They Couldn't Ban Books, So They Banned Words

Because the extremist right is having a hard time banning books, they've moved on to banning words. The Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation (Assembly Bill 411 & Senate Bill 411) on a party-line vote Tuesday that would bar public schools from teaching words that the State Government doesn't approve of. This bill seeks to ban any education that teaches Americans that racism or sexism is wrong.

Because the extremist right is having a hard time banning books, they've moved on to banning words.

The Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation (Assembly Bill 411 & Senate Bill 411) on a party-line vote Tuesday that would bar public schools from teaching words that the State Government doesn't approve of. This bill seeks to ban any education that teaches Americans that racism or sexism is wrong.

The measure would apply to both instruction provided to students in the classroom as well as training provided to school employees. 

School districts that do not comply with the Government Mandate would lose 10 percent of their share of state funding. Parents or guardians of students in a school that violates the bill by teaching critical race theory or its related concepts would be allowed to sue in state circuit court.


Sign the petition to stand up for the First Amendment and stop the banning of books and words in America.


At EveryLibrary, we believe that Democracy thrives on, and requires, the robust dissemination of information and ideas. No American has moved their lives forward by being denied access to information. 

In fact, Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote that "the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom." Id. at 887.

This bill would set the precedent that the Government, at any time, can dictate the words that Americans are allowed to use. This is a vast and substantial attack on Americans' First Amendment Rights. 

These bills will make it impossible for our teachers to teach many of the most crucial and significant key events in world and US history and current events. There is simply no way to teach the historical context and consequences of events such as the Civil War, World War II, Japanese Internment, Slavery, the 14th Amendment, the Holocaust, Apartheid, and so much more without honest and frank discussions about the realities of racism around the world. 


Every $10 we raise helps us reach 1,000 Americans like you with petitions like these. 
We need your help to fight for the First Amendment in America.


How are we doing a service to our children when teachers can no longer teach that slavery, the Holocaust, or apartheid were wrong?

The Banned words are as follows:

Critical Race Theory (CRT)
Action Civics
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Culturally responsive teaching
Abolitionist teaching
Affinity groups
Anti-racism
Anti-bias training
Anti-blackness
Anti-meritocracy
Obtuse meritocracy
Centering or de-centering
Collective guilt
Colorism Conscious and unconscious bias
Critical ethnic studies
Critical pedagogy
Critical Race Theory (CRT)
Critical self-awareness
Critical self-reflection
Cultural appropriation/misappropriation
Cultural awareness
Cultural competence
Cultural proficiency
Cultural relevance
Cultural responsiveness
Culturally responsive practices
De-centering whiteness
Deconstruct knowledges
Diversity focused
Diversity training
Dominant discourses
Educational justice
Equitable
Equity
Examine “systems"
Free radical therapy
Free radical self/collective care
Hegemony
Identity deconstruction
Implicit/Explicit bias
Inclusivity education
Institutional bias
Institutional oppression
Internalized racial superiority
Internalized racism
Internalized white supremacy
Interrupting racism
Intersection
Intersectionality
Intersectional identities
Intersectional studies
Land acknowledgment
Marginalized identities
Marginalized/Minoritized/Under-represented communities
Microaggressions
Multiculturalism
Neo-segregation
Normativity
Oppressor vs. oppressed
Patriarchy
Protect vulnerable identities
Race essentialism
Racial healing
Racialized identity
Racial justice
Racial prejudice
Racial sensitivity training
Racial supremacy
Reflective exercises
Representation and inclusion
Restorative justice
Restorative practices
Social justice
Spirit murdering
Structural bias
Structural inequity
Structural racism
Systemic bias
Systemic oppression
Systemic racism
Systems of power and oppression
Unconscious bias
White fragility
White privilege
White social capital
White supremacy
Whiteness
Woke