How to Stand Up to Book Banning

While all strategies aren’t for everyone, there are lots of options. Challenge yourself.

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Read banned books. Our Good Sam library has dozens of banned books. Check out this section. Most people involved in book banning have never read the entire book, if any part.

October 1-7 is National Banned Books week. Create posts on social media with a banned book and share why it is important to you. Use #DefendBooks or #Bannedbooks. Post often.

Donate banned books to the Good Sam Library through the Good Sam Wishlist.

Podcasts:

Velshi: Banned Book Club MSNBC                                 Burn this Book

Banned Books                                                                      Banned Book Clubs

Links:

• Indiana legislators supporting the banning of books in our schools. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/behind-closed-doors-indiana-bill-ban-books-schools
• org/advocacy/bbooks
• From the Absalom Center for Racial Healing:
• https://www.centerforracialhealing.org/post/requests-to-ban-books-hit-a-21-year-high-see-which-titles-were-the-most-challenged
• Legislation endorsing book banning in LA: https://bookriot.com/us-house-resolution-5-2023/
• Learn more about the national organization, Moms for Liberty. They are labeled “extremists” by The Southern Poverty Law Center. There are 5 chapters in IN. momsforliberty.org
• Purple for Parents: Purple for Parents Indiana Inc. informs, advocates, and engages Hoosiers to protect children from harmful agendas saturating the education system. Couldn’t find a website, put plenty of citations. They insist there is pornography in our schools.

Support organizations who work to stop banned books:

• American Civil Liberties Union – They are challenging unconstitutional laws banning books and censoring classroom discussions. ACLU.org
• blue online community offering the latest info and ways to stop book banning.
• Pen America – a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. It also supports authors who write banned books. Pen.org
• Comic Book Relief Fund – Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics medium. There work takes them into courtrooms, classrooms, conventions and libraries all over the United States where they provide legal aid, education, and advocacy to protect the First Amendment rights of the readers, creators, retailers, publishers, and librarians of comics, manga, and graphic novels. https://cbldf.org/
• The National Coalition Against Censorship – Founded in 1974, this is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. Ncac.org