Professor, your first three paragraphs are the best encapsulation that I've read about our intensifying struggle and what's at stake. I would also highlight how freedom of expression is increasingly suppressed in right-wing states. I'm not sure we fully grasp the extent, for example, of book bans sweeping the nation.
Professor, your first three paragraphs are the best encapsulation that I've read about our intensifying struggle and what's at stake. I would also highlight how freedom of expression is increasingly suppressed in right-wing states. I'm not sure we fully grasp the extent, for example, of book bans sweeping the nation.
I read today that Duval County in Florida, where Jacksonville is located, has banned 176 books from public schools. Four jumped out at me for what would seem their tame content — books about famous athletes who happen to have been people of color: Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Jim Thorpe, and Roberto Clemente. I guess local school officials see them as subversive influences, and believe kids would be harmed learning of their success. Or worse, strive to emulate it.
“Scholars and activists who discuss CRT are not arguing that white people living now are to blame for what people did in the past. They are saying that white people living now have a moral responsibility to do something about how racism still impacts all of our lives today. Policies attempting to suffocate this much-needed national conversation are an obstacle to the pursuit of an equitable democracy.”https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/ “ I’m rereading and listening to “The 1619 Project” by Nikole Hannah Jones, top of many banned book lists. Every student needs to read this book. And every one of us is a student. It’s available at “The Banned Book Club.”
Morning, Irenie! NYT published the 1619 Project in August 2019, the 400th year anniversary of the ship's landing on what became the USA's shores. I listened to the whole series a few months later. This is the first episode. I think you'll find the rest of the series here (gifted) as well.
It is the best book of my life, followed by Dr. Richardson's "To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party".
The book is THE most referenced history book I have ever seen, period. Absolutely recommended but be prepared. It was not written to make you feel good about America or American history.
It was just written to be accurate relative to the past.
Thank you for this tip, Mike. The 1619 Project opened my eyes and I'm now midway through "To Make Men Free...". Can't wait to devour The 1619 Book Project. My retired teacher persona is outraged at the book bans. Reading is essential to building strong minds, appreciating the perspectives of those who live lives different from ours, and connecting us all in the recognition of our shared humanity.
Pat Ebervein, so much appreciate your honesty. I am actively working out as much prejudice as I can. I too am reading the books mentioned. These books and the wonderful authors expose attitudes I do not like in myself and PRAY will be removed from my being. I even hate to say I have to work these things out of course there are a lot of negative feelings I have about mean, cruel, arrogant' white" people too. Just saying....the work continues!!!
Morning, Mike! I have heard Dr. Richardson mention the 1619 Project only once during a chat she gave where she neither endorsed nor rejected the Project outright. I will say, however, in other contexts she has acknowledged the difficulty to be able to learn much history when the people whose stories are trying to be told have had their identities all but ignored for generations. I'd like to think Nikole Hannah-Jones may have used stories orally told and handed down to their descendants as a way of keeping their history alive.
Thanks for the heads up about "To Make Men Free." I have yet to but will read it on your recommendation.
"Two weeks into Black History Month, when we celebrate Black American trailblazers, Post columnist Colbert I. King reflects on why such a marker is necessary almost 100 years after it began as Negro History Week.
It's not a pretty picture.
"'The observance served a necessary purpose for Black youngsters in my generation,' King writes. 'We needed to hear about the role of Black people in the making of America because we were being told by White people of our day that there was nothing about us, or our mommas and daddies, or other people who looked like us, that White people were bound to respect. And that disdain was expressed in tangible ways.'
"He remembers when his hometown, Washington, D.C., like much of America, was a place where Black people were not allowed to try on clothes at department stores or enter restaurants or apply for some jobs — mundane things for most of us today. Where Black people were not given the respect of the Mr. or Mrs. afforded to White folks. Where young Black students couldn't attend the same schools as White kids.
"'I lived that history — that long, darkened slice of life that affected my heart and mind in ways unlikely ever to be undone,' he explains. 'Those experiences will be with me until my dying day.'"
The comment I heard her make on the 1619 project is that power, not specifically race, was the driver. Look what “we” as a country did to Native Americans.
Thank you, Lynell. It’s a must read. I'm also listening to the author reading her book. Wouldn’t, shouldn’t this be on every high school and college reading list?
I haven't read the 1619 book, but I keep seeing references to 400 years. Weren't the Spanish enslaving Indians from day one? That puts us 500 years ago. Portions of our southeastern states were under Spanish control for quite a while.
And then there's the Secrets of Dead PBS series, one of whose episodes was about indentured servants in Florida whose "owner" tried to work them to death before their indenture was over.
Hey, Michael. The introduction to Nikole Hannah Jones' work published in the NYT magazine in August of 2019, posits that it was August of 1619 when a ship appeared off the shores of Colonial Virginia carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans to be sold to the Colonists. That's the meaning of the 400 years. The 1619 Project - written by Nikole Hannah Jones - is an account of how black people came to our shores, and their journey throughout the decades, years, and centuries since. If you listen to Heather Cox Richardson's chats on FB and/or read some of her books, she discusses the enslavement of Indigenous People as well. But this "Project" focuses on the lives of black people...IMO, an all-consuming endeavor.
Thanks,Lynell. I know Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal started receiving slaves from his ships exploring to find a way around Africa well before 1492. It’s possible then that the Spanish got into the same business before 1492 or after. Caneza de Vaca was black, but I don’t think he was a slave. I read his memoir as a kid a long time ago.
Thanks, Michael, for this history! To be sure, human bondage - the slave trade - was established well before 1619. Historians like Professor Richardson are better equipped than I to teach their stories.
Thank you for posting the Brookings article. I am aware of what is happening in Florida, but did not know how many other states are also banning CRT. Chilling! Excellent discussion about CRT. I have intended to read the 1619 project, but now am re-inspired to do so.
Book banning is unbelievable. Who are these people that decide what one can or cannot read? I have been reading since I learned how. Books do not "groom" kids. I read the Happy Hooker when I was 14. It didn't turn me into a prostitute. Book banning is fascist. I learn so much from reading. I didn't have an opportunity to go to college, but I read a lot. How dare these fools try to limit what people read. I'm having difficulty expressing my outrage in words. It makes me so mad! I feel sad for our youth if this becomes the norm.
...Nor did Lincoln, BC. It seems your reading a lot may have provided the best education one can have without someone else deciding what your curriculum ought to be or how it should be organized. That kind of education seems to have provided Lincoln with a deep and rich well of wisdom and compassion while tending the soil of continued learning. The really useful growth from self-education seemed to be never knowing when you're done!
At 76 I can say that we are never done learning, every day brings opportunities to learn something new, I may have slowed now compared to my youth, but the baggage I carry today, that is the accumulation of my life experience, has a wisdom that I didn’t possess in my early years. I may not be the brightest light in the room, but I’m a lot smarter today than I was 10 years ago. 🤷♂️🙏
I don't think we're ever done learning. At least, we shouldn't be. If you're not open to learning, you become a closed minded, ignorant person, IMHO. I find people who support MAGAs to be that way. I don't think they really understand what they're voting for. MAGAs are not for freedom. They want to dictate that (some) people live the way they say. No thank you. I'm good.
My older sister bootlegged a copy of the Happy Hooker to me at the same age!!😂 She was a 1948 born kid who brought enlightened, progressive positions into our New England family - painful for my quiet parents - but I love her for opening my eyes at a young age and making a reader out of me.
Mine were the opposite. I read a lot of stuff that kids "weren't supposed to read" growing up. Mom was an English teacher, and both my folks were avid readers.
It's so performative, done as a powerful dog whistle to the base not to "protect children". In 2023 kids have access to EVERYTHING via the internet. I hope their curiosity is piqued.
I'm always forgetting how proficient young people are with the internet. You have an excellent point. I also hope they have someone who can answer any questions they have.
Looks to be a lot of Islamophobia supporting the book bans as well as anything in American history that might make white people look like brutes and criminals and murderers and rapists.
Some of the books were just a mystery, like Missy Franklin's swimming story and her faith? Not sure how that could harm anyone? Maybe too motivational? Might get people out of their basements and off the shoot em up games and to the gym??
Not Sure. (to understand those two words better, go watch the movie "Idiocracy").
"Idiocracy" is a must see film. The core concept was prescient. Average and dull becomes the new brilliant. Of course, the POTUS in the film is priceless. The movie was funny back then. Hysterically funny. Now, I think I might cry if I saw it in today's context.
Hey! Maybe since the Colorado River is drying up, we will try to grow 25% of our fruits and vegetables with Gatorade! Note to California: it doesn't work really well.
Mike, I couldn’t agree more about Heather’s opening paragraphs- her pointing out the way that corrupt despotic governments fail the people in their hour of need. I also agree about the book banning being an insidious step toward state control of children’s minds. The only possible explanation for banning books about inspirational Black athletes is one steeped in White Supremacy.
Michael, what school officials across the state of Florida are feeling and experiencing is the threats by Gov. DeSantis to cut their funding, fire school board members and Superintendents and replace them with sycophants. This is not hyperbole. It is life in Florida under the DeSantis regime. This, too, is not hyperbole. The man is a menace and the thought of him becoming the next tyrannical darling of the Republican right-wing is horrifying. I am a Floridian and spent 31 of my 38 years in public education in Florida schools. I love my state, but I am deeply saddened by what the state's politics have become, which is saying a lot considering we survived 8 years of "JEB!" and 8 years of Rick Scott in the Governor's mansion. DeSantis is, by far, the worst of the lot!
"In the state of Missouri a 12 yr old is considered too young to read books about LGBTQ+ people & people of color, too young to read Twain or learn about slavery and yet somehow they’re not too young to be forced to give birth from a pregnancy as a result of rape or carry a gun." @JoJoFromJerz
Your response to Heather Cox Richardson this morning is exactly what I thought just now reading her column. So amazing, considering that she often states that she is an American historian, not an "expert" on world politics and history. And, Michael Bales, I like how you bring in "freedom of expression" specifically referencing book banning in public schools. What a great forum this is! Thank you for your contributions.
Michael, I think their issue is that the books mention the subjects having to overcome racism, and heaven forfend that we make students uncomfortable by mentioning that other people were being racist.
Your second guess, Michael, “strive to emulate it” is the correct reason and what extreme right wing ideology fears. They want to mass produce children in their image.
Thank you for this link. "The removed titles were part of the Essential Voices Classroom Libraries Collection, purchased by the district in 2021." and "...removed from classrooms in Duval County, Florida, in January 2022 for “review.”" Nobody bothered to "review" them before purchase?!?
I read through the 176 and am still spewing my coffee recognizing I had so many of these books in my classrooms for years. Berenstein Bears?!? Eve Bunting?!? Tomie dePaola?!? The Name Jar?!? Jackie Robinson?!? (He went to the school where I taught) The Who Was series?!? On and on. OMG. What's wrong with these people?
"We liberals are very focused right now on GOP book banning, and I agree that it's outrageous to ban so many good books. But the giant problem is that two-thirds of kids can't read those books even if they are in school libraries -- and we know how to fix the problem, imperfectly, but we're not doing it fast enough." -Nicholas Kristof.
Things like book banning and limiting human rights are, of course, fueled by fear--fear of anything usurping one's own world view. A wise person doesn't ban books; they encourage diversity as it arises organically. So many of our elected leaders are dangerous numbskulls who sucker white walkers. This and the next decade will be the time of autocracy. The cycle continues and I'm afraid nothing can stop it.
Isn't this wonderful? I had heard about this. Perhaps, as is often the case, banning these books will actually draw attention to them. With the Brooklyn project, the effort to suppress the truth and artistry of "others" completely backfires.
At least in countries where their governments don't control access to the internet. With younger generations probably being more interested in being online than holding an actual book in their hands, putting that material on line would make accessible to most kids. I worry that not only would an authoritarian leader control our behavior and choices, but he/she could also do what China does and block access to material on line they deem to be "subversive" to their dominance.
Sandra Silvestro. these programs should not exist, period!
Why should the state have the ability to limit access to our desire or interest to read a book or author of interest? Parents of course should know about books their children are reading for many reasons but the government is not in the business of banning books! This is not an American value!
We should NOT have to find a way around state programs to chose a book of interest to read!
I get so confused...WHICH party is it that screams about it's rights being taken away and too much government--- Did they not wail about big government taking their rights away--MTG and that other woman...oh, Boingbart? Do they wear AK-47's on their lapels? My brain hurts...and that is exactly what they want. Do not allow their chaos to rule.
Professor, your first three paragraphs are the best encapsulation that I've read about our intensifying struggle and what's at stake. I would also highlight how freedom of expression is increasingly suppressed in right-wing states. I'm not sure we fully grasp the extent, for example, of book bans sweeping the nation.
I read today that Duval County in Florida, where Jacksonville is located, has banned 176 books from public schools. Four jumped out at me for what would seem their tame content — books about famous athletes who happen to have been people of color: Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Jim Thorpe, and Roberto Clemente. I guess local school officials see them as subversive influences, and believe kids would be harmed learning of their success. Or worse, strive to emulate it.
https://pen.org/banned-books-florida/
“Scholars and activists who discuss CRT are not arguing that white people living now are to blame for what people did in the past. They are saying that white people living now have a moral responsibility to do something about how racism still impacts all of our lives today. Policies attempting to suffocate this much-needed national conversation are an obstacle to the pursuit of an equitable democracy.”https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/ “ I’m rereading and listening to “The 1619 Project” by Nikole Hannah Jones, top of many banned book lists. Every student needs to read this book. And every one of us is a student. It’s available at “The Banned Book Club.”
Morning, Irenie! NYT published the 1619 Project in August 2019, the 400th year anniversary of the ship's landing on what became the USA's shores. I listened to the whole series a few months later. This is the first episode. I think you'll find the rest of the series here (gifted) as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/podcasts/1619-slavery-anniversary.html?
Lynell,
I am looking at the expanded version of the NY Times 1619 Project on my desk right now.
The 1619 Book Project. I bought it off of Amazon for a mere $16 dollars (up to $22 now but that is fantastically cheap).
https://www.amazon.com/1619-Project-New-Origin-Story/dp/0593230574/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiAlp2fBhBPEiwA2Q10D27_hxZsUuzMuOuNJdSa_P-A8UVGG-JPG9rnhCxIh55C25VTjIM0DxoCxAwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=381147315779&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9005583&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2343538388580277182&hvtargid=kwd-815544496076&hydadcr=22536_9636733&keywords=1619+project+book&qid=1676110234&sr=8-1
It is the best book of my life, followed by Dr. Richardson's "To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party".
The book is THE most referenced history book I have ever seen, period. Absolutely recommended but be prepared. It was not written to make you feel good about America or American history.
It was just written to be accurate relative to the past.
Thank you for this tip, Mike. The 1619 Project opened my eyes and I'm now midway through "To Make Men Free...". Can't wait to devour The 1619 Book Project. My retired teacher persona is outraged at the book bans. Reading is essential to building strong minds, appreciating the perspectives of those who live lives different from ours, and connecting us all in the recognition of our shared humanity.
Pat Ebervein, so much appreciate your honesty. I am actively working out as much prejudice as I can. I too am reading the books mentioned. These books and the wonderful authors expose attitudes I do not like in myself and PRAY will be removed from my being. I even hate to say I have to work these things out of course there are a lot of negative feelings I have about mean, cruel, arrogant' white" people too. Just saying....the work continues!!!
Morning, Mike! I have heard Dr. Richardson mention the 1619 Project only once during a chat she gave where she neither endorsed nor rejected the Project outright. I will say, however, in other contexts she has acknowledged the difficulty to be able to learn much history when the people whose stories are trying to be told have had their identities all but ignored for generations. I'd like to think Nikole Hannah-Jones may have used stories orally told and handed down to their descendants as a way of keeping their history alive.
Thanks for the heads up about "To Make Men Free." I have yet to but will read it on your recommendation.
"Two weeks into Black History Month, when we celebrate Black American trailblazers, Post columnist Colbert I. King reflects on why such a marker is necessary almost 100 years after it began as Negro History Week.
It's not a pretty picture.
"'The observance served a necessary purpose for Black youngsters in my generation,' King writes. 'We needed to hear about the role of Black people in the making of America because we were being told by White people of our day that there was nothing about us, or our mommas and daddies, or other people who looked like us, that White people were bound to respect. And that disdain was expressed in tangible ways.'
"He remembers when his hometown, Washington, D.C., like much of America, was a place where Black people were not allowed to try on clothes at department stores or enter restaurants or apply for some jobs — mundane things for most of us today. Where Black people were not given the respect of the Mr. or Mrs. afforded to White folks. Where young Black students couldn't attend the same schools as White kids.
"'I lived that history — that long, darkened slice of life that affected my heart and mind in ways unlikely ever to be undone,' he explains. 'Those experiences will be with me until my dying day.'"
Gifted article: https://wapo.st/3K0xP1G
The comment I heard her make on the 1619 project is that power, not specifically race, was the driver. Look what “we” as a country did to Native Americans.
Thank you, Lynell. It’s a must read. I'm also listening to the author reading her book. Wouldn’t, shouldn’t this be on every high school and college reading list?
I haven't read the 1619 book, but I keep seeing references to 400 years. Weren't the Spanish enslaving Indians from day one? That puts us 500 years ago. Portions of our southeastern states were under Spanish control for quite a while.
And then there's the Secrets of Dead PBS series, one of whose episodes was about indentured servants in Florida whose "owner" tried to work them to death before their indenture was over.
Hey, Michael. The introduction to Nikole Hannah Jones' work published in the NYT magazine in August of 2019, posits that it was August of 1619 when a ship appeared off the shores of Colonial Virginia carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans to be sold to the Colonists. That's the meaning of the 400 years. The 1619 Project - written by Nikole Hannah Jones - is an account of how black people came to our shores, and their journey throughout the decades, years, and centuries since. If you listen to Heather Cox Richardson's chats on FB and/or read some of her books, she discusses the enslavement of Indigenous People as well. But this "Project" focuses on the lives of black people...IMO, an all-consuming endeavor.
Thanks,Lynell. I know Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal started receiving slaves from his ships exploring to find a way around Africa well before 1492. It’s possible then that the Spanish got into the same business before 1492 or after. Caneza de Vaca was black, but I don’t think he was a slave. I read his memoir as a kid a long time ago.
Thanks, Michael, for this history! To be sure, human bondage - the slave trade - was established well before 1619. Historians like Professor Richardson are better equipped than I to teach their stories.
Thank you for posting the Brookings article. I am aware of what is happening in Florida, but did not know how many other states are also banning CRT. Chilling! Excellent discussion about CRT. I have intended to read the 1619 project, but now am re-inspired to do so.
Irenie - I hope you don't mind that I've saved your words and intend to share them. This is the most succinct explanation I've ever come across/
Thank you Pat. I’m happy to share; our conversations are important ways to learn and raise awareness. Both ways.
Oy, I just realized that was a quote, Irenie. Early morning brain fog is a real thing apparently.
"[banned] books about famous athletes who happen to have been people of color: Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Jim Thorpe, and Roberto Clemente."
And men who helped desegregate sports and overcome white prejudice.
lin, of course we can’t mention that whites could possibly have been prejudiced.
Book banning is unbelievable. Who are these people that decide what one can or cannot read? I have been reading since I learned how. Books do not "groom" kids. I read the Happy Hooker when I was 14. It didn't turn me into a prostitute. Book banning is fascist. I learn so much from reading. I didn't have an opportunity to go to college, but I read a lot. How dare these fools try to limit what people read. I'm having difficulty expressing my outrage in words. It makes me so mad! I feel sad for our youth if this becomes the norm.
...Nor did Lincoln, BC. It seems your reading a lot may have provided the best education one can have without someone else deciding what your curriculum ought to be or how it should be organized. That kind of education seems to have provided Lincoln with a deep and rich well of wisdom and compassion while tending the soil of continued learning. The really useful growth from self-education seemed to be never knowing when you're done!
At 76 I can say that we are never done learning, every day brings opportunities to learn something new, I may have slowed now compared to my youth, but the baggage I carry today, that is the accumulation of my life experience, has a wisdom that I didn’t possess in my early years. I may not be the brightest light in the room, but I’m a lot smarter today than I was 10 years ago. 🤷♂️🙏
You give me hope as I approach 65 with the knowledge that I don't know how much I don't know... but I'm learning that.
I don't think we're ever done learning. At least, we shouldn't be. If you're not open to learning, you become a closed minded, ignorant person, IMHO. I find people who support MAGAs to be that way. I don't think they really understand what they're voting for. MAGAs are not for freedom. They want to dictate that (some) people live the way they say. No thank you. I'm good.
My older sister bootlegged a copy of the Happy Hooker to me at the same age!!😂 She was a 1948 born kid who brought enlightened, progressive positions into our New England family - painful for my quiet parents - but I love her for opening my eyes at a young age and making a reader out of me.
Lol I read it too, though at a little younger age. I can’t imagine my parents ever censoring my reading.
Mine were the opposite. I read a lot of stuff that kids "weren't supposed to read" growing up. Mom was an English teacher, and both my folks were avid readers.
“Book banning is fascist”...that’s all you need to say. ❤️
It's so performative, done as a powerful dog whistle to the base not to "protect children". In 2023 kids have access to EVERYTHING via the internet. I hope their curiosity is piqued.
I'm always forgetting how proficient young people are with the internet. You have an excellent point. I also hope they have someone who can answer any questions they have.
I looked at the list.
Looks to be a lot of Islamophobia supporting the book bans as well as anything in American history that might make white people look like brutes and criminals and murderers and rapists.
Some of the books were just a mystery, like Missy Franklin's swimming story and her faith? Not sure how that could harm anyone? Maybe too motivational? Might get people out of their basements and off the shoot em up games and to the gym??
Not Sure. (to understand those two words better, go watch the movie "Idiocracy").
"Idiocracy" is a must see film. The core concept was prescient. Average and dull becomes the new brilliant. Of course, the POTUS in the film is priceless. The movie was funny back then. Hysterically funny. Now, I think I might cry if I saw it in today's context.
Hey! Maybe since the Colorado River is drying up, we will try to grow 25% of our fruits and vegetables with Gatorade! Note to California: it doesn't work really well.
LOL
Unf**kingbelievable, this is as much an affront to humanity as Hitler ever was
The wheel turns.
Mike, I couldn’t agree more about Heather’s opening paragraphs- her pointing out the way that corrupt despotic governments fail the people in their hour of need. I also agree about the book banning being an insidious step toward state control of children’s minds. The only possible explanation for banning books about inspirational Black athletes is one steeped in White Supremacy.
Michael, what school officials across the state of Florida are feeling and experiencing is the threats by Gov. DeSantis to cut their funding, fire school board members and Superintendents and replace them with sycophants. This is not hyperbole. It is life in Florida under the DeSantis regime. This, too, is not hyperbole. The man is a menace and the thought of him becoming the next tyrannical darling of the Republican right-wing is horrifying. I am a Floridian and spent 31 of my 38 years in public education in Florida schools. I love my state, but I am deeply saddened by what the state's politics have become, which is saying a lot considering we survived 8 years of "JEB!" and 8 years of Rick Scott in the Governor's mansion. DeSantis is, by far, the worst of the lot!
Thank you for your perspective. I will not visit Florida for the reasons you mention here. I can spend my meager tourist dollars elsewhere.
I need to go back.
Complete and total truth, Mark. Thx for speaking my heart.
"In the state of Missouri a 12 yr old is considered too young to read books about LGBTQ+ people & people of color, too young to read Twain or learn about slavery and yet somehow they’re not too young to be forced to give birth from a pregnancy as a result of rape or carry a gun." @JoJoFromJerz
Your response to Heather Cox Richardson this morning is exactly what I thought just now reading her column. So amazing, considering that she often states that she is an American historian, not an "expert" on world politics and history. And, Michael Bales, I like how you bring in "freedom of expression" specifically referencing book banning in public schools. What a great forum this is! Thank you for your contributions.
Michael, I think their issue is that the books mention the subjects having to overcome racism, and heaven forfend that we make students uncomfortable by mentioning that other people were being racist.
Your second guess, Michael, “strive to emulate it” is the correct reason and what extreme right wing ideology fears. They want to mass produce children in their image.
MAGAt warship…..go f*ck yourself.
Salud, Michael.
🗽
Thank you for this link. "The removed titles were part of the Essential Voices Classroom Libraries Collection, purchased by the district in 2021." and "...removed from classrooms in Duval County, Florida, in January 2022 for “review.”" Nobody bothered to "review" them before purchase?!?
I read through the 176 and am still spewing my coffee recognizing I had so many of these books in my classrooms for years. Berenstein Bears?!? Eve Bunting?!? Tomie dePaola?!? The Name Jar?!? Jackie Robinson?!? (He went to the school where I taught) The Who Was series?!? On and on. OMG. What's wrong with these people?
"We liberals are very focused right now on GOP book banning, and I agree that it's outrageous to ban so many good books. But the giant problem is that two-thirds of kids can't read those books even if they are in school libraries -- and we know how to fix the problem, imperfectly, but we're not doing it fast enough." -Nicholas Kristof.
https://www.nytimes.com/.../opi.../reading-kids-phonics.html
Things like book banning and limiting human rights are, of course, fueled by fear--fear of anything usurping one's own world view. A wise person doesn't ban books; they encourage diversity as it arises organically. So many of our elected leaders are dangerous numbskulls who sucker white walkers. This and the next decade will be the time of autocracy. The cycle continues and I'm afraid nothing can stop it.
Isn't this wonderful? I had heard about this. Perhaps, as is often the case, banning these books will actually draw attention to them. With the Brooklyn project, the effort to suppress the truth and artistry of "others" completely backfires.
Thank you Janet.. I intend to spread your and the library's good will.
Thank you, Janet. I've posted that link on my FB page in addition to sharing today's Letter from Heather.
Thank you for highlighting this- great program!! Love the idea of kids being able to find “banned” books wherever they live!
At least in countries where their governments don't control access to the internet. With younger generations probably being more interested in being online than holding an actual book in their hands, putting that material on line would make accessible to most kids. I worry that not only would an authoritarian leader control our behavior and choices, but he/she could also do what China does and block access to material on line they deem to be "subversive" to their dominance.
Fabulous! Thank you. ❤️🤍💜
WOW! Thank you! I just went through the home page of this site. Outstanding! I will spread the word and share on my FB feed.
Thanks! I’ll add this to my comments in the Miami Herald whenever I write.
This is awesome...finding ways around state programs who may seek to limit our access to knowledge and broader viewpoints!!
Books have been a constant source of pleasure and wisdom for me...my whole life 📚!
Sandra Silvestro. these programs should not exist, period!
Why should the state have the ability to limit access to our desire or interest to read a book or author of interest? Parents of course should know about books their children are reading for many reasons but the government is not in the business of banning books! This is not an American value!
We should NOT have to find a way around state programs to chose a book of interest to read!
I get so confused...WHICH party is it that screams about it's rights being taken away and too much government--- Did they not wail about big government taking their rights away--MTG and that other woman...oh, Boingbart? Do they wear AK-47's on their lapels? My brain hurts...and that is exactly what they want. Do not allow their chaos to rule.
TRUE!!!
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