the term #bookbanning and #bookbanners. She wanted to be clear that the terms were “highly inaccurate” because…
— Mr. Janu 📚 🏳️🌈 (@MrJanuARC) January 22, 2023
1/12 pic.twitter.com/BsVbB2Iena
A Book Banner Reads Porn to Children to Make a Point About Not Giving Children Access to Porn
A school board attendee in Milan, MI, read explicit content during a school board meeting. She prefaced the content by implying it was from a book in the school library. Confusingly, when her time was up, she revealed that the content was from Penthouse Magazine, leaving observes confused. She later said that she had read passages from Penthouse to emphasize the similarity between Penthouse and books available in the school library. But basically, she read porn from an adult magazine at a school board meeting. What more is there to say?
Send an email to your Representatives to show your support for libraries!
"We're Not Banning Books"
Sometimes the arguments that school board members make leave you scratching your head. One Wilson County, TN, school board member said, "we're not banning books; we're simply saying that we don't think that public school library is the place for it."
They still don't get it. A parent responded, "you are banning books if you vote to remove this. And telling yourselves you're not — you're lying to yourselves." Watch the full exchange here.
"Parents make the best decisions for their children...
— EveryLibrary (@EveryLibrary) January 23, 2023
Anybody can call their librarian and say, 'my child cannot check out that book.'
If you don't want your kids to have it, PARENT." https://t.co/tczDkqkCaV
A Senator Creates Choas While Claiming to Be in an Offical Role
Chaos erupted at the Caldwell, ID, school board meeting earlier this month over a proposal to support students exploring their gender identity. Idaho State Senator Chris Trakel appeared to weigh in on what he described as his official role. He took the stand and immediately began yelling that the enacted children would be at moral and safety risk. After that, the room exploded into noise and chaos, and the meeting had to be adjourned, with many people shouting and gesturing angrily at the board for announcing the adjournment.