FWIW Florida has not banned “To Kill A Mockingbird”

In case you missed it, this is Banned Books Week. According to PEN America, Florida leads the nation in book bans. A recent report by national free speech group PEN America says that Florida school districts banned upward of 1,406 books. In September, The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) provided a list of materials that had been challenged and then removed or discontinued by one or more of Florida’s school boards during the past school year.

The challenging and removal of books from school libraries in Florida is a serious problem.

This morning, this post was shared with me on social media:

For the record: NONE of these books are on the current FLDOE list of challenged books. Sharing lists like these feed the state’s false narrative that book bans are a hoax in Florida’s schools.

Of course, book bans in Florida’s schools are not a hoax.

What books are being removed from Florida schools? According to DeSantis and his education commissioner, the state isn’t banning books—they’re removing porn from public school libraries.

Some of the most challenged books in Florida include descriptions of sexual violence (“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, Clay and Martin Counties) or descriptions of LGBTQ sexual activity (“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, Orange County, or “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, Escambia County). But some of the books are being removed for simply mentioning an LGBTQ person or including themes of race.

Last week, it was discovered that Charlotte County’s superintendent Mark Vianello had instructed media specialists to remove books simply for mentioning a gay character. As reported by Judd Legum, “Are we removing books from any school or media center, PreK-12 if a character has, for example, two mothers or because there is a gay best friend or a main character is gay?” the librarians asked. Vianello answered, “Yes.” 

Here are a few of the books that HAVE been challenged/removed in Florida school districts:

“And Tango Made Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. (Escambia)

“Little Rock Nine” by Marshall Poe (Wakulla County)

“Julian is a Mermaid” by Jessica Love. (Clay County)

“Christian, the Hugging Lion” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. (Manatee County)

“Families, Families, Families!” by Suzanne and Max Lang (Manatee)

And “What on Earth is a Pangolin” by Edward Ricciuti. (Manatee)

What could possibly be the reason for challenging “What on Earth is a Pangolin”?

The books pictured above are NOT being challenged because they include pornography. They are being challenged because they contain IDEAS.

As described by Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, in a New York Times opinion piece entitled “My Young Mind Was Disturbed by a Book. It Changed My Life“:

“But those who seek to ban books are wrong no matter how dangerous books can be. Books are inseparable from ideas, and this is really what is at stake: the struggle over what a child, a reader and a society are allowed to think, to know and to question.” 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/opinion/culture/book-banning-viet-thanh-nguyen.html

Do you want to do something to fight against book bans in Florida’s schools? Consider following and donating to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, whose goal is “to defend every student’s right to access information and ideas while at school .” Here is their website. Celebrate Banned Books Week and donate today.